Reliable Reliabilities

So its February, and the reliability not-races have started again.

Last weekend 7th Feb was the East Antrim CC trial, nice enough weather and on decent roads. Fast pace at the start with a tasty tailwind the whole way round... till we turned into it and it was headwind time. This was slightly mitigated by the fact that we took in a 3-4 mile descent down into Glenarm which was just awesome. If it had have been drier I think it would have been faster and more awesome-er.

Yesterday was the Maryland Wheelers Trial. Man, this was fast. I reckon an average of about 24mph+ over the course of around 70 miles.
The big boys were fairly hammering the pace. I felt fine till the P-stop... then something happened, either riders went on or something.. but it left everyone chasing like hell to get back on. Including me.

Right into the red-zone, then couldn't settle properly till we hit the climb at the horsehoe bend in Castlewellan, always fun weaving through those going backwards on it.
More fast paced stuff right up to the tea and sandwiches stop.. with blustery crosswinds forcing echelons.
The ride went on in this pace till Saintfield where it turned onto the John Moore race course... then I got blew out. Nothing left in the legs at all.
I'm putting that down to a number of things:
- I had a hard club run the day before
- I had a bit of a sniffle
- I ate the wrong food
- It was nigh on impossible to eat at the speed we were doing
- I was on my winter bike

Pick an excuse.. any excuse :-)

Anyways.. this weekend is the Phoenix CC (my club) reliability trial.. and a summer bike will be out to play. I reckon that alone will drop about 5-6 pounds of weight that I don't have to muscle up a hill.

Feeling somewhat toasted today!