race of truth

I have ridden the race of truth and it has shown me to be a liar.

Riding a time trial, be it a real one in competition or one on your own will reveal more about your abilities and power on a bicycle than almost anything else. Riding in a peleton, you can hide, wheel suck, and not put out as much effort as those around you. The same is true in a break away. Bursts of power are shorter and more intense, with time to recover. Work is shared.

Not so with the time trial. It is called the race of truth for a reason.

I don't race. I do like to ride all the time and do like to go fast. But I don't race.

Most of my riding is solo, or with friends, some of who are stronger than me, some not so much. I find that solo efforts are harder mentally and, since I like to push myself, at least on the surface resemble time trials. It is harder when riding solo to push right up to the red zone and hold it there for a long period of time. Give me someone to chase though, and I go faster. I will bury myself trying to catch another cyclist on the horizon. Catching them does not matter, but the effort of burying myself does to me. Blowing up on a chase is just an excuse to recover and go again.

What I need to develop is that mental ability which allows almost red zone effort without the lure. I need to break free from the racing greyhound charging after a mechanical lure mentality.

It is time to stop being a liar in the race of truth.