Rollin' the Rapids

Today was the Rollin' the Rapids Roller Race held at Gold Pointe Fitness Center in Cedar Rapids.  Having never done a roller race before I wasn't sure what to expect.  The setup is Kreitler Rollers with a Killer Headwind unit attatched for some major resistance, and you race for 2 miles just like a Time Trial.  At our training ride the other night I did try doing it on the exact setup and had a time of just under 7 minutes.  

Got there shortly after registration opened, found a spot to setup my rollers so I could warmup, and got signed in.  Was 15th on the list to ride, so I had sometime to hangout, talk with some of the other guys and watch the other races.   There was a good turnout from the HBA Team, with Jason up first, he set a good time of just over 7 minutes due to having to stop because his front tire hit the one belt and it came off and had to be reset.  Next up was Vern, and he put down a personal best of just over 7 minutes.  Ian was up shortly after and threw down an impressive sub 6 minute ride.

I was up next, and the guy I was next to is the current state record holder for fastest time, so I knew I had no chance of keeping up with him.  We got the signal to start, and I went out a little to hard at first and had to tone it back some.  It does show your estimated time on the computer screen, so I was trying to get a check of that every once in a while, and saw it kinda hovering around the 6:45 mark.  When I did the ride the other night I was on my wheels with a 12-25 cassette so I was able to use the big ring, well today I had my other wheels with an 11-23 on it, and used the big ring, but looking back I should have been in my little ring and used a gear that if I needed to change it would only be a 1 tooth difference, not a 2 tooth one, so now I know for next time.  One mile into it and I was really feeling it, and had to try and settle in for another mile of suffering.  Got to about .2 left and gave it all I had, and posted a time of 6:43.00.  Which was good enough for a second place in the Cat 4's.

Chris was up about an hour later and put down an impressive run with a time of 6:15.9.  Also Tom the newest member to HBA did just a shade over 6 minutes.

Rollin' the Rapids