SA Time trial champs, first time, new experience, new rules and new people. Thinking I can just pack up my tri suit and my bike and arrive at the start line to ride a measly 24km. Boy was I wrong! The day before the race we go to register and they ask me for my licence, and I proudly give them my drivers licence. They look at me and say no, we need the your cycling licence. Fail #1. Then I proudly present my Pinnarello Bolide to the official and he says ' you can not ride this. I either have to move my saddle back 5cm or move my extensions back 2cm. After much debating, pushing and pulling, one genius Mcgyver fixed my bike, moved my extensions back and fitted into the 75cm range. Fail # 2. I arrive at the race on race day to warm up. Set up the trainer, ready to go, warmup all goes well
and now I am ready torace. I zip up my beautiful pink tri suit, thinking I look like the bomb, walk to the start box where the same official says to me "you cant ride like that". To which I Innocently replied "why not?'. He replied "I can see your shoulders". (I wanted to say .. DONT LOOK!) He said that I have to find something to cover my shoulders or I cannot race. PANIC !! Some generous lady whom I had never met ran around all over to find me a cycling jersey, to put on underneath my skin tight tri suit. SQUEEZE!! Fail # 3 . By now I am in tears and my nerves are frazzled, my resting heart rate was 120bpm which should have been 60bpm. I walk up into the race start box wanting to vomit and cry at the same time thinking ...REALLY ??? Why am i doing this?. I get onto my bike with the same official now holding me and all I can see are the sides of the ramp that I must not ride over. They count me down 5,4,3,2,1 and let me go. Oops - I should have checked my gears, I couldn't turn my pedals!!!!! After some bobbing and weaving and nearly riding over the side of the ramp, I look up and see my friends videoing this drama ....I am finally on my way. Fail # 4 I hit the tar get my momentum and was in my happy place. Now I could just ride my bike. The course was tough starting with 12km's of undulating climbing during which I managed to catch two girls that started ahead of me. That was good motivation to push hard, took the right turn on the undulating flatter section and saw no-one ahead of me. This is where my mind started to play games, wanting to back off the intensity just a little but knowing the girls were trying to chase me down. I had to keep the power up and keep pushing. From the 14km mark the race is quite fast and fun to ride, my adrenalin was pumping and I was loving my life. That all ended with 2km's to go with a long uphill drag where every part of my body, heart, lungs, legs and head were screaming at me to stop, I knew I was moments away from finishing this race. I gave everything I had on that climb and was so relieved a couple of Minutes later to cross the line. It was hard but exhilirating, something completely different to anything I have done before, but I absolutely loved it. Quite happy with my effort I go to the officials to ask them my time and position where they inform me that they have a glitch with the system and cannot find my time. Fail # 5. Panic .... Eventually after about 2 hours of waiting around they had sorted out the system and we went off to prize giving. The first time at a SA Time Trial champs prize giving, it was quite exciting to be on the top step and the officials stood on stage with me, gave me my SA Champs jersey and said "now we will cover your shoulders for you". Next time I promise I will read the race bible before rocking up ready to play! I finished 43.05 . Gold . SA Champ. Very excited with my results and cant wait to do it again.
2 Comments
Hayley Browne
2/11/2016 10:07:54 pm
Way to go Jodi!
Reply
Alex
2/29/2016 10:15:47 pm
awesome JoJo! now that's what i call 100% JZ.
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