Originally Posted by sarals

Chuck, put away the Seven Reasons Why I Suck list and focus on the positive. You did pretty darned well, and left it out there, in a stage race in tough conditions. AFTER having a tough week at work! You finished all the events, and your TT was on the mark. Eight seconds? Outstanding! The crit? Don't lead out, I know it's tempting, but when you're all ready fatigued, sit on a wheel, stay out of the wind, stay attached, don't contest primes, and save it for the end. You learned a lot in this one, buddy, and you did really well. Don't beat yourself up. You pinned on a number and went for it. That says a lot.

Originally Posted by MDcatV

@revchuck, sounds like a tough race with temperature conditions, and when it's a small field, it's even harder because it's like riding in a break all day without breakaway mentality (i.e. we should collaborate for a while before we start working against each other).

I've done the "I should have sprinted to get back on instead of what I did," i.e. i should have dug deeper thing, but if I sit down and really consider it, with very few exceptions I was out of shovel, there was no more digging to do.

Originally Posted by Cleave

@revchuck, you were there at the end of a 3-event stage race. That counts a lot for your first full season of bike racing. BTW, the snickering things happens to me a lot. I'll go to the front to try to close a gap to a break and the break's teammates just sit on my wheel and think things that I don't want to think about.

Originally Posted by Racer Ex

MD and Chuck, just had time to read your write ups. Been a tad busy here

MD, you were spot on riding your own race. TT's are all about pacing and discipline, and are like long climbs. When someone passes you, in most cases it's best to ignore them. As often as not they are going too hard and end up going kaboom. It's like following someone through a forest only to realize that neither one of you have any idea where you are going.

Good job. Going 57 in your 2nd 40k is very respectable, and yep, getting aero is the zen path to happiness. Lots of little things accumulate. When/if you start playing with position make sure you don't knock out the endurance, some changes bring the world to an end after 20k. Been there, done that.

Chuck, sounded like a tough go. Heat, a week of standing at work, a long Friday...yep, that's exactly how I would have had you prepare.
Fortunately it's a dry heat down there

Future reference I know guys that run 55/11 for that TT. There's a lot of time to be had on that downhill. No reason to have a 12 on a TT rig, especially in hurricane country. Clean it up, and when no one is looking at the shop swap it out for a new 11/23. Then send your old cassette back to QBP with a nasty note about how one of their people apparently swapped their old cassette for the new one. It's the bike industry. It's expected.

And it's ok to be on the front in a crit...for a little bit. Like 15 seconds. Especially in a small field. Especially on a prime lap. Prime laps are like hanging out at a biker bar at 1AM when there's a really loud argument coming from the pool room. You gotta be prepared for the brawl that's coming. And it's coming.

Big picture? You rode the TT to your target wattage, you finished all three events in a fry cooker (much respect), and you have a lot of reference points for next year.

Congrats all.