Distance: 20.5 mi.
Time: 1:00:45
Avg. speed: 20.2 mph
July mileage total: 267 mi.
Weather (at the start): 61º, 72% humidity, wind W4
For some reason, I thought today would be a good day to do my "yardstick" TT. I had a decent day of rest yesterday and felt pretty good when I got on the bike. I made the first waypoint (Red Acre and S. Acton) in 11' 45" which is pretty good but after that, I could tell I wouldn't be breaking any records.
No reason to go into a lot of detail about the ride, I was pushing the whole time and didn't blow up or run out of gas. I simply get that "superman" feeling you do when you are in the groove and feel like you have a lot in the tank to tap into.
The result was not bad: the 2nd best time for this route so far this year. We'll see how it goes at the end of the month.
TECHNIQUE: I've been more and more aware of hip angle and it's effect on power output. Surely, when I am on the bar tops and sit back on the saddle during a climb I can generate a lot of power. When in the drops, with my hands nearer the brifters, my hips roll forward a fair amount and I can't put the same oompf into my pedal stroke.
Today, I did try moving my hands back so that the heel of each hand was just touching the bar end. This allowed me to arch my back a bit (as I pushed forward on the bars) and thus rotate my hips more vertically, getting them closer to a good power position. Like applying power all the way around the pedal stroke, this will take some time to make instinctive, but it looks promising.
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