San Dimas TT

The San Dimas TT consists of a completely steady 3.8 mile hill, almost perfect for a 105 pound rider who can't really TT besides if its uphill.

After preriding the course on Thursday, I was feeling good coming into the first stage of what would be my first ever stage race. I got to the race really early because my dad was racing before I even needed to be awake, so I got to see what the fast times were for the first riders off, which gave me a reference on how long I would have to suffer. After warming up and hurrying over to the start house so I could roll out which turned out to be unnecessary anyway, I hear Dave Towle start to talk about how much of an amazing program Team Specialized is, informing everyone that doesn't already know Larry about how much of an amazing guy Larry is. But when I roll up to get my hold I tune out Dave, and everything else, so I can focus on the suffering I was about to endure, going through what I remember from recon and what my dad told from his TT. I watch as the official silently counts down and sends me off. A short acceleration as I get up to speed and then down into the saddle to start the next 16:08 of pain. As I ride up the climb I try to keep my mind clear so I can focus on holding my power output steady. Sooner than I thought I arrived at the 1km to go sign that told  me to start ramping it up with whatever I had left, which wasn't much. I see Larry who shouts encouragement and tells me there is 200 m to go, 200 m in which I had nothing to sprint with and felt like at any second I was about to fall off my bike. As I cross the finish line so tired that I forgot to hit the lap button on my Garmin, I sound like a vacuum with a cat stuck in it and learn that I was 14 seconds away from catching my minute man. I felt confident that I gave everything I had, and headed down the hill to get recover for what was a brutal 2nd stage.
Jason Saltzman