The Bike

Sub 4 minutes for T1 was fairly slick compared to Austria. Each competitor had an assistant who'd empty your bag and pass you your socks and shoes etc. I chose to race in my trisuit so there was a bit of a saving there not having to join the fellow naked men and women that opted for cycling shorts.

The Bike

I located my bike as planned and headed out onto the bridge, I started my Garmin and quickly pressed the screen to display the time.. 08:14! In the panic to get pedalling it took a second or two to compute what that actually meant. I was quite disappointed initially as I'd bargained on a one hour swim and a 5 minute transition so I'd hoped to see 08:05 on my watch not 08:14! over 9 minutes behind schedule!
But, err hang on a minute! (an hour in the horizontal position and my brain was a little scrambled) I started at 07:10 that means it's actually 1 hr and 4 mins, not 1hr 14 mins, now that sounds a lot better.
This was a great boost, despite not timing my swim I knew I must have swum under the hour mark. I estimated I was a good 7 minutes ahead of my Austria time already. Now to enjoy these reputed fast roads.
I started off well and the gradual descent into town saw me pootling along at 28 mph. The streets were awash with spectators, the whole town was out lending their support with cowbells, marracas, whistles even an old wind-up air raid siren. You couldn't help smile as you took in the sights whilst continually passing a constant train of cyclists.
 

20 miles in and I'd still got an average of over 25 mph. I'd also got a German and an Austrian for company. Robert, the Austrian had great bike skills or maybe just local knowledge of the roads. I'd pass him on the flat and thought that I'd dropped him but everytime the course became technical, downhill or a bend he'd whip past whilst I was being overly cautious on the brakes.
Michael the German would find it hilarious to keep re-introducing himself with a 'Hiya Steve' everytime we encountered an uphill. I obviously had to repay in kind with a 'Hey-up Michael' on the descents.
Now, although playing these games with my two new buddies did help pass the time, after 40 miles it did start to dawn on me that I wasn't sticking to the game plan. This show of machismo to find out which nation had the stronger biker from the three had seen me riding a little above my Ironman comfort zone! The result being,.. I was buggered! I'd already lost(dropped) contact with Robert (although he'd reappear throughout the day in several guises) but Michael was about to say 'Hello again Steve', for the very last time. The next big hill was long enough for him to put a wide enough gap between us that I wasn't prepared to pull back. Boy, that guy could climb.
One of the reasons for me choosing Roth for an Ironman is the obvious fast bike course that people seem to rave on about. Now that still stands, it is fast but I never expected it to be so tough! For some reason I thought fast would mean flat and easy! Well it bloody isn't!
As the halfway point neared my average was drastically dwindling. The 24+mph was heading nearer the 23 mph mark and I still had another 50 odd mile to go. There was a lot of sighing at this pont and I was beginning to fear the worst. Again I hit the faster section of the course and raised the average a little but nothing like the cushion I had on the first lap. All of a sudden I was starting to get passed and I couldn't respond. Not that I needed to particularly but it just reiterated that I was waning.
I think I was experiencing the 'no-mans land' stage (a phrase I've made up) , about 70 miles in but still with another 2 hours of hard riding to go. It isn't a nice thought!
It wasn't all bad. The positives were that my nutrition was going well. I would eat anything I could grab at the aid stations, bananas, energy bars etc. This was complimented with my own flapjack which was as dry as Ghandi's flip flop and a peanut butter and ham tortilla wrap that Angie had made me. Jelly beans were a treat but slowly became a bit too sickly.

 
Another positve and the highlight of the ride is the famed Sollarberg. This, I think is a hill, well it must be as you're told by the DJ to get into your bottom ring. The thing is you don't really realise it's a hill because you're absolutely awe struck to the amount of people cheering you up. The crowds are like 10 thick at the bottom and this slowly tapers out as you climb through a thin channel left by the mentalists. They love it, and you really do get that Tour-de France feeling. Angie and the girls cheered me both times up there and on both occasions I couldn't make them out from the locals and I didn't realise they were there. You can get stuck here though, I lost what seemed like an age as the funneling at the bottom on both occasions left me behind two of the slowest hill climbers in the race, I think the female rider was just enjoying the limelight and thanking everybody, ok, I maybe being a little unfair.
With Sollar about to be done for the second time my concentration was interuptted with a 'Hello Steve, we go the same speed', it was Austrian Robert who I thought I'd dropped some 50 miles earlier. He looked strong!
My average had fallen below 23 mph by now and I still had another 15 of the tougher miles left. I must say I was out of the 'No-mans land' stage by now and about to enter the 'Light at the end of the tunnel' phase. For me, I do find myself drifting in and out of these phases during a long event especially in an Ironman. I had similar feelings in the swim and was about to get them in the run too.
Finally the miles counted up to just over 111 miles. I didn't start my Garmin immediately so I guess it was a pretty accurate course regards mileage wise.
Now this was a nice touch,…. as you rode into T2 you were greeted by a volunteer who took your bike off you to rack up, I would then continue to run to the Transition tent (whilst moaning about my legs) where I was handed my Run bag, very efficient!
My time showed 4 hrs 54 minutes (about 22.7 mph). I was 6 minutes under my approximate bike time so I was pleased with that but have to concede I did find it tougher than expected. Fast didn't mean easy!
With the 7 mins gained from the swim & T1 and now a further 6 minutes from the bike a fast T2 would see me 18 minutes up on my Austria time. The run, the discipline that I'd made the biggest improvements on was still to come! Things were looking very good if it wasn't for one thing,……... THE SUN!