Canadian Nats Master B Silver Medal, by Ron Amos

Ron in TT mode. click for bigger.I arrived in Devon Alberta for the Canadian National Masters Championships on Wednesday, so that I could get the plane legs unwound and have a chance to pre-ride the TT course a few times. First item of concern on the race course was the rough surface on the pavement. Apparently the townships lay down a spray on the road surface which makes the roads grippier in the winter time. Rough roads are havoc for a smooth TT ride. Much to my delight I discovered that a foot and a half of the very shoulder of the road surface was not sprayed and thus very smooth. Funny, because it looked like the same surface but when you put your wheels on it you picked up a km/h easily. Thus, the importance of pre-riding a Time Trial course. Riding on this foot and a half section of roadway required some additional concentration, especially with the cross winds pushing the bike around. (My RCMP Buddy who pulled me over in a race a few weeks back would be happy....he would have had loads of room to pass me with his SUV in this race).

Race day was a nervous affair till I started my warm-up on the bike. Once I got to the race start area and had my bike measured for conformity, I started to feel comfortable in my skin. There was almost no wind which can be blessing and a curse. A lack of wind can make a TT harder as there are less spots to recovery from hard efforts. This means you have to be careful to gradually empty the take as the course unfolds.

After a good warm-up I arrived in the start area ready to roll. I was very fortunate to be last off with a previous National Champion, William Ralph, as my minute man. I used various land marks to keep track of my progress by timing how long it took me to get to a marker after William. click for biggerThe 1^st half and for a bit of the 2^nd half, we were running pretty even. There was a deep ravine just before the turn-around that we had drop into and then climb out of. The climb was about a 2min effort with the turn-around 800m after the top of the climb. Then we dropped back into the ravine and climbed back out followed by a 4km false flat climb. I believe this ravine played a huge part in how well you did or did not do in the race. I chose to ride the climbs conservatively and then really lay down the effort all the way to the finish line. I turned myself inside out over the last 5km, pushing myself to new undiscovered limits. I crossed the finish line concerned that my heart was going to burst out of my chest.

I spent the past Winter and this Spring training really hard under the guidance of my coach Glen Rendall with the goal of getting on the Podium this year at the Canadian Nationals. Success!  I am very thankful to have a patient and understanding wife who encourages me to be the best I can be. I would like to thank my many friends who have been behind me pumping me up. And a big shout out for my Coach Glen Rendall who provided me with a winning training plan.

Ron Amos

Comments

[Sophie Matte]

Congratulations Ron - it's great to see that all your hard work has paid off! Thanks for the report.

[chris mullington]

Nice work Ronnie - and thanks for the report. You should thank that RCMP officer for helping you taper!