Adam gets pedals and seventh place

   Saturday after junior practice, Adam got a new set of clipless pedals at a very nice club discount at the bike store that sponsors the cycling club. They are Shimano 105s, pretty light and very slim, so he can corner steeply while still pedaling. During practice, one of the coaches remarked that while Adam is still learning to ride closely behind another rider’s wheel, he is very strong breaking through the wind by himself. “He would be great in a time trial,” coach said.
   Sunday’s training race found Adam competing against 10 other riders, what a great turnout for a nice day. It was warm(about 80 F) and slightly breezy. For the time trial, Adam rode a 3:55sec, 20 seconds better than last week. This still put him in the first group(biggest headstart) for the race, but he felt really confident and comfortable. The race this week was 5 laps, but they were caught after 3 by both the third group(fastest) and then a little later by the second group(second fastest). Adam then elected to leave his group and chase the first two all alone, and was rewarded with 7th place, highest from his group. Sure enough, Adam was riding by himself between the second and third groups when he crossed the finish line.
   Adam says “I should have broken off from my group when we got passed by the first group. I probably could have ended up in third or fourth if I’d done that. The pedals are excellent because with the biking shoes, my foot feels like a giant pedal.”