5%

When I was driving up to Leroy tonight, I was thinking that I should be able to come up with 5% more effort and get a time in the 19's. Why not? 5% extra is easy to find in day to day life, so it should be possible on a bike. Just try a little harder!

Even though I started with the intention of going 5% faster, I followed my normal routine. I eased into the effort over the first half mile or so.

By the time I got to the trees at the edge of the field, I was putting out a consistent 350-400W, but the wind was making it a slow roll. It was a long ride to the corner, and I swung through at only 23 mph, but made an efficient turn and kept all my speed onto the hill.

I had my best effort up the hill in a long time. I had the throttle to the floor up to the flat. I was a little winded there, as usual, but sprinted up the steep section.

I paid for my effort up the hill on the return leg. I saw the 2 miles to go marker slide by but didn't really get on top of it until about 1.5 miles to go and made a strong effort all the way to the line and finished deep in oxygen debt. It was an all out effort, but a 5% improvement is a big ask.

I finished with a 20:32, which was faster than my last outing, but only by 1%, and still off my season best of 19:58.