By Philip Mooney

Photo Courtesy of iLLumix Studios
Philip Mooney tells us about the TTT

The Merco Credit Union racing weekend kicked off with an out and back 20 mile team time trial (TTT) on the rolling roads outside of Merced. Racing a TTT is not about an individual’s raw power (although that certainly helps), but rather the smooth and fluid execution of teamwork while slicing through the wind at over 30 mph. When ridden poorly, a TTT is pure agony. When ridden well, it’s a violent interval session that causes immense suffering as you pull at the front at your maximum and drop back to recover at threshold. And repeat. Again and again. As you might have guessed, it’s just the kind of race I love!

Luckily for me I got to line up with some truly talented individuals of the Yahoo! Cycling Team that really know how to ride their bikes. Tyler “T-Rex” Dibble crushed the pedals, riding through the pain of a broken rib. Ryan “The Mammoth” Parnes was on a tear and absolutely ripping it down the open road. Adam “The Enforcer” Switters was strong as always and led us over most of the hills. As a team, we worked well together to average just over 30 mph for ~40 minutes. That was good enough for 3rd place behind the powerhouse Bissell squad and the talented Cal Giant team. This was a great start to a successful weekend of racing for the Yahoo! Cycling Team.