why I am not (or never could have been) a professional bicycle racer

I can't remember if it was online or in the print edition of VeloNews, but I was recently reading about Saul Raisin, his return to health, and something about his return to form.

On form, Raisin recently reported that he pulled off 30 minutes of riding at an average of 400 watts; averaging 415 for 15 minutes.

I can't do that. Not even close.

My 30 minute TT power average is probably around 325 watts, give or take a few. Imagine training hard for a season and realizing a solid five percent increase in power output over a 30 minute TT. That would be a considerable improvement. But that considerable improvement would only raise my 30 minute TT output to around 341 watts, still a long, long way off Raisin's mark.

Crazy strong.

And he probably weighs 30-40 lbs less than me too.

That's why I am not (or never could have been) a professional bicycle racer.