To set the stage - this was a fairly hardcore group of racers, and it was intimidating being in the lineup. First, there were many Cat ranked riders there, including several members of the colavita team, RBM and Plano Cycling teams, etc. Second, everyone kept telling me to put my number on my back like I was some kind of newbie - which I was, but I *DID* put the number where they could see it!
Just my being there created a bit of a buzz, and all the people I passed on the course were appreciative of my speed - which I don't think was very much.
First the results: I finished first (out of 1 riders in my category)
I got a sweet sweet medal to display. Now the real results: Had I been allowed into the men's open category, I would have finished 19th out of 42 men's riders. For my first ever TT, I'll take it. Total time was 32.19 for the 20k. Can anyone give me the formula for computing MPH average from that?
Here's a routesslip of the course so you can see the elevation. It was all up and down - there were no flats at all.
http://www.routeslip.com/routes/27618. Not what you would consider the optimal course for recumbents. Not to mention the hardcore chipseal, which negates alarge part of my potential speed - especially on the downhills.
Cheers and Jeers:
Cheers:
1. Having a recumbent category. There is little racing open to bents in an organized format, and there should be. Very accepting and visionary to allow bents and tandems at the TT. Hopefully others will follow suit as the words that bents can be fast gets out.
2. Facilities were great - I appreciate bathrooms and an air-conditioned building!
3. Friendly people volunteering and running the event - very easy to deal with.
4. Goodie bags and fruit/liquid. I hadn't expected these and they were a nice bonus.
5. Cleanest course I've ever seen. Not even a hint of gravel.
6. The flaggers who stopped traffic at the turnaround and the side roads. Thanks for keeping us safer.
Jeers:
1. The police officer that pulled me over while I was warming up was a nutter. He tells me that bikes are illegal off the shoulder, and makes up all these bizarre road rules that honestly don't exist. . I didn't argue - I stayed on the shoulder the whole race, which had the worst chipseal known to man. Meanwhile, the two guys that passed me during the race never touched the shoulder and rode the smooth road the entire time. I could have broken the 30 minute mark had I disobeyed THE MAN. I ride with a mirror and am fully capable of pulling off the road for a car. This same officer blared his siren at me during the race as well, when I was on the white line trying to avoid what I thought was an object in the road. Unprofessional and scared me to death. Not to mentioned getting pulled over by a cop unnerves you.
2. The start time. I can deal with late no problem, but the official rules said no bikes on the course after 8:45. An announcement of a late start would have been nice so that I could have stayed warm after recovering from the shock the police gave me.
3. Have a flyer of info for start/stop positions. People had made it seem like we were starting uphil instead of on the flat and on a turn. with my style bike that can make a big difference in choosing how I start. And the fact that the volunteers at the start had no clue where exactly the start/finish was, was just annoying.
4. This will sound like sour grapes but isn't - the awards. The website said recumbent/juniors, and tandems would get medals and ribbons only. Then at the awards you gave prizes to the juniors and I think the tandem as well, but nothing to the recumbent category. Instead items were given away as door prizes - several of whom had already received awards. Again, not trying to sound like sour grapes, because this was my least nitpick, but you said at the awards you wanted suggestions on how to make everything go smoothly next time.
5. Last, Big jeers to myself. i could have done a lot better at this event, and should have. Hadn't ridden a bike in 3 weeks, got 4 hours of sleep MAYBE, and was inadequately hydrated - most of which I could have avoided. I didn't ride as hard or efficiently as I could have. I should hever have been passed, period. Not when the guys behind me started at least 30 seconds after I did.
I would love to come back to the Time Trial, but I'd dearly love the shoulder/road situation sorted out. It was quite disheartening to endure the bumps in the chipseal when getting blown away by guys riding on the road.
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Horse Country Time Trial (Read 5682 times)
