It was last winter when the seeds of entering The Texas Time Trials was first planted in my head. All winter long, my most frequent riding companion was Mark Metcalfe, on the Joe Pool dam. He was recovering from his late spring crash, and therefore spent the winter riding at speeds I could usually keep up with. We talked about a lot of things, but of course his long distance riding was a frequent topic. He told me I should enter an event in the next TTTT, but I hadn't even done a century, and felt my best in even the shortest TTTT event would be too embarressing to be posted for the world to see. He said that a four man team for the 500 mile race gave you over a day to ride 120 miles, that there had never even been a four man recumbent team in TTTT, and that I should think about putting a four man team together.
 
When I mentioned it to Paul, he sounded reluctant, even though GDB folks had bugged him about doing something at TTTT last year. I only later found out that he just wasn't going to consider it until he test rode the course, and was sure his lap times would be at least close to what other riders had averaged. When I asked Steve about joining the team, he also expressed concern that he wasn't fast enough for something like this. I pointed out to him that I had ridden with him a little and he seemed fast to me, that we were all amateurs and none of us other than Greg on the TiCa were likely to post any times that looked like anything resembling pro times, and that no one was going to judge him too harshly if he was willing to come out and try (of course, both Paul and Steve ended up smoking the course).
 
Looking back, we were pretty clueless about so much of what was coming. We had picked up tidbits here and there, questioning people who had done it, like Nelson and Ray, but we still barely had an inkling of what we were getting into. Brenda had just recently mentioned to Paul that having two riders alternate for two laps during the night, while the other two took a longer break, was the best way to get a little sleep during the event. It also occurred to me that some kind of hint about what time a rider's next lap would start would help, so just two days before the race, I wrote out a tentative schedule, with night breaks like Brenda had brought up, and passed out copies the night before the race. We ended up doing WAY better than the schedule, but at least it gave us starting times to adjust from.
 
At first, I had Greg pencilled in as the first rider to start, since he was sure to be the fastest on his new TiCa. Eventually, it occurred to me that Paul as the first rider would make more sense, because the crazy beginning mass start would be in the dark, an awfully tough challenge for Greg on the lowracer, and because the first rider has to do a 7th lap, 20 miles more than anyone else, and Paul's endurance had looked better than any of us this year. While Greg and I were trashed at the end of HHH, Paul seemed in great form at the end, and with ample breaks, had maintained a 20 mph average for the 100 miles.
 
Focusing on the training and riding, you also have no clue about how much work will be involved with crewing an event like this. Ray's saving us space at the start/finish, and Paul bringing a canopy for there, worked very well. Rose was less than enthusiastic about even going, and sitting around while the other riders and I alternated riding for close to 30 hours. She took her own car so she could make a trip or two home for sleep and tending to home matters. Once the race started, though, there was no way she was leaving. The crew work done by Rose, Terrie, Peggy, and Alexis were far more necessary and important than I had ever thought of, and Rose's masseuse work on my legs were a big part of my being able to finish my laps.
 
Neither riders nor crew got much sleep. I've never known anyone else who can fall asleep on cue any better than me, yet when I finally got time to lie down, even in my exhausted state, it took 10 minutes for me to fall asleep, and the 2 hours and 20 minutes of sleep I got was more than any other team rider, and some of the crew.
 
Continued in the next post.....

Great write-up, and so true.  There were a million things I hadn't even considered, and without Terrie and Rose and everyone doing what they could wen they could, we'd have failed miserably.
 
We'll only get stronger, and with you as our Captain, we'll be the Fing bents again next year!

I just got chills reading Bud's write up.  Everything stated is so very true.  
 
From a relative outsider, you 4 obviously had the right chemistry, and not just from a physical perspective, but from an emotional perspective as well.  Your team really raised a lot of heads.  Please be proud of your accomplishments, and your abilities.  Debrief your performance, work on your perceived weaknesses, and just fathom what you could achieve next year.  I certainly know that you 4 are capable of a sub 25 hour time.  Simply awesome job....
 
The only thing I may differ with Bud on is that I can't wait until next year.  As Steve and Peggy know, Nelson and I already  discussed recruiting Peggy to compete on a 4 person, mixed team.  We only need to add a 4th performance recumbent rider.
 
I recorded my results on my GPS.  Without boring you with the details, I rode 50% on my DF and 50% on my bent.  Even though I had severe cramping on one of my bent laps, my avg. lap times were several  minutes faster on the bent.  On my DF, my fastest max speed was 32.8, while it was 43.7 on the bent.  A whopping 10mph faster.  Wow!  I'll be 100% bent next year!
 
I sincerely look forward to riding with you all again soon.  If you'll take me into your fold, please include me (and Nelson) in any future rides.  
 
I'm a richer human being for riding and humanizing with you (Peggy, Steve, Greg, Bud, Paul and Nelson)

I hardly know what to say.  You guys (and gal) are awesome!

*lol*  I think peggy would make a great mixed addition.  She certainly will have the stamina and the saddle time by then.
 
That's some interesting data, ray.  I certainly hope to get more organized in that regard this next year, since I've done everything on feel and no data other than MPH gain or loss on the Texas Wheels test loop.
 
I *can* say that that particular loop is the only reason I was competitive.  Without training for hills and rollers, it would have been much more difficult.  The Tues/Thurs route is a great practice run for the Time Trials.  Bud and I have discussed doing a lot of winter Saturday rides going over that route.
 
I'm also interested in doing Ray's route again soon, since that was also a good training ride.

I wouldn't want to say Rose and I were tired when we arrived home Saturday, but Sunday morning, I realized that I had left my wallet in her car, and she immediately realized she'd left her billfold in my truck....
 
The folks at the Fort Worth Bicycles Inc were nice enough to exchange the size Large jersey I won for an XL, so I have a nice new jersey that fits. It's not too often that a new jersey with a $89.99 price tag on it finds a home in my closet.
 
I climbed back on a bike today, doing 22.7 miles on the Nimbus on the Joe Pool dam, and was quite satisfied with the 12 mph pace Rose was setting.

I was happy to serve as a volunteer for TTTT2007 on Thursday Evening.  I worked mostly as a time-keeper and a goof-ball.  We received a really cool package of goodies including a $15 polar insulated water bottle with the TTTT logo on the foil.  I was up all Thursday night and was able to witness the Reclining Flyers start on Friday Morning at 6AM.   While waiting for the mass-start, one of the old-time crusty volunteers got on Pauls case about not having a light on his bike.  Cool-Hand-Paul at commando speed whipped out his back-up light and tied it on his handlebars.  
The riders where required to yell out their ride numbers as they passed buy the time station.  It was funny to watch them look around their bicycles to see what their number was.  Especially John S. who had his number on back on his seat pack.  
 
Here is a lame video shot of Greg handing off to Steve:
http://mroverdressed.com/media/tttt2007/gregshandoff.avi
 
 It is very exciting to participate in such a event even as a volunteer.    
Terry