I hadn't even thought of doing the Dallas Senior Games until my good friend Dennis Cook called me on Tuesday and said he was coming up to DFW for the race.  I said to myself "I can do this".  So with zero Individual TT work this year, I did pretty well.  I brought home 2 gold medals yesterday, in the 5k and 10k Individual TT.  Avg speed for both events was 22mph.  I was hoping for speeds closer to 25mph, but (I assume) because of the extreme heat, and with an avg HR of 172 and peaks over 200, I had to back off on the speed to control my HR
 
LESSON LEARNED...
 
A full on, 100% effort in extreme heat takes a tremendous toll on the body, even a paltry 5k, and 10k ITT.  I was standing by our SUV after the 10k ITT, and thought I was going to faint.  I had to lay on my back for a while.  
 
Next year, those over 50 years old by 12-31-10 need to consider this event.  Competition ranges from ex-pros to average senior cyclists.

Ray:  Congrats on the accomplishments.  How do you get your HR to 200?  I only rarely see 170 and I'm not THAT much older than you!

Quote from bikerteam on Jun 28^th, 2009, 3:44pm:

Congrats on the ride and surviving the heat in that time trial! Did they let you ride the X-Stream and did you get much attention if they did?
 
Soo 12/31.. I guess I got 15 or is it 16 years? I can never figure that out.  I might be able to do 22 by then if it is a nice cool day  

Bud - the organizers did a very good job.  There were at least 10 volunteers taking care of registration as well as the riders.  Even though it's not USCF, there were 3 USCF officials starting each TT racer.  1 held the bikes, and two were starting/timing.  Other volunteers were out offering food and drinks.  They even catered Subway (a Bud favorite).  
 
I rode the Ti Aero because I have a Renn Madeira disk and Zipp 404 front.  It's a nine speed, so it won't fit the Xstream.  
 
This was my first year, and I'll definately be back.  Even the mechanic from RBM wanted to talk bents with me.  If I had planned and trained for short distance TT, I could have performed better.  So I've got a goal for next year. Train months in advance, and attempt to increase avg. speed by 2-3 mph.  A 25 mph average would quality for state, and possibly "nationals".  
 
Regarding heart rate.  I did the 5k TT first, and had about 45 mnutes before the 10k.  I couldn't get my heart rate under 122 between races.  And I was dizzy, so much so that I was afraid if I walked around I'd faint.  So I rested for 30 minutes before I staged for the 10k.  I felt great once I started cranking the pedals, but after the 10k, I felt real dizzy again.  Took a long cold shower at TMS, drank lots of hydration fluids (before, during and after the races).  It must have been the combination of heat and extreme intensity.
 
Peggy, Angie and I rode a 40 miler with the Flower Mound "Texas Flyers" today.  Conversation pace for the most part (except for my sprints), I had an avg. HR of 129.  I felt great afterwards.  
 

Quote from bikerteam on Jun 28^th, 2009, 3:44pm:

Congrats! How did you talk them into letting a 'bent enter? Most Senior Games apparently don't allow 'bents.

Quote from goatstick on Jul 2^nd, 2009, 11:10am:

 
I just asked if I could race with the DF riders, and they said no, but they would create a separate category.  What led you to believe that most senior games don't allow bents?  I overheard someone at the event say that bents weren't allowed at the state finals.  

Quote from Killer Bee on Jul 2^nd, 2009, 7:38pm:

 
The Senior Games are held in accordance with USCF rules, which usually follow the UCI rules. UCI bans recumbents. Different states interpret this differently, and when I asked a couple of years ago, they said in the SA area they were not allowed. Sounds like maybe the DFW games have more enlightened people running them?
 
http://www.helsinki.fi/~tlinden/winforb.html
...
1996 Update.
 
The USCF has for all practical purposes "continued" the ban on recumbents in the U.S. bicycle races they sanction, although more sympathetic? commissioners will persuasively argue that recumbents aren't "truly" banned.  
...
 
The UMCA is the only one that allows 'bents to compete directly against df bikes.
 
Do a little search on this issue... Should be very enlightening.