Summer Solstice Stage 3: Time Trial

Stage 3

I've always liked time trials. There's something to be said for not being able to use any tactics on the bike. In time trials, the only tactics that apply are to keep the rubber side down, and go fast. No one to draft off of, no one to run into in a pack sprint to the line, just you and the bike.

It's also an event where your equipment matters. A lot. Aerodynamics are everything in a time trial, and since you're not likely to crash into anyone during the race, all sorts of fun new toys are legal: super-deep section wheels, disc back wheels, and aerobars all grace the various bikes specifically designed for time trials.

Unfortunately, the only TT specific equipment I have are a set of removeable aerobars for my regular bike. So I pulled those out, installed them after a very nice nap following lunch, and headed down towards Wilmington once more. This time the family decided to join me, and brought a picnic dinner along with them.

The start/finish line for the TT was the same as for the stage that morning, though the course ran in the opposite direction. Like Friday's route, this one was flat as a pancake, and only ran for seven miles, and had a downhill with a tailwind going out of the start and coming back into the finish. They even had someone holding riders at the start line so you could start with both pedals clipped in.

As I said before, time trials have always been something of a specialty for me, so I expected to do well in this one. And I did, right up until I hit the backstretch. The whole thing was directly into what had been a tailwind on the way out. My average speed had been 28mph going into turn two, and it quickly dropped to around 23, when my current speed started reading 20. Ouch. I pushed through as hard and as fast as I could, and turned back onto the finishing road where I quickly took advantage of the tailwind and the downhill, slight though it was. My finishing time was a 17:30 for seven miles, almost exactly 24 mph. This got me third place in the time trial (behind one of the Buckeye Cycling riders and the aforementioned Mike Abney), and landed me in second place overall, 25 seconds back of first.

EDIT: The correct standings, as reported at Ohio Valley Racing actually had me in fourth place for the TT. My time and overall standing were correct, however.

After the race my girlfriend and I headed over to Young's Jersey Dairy to get me some much needed calories. Their strawberry ice cream is probably my favorite in the world. Fortunately the Cat 5s had a 12:30 start on Sunday. Home again for some much needed ibuprofen and rest.