2-Person Team Time Trial Tips

With the Scarlet Fire 2-Person Team Time Trial fast approaching, I thought it would be a good time for some 2-person team time trial tips. If you're looking to register for this event, you can at True Sport. If you're still looking for a partner for the Scarlet Fire 2-Person 40K TTT, I'll have a signup sheet at both the Bong and a Half TT this Sunday, and the Harvard TT next Sunday. Hopefully, I can take this information and help assist you in finding a partner for the event, or the Wolfgang Freitag Memorial 2-Person 50k TTT in Hersher, IL on Sunday, July 8th.

Course:

As a team, you should pre-ride the course together. If time doesn't allow for that, then drive the course the morning of the event before the first rider takes off. If all else fails, the two of you better study the map before you set out.

Communication:

Both verbal and nonverbal communication is crucial to your success in the team time trial. Verbally communicate about the tempo...is it too fast...too slow? At times it might be difficult to verbally communicate because of the wind, so having a couple simple hand gestures will aid when this becomes an issue. For example: when you make a turn, your teammate might indicate the direction you'll be rotating on this stretch by moving their hand clockwise or counter clockwise. If you're the lead rider make sure you leave the necessary room for your teammate to pull through as you roll off.

Motivation:

This event can be difficult when you’re sitting on the rivets, so don't forget to let your teammate know they did a nice job pulling into the wind or grinding it out on a false flat. It's up to the two of you to get yourselves to the finish...so stay positive!

Rotation:

When rotating, don't make the trailing rider accelerate to come around you at the front. The leading rider should pull off to the left or right depending on wind direction. If you're the rider pulling through, you should do your best to maintain this speed....keep things smooth! Don't forget that your teammate just put in a serious effort at the front, so you better not gap him. 

You and your partner might want to rotate in such a manner that one rider will always lead you into and out of turns. This works really well when one of you is a better "wheel sucker" or has the ability to quickly accelerate back into the slipstream if a small gap does open up. When you consider that the Garden Prairie course has six turns (3 left and 3 right), using this tactic just might save you some serious time in the end. It would also be wise to try this at the turnaround. Allow the rider who has a smooth, constant acceleration to take the lead...similar to the start.

Evaluation:

During the event you'll have been communicating while rotating, this will have allowed you to adjust to the circumstances that have arisen. For example, one rider might have to take longer pulls while allowing your partner to take shorter pulls. Don't get caught up in having to equally share the work load. If you're the stronger rider, 30 seconds in the slipstream can help you recoup, so you can continue your one minute pulls.

Annihilation:

By the time you and your teammate are in the home stretch, I'm sure you'll both have completely turned yourselves inside out to go as fast as possible. Therefore, this isn't the time to out sprint your teammate to the line. However, it would be smart to finish side by side since the clock stops as the second rider crosses the line. To do this, you could come up alongside your teammate with about 20-30 meters before the line.

Excitation:

What's not to be excited about when you have a bakers dozen of fine Jewish pastries waiting for you when you’re done.

  

"CLICK" link for more

Two Man Time Trial Training Tips from Robbie Ventura

Once again, don't forget the scoring and categories have changed this year for the team time trial competition. Hopefully, these new categories will make things interesting.

Team Time Trial Scoring:

How many points will I earn for partipating in team time trial events in 2012?

Riders who compete in team time trial events will be awarded 15 points each towards the end of the season overall awards.  The series made this change to give riders more flexibilty in choosing a partner for these races. 

2-Person Team Time Trial Categories:

Open Categories*

Open Male, Open Female, Mixed Open, Juniors

*Open categories are for teams that are not juniors and have not reached a combined age of 69.

Male and Female Combined Age Categories

Juniors, 70-79, 80-89, 90-99, 100-109, 110-119, 120-129, 130-39, 140-149, 150+

Welcome to Bob Burke County where I live to time trial and 
time trial to live! Bizzy...it's time to drop the hammer girl!

For those of you heading North of the State Line this Sunday for the WBR Bong and a Half 30K Time Trial in Kansasville, WI....GOOD LUCK! If you haven't already registered, here's the link to do so: Bong and a Half.

Don't forget...we are all guests so act appropriately.

Don't forget to check out the Mid America Time Trial Series on facebook and Mid America Time Trial Series website.

BA

How Important is the Time Trial in a Stage Race?

Reed Oliff (Lamb Little Racing) cruising to a first place finish
in the opening  time trial at the West Michigan Stage Race.

I guess you could ask Dave "Captain America" Zabriskie or Reed Oliff that question. Reed won the opening time trial stage at the West Michigan Stage Race by 31 seconds over second place. After all three stages (TT, Crit and RR) were completed, Reed still had a 31 second margin and won the CAT 4/5 overall title with a time of 1:56:47.254. Nice job Reed! Now can we get some donuts at the next race?

For a complete listing of results you can "CLICK" West Michigan Stage Race.
BA

"DAWGS"..."BARSTOW"..."UPCOMING RACES"

A couple weeks ago I was on a group ride out of Crystal Lake. We were rolling on a country road South of Union when a lady started yelling for her dog. Next thing I saw out of the corner of my eye was a dog running up out of the ditch at the tail end of our peloton. Several of us had to swerve to get out of the dogs path. Good thing it didn't get the jump on us...we could have had some serious carbon carnage on the chip seal road. Afterwards, this got me thinking about last summer and the dog that gave chase. I guess it's story time again...

I was cruising down a stretch of country road that I've probably ridden a few hundred times. The farm on this road has a pit-bull that's been chained up every time I've ridden past. This dog never once got up or barked. It never showed any attention by my passing 50 meters away from where it was. However, on this day, the dog was running beside a young man on his dirt bike on this stretch of road. From a distance, it looked like the dog was on a leash, but as I got closer, I released the leash was a figment of my imagination. I decided to slow down a bit and move over to the right as far as I could without going off the road into the gravel. When we passed head on, the dog didn't even flinch or show any interest...or so I thought. As I proceeded to pick the pace up to get the heck down the road, I saw the dog coming up along my right side in the ditch. It then proceeded to force me to the other side of the road with some serious angle pursuit that it must have learned from Urlacher during preseason tackling drills. The dog didn't flinch when I yelled, whistled and sprayed Gatorade at it. It must not have liked the flavor? I did my best to keep the dog at bay, but it eventually got me to hit the brakes and come to a stop. I wasn't ready to go flying over the handlebars as it had its head and shoulders ahead of my front wheel. I've had that happen before as a youngster...I don't need any more stitches and road rash sucks!

Don't be fooled...this "little guy" is 
fast and packs quite the punch!

The owner came running out of the garage yelling that the dog won't bite. Where have I heard that before? Oh...a story from Professor Wynn several years back about his German Sheppard encounter that found his gluteus maximus to be quite tasty. The young man on the dirt bike zoomed up beside me and the dog. By this time, the dog was licking the salt off my right leg, and I was petting it. As the kid grabbed the dog by its collar everything was looking good, that is until I went to click in the pedal. When I raised my right leg to do so, the dog had his top two canines and incisors imbeded in the top of my thigh while the lower canines raked across the back of my leg. It felt as if a juiced up Barry Bonds took a swing at my leg. The owner and young man stood there in shock. They couldn't believe I had been bitten...are you ******* kidding me! What was the most recent time frame for the dog's shots? As the owner ran back into the house to get this information for me, I stood there trying to get both the layer of skin and subcutaneous fat that had been buried deep in the muscle tissue out. Not as easy as it sounds when blood is flowing out. The owner’s daughter was kind enough to bring out a first aid kit...not a lot you can do except to keep wiping up the blood and applying pressure. When the lady returned with papers, I was incredibly relieved to see that the dog was up to date with shots just a little over two weeks ago. Looking back now, I can't blame the dog. Who really knows what previous experiences it's had in life? However, I will blame the owner for not having the dog chained up. Did the dog think I was going to kick it when I raised my leg?

The ride back home was only 11 miles, but I was struggling to ride 15mph as my leg continued to bleed and swell. Needless to say it took forever to get back home. Yes, I probably should have put the bike between myself and dog. I'll remember that next time and pack the bazooka I bought on eBAY. As Professor Wynn had previously informed me..."all dawgs bite." Indeed they do Professor Wynn...indeed they do!

After cleaning my leg four times on the way home with the remainder of the first aid kit, I'd have to say it looks pretty damn good considering what happened.  It's a good thing I don't have skinny legs. If I did, I would  have ended up with four puncture wounds instead of two.

Yesterday on my ride through America's Dairyland a van passed by with the tags NT HAPPN. I guess that pretty much sums up last weekend and the fiasco with the staging of the Barstow 20K TT. Hopefully, the parties involved can get it ironed out and still put this race on later this summer. There just might be a rider who found his lost "Watts" this season that would like to set a new course record. I'm also sure that racers could handle a flyer that's listed a month or more in advance...that would really be nice. How about no more TBA or two dates possible? The promoters have to remember that racers need the MATTS Schedule to be set in stone before the cycling season starts, so they can plan ahead. There actually just might be more to life than cycling...marriage and family? It would also be nice to preregister for all the MATTS Races (2nd race as well) at once....preferably before the season starts. Some other "time trial series" does this, and their race attendance has definitely improved over the past two years.

Racers really need to do their part as well to help promoters continually secure these events year after year, so stop littering, swearing, arguing with residents, parking where you shouldn't, pissing and changing out in the open. These Equus asinus antics have cost the ABR some awesome venues in the past. Therefore, you need to listen to some advice from Bobke'..."don't be a ********!"

If any of you are looking for a race this weekend, WISPORT will be putting on the L’Alp BI’ Huez Time Trial (10 mile) this Saturday, May 26th at Blue Mounds State Park, WI. I did this race a few years back when I was on some "psychotic journey" to complete a hundred races in a season and weighed a bit less than I currently do. Those of you goats will appreciate the ascent to the finish. It's definitely a race worth doing...all WISPORT Races are.

These three desperadoes are looking forward to the next TT.
Robert Burns, Ben-Jamin Widoff and Mike Burns

The next MATTS event is the WBR Bong and a Half 30K Time Trial on Sunday, June 3rd, in Kansasville, WI. Here's the link to register for the Bong and a Half.

After that...MATTS will take us to the WBR Harvard 33.3K Time Trial on Sunday, June 10th, in Harvard, IL. Here's the link to register for the Harvard 33.3K.

If you are still looking for a partner for the Scarlet Fire 2-Person 40K Time Trial, I'll have a signup sheet at both the Bong and a Half and Harvard TT's. Hopefully, I can take this information and help assist you in finding a partner for the event.

UPCOMING RACES in Illinois/Wisconsin Area:

June 2nd Rib Falls Time Trial (25 mile)    

                               

June 3rd WBR Bong and a Half 30K Time Trial

                           

June 9th Fredric Lions Time Trial (26.4 mile)

                                    

June 10th WBR Harvard 33.3K Time Trial

June 16th Scarlet Fire 2-Person 40K Team Time Trial       

June 24th Team Apache IL State Championship 40K TT

Don't forget to check out the Mid America Time Trial Series on facebook. and Mid America Time Trial Series website.


The Jaminator sent me this article today, and I thought some of you "TT Freaks" would enjoy reading it.

Up The Road, Trek, From the follow car: Joe Dombrowski's Bakersfield TT

Talking with other racers while training and at events. The series doesn't seem the same when you look around and you don't see Charles Gerlach, Brian Harris, Debbie Dust and Mike Jones. I hope everything in life is going well for you guys.

BA

2012 Barstow 20K Time Trial IS NOW CANCELLED!!!

POSTPONED until further notice:

5/19-20 MATTS-ROTY Barstow 20k TT, Barstow, IL.

Please pass along to your TT friends who planned on racing this event.

Bob L.

ABR

Monrovia Time Trial Challenge, Monrovia, IN

Just thought I would take a moment to pass along some more time trial information that is part of the Indiana Race Series. For those of you looking to ride a sub-hour 40K...this is the course to do it on. Here's the link: Indiana Race Series - Monrovia Time Trial Challenge

Monrovia Time Trial Challenges 2012

Individual TT--20KM & 40 KM Distances

June 3, July 29, August 26, September 2

                                                                                                                                                    

The Monrovia time trial challenge has 2 different categories for your TT pleasure. The Individual TT will consist of either a 40-KM or 20 KM - you decide. Cash and awards prizes will be awarded in various categories.  We will rank you based on your category.  See below for award breakdown.   

What:  Challenge either yourself  in the 40 KM or 20 KM Monrovia Challenge on a fast and smooth course.  The roads are flat and ideal to hammer on. Only 146 feet of climbing for the 40 KM course! The Monrovia Challenge is open to all categories and citizen racers. Not a closed course.

Registration:  Registration will start at 6:45 a.m. Rider meeting will occur at 7:30 a.m. with the first rider going off at 7:35 a.m.  No need to pre-register.  Just come in the morning and we will assign you a time. 

Directions:  From Indy, take I-70 west to exit 59. Travel south on Rt. 39 to Monrovia. At the stop sign, turn right then take a quick left. Monrovia High School is ¼ mile on your left.

Fees/Awards/Other:  $25 to enter the 40 K with no late fee ($20 for the 20 K).  Awards for the TT Series will be given at the conclusion of the TT Series.  The Masters 60+ categories will have prizes awarded 5 deep to each age division at each time trial.  Nice restrooms available again this year and corner marshals to help with course safety. 

Be part of the prestigious Sub-Hour Club and earn the right to wear a very cool athletic fitting sub-hour t-shirt. To qualify, go under an hour for 40 KM.   Limited supply so come early and get your free t-shirt.  Once the supply is gone, the shirt costs alone is $15.00. So come early!

Overall Awards for the Monrovia 40KM and 20KM
Category		Awards
1-2		$40		$30.00		$20.00
3		$40		$30.00		$15.00
Women		$40		Award		Award
Junior		Award		Award		Award
4		$40		$30.00		$20.00
Masters 35+		$40		$30.00		$25.00
Masters 45+		$40		$30.00		$25.00
Citizens (CAT 5)		$40		$30.00		$20.00
	Masters 60+		Awards		Award		Award
20 K		$40		$30		$20

BA

2012 WBR Single Bong TT Recap

Once again the turnout this season has been impressive, there were 145 riders who took the start on Sunday. Registration was the best I had ever seen at any previous MATTS event. Maps were posted outside to inform riders of the course, preregistration and registration lines were incredibly quick and well organized...thanks Gina.

Crisp, cool winds were out of the SSE at around 12-13 mph with overcast skies. The rain that had been predicted held off and made for a great morning of racing. However, some riders might have found it to be a bit cold for their liking.

Jeff Otto (Lamb Little Racing) lit up the Bong and set the fastest time of the day stopping the clock at 24:27.010 in the process. Nobody was even close to Jeff's time. The second fastest time of the day was ridden by Michael Klapperich (LAPT) with a time of 25:53.210. Rounding out the podium  with the third fastest time of the day was Curtis Bice (Trek Midwest) who crossed the line at 25:58.560. Curtis rode a minute faster than last year...nice job Curtis! I guess those lunch hour rides are paying off.

It looks to me like somebody North of the Illinois State Line has been putting in some serious training this past off season. I've come to this conclusion because I read in the ONION that the sales of Hershey's Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in the greater Midwest area had shown a serious decline during the past to two quarters. However, here in McHenry County my donut stock has been showing steady gains. I was hoping for a Krispy Kreme sponsorship for free donuts, but it never developed...maybe next year. Reed, thanks for the effort I appreciate it.

It also looks like Momma Toftoy must have scheduled Jonathan and Andrew to work at Jimmy John's this past Sunday. They must have been working on their freaky fast delivery to the finish. I'm sure some of us will witness this speed as they go flying by at upcoming events.

Not quite sure what it is with with the tags these days, but on the way home I read W8N 4 SUN on a pair of Wisconsin tags. Shortly there after the torrential down poor began and continued for the next 15 miles...go figure. Can't wait to see what I'll read on the drive out to Barstow in two weeks.

This picture of Jeff Otto was taken last July at the Wisconsin State Time Trial held in Milton (8.5 miles Northeast of Janesville on Co HWY M) . Jeff glided over the hilly, bumpy,  tar-snake  ridden 41K course in an impressive 53:04.90 on an incredibly hot and humid day to win yet another title. This race was sponsored by KS Energy Services/Team Wisconsin who did a very nice job putting it all together...even the raffle they held afterwards was top notch! Only two things they could have changed would have been the alphabetical starting order and the two minute time gap between the categories.

The next MATTS event is the Barstow 20K Time Trial that will either be held on Saturday, May 19th or Sunday, May 20th in Barstow, IL. No link as of yet to a flyer or registration. When it becomes available, I'll get it linked to the timer running down the left side of the page.

After that...MATTS will take us back to Wisconsin for the WBR Bong and a Half 30K Time Trial on Sunday, June 3rd, in Kansasville, WI. Here's the link to register for the Bong and a Half.

Two of the nicest alter cockers that you will see at all of the MATTS events are John Krehbiel and Bob Herbert.  It's absolutely impressive what these two Midwest Masters do year after year. I can only hope that when I'm their age I'm still in love with the sport of cycling as much as they are. Kudos gentlemen.

Winners of their respective categories at the SBTT include:

10-15: Griffin Kambol (Vision Quest)

              Annaliese Kambol (Vision Quest)

16-19: Alexander Riva (RACC)

              Sarah Juang (Exergy 2012)

20-24: Dan Kalny (North Central College)           

25-29: Joseph Martin

30-34:  Michael Bucholtz (Beverly Bike / Vee Pak)

                 Blanka Mikulkova (Albertos)

35-39:  Jason Torres (Lamb Little Racing)

40-44: Brian Akers (Lamb Little Racing)

                Wendy Gaddey (Albertos)

45-49: James Kambol (Vision Quest)

                Lauren Jensen 

50-54: Dan Norbeck (Vision Quest)           

55-59: Elmer "The Destroyer" Colyer (Brones Bikes)

                Val Fugali (Vision Quest)

60-64: Bob Burke (PACT Dish Network)

                Victoria McAdams

65-69: Jim Winter (LAPT)

70-74: Bob Burns (Team Mack)

75-79:  Gerald Beam (ABD)

                  Patricia Beam (ABD)

CAT 1/2/3: Jeff Otto (Lamb Little Racing)

                          Leigh Thompson (Vision Quest)

CAT 4/5: Jack Arnolde (Northbranch)

                       Sarah Farsalas (Spokes ET)

For a complete listing of the results, as well as other ABR race results, checkout the Mid America Time Trial Series and American Bicycle Racing websites.

2012 MATTS SUB 30 20K CLUB:

Jeff Otto, Jonathan Toftoy, Andrew Toftoy, Michael Klapperich, Curtis Bice, Ryan Fay, Reed Oliff, Elmer Colyer, Chris Mosora, Bob Burke, Brian Akers, Jeff Lamay, Joe Berenyi, Nick Sabal, Henry Heisler, Jayson Torres, Jack Arnolde, Michael Bucholtz, William Barnes, Mike Burns, Vance Scott, James Uemura, James Flechsig, Ken Letkeman, David Heckelsmiller, Leigh Thompson, Lauren Jensen, Joseph Marcin, William Draper, Nels Hackl, Travis Goodlund, Robert Springer, Mike Burns, James Kambol, Michael Anderson, James Sneddon, David Woida, Jon Lafontant, Fabio Orlandi, Steve Bartram, David Sieloff, Thomas Kramer, Randy Andersen, Jim Winter, Richard Kreutzfeldt, Zbigniew Demel, Daniel Norbeck, Jerzy Trzeciak, Don Lowe, Gary Rulo, Darin Steiner, Jeff Brodek, Jeff Clarkin

Big thanks goes out to Bob Lundgren at the starting line (above),  Bill Cassidy and Carl Wilkins at timers table (below). They do an impressive job keeping everything on schedule and getting all of those times correct. Not an easy job when you consider the 30 second start between 145 riders.

UPCOMING RACES in Illinois/Wisconsin Area:

May 19th Stray Kats Barstow 20K Time Trial  

  

May 26th L’Alp BI’ Huez Time Trial (10 mile) 

     

June 2nd Rib Falls Time Trial (25 mile)    

                               

June 3rd WBR Bong and a Half 30K Time Trial

                           

June 9th Fredric Lions Time Trial (26.4 mile)

                                    

June 10th WBR Harvard 30K Time Trial

June 16th Scarlet Fire 2-Person 40K Team Time Trial                           

Can't forget to thank the Kenosha County Police Officers who always monitor corner three to perfection. They help keep it safe even when numerous riders forget that East bound 142 has oncoming traffic. Riders need to remember it's an open course.

We're a little over a month out from the Scarlet Fire 2-Person 40K Team Time Trial at Garden Prairie. If you don't have a teammate, you might want to start looking for one at the next three MATTS events. I'll look into getting a contact list together of racers who don't have a partner. Don't forget the scoring and categories have changed this year for the team time trial competition.

Team Time Trial Scoring:

How many points will I earn for partipating in team time trial events in 2012?

Riders who compete in team time trial events will be awarded 15 points each towards the end of the season overall awards.  The series made this change to give riders more flexibilty in choosing a partner for these races. 

2-Person Team Time Trial Categories:

Open Categories*

Open Male, Open Female, Mixed Open, Juniors

*Open categories are for teams that are not juniors and have not reached a combined age of 69.

Male and Female Combined Age Categories

Juniors, 70-79, 80-89, 90-99, 100-109, 110-119, 120-129, 130-39, 140-149, 150+

BA