Road Cycling - First TT Today! and Q's

I'm still amping off doing my first Time Trial today and that was early this morning.
Up at 3:30am to get out there in time didn't bother me so much.
Not having all the right gear didn't bother me (but need some help there from you all)
Being held up and released at the starting line was a thrill (oh friendly :D)
The headwind for the first half did bother me, felt like I was riding a lead bike.
but it was only 20k and the tail wind whipped me back in style.
I don't have my results yet but I'll post em and pictures as soon as I can.
It wouldn't even bother me if I came in dead last, it was just too much fun spoil.
Just wanted to say that reading this forum and about others getting out there helped motivate me to do it, so thanks :)

Question time;
I need some clip on aerobars (yeah yeah, I did it without but I wasn't the only one :o ), anyone have suggestions on best/favorites?

I really like this kind of racing, is it rediculous to continue on my TCR or should I look at another bike (of course I'd like to get another but gathering the cash together prolly won't happen soon). Is there a way to make the Giant TCR TT-able temporarily? (so I can still go on regular rides when I'm not racing)
I'm thinking of doing a mountain climbing one next month. Obviously won't need aerobars for that one but can make any improvements to the bike in the meanwhile.

Anyone have training suggestions for TTrialing?

Thanks in advance for the help/suggestions
and if you're at all tempted to do such a thing, get out there! whatta rush!!!!!!!!!!!!

Use the Cinelli aerobar; picked some up used at a bike swapmeet.
I usually practice once a week riding full tilt over the same course for one hour straight. Set computer to 'average speed' to keep yourself motivated. Keep a log of your times/distance/condition over the course. You will see improvement!

thanks for the tips, zonatandem
great idea about setting the computer to average speed.
today's race was the Picacho Peak TT
the next is Mt. Lemmon so I know where that riding full tilt course is going to be.

G'day,

1st ITT huh?...welcome to the world of pain!......my advice is, get out while you still can!...LOL....if you're planning to ignore that advice, my next piece of advice for TT's is get yourself a heart rate monitor. One of the biggest mistakes 'newbies' to TT's make is that they go out to hard & are trashed to early in the race. If you get a HRM & are able to establish your max HR & LT, you're better able to 'pace' yourself for the full TT. Of course, if its a 'stand alone' TT (just a TT without being part of a stage race), make sure you 'leave nothing on the road' (ie: are totally trashed as you cross the line). No point thinking later,"gee I coulda gone harder".

Aero bars only provide assistance if you have trained to ride like that. Don't buy aero bars today & expect them to provide a boost in a TT tomorrow. You need to get your position right & make sure you are comfortable before competing with them. The benefits are only marginal in shorter TT's anyway (up to 10k). If your using your 'normal' road bike in the TT....make sure you get 'clip on' aero bars....eat to put on & remove, without having to make too many changes to Bars & stems etc. At 'newbie' level, i wouldn't get to stressed about having the latest 'you beaut, go faster' bars etc...its gunna cost you a fortune & provide minimal benefit. Thats it...enjoy the suffering (what IS that about that we keep doing it?)

cheers,

Hitchy

Profile Jammer GT's were pretty nice for use on a road bike without getting to stretched out and still giving you a fairly aero position. Do a search here and on the net for the "Slam" position.

http://www.timetrial.org/ - has a good source of information on TT'ing.

Andrew

Two things that help me:

1. If your computer has a pace arrow, keep that puppy pointed up. Going slow early to keep the arrow pointed up to the end is cheating yourself. Winning a TT with equal competition is all about who is willing to suffer more, and if you go fast early and then try to keep the arrow pointed up, you will do well.

2. Best display items in order are cadence, speed, and average speed. Keep them up.

For sure, HRM is very useful because it helps objectively calibrate your effort. HRM tends to lag effort by a few seconds. I like the most sensitive indicator of moment to moment pace, and that is cadence or speed. If you lose 1 rpm, you have to get it back. Seven or eight years ago, we had six guys finish the club's 8 mile time trial within twelve seconds. The only solution to such a dramatic loss of placing for such a teeny-tiny difference in effort is to go really hard all the time. No regrets then.

I like Airstryke 2000's with the F-19 (they all come that way now) armrests. Boy, those are nice. Normally I would say you do not need flip-up armrests, but on a mountainous time trial there might be moments when you would want to use the tops of the bars. If you think not, pick some other bars.

I found out this morning that I came in first in my class (though I was the only one, doh!)
came in 4th among the cat 4 women and 10th out of 20 ladies. better than dead last.

yes hitchy, thanks for the welcome to the world of pain
I agree about the HRM, I've got one and I watched it peg (that was at the starting line, talk about adrenaline) actually, it really helped me keep it steady through the race.

I left my computer to watch cadence, it's my habit always on the road. my computer doesn't have a pace arrow though, that would have been nice.

I figured I'd get aerobars and start getting the feel of em for next year. I'll be checking the Profiles and Airstrykes, thanks SDS.

rippin link, Ajay213, thanks!

trying the pics thing....me at the beginning

okay, that worked...so here's the starting line (I'm back there somewhere)

some other rides

and more

finish line

finish line for me (and thanks to my husband the cameraman)

Nicely done, great pics.

Howdy from Duluth!
Good photos! That looks like the frontage road with Piccacho in the background. Who put on the TT? What was the distance?
Drop a little lower into the drops if you can . . . but lookin' good lady!
Congrats!
Rudy & KayZona tandem

Howdy from Duluth!
Good photos! That looks like the frontage road with Piccacho in the background. Who put on the TT? What was the distance?
Drop a little lower into the drops if you can . . . but lookin' good lady!
Congrats!
Rudy & KayZona tandem

thanks about the photos, I'll pass that on to Cris (he's getting pretty serious about shooting events and such)
You're spot on with the local;
Piccacho Peak Time Trial (#3 for the season) brought to you by Seguaro Velo and Lerua's (I think I got that right)
there was a 20k and a 40k
I agree about dropping lower, the end of the race found me in less than lovely form.
can't wait to get out on the road to dig into some more specific training....though it looks like we're getting smacked with a monsoon right now :D.

At the risk of bringing up the stem height discussion again, your stem could be flipped over to get you a more aerodynamic position. Also, good job on your TT. My wife is planning to do a Tri and the bike setup should be very similar to a TT bike.