Another tandem TT report
 

Hello all,

Haley and I did another time trail this past Saturday. This one was a fairly flat 10 miler on a chip seal road. My wife got out of bed with us to come along and cheer us on. The alarm went off a 5:50. :eek:

At this race they used a chip attached to our number for timing so that was kinda cool.

There was one other tandem team there for us to race against. They were adults on a Burley Tosa w/ a carbon fork. I told Haley that we were really racing against ourselves and she knows we normally can't keep up with adult teams. So the deal was, that if we beat our previous best avg. mph of 19.15, then we would all go out for ice-cream. But, if we averaged over 20 mph then we would get Graters ice-cream. The girls really like Graters so mom was really cheering us on.

Well we came in at 28:34 for a 21.00 avg.:) We were very happy. The other team beat us by just 46 sec. Haley was really bummed that we didn't win anything. It's funny how much those cheap medals and trophies mean to little kids. I was really proud of her for being a good loser when she told the other team good job.

I think I could have done the turn around a little better and we kicked it up to 25 mph for the last 1000 feet. This tells me that we left alittle on the table. I don't think we could of made up 46 sec. though. I just tell Haley that these races are just for fun and that when she gets a little older, then well really terrorize these little small town TT's

Thanks for reading
Shayne

P.S. On Sunday we did Haleys first Metric.

You guys are awesome! What a trooper Haley is. That you're keeping it fun is great -- your family has a wonderful attitude. Keep up the good work!

Congrats again on a great race and outcome. Did you use the aerobars?

Yes I did use the new aerobars. We had gone out for 22 miles on Thur. night, just to get use to them. I stoped 3 times to make small adjustments to the bars or the saddle. In the race I was able to stay in them the whole time, I felt somewhat comfortable and I feel that I was still producing good power. It is just a little more unstable though. I talked to Haley about making any sudden movements while I was down on the aerobars, she understands and is a great stoker.

Good luck in you 40k thats coming up. I'm guessing that you'll come in about 58:30.:) Or better.

Shayne

I am sitting here with my feet up recovering from a 34.3K TT we did yesterday; flat, several technical turns with some wind. I will write a report when we have the final posted results. Unofficial, we were 23.4 mph / 53' 18". The 40K district championship is Sunday. Flat out and back with a turnaround at 5000 feet elevation.

According to http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm if I correct for temperature and elevation, for the same performance, we would average 24.5 mph. Lots of variables to deal with but less than 60 minutes for 40K is a possible.

Hey, you guys rock!

I'm thinking of getting my son started (or both of them depending on who wants to) with us on the tandem. I keep reading of people who did this with younger kids and what it does for the family.

Congrats and let us know how the metric went, too!

Post on your regional forum for TTs. I have to believe in the Denver area there are lots of evening 10 mile TTs in which to participate and many times local cycling clubs sponsor TTs on the weekends.

Thanks Ginny,

Haley and I have been riding together for almost 5 years. We started with a trail-a-bike, upgraded to a nicer trail-a-bike and then last summer to the tandem. We've built up very slowly and I try and keep it fun. Also, I try not to push her.

The metric went extremly well. We're only 2 weeks away from doing our third Great Ohio Bicycling Adventure (GOBA). GOBA is a week long, 50-60 miles a day tour were you camp each night in a different Ohio town. There are 3000 riders that do this ride and it's in a different part of Ohio each year. Our Metric ride yesterday was to help in training for GOBA. It was in Troy, OH. and was part of thier Strawberry Festival. Strawberry shortcake at the rest stops, yum :) . Haley did great! The last ten miles she was singing to me, very engaged/alert and was pedaling pretty good. She's looking forward to seeing all her GOBA friends in a couple of weeks.

Later
Shayne