Monday, April 14, 2014

2014 Flapjack 30K Time Trial

The Flapjack Time Trial was held on Saturday, Feb. 8th on Park Link Road which connects Hwy. 79 to the Frontage Rd. that parallels the I-10 just south of Picacho Peak.  We drive this road often when heading to the I-10.  There is absolutely nothing in the way of services along this road but there is beautiful scenery.

This was my 4th race this year but only my 2nd ever Time Trial.  The first one was years ago on the Frontage Rd. near Picacho Peak.  I decided to do the Flapjack Time Trial because I thought it would be good training for upcoming duathlons/triathlons and a way to focus just on biking.  The good thing about Time Trials is that there is NO drafting.  I have to give a lot of credit to people who do cycling events which are draft-legal (which carry a higher risk of crashing)!  There was a 20K TT which more people did but also the 30K which I did... although some people actually did BOTH!

Once again as I had in the running races I've done this year, I was able to watch the sunrise!... and it was spectacular!  I have to remember to bring a camera!  I arrived at the race site early as I wasn't really sure just where on Park Link Rd. the race began or what the parking was like.  I was definitely one of the earliest arrivals.  I waited in the car until packet pick-up and watched more and more people arriving.  As they began unloading their bikes, I did not see any with aerobars!... and began to get concerned.  Did I misread something?  Was this a draft-legal race in which aerobars were not allowed.  So, I asked someone and was told they were racing in the "Merckx" division which meant that did not have aerobars, aero accessories or even an aero helmet (not that I have one either).  I thought it was a throw-back to basic cycling roots.  Then I started seeing bikes with aerobars and quite a few people who brought trainers and were setting them up for a warm-up!

The people whom I met were extremely friendly.  Summit Velo puts on this event and they were busy setting things up.  I went over to pick up my race bib and there was a fellow whom I know (Dick Reynolds) volunteering.  He checked me in and later even pinned on my race bib (goes on the side of your body)!  Dick is an incredible cyclist but when I asked him if he were racing, he said he was still recovering from an accident which apparently he was run over by a vehicle after being thrown from his bike and was laying on his back.  The vehicle went over his chest vertically and although Dick had cracked ribs and cruises, he did not break any major bones or have major internal injuries... even the paramedics were amazed!

Then I saw Phil Holman (a top-ranked cyclist who bikes with the group of guys I bike with on his "leisure/recovery" days)  He had his new Italian Time Trial bike and it looked FAST!  Phil was actually the one who encouraged me to do this Time Trial.

I also saw Stephanie Keresztes, Pam Kallio and Michael Gibbs... nice to see some familiar faces!  I saw Carolyn Audilet and Holly Reed after the race as well as Mona who said she hadn't biked since Ironman Arizona and was a bit anxious but did well in the TT.

To warm up, I biked down and back on Park Link Rd. once the temperature warmed up... was chilly when I arrived... but once the sun was up, it warmed up nicely.  Since the 30K race was after the 20K race, I didn't want to warm up too soon and then get chilled.  Other people were cranking away on their trainers.

This event has a friendly, low-key atmosphere so a really good way for an inexperienced Time Trial racer to get into the sport.  They Start Line and Finish Line were drawn on the pavement.  Officials send you off every 30 seconds.  There are kilometer signs every 5K.  At the Start, someone holds your rear wheel... very awkward for me... but I managed to get going when given the signal without falling over.

Basically, the course is an out and back course on a rough chip seal road with one cattle guard to cross (over and back).  There is a slight incline on the way out but then a decline on the way back.  There wasn't a lot of wind.  Once I was on my way, I pushed the pace and could feel that I was breathing hard and my lungs were being challenged.  I'm not used to going all out so much as I tend to favor the longer triathlons/duathlons which require pacing the bike as you still have to run afterwards.  My throat felt really dry and I had to take some sips of water.  Once at the turn-around, I pushed even harder knowing I was head back.

Summit Velo did a great job of putting on this event.  It wasn't called the "Flapjack TT" for nothing and yes, there were flapjacks (pancakes for everyone including chocolate chip pancakes).

Results for the 30K were not posted yet so I headed home.  Since I was the only one in the 65-99 yr. age group in the 30K, I knew I won but it wasn't until the next day that I found out how well I did when my friend Phil (aka "Fast Phil") congratulated me and said I had even beaten a younger CAT 3 female cyclist!... and averaged over 19MPH. Now that made my day!

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