MATTS Bryce Master 35K Time Trial
August 12, 2006 – Harvard, IL
Cat 4 – 5th – 54:24.44
263 watts – 23.7 MPH
Now entering my fourth outdoor time trial, I felt like an experienced pro at these races. Sure, I was still in my first year of racing, but I now understood how the races operated and how my body responded to distances up to 40K. The Bryce Master TT was only my second race after breaking my wrist back in April.
Located in Harvard, IL (the dairy capitol of Illinois), the Bryce Master was a typical ABR TT. About 100-200 racers of all ages and levels, staging from a park, and starting at one minute intervals. Unlike the Apache TT a few weeks earlier, I preregistered so I had an earlier start time. That way, I was able to plan my warm-up a little better.
Getting to Harvard is about 1.5 hour trek from Chicago, because of the 2-lane roads that must be traversed. The race was staged from the Milky Way city park on the westside of town. Parking was at premium, since high school football practice was underway and half the lot was under construction. There were several roads to choose from for a warm-up and the weather was perfect (Sunny, 70s, with a 5-10 MPH NE wind).
I had misjudged my travel time, so I had just 45 minutes to warm-up. I had time to hit the bathroom and head over to the start, which was on the opposite side of a busy US 20. Luckily, the race was about 20 minutes behind, so I had a little more time to warm up. I gauged the people starting around me to determine who I might pass and who might pass me.
Starting downhill with a tailwind is always nice, but that means the finish would be uphill into a headwind. I caught my minute man within just a few miles, but was also passed by the guy behind me. Looking at my power data, I held a pretty consist 280-300 watts the first few miles. The course was on fairly smooth roads with a couple of wide turns. Just before the turnaround, the course traversed a bumpy, uphill road. Here my speed and power output dropped by 10-20%. After the turnaround, I hit the headwind and just locked into autopilot working on picking off the racers in front of me.
My power output and speed were lower in the second half, but not by much. I paced myself pretty well the entire race (average speed was 23.7 MPH). I hammered the final few hundred yards into the finish at about 30 MPH. I was very happy with my performance and ended up placing fifth in Cat 4 and leapfrogged several riders who had beaten me earlier in the season. Still in my first year of racing, I was definitely catching on and excelling. Plus, at 31 years of age, now considered a master!
On a final note, this race experience got me seriously thinking about going carbon for a TT bike. I planned to focus on TTs the next few years and wanted equipment to maximize my potential. I loved my aluminum, homebuilt Felt, but I took a really beating on bumpy roads. Time to start shopping for a carbon bike. Consider it a graduation present to myself.