John Fraser Memorial TT
April 11, 2010 – 9.3 miles – Maple Park, IL
Masters 30+– 4th – 22:10 – 25.2 MPH
Cat 3 – 2nd – 22:23 – 24.9 MPH

Well, it was either that or entitle this race report, “Dang, those old guys fast.” Something tells me that the latter wouldn’t have gotten the attention as much as the above title. Well, I’m sorry to say that this race report has nothing to do with clothes (or lack thereof). In fact, I’m convinced my new Pactimo skinsuit, actually helped me today….

Photo by Bill Cassidy.

With a breezy, 15-20 MPH ENE wind, getting aero and being as aero as possible was a big advantage. While you might think this is as simple as having “aero gear”, it’s not. Take your hands off the bars to scratch your nose for a second and you’ve pretty much erased any advantage those shoe covers were so supposed to give you. That’s why being “aero” is really about being “aero” mentally. In time trials, not only do you have to keep yourself mentally engaged to keep hammering,  but you have to pay attention to the road and your body position (which is WAY harder than you might think).

That’s probably one of the reason some of the best TT guys tend to be older. Ironically, the 3 guys who beat me today in the Masters 30+ division are all over 40 years old. Not only do they have great fitness, they’ve got the experience and discipline needed to take it to the limit. Watch one of these guys race and about the only thing that will move is their legs. While it can get frustrating getting beaten by guys older than you (and in a totally different age group), it’s motivating to think that you still have room for improvement.

That was my general attitude going into the race today. I knew the wind conditions would be tough and this would be my first TT EVER without  a power meter. Huh!? That’s right, that’s the “naked” part. I didn’t realize this until race day. Four years of TTs and I always had some sort of power meter. Weird. Anyway, if I couldn’t race a TT by “feel” after all of these years, I might as well give up and move onto to a sport like curling or badminton.

So, where was my PowerTap? Off on spring break at Hed in Minnesota. That’s right, it was getting converted from a Stinger 9 to a Stinger disc. I haven’t gotten any postcards from it, but I can only imagine how excited it is to be “vacationing” where all of the magic happens.  I bet it’s hearing lots of great stories from other wheels (like those from  pro teams). In the meantime, I still had my Hed front wheels and was able to borrow a disc from a friend made by some company that begins with a “Z”.

Well, there was nothing ZZZZZZZZzzzzzz about racing today. At the first outdoor TT of the year, everyone is anxious to get going. Registration went smoothly and folks were already checking times thanks to the Verizon Wireless live results link. “Live” results?! The officials at the finish had their computer hooked up to the Verizon network, so you could get your finishing time minutes after you crossed the line.  Considering that we often have to wait a few hours (or days) for our “official” finishing time, this was very cool.

I checked the computer at the registration area just to see what others were hitting. ABD hadn’t been able to use this 10 mile course in a few years (they use shortened versions), so I had no real comparison. In fact, I totally forgot to start my timer during my first race. I was confident because I had  a good warm-up and knew that the headwind would be a challenge on the way out. I got good intel from other riders about potholes on the course. Not quite Paris-Roubaix, but the additional turnaround this year had us riding completely on the left side of the road  as if we were Brits (to avoid potholes on the right). This really didn’t matter since  about the only traffic was us riders.  The wind also didn’t seem too bad on the way out, but I found myself leaning into the crosswind to stay upright. Just like last year, I made the mistake of going with the Stinger 9 instead of the H3C. Mainly because you  forgot how little wind protection there is this time of year without corn.

Photo by Bill Cassidy.

Having a headwind always seems to make TTs go easier. The trip back was a lot of fun. I was averaging about 30-35 MPH the entire way back and was using my rarely used 54-11 combo. (I hate to think what speeds guys like Bryce Mead and Jeff Otto were hitting).  I had no clue what my finish time was and quickly had to get some water and get back to the start. My second race seemed to take forever and was sure that I’d have a slower time. Thankfully, I had started my timer, so I knew what my time would be. I had wanted to break 22 minutes, but was concerned that I might not even break 24 minutes. Well, I was happy to see my time was 22 minutes and change, so I knew that my first one was faster.

While the first outdoor race of the year is often a benchmark for fitness, it also provides you with areas for improvement. My turnarounds were just horrible and I had slower rides ahead of me at both turnarounds in the second race. I know that it sounds goofy thinking of practicing for TTs, but not executing the proper turnaround can easily cost you 10-20 seconds. Factor in two turnarounds, and that could be 30 seconds for just being rusty. Don’t get me wrong about my race. Overall, I was happy  with my mental focus (having done TTs for a few years probably helps me there). I also now  understand why the older guys do well at TTs…so much of it is a mental game, not just physical.

To wrap this report up, I would say that this is a great race and ABD puts on a good show every year. Ten miles seems to be just the right distance, especially for folks who don’t race TTs very often and are likely  just doing this as a training race. One thing that I loved this was having the live results at the finish. This might be overkill if you  have only 50 riders, but a good idea when you have 200+. So, if you want an early season TT to check your fitness or get ready for a tri, check out the John Fraser Memorial TT next year.

Power is optional, clothes aren’t.