Blather on Bicycling

With much hesitation, I’ve decided to share my strategy for time trials. I grappled with this decision for quite some time, fearing I would allow my competitors to “steal my playbook.” This weekend is my first race of the year, the Jason Broom Individual Time Trial in Boise, Idaho. Revealing my secrets online could negate my strategic advantage. The Broom ITT is short at 10 miles, very similar to our local time trials on Foothill Road. Consequently, my strategy for both time trials is similar. Hopefully, you’ll understand the details of my strategy, because it is very complex. So. . .here it goes, my time trial strategy follows:

1. Pedal as hard as possible (i.e. cross-eyed intensity)
2. Slow down for the turn
3. Repeat Step 1

Kidding aside, I have no reservations sharing my strategy. The key is conditioning, which come from good training before the event. However, there are some race day strategies that help me to do a good time trial. The most important factor is the warm-up. I do the same warm-up for both time trials and criteriums. Here is the sequence that works for me, which is based on some suggestions from Chris Carmichael’s book:

• Start timer 1 hour before start time.  Always go by the clock at the start line.
• 4 minutes of preparation. During this time get on the bike with everything arranged and ready: energy gel, headband, towel, music, drink. Keep the helmet, race jersey and anything else you will put on just before the race right there. A trainer works best for ensuring the full warm-up can be carried out.
• 20 minutes long-ride pace
• 10 minutes tempo with lower cadence pushing TT type of gear but not getting heart rate up too high (about 160 bpm maximum for me)
• 2 min recovery spinning. Eat a gel. 
• 4 min sub-threshold. Higher cadence and higher intensity (about 162-166 bpm for me)
• 2 min recovery spinning. At the beginning of this interval, double check the time. You should have 20 minutes to your start time.  
• 2 min max interval. High cadence all out effort
• 4 min recovery. Jump off the bike and go to the bathroom. 
• 2 min max interval. High cadence all out effort
• 2 min recovery spinning
• 8 minutes to get to the start line. Don’t forget race number and helmet.

Another important aspect is appropriate focus during the race. This is where practice pays off, and one reason we do our local time trials early in the spring in La Grande. Last week, I had a guest lecturer teaching self-defense in my class. His name is David Tift who does excellent work at Shelter From the Storm and the Take Musu Kai dojo downtown. A few things I gleaned really resonated as valuable in time trialing. When heart rate is high (about 170+ bpm) your body has some interesting reactions. Among other things, peripheral narrowing occurs (aka tunnel vision). Another reaction is stress-induced amnesia which can result in significant memory loss. For example, I had a very foggy memory of what happened in my TT a couple weeks ago. I vaguely remember passing a car from behind, a blizzard hitting me at one point, getting tossed around in the wind, and then a flat jolted me into reality. I’m convinced the sensory distortions and memory loss are to blame for the all-to-frequent freak crashes that occur in time trials. Crashes are expected in bunch racing, but not when the road is open for single riders. While the effects of stress vary for each individual, these points reaffirm my emphasis on focus. I focus on the following simple things:

• Line of travel: watching for potholes, bumps, and other danger but traveling as straight as possible.
• Intensity: Breathing is the feedback I like to monitor (deep not short shallow). I never look at heart rate, except after the race is over.
• Body position: keeping back horizontal and steady.

Five years ago, I moved to the La Grande area and began frequently biking the local roads because I loved the quality of riding so much. As my training regimen increased, I began taking special note of the number of cyclists I’d pass on the road. Since I ride several roads during many different times of the day, I have a good cross-section sample for my personal “Survey of Road Cycling Frequency in the Grande Ronde Valley.”

Unfortunately, during the initial years of my survey I didn’t have any tallies. I used to see one lone person out on the roads, but she has since moved away. The next year I met Rad Doc on a ride and we headed out to PJ together. Since then, we’ve been hitting all the roads–and by “all,” I’m speaking literally. I doubt there is any road or trail within 30-40 miles of La Grande that we haven’t ridden either collectively or solo.

Lately, the roadie numbers have grown dramatically. During the last months of my personal survey, I’ve run into Cod, Clyde, Mt. Whits, Hot Shot, El-train, Davita-Mon, Veterimaryan, Psyche & New Age (aka the chipmunk duo), Milky Way, Localmotive, and No Thanks. Surprisingly, most of these encounters were during the winter months in some miserable conditions. This supports my belief in the moxie of local riders whereby the dynamic nature of the weather only presents a minor challenge in the quest to keep the pedals turning, even if cross-training is necessary. The aforementioned roll call doesn’t include the scheduled rides I’ve had with Rad Doc and Bri-Tel nor does it include others that I know are out on the roads like Duey, Timbertsons, PAIN/MAX, Z-pow, CDOT, PDOT, and J-caboose. I also know of other road cyclists including some fair weather friend that could be counted in our overall numbers.

I understand that there have been previous ebbs and flows of cycling enthusiasm in the valley, but the current trend seems to show a healthy return of the sport. . .and, there is plenty of room on the roads for more riders.