2015 Mid American Time Trial Series

The 2015 Time Trial season started off in January with a series of indoor TTs. Being my first full year participating in the series, one of my goals was to complete the requisite 10 races to be considered in the standings. I was able to compete in all 4 indoor TTs (including the storm hampered Super Bowl Sunday race) but my results were less than stellar. I seem to get slower than the previous race. This would turn into less of an issue for me as they only count your best 2 indoor races in the season standings.

Then we got to the meat of the season, outdoor racing. I started the outdoor season at Cherry Valley, a rolling 20K course just south of Rockford. I had raced the course once in 2014 near the end of the season so it was good to know what to expect. My time was dead on with the 2014 race, a good omen that I had not really lost that much fitness over the winter.

Most of my 8 outdoor races this year were consistently in the 23-24 MPH range, with the exception of the 30K Harvard race, the 40K Regional championship, and the Bryce Master’s 19K (where the new tarmac and short course let me set a 25+ MPH average). I was so consistent this year that I finished 4th (4 times), 5th(4) or 6th (twice) in all of the races.

The Harvard race was held at the end of May and it was a nice and warm day but we had around 25 MPH winds coming from the east. This made going out really quick, I was spinning out my 53×11 gear without much effort. I averaged 29.9 out even though I was really trying to save up for the trip back. I averaged just under 19 on the way back and had an overall speed of over 22 MPH.

The 40K Regional Championship was more of a self inflicted wound. After driving out to Cordova, IL (on the Mississippi, 2 1/2 hrs away) I found I had a rear flat. I quickly swapped out the tube but I could not find any issue with the tire. I rushed to put the wheel back in and had not aligned it right. I wound up having the tire rub the brake during the entire race. My average was a paltry 21.9 but I still finished 4th.

In the end all this racing had me finish the series with a total of 182 points and that was good enough for 3rd place.