Dunlap Memorial TT – 6/5/2011 race report

posted in: Race report, Time Trial | 0

Event: Steve Dunlap Memorial TT
Where: Davis
Distance:18.62 miles
Category: M45+ 4,5
No of Riders: 32
Position: ?

Other FFRT members racing this event: Sandra, Lindsey

My start time was 12:29, but I got there about three hours before so that I could ride the course.  The organizers scheduled a break between 9:30 and about 10:30 so I figured I would ride the course at an easy pace for a warmup during this time.  Unfortunately, it was raining most of the time I was out there and I got totally soaked.  I was prepared for this and had a full change of clothes for later.  Even though it was raining, there was very little wind.

I had pretty much dialed in the Leopard TT1 during the week and had the bars, seat position, height, bar angle etc, dialed in for me.  Unfortunately I decided the previous evening not to use the tri-spoke rear or the UFO 18 spoke front wheel.  These would have been more aero than my own wheels that I used, but I just didn’t feel comfortable after working on the stuff the previous night.  I had re-glued the rear tubular on the tri-spoke and adjusted the side load bearing play, but the tri-spoke is a bit untrue (and can’t be adjusted) and the tubular is a bit out of round.  Also, I don’t have a floor pump with a small enough chuck head to fit into the small cavity to pump the tire.   The best I could do was to use a frame pump, but I could only get about 90 psi into the tire.   The front UFO wheel has a very nice aero section rim with recessed nipples and bladed spokes, but I checked the spoke tension and about 4 spokes were very much under tensioned compared to the rest.  So I decided to play it safe and ride on my own wheels.

At 12:29, the rain and drizzle had stopped a bit before and the roads were drying out.  The Leopard has a Cateye computer with cadence si I set it up to display cadence and distance.  I had mounted my Garmin Edge 500 and was using it to monitor Heart Rate, speed, and distance.  My plan was to ride at a cadence range of 95 – 105 and HR of around 170.  The HR may sound high for my age, but I’ve always had a fast revving heart.   Sticking to the plan, I felt ok for the entire event, but I only caught one rider and about 4 guys passed me along the route.  One of the first guys to pass me did so at about mile 6 and he started 3 min back?  He was flying!

I don’t know my exact placing, but I’m sure I’m in the bottom half of the group.  My effort was good, but I see a few sections where I might have been able to gut out a few more watts to gain a few seconds.  With the exception of turns, I stayed in the aero TT position the entire time.

Leopard TT1 – flawless!  The basic setup of bars, SRAM Force rear, SRAM shifters, Ultegra front all work with precision.  The crankset, bearings and derailleur pulleys have very low friction.  I also used the Rudy Syston S. Comp TT helmet.  This thing is heavy but very aero.  It has an integrated eye shield that can be raised or lowered and I did find that lowering it decreases drag a bit, but decreases the cooling  too.  I flipped the shield up for more that half the race to get more cool air.  You guys should give this gear a try this season.  You’ll like it.

-West