154: sixteen minutes and thirty-seven seconds...

As beautiful, social, picturesque and hip as cyclocross is, time trials are the complete opposite. Time Trials are by far the geekiest part of bike racing. People in skin-suits, helmets out of spaceballs, and ridiculous bikes that really are the most one dimensional bikes ever.


That being said, I have really come to enjoy time trialing.


Today I did the the Cape May TT. The race went well, I was happy with my time of 16:37 for a 12k. That time was good enough for 6th in the cat 4 group. Now I type the number 16:37 with some bit of controversy. You see 16:37 was the time the stop watch on my bike said as I crossed the line. The watch that I started when the race started, and looked at when I crossed the line.


However, when the officials posted the results, they had my time listed as 17:07. I stepped into the trailer where the officials were calculating the results. I calmly explained that my time was off, strangely by :30 seconds exactly.

The officials were very kind, asked if I made my start time, which I did, and then showed me the basic math of my start time, minus my finish time equals finish time equalling 17:07.


I explained that although I went to school for English (yes, Jan I know you'd never know from reading this blog), I understood how basic addition and subtraction worked. I tried to probe a bit into the fact that the time was off by :30 seconds exactly, that was kinda weird right?


I explained that there was no time flux capacitor on my bike, and just asked how my watch could be off by :30 seconds, starting it when I started, and stopping it just after crossing the line? I knew something wasn't right.


Again, the kind official showed me the math.


Putting myself in their shoes, I imagined how it must have seemed: some silly, overweight, bad side-burned cat4 complaining that his finish time was :30 off. I can just imagine them thinking, "hey big boy, why don't you lay off the Ben and Jerry's if you want to make up the :30? Go hit the bricks..."


They were very helpful and polite, and explained they wanted to get the results right, but there was no way the math was off. I could see this wasn't getting anywhere. I wasn't really angry, I just wanted my time right.


I took the high road. I thanked them very much for their time, and told them I appreciated their race and that hell, it's only a cat 4 time trial, I know they had more races to score. I had fun, I knew what I rode, I figured it was what it was. I wished them well, and they wished me well. I walked out of the trailer.


It was only when the 45+ results were posted that I figured out what had happened. As the 45+ men looked at their results, 3 of the men dropped to the ground clutching their chests, seizing in cardiac arrest muttering, "time is off by 30 seconds... tell my wife I love her..."


You see pretty much every master 45+ rider knew their race time, the question was just to see how they stacked up against their rivals. And when every one's time was off by 30 seconds, it was pretty clear that there was a mistake somewhere...


So in the end, my entire class was off by :30 I was still 6th, but my time was 16:37. I won't even get into the fact that it was 16:32 when I hit the line, I'll just commiserate with a pint of Ben and Jerry's, my old friends...

everyday I heart chip timing a little more...

like I said, nothing is geekier than time trialling...

Thanks to the officials, and all of the 45+ masters riders went home and kissed their wives.

Thanks to Joe Saling and Crew for a really fun day, and a great time trial. I'll be back next year for sure. Now maybe I can get that flux capacitor for my bike..


respect
fm


Granogue is next weekend. You should register today. Is your name on this list? All the cool kids have their names on this list.


Granogue pre-ride starting promptly at 11:30 Saturday the 2nd. A $5 dollar donation to the Hera Foundation gets you a chance to preview the NEW single track before the race... No riders will be permitted to leave on to the course after 11:30am; BE TIMELY !!!


While you are at it, you should buy a raffle ticket. It'll make you feel good!