First Time Trial

[pinkpedalpusher]

I'm 48 years young and I'll be going out tonight to do my first 12 mi. TT practice. What do I need to do to be safe and fast?!!!!

PPP

[SheFly]

Woohoo! Good luck!

Can't really give you tips on staying safe - one of the great things about TTs is that they are relatively safe since you are not riding in a pack of other racers, but on your own. So, common riding rules and road rules apply.

As for going fast, that depends. Are you doing the TT on a TT or tri bike, or your regular road bike? Aero bars, helmet? Any other TT equipment? Do you kinow the course?

Typically, the key is to go out hard, but not so hard that you can't sustain the effort. A 12 mile TT should take you anywhere from about 25 to 45 minutes, depending on the terrain, weather, etc (our 9.75 mile course takes me just over 23.5 minutes, but times range from a record of 19.5 minutes to over 31). I know the course really well, and know where I have to work hard.

If you know where your max HR is, you should target about 90% of that for the effort. Or, you can go by Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) - going as hard as you think you can go for that distance/time.

Most importantly, you need to go and HAVE FUN! The first one is a good benchmark for where you are, and something on which to improve. Oh - and we want to know how it goes!

SheFly

[SadieKate]

I'm not sure why the duplicate threads so I'll post here because SheFly is already responding.

I did a search in the titles for "trial" and came up with two good threads.

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=9370&highlight=trial
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=12166&highlight=trial

[pinkpedalpusher]

Yeee-haw!!! I committed my first TT last night!

I'm so thankful for the tips and encouragement you all gave me. I stayed safe, peddled smart and really enjoyed the challenge.

I rode my custom fit 9 year old Lemond, no arrow bars or fancy helmet. I did 12.5 mi in 37:39. I think that is just under 20mph? Having never ridden the course and only got a 10 min to warm-up (husband drove way to slow getting there) I learned that it would have helped to know different distance points and hills on the course. At one point I thought I was about 1 mi from the finish and I was actually about 4 mi. mentally it took something out of me.

My legs aren't sore today but, I'm sure I should get out and ride a bit? What would you recommend?

There is another TT in 2 weeks that I will do. Next Saturday I am going to watch my first race in Grand Rapids, MI. Is there anything I should pay particular attention to at the race?

Any advice always welcome!

PPP