Race Report: ORV Time Trial

After a string of second place finishes, I finally managed to nab myself a top step. On the way, I also set a new PB on the ORV course, smashing last year's time. But it wasn't quite as smooth sailing as I had hoped.

For a short time trial (7.6 miles) I like to get in a pretty good warmup. So we arrived on site a little over an hour early, and I found some of my friends who had scouted out a shady area (it's still amusing to me that we "warm up" in 95° weather) and started setting up. When I took my bike out of the truck I saw that I had pinched the tube in my rear wheel installing the tire and now I had a flat that would have to be changed.

Fast forward another hour... my hands are in ruins, I've bent at least one tire lever, and I've given up on trying to get the super tight Vittoria G+ reinstalled and settled for the Specialized Turbo Cotton... You KNOW a tire is tiiiiighttttt (My friend Tony, who also gave up the skin on his hands to help me seat the tube under the tire, called them 695c tires) when you consider the Spec TC to be the "easier" one to install. Finally, with around 10 minutes to my start time, we have the bike back together. My wife and mother pin my numbers and I throw on my shoes and helmet... the bad news is I didn't get to warm up... the good news is I got a heck of a warmup fighting that tire!

I jump out on the road to check the brakes and shifter, and as soon as I grip the brake I can feel that my headset has worked it's way loose. Jeez... just like a car, a bike can brake down just sitting in the garage. Cue the whole "Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance" saying running through my mind... So the choice is either miss my start time or ride it the way it is.

I make my way down to the start tent and try to get my attention focused on the job at hand. I was in the lucky position of going last, so I only had people in front of me to pick off, which always helps me when it comes to focusing. Finally, after all the hassle getting to the line, we're down to the 3,2,1... Go time.

photo credit to master photographer Tony Falin

Orv's course is short, but it's lumpy in pretty much all the wrong ways, and I've found it's easy to pay for burning the matches too fast. I come out of the start nice and controlled and quickly find my way into the bars. My goal is to push for somewhere a little higher than my 20' power for most of the ride, driving it up a bit on the uphills and letting it dip slightly to recover on the downhills. I didn't wear my heart rate monitor because I didn't want to see the numbers I'd likely be hitting, blowing up was a possibility we had discussed and would rather see than a soft race. So on I went. Making my way onto the on ramp to Hwy 95 the course starts throwing the rollers, something I've almost decidedly gotten worse at since adding 20lbs to my frame.  As the turn onto Bear Creek Road comes into sight I am in the awkward position of needing to make a pass. I decide to burn a match and really put in an effort to get ahead before we go into the turn so that I've got free road to go. It's right on the limit of too much and it takes me a moment to recover, but I find my cadence again and just keep telling myself it's almost over. The back end of Bear Creek road is generally downhill, but still with some quick inclines and some overall mediocre pavement. As I make the final sweeping bend headed for the finish I pour everything I've still got in the tank (not much) into it and really hammer down. I pass my 5th rider in front right before crossing the line and stop the clock in 16:51, about 20 seconds faster than what we had set as a target.

For Reference
2016 - 18:15
2017 - 16:51

It was great to finally take a top step again. It's been nearly 4 years (has it really been that long) since I got to stand on the top step at the end of a race. I suppose it's only fitting that it happened at the Podium Sports Medicine TT, and I'm glad I got to do it with them as my sponsor. We're still building towards something greater, but this was a nice confirmation that the hard work does reap some rewards even while working up to the bigger picture.  Maybe it's also a lesson to spend a little more time getting the bike race ready a little earlier during the week ;)


Thanks for reading, I really appreciate it!

- Christopher Morelock

Race Report: TN State TT (Cat4)

Back again with another report, this time for the TN State TT race.

How to start this report... I've tried a few times and failed to muster how I feel about it. Bittersweet is the best I can come up with. Again the top step has eluded me, but I had one of my best races, ever, which is all the more important. Of the things I could control, I think I hit a 95 out of 100 on execution, which in itself is probably the most important takeaway from the day. But let's start at the beginning.

The TN State TT was a race that was uncertain for a long time. Whether it actually was going to happen or not was up in the air until a couple weeks from race day. When they finally confirmed it in a new location, I was happy as my build up was targeting it and I do hate to miss timing like that. The new course was also a bit more friendly than the previous location, which thankfully included a good bit less elevation change. 

Coming off of the Georgia State TT I made some modifications to my equipment, not wanting to run out of gears going downhill again (a problem I had in GA) I swapped from my 50t to a 54t chainring (I run 1x) and put on a slightly wider cassette. With 3% being the max grade I was certain I'd have the gears I needed going up and down. I had ripped my skinsuit at the GA TT, but fortunately Kevin Sprouse came through in the clutch and got me into the new Body Paint 3.3 skinsuit before he left for the Tour de Suisse. It was also my first time running the new, extremely quick Vittoria Corsa Speeds, the new king of fast tires.  So, with my ride pimped out, it was time to go make what meager watts my motor can do.

We (my mother, wife and I) drove down to Dover on Friday evening, and I got in my final spin in at the hotel room. We had dinner at an excellent pizza place nearby and then watched the back half of Saving Private Ryan before bed.

Saturday we made our way to the race site about an hour and a half early, giving me time to get my numbers and get everything set up for my warmup.  I spent about 40 minutes total warming up (with a 5' or so break to pee in the middle) including a ~5 or so build and a couple of 30" efforts to open the legs up. Finally it was time to slip into (nothing so elegant actually happened, it was actually a lot of tugging...very gentle tugging) the skinsuit and head to the start tent.

My holder did a fine job, and then it was time for the countdown.
3, 2, 1, Go.

Coming straight out of the gate I spiked my power a bit getting up the bridge, then immediately slipped into my position and found my rhythm. The goal was to hold very steady power on all the flats and uphills (the out of the course had a generally steady "false flat" profile to it) and then at the long drag (~3% grade) to the actual turn point to spike it up just slightly and expect to recover a bit on the following downhill. All in all, I wanted to keep my heart rate in the low 180's for the majority of the ride.

As I came over the bridge from the start gate I smash into the open bit of pavement between bridge and road. It jars me hard, and for a second I wonder if it was hard enough to blow a tire. It wasn't, but it was also not an experience I wished to repeat as I crossed the other side of the bridge.

They say nothing new on race day, and I try to stick to that. I'm decent at bunny hopping on a road bike, but admit I've never done it (in aero) on my tt bike... but the concept is similar, except for that slight bit less control and having your elbows locked in place and the body weight distribution and so forth... Perfect time to try it out, right? I pull hard on the end of the bars and then immediately after pop my feet. I take a great amount of pride in the fact that I landed it... not perfectly, but adequately enough that i didn't wipe out, which I suppose is good enough.

On a long straight out and back time trial you get plenty of time to think about things, which is a blessing and a curse. Some people can turn their mind off and just hammer, me I sit and think about things. It's something that has hurt me in the past, when I let my mind wander to "this sucks" territory... but this year I've worked hard on focusing on other stuff. I also moved my computer higher so that I can see the numbers just by glancing, which gives me some "motivation" to stay on watts and some buffer to calm me down. The other thing I've worked to focus on is staying as still as possible. Most of the guys I'm racing against out power me by a good 70-90 watts over an hour effort, so anything I can do to maximize my slipperiness is an absolute must.

Slowly, I start picking people off. As we near the turnaround I'm passed by a Cat3 rider, and I shadow him the remainder of the first half as we start going by an increasing amount of traffic. With the turnaround in sight and two riders immediately ahead of me I put in a "too big" effort to get by them (and to the turnaround first, so I can pick my line) which in retrospect probably cost me 15" or so overall. Fortunately after making the turnaround I'm able to get my heartrate back under control and start the fast return trip.

Holding my watts steady on downhills is a problem I have, so I really had to focus hard on what should have been the "easy" part of the course. I did a good job (for me) but still left some time out there. It's about this time I start to think to myself that the chamois in the Body Paint 3.3 is not the most robust... my undercarriage was really hurting! Finally I see the cones that lead back over the bridge to the finish line, and I get out of the saddle to try to power over. The stretch takes a lot longer than it did on the way out, and it's all I can do to stay in my right mind as I crest the hill and put in my last effort to the finish line.

Final Time - 57.52 on a slightly long course (25.3mi)

It was good enough for second place on the day, which was not the step I had hoped to land on, but it came from one of the best executed races I've ever had, so I am happy. It's also the first time I've "officially" broken an hour in a 40k, so small victories and all that. There is a saying in car racing "no replacement for displacement" and at a certain point it's true in human motors as well. The difference of motor size matter a lot more when the competition is also trying to check off all the aero boxes. It does give me something to look forward to next year, and motivation is always welcome!

Thanks to the Sponsors: Podium Sports Medicine, Visit Knoxville, The Feed, Harper Auto Square, Stoke Signal Socks, Yee-Haw Brewing Co.

GA State ITT (Cat4) and 2-Man TTT

It's been a while since I had a race report to post, and now I've got two in one!

This year I've decided to focus solely on becoming a better time trialist. Unfortunately, in Tennessee time trialling is really not a thing... so starting my "season" has been a long time coming. 

My original focus was the TN State Time Trial Championships, however as the race date drew closer without a confirmation I feared the worst, that it would be re-scheduled or worse, simply cancelled. Georgia's State TT had been on my radar for a while, but we had originally figured it as a tune up / train through race, however, as TN's race became less certain and with my fitness coming towards a peak for the season, I decided to re-schedule and make sure I had at least a single good race to focus on lest I just miss out on everything. Shuffling your training plan to shoe horn in a peak/taper last minute a few weeks before planned certainly isn't the ideal way to do it, but it is what it is and what we had to work with.

The couple of weeks leading into the GA TT had/have been rough, I was pushing longer weeks and higher intensities and missing a fair number of those targets. It erodes the confidence we have built up and we start thinking somehow we've backslid into de-training, even though that is not logical. Nonetheless, I was getting a little nervous about the race. Tapering went like my tapers always have historically, I feel pretty "meh" as volume drops and recovery increases. I'm used to this by now, so I wasn't too freaked out by it. On Thursday we sat down and discussed my strategy for the GA course, keeping in mind that I'd have to go back out within an hour and try to hold it together for the 2 Man Team Time Trial. Although that was an afterthought, I still wanted to at least be able to not be totally embarrassed by my pulls. I would limit myself to low 300's for the punchy climbs and not let my heart rate climb too far above 180 until the last 3k or so, as at that point I'd start digging a hole I couldn't recover from. I've blown up in a longish TT before in epic fashion, it's not an experience I ever look to repeat.

I took a half day off work Friday and met my friend's Jimmy and Sharon at their house. We'd decided to split a hotel room since the upcharge staying in a college town on Memorial Day weekend was ridiculous. We strapped the bikes (three Speed Concepts) to the Subaru and made our way down to Gainesville. 

By the time we drove the course, got unloaded and found a place to get some dinner it was close to 8p.m. I'd planned to do a 30 minute spin with a couple of pickups that evening (sitting in a car for a couple of hours isn't great for keeping the legs fresh) but decided it was late enough it was best to cut it short and not risk getting too worked up right before bed. Sleeping in a hotel is already enough of a challenge without a sky high heartrate. 15' spinning would have to do. We turned in a little after 9 and set the alarm for 6.

Race day rolled around fairly uneventfully. One last check of the bike, we packed the car and met the rest of the crew at a local Panera Bread for coffee and breakfast. Then it was off to the races, as Sharon and the rest of the girls started about an hour before us.

The course itself was a little short of a 40k (measuring about 35k) and an easy enough out and back setup with only the turnaround in a 3 lane road as the "technical" section. Going out was vastly downhill, and the back half, as you might imagine, was mirrored uphill. It would certainly punish someone who didn't hold a little back for the return trip.  

I've been using Team GB/Sky's TT warmup for a couple of years now (ever since I saw and stole it) and I've always felt it was a great warmup that didn't run on too long. I was surprised that my parents had made a side trip on their own mini-vacation to see me off... that's always great for morale! I ran down to the start to see some of my friends off, gave Jimmy some well wishes (and a stick of gum... our tt secret weapon) gave the bike a final check over and fully kitted up... then rode to the start ramp myself. Finally, at 10:07 on the dot, it was go time.

I went off the ramp and took a hard right out of the parking lot into another right onto the main road the rest of the race would play out on. As I've mentioned, the first portion is very fast due to the gradual decline. I've been running a single front chainring for a while now with a 50t ring which has treated me well up to this point. Unfortunately I found a 50x12 big gear simply wasn't allowing me to push my target watts. I was running in the low 200's for some long stretches... a rookie mistake not to match the necessary gear to the course. It wasn't a disaster, but with the length of time spent in 50x12 it was certainly not optimal. Stay aero, stay tucked, stay focused. I say stay focused because here I made a real error. As I was coming onto the time check I saw a volunteer standing up in a truck bed as a side road entered onto the race course. There was a cone in the middle of the lanes. For a moment my adrenaline addled mind thought "am I at the turnaround??" (actually, it was the turnaround for the juniors) I move to my pods/brakes (USE Tula's have some funky brakes) and start to slow... I'm a bit confused. The volunteer notices that I'm a moron and starts yelling "go go go!" Even after driving the course and knowing the distance I'm still not smart enough to trust I know where to go... Ferdinand Magellan I am not. I curse under my breath at the seconds wasted but there is nothing to do but get tucked in and drive on. I was checking my computer fairly regularly to keep me reigned in on the uphill sections and to remind me I wasn't going hard enough on the downhills. I stayed tucked into my aero position and just continued my rhythm. It had been a while now and I hadn't caught my minute man... that was slightly worrisome but I didn't panic. I also hadn't been caught.  Finally, as the (real) turnaround neared I saw riders in the distance. Then it was like a gate had opened, I passed a duo, then another, and finally another before the turnaround. As I made my U-turn I took the opportunity to grab a swig of water. It wasn't a necessity, but I figured I'd be thankful for it soon as the course was only going to get harder on the trip home. 

At this point I was able to get some bearings of where the rest of the field stood. Everyone that started behind me was still a fairly even to farther distance away from me on the road. I saw Jimmy blazing through and considering how far he started behind me I figured he was having a good ride. I was still feeling pretty good, but my heartrate had been staying pretty steadily in the high 170's low 180's for a good chunk of time. It was sustainable, but I was feeling it. I decided that I'd cut back the power I was averaging on any section of uphill I thought would last over a minute to high 200's instead of low 300's, then I'd use anything I had left at the last climb before the finish. I made another pass at the 10k sign, and got a glimpse, finally, of my minute man. Now I had a target... something that makes the pain just a little more bearable. At this point the course really makes you pay for all that downhill you enjoyed on the way out. Nonetheless, I stuck to my plan and eventually caught my minute man just after the 5k sign. On the next climb he passed me again on the uphill section, and put in a good enough effort that I was unwilling to respond but kept him well within sight as a pacer. Finally after what seemed like forever, we crested the final hill and made a mad dash for the finish tent. (and more importantly, the finish line) I stopped the clock in 51:21, a bit slower than we had predicted (with the help of Bestbikesplit) but still in the "good day" category. Back to the caravan I fueled up as best I could, knowing I'd have to go back out there within the hour to do it all over again. Jimmy finished not long after (51:07) and we went to see how we had placed.

I managed to secure second place in the 4's... missing the top step by under 10 seconds. I knew I had left that 10 seconds out there, maybe by just not slowing down at that one point, definitely by having a better gear ratio. Live and learn... It was fitting a native Georgian stood on the top step in my mind anyways. Jimmy had an even tighter squeeze... He finished in third, under a half second behind second place. Still, a good showing for the Tennessee boys. The ladies of course absolutely dominated... sweeping the top step all around.

After my best attempt at re-fueling/hydrating it was time to return to the start line for the team time trial. Showing up fortunately had already nailed us the top spot on the podium, and at least I was more than a little happy that I wasn't going to have to chase or be chased again. We knew going in that Jimmy would be the stronger of us, so it would have to be up to him to do the larger share of the work. On the one hand you feel a little embarrassed that you can't do more while your buddy is suffering pulling and you're just tagging along, but since time is taken on the second man over the line it's not doing either of us any favors if I kill myself and have to totally limp home while he rides away.  I do the work I can for the first half of the race, we are on a 2 minute rotation and with a little help from the extra rest and the gracious downhill I'm able to help out at least a bit. As we close in on the halfway point I tell Jimmy I'm not going to be able to go much higher than 300 on the climbs, as I'm starting to feel the earlier efforts. At the turnaround Jimmy tells me he's feeling good...  As he takes his pull on the first gradual incline I almost lose contact... "DOWN" I feebly yell, our call signal for distress.  Jimmy takes the lead the majority of the return trip, and although it's certainly helpful to have a wheel in front of you to keep you motivated, it doesn't help nearly as much when you are climbing, as the drafting benefit isn't really there. I take some short pulls on the quick downhills and a couple of flats, but for the most part I'm just trying to keep my legs moving and not cramp up. A little past 5k Jimmy tells me to pull to the 3k sign and he'll get us home. It's hard to believe just how far 2k is on a bike until you're counting off mailboxes, trees, ruts in the road, whatever just to try to pass that time. The road finally straightens out into a false flat and at the end of it is a bright neon "3k" sign. Agonizingly slowly we creep past it and Jimmy takes over. Here the road pitches again pretty much all the way up to the finishing straight, and again I'm close to losing contact although it's clear by my computer that I'm not pushing all that hard. A little under 1k, the final uphill section and I stand up out of aero... a big mistake. My right leg immediately starts cramping. I sit back down and will myself to make a circle with both legs... it works well enough that I don't literally just stop and topple over. Finally we crest and can see the finish tent. It's a fairly long drag and again a slight false flat running up onto it... I give it everything I've got left and we stop the clock at 54:36. 

As we (well I at least) limp back to the car Jimmy suggests we return to the finish line to see the girls 4-person team finish. I agree and make it to the turn in the road downhill before rational thought strikes me "I'm not going up this hill again." I turn around and head back to the car... sorry girls. (They crushed everyone else without me seeing it anyways!) 

So our two man TT was slower than either of our individual efforts. Not unexpected given our fatigue, at least my own. Still, I felt like considering the increase in temperature and wind we put down a pretty solid time for our first venture into team time trialling. A special thanks to my teammate for pulling me along the course, especially while I was hurting.

Overall, It was a good day, very important for ironing out the details for TN States, where hopefully I can improve my podium positioning by a step.

As always, thanks so much for reading, I really appreciate it! 

-Christopher Morelock

Review: Bike Trainer Tape

First let's take care of the full disclaimer: I was sent this tape to try out and review at no cost to myself. It does not reflect (positively or negatively) in this, or any of my reviews, but some folks get hung up on things like that and so I like to put the info out there.

A couple of weeks ago I was sent a new product to put through it's paces, Bike Trainer Tape. (You can also find their Facebook page here and amazon store here.)

So, let me give you the short and quick thoughts on it first, then we'll delve into a little more thorough thoughts on it.

After going through almost all of my roll (I still have enough left for one race) I will say that if you fit the target audience, it's a pretty nice, life simplifying product. There are plenty of people who absolutely loathe switching tires to go between riding outdoors and indoors, and for them, I'd say it can certainly save you some headaches. There are also the racers that don't like warming up on a $100+ race tire (myself included) that the tape can certainly be a benefit to.

My goal from the outset was to put the tape through the absolute hardest (not recommended even) conditions to see where (and why) the point of failure was. Anyone who knows me knows I spend a VERY large portion of my training time on a trainer of some sort, so it's certainly worth prefacing with the fact that I was almost certainly tougher on it than the vast majority will be.

 Anyways, lets' get to it.

The Good
I am in a very fortunate position when it comes to my indoor trainer / outdoors riding. I have a stable of bikes and multiple power meters... so it's no great cost to me to have a nearly 100% dedicated indoor powertap wheel with a trainer tire on it. That isn't the case for most people, and so to BTT's primary audience it can be a boon. I would hazard to guess that the majority of folks split their time indoors and outdoors either pretty evenly or slight to moderately favoring the great outdoors. If you are using a traditional turbo trainer, that either means you swap tires when you hop on the turbo, or you just accept the added wear that riding the turbo will do to your tires.  While there are certainly other solutions to the problem (changing tire, direct drive trainer, dedicated trainer tire/wheel) BTT is certainly the cheapest and quickest to take you from outdoors to indoors ready.  Installing the tape takes about thirty seconds, maybe slightly longer your first time or two. (or if you double wrap it)

The things I found that were most important when installing it are to get it at the "sweet spot" of tension as you wrap it around the tire. You don't want it to be pulled so tight that is starts to stretch, but you do want to make sure it is securely around the tire so that you reduce the risk of it bunching up when you put pressure on it. Once you've got it fully around (slightly overlapping at the end) you run around it again and get rid of any air bubbles that may have formed. Then you are ready to go as usual.

The other group of folks (that I lump myself in with) that could use the tape are cyclists looking for a way to protect their expensive race tires when doing a warmup before the start. I carry my old Kurt Kinetic Road Machine with me to all my TT's, and I've always kind of just had to cringe and bear it when I clamped the pressure down on my $100 Turbo Cotton or Veloflex Record. You could also swap wheels to warm up, but that opens up some situations (especially with superbikes or those with horizontal dropouts) where user error (whether because of lining up the wheel or the hard to adjust brakes on superbikes) can lead to at the least a much more hectic race to the start line. I don't know many of my friends that race a lot that would remove their rear wheel of their tt bike minutes before their start time.

To try this out I did my full TT warmup using my race gear. (Speed Concept, Zipp 404 Powertap, Spec Turbo Cotton 24 w/ latex, KK Road Machine with a little over a billion miles on it) I set the pressure on the rear tire of my KK by the "slip test" (hold the flywheel and pull up on the wheel. Tighten right to the point where the tire no longer slips)

The warmup itself I'll spare you from having to read. It involves a couple minutes easy spinning, a few efforts at tempo, a build up to slightly above race pace and a couple of "leg openers" going up to a few short "not quite sprints." The wattage range went from ~150w to upwards of 600.

I double wrapped my tire for the warmup (just like I would/will on race day) because I wanted to make sure I got all of the Turbo Cotton that would be touching the roller protected.

After the 30 minute "warmup/test" was over I hopped off and removed the tape.

There was a very slight bit of residue left over when I removed the tape. I was able to get it off with just my sweat towel and water with minimal effort, but I think it'd be prudent (and BTT recommends) using alcohol to wipe it down to make sure you get all of the residue off. I'd say it might take you 1 to maybe 2 minutes to get it totally clean after you jump off the bike.


The Bad
Another preface - BTT has a specific caution against using the tape with a computrainer OR with a trainer tire, both of which I'm about to talk about doing. So take most of "the bad" with a grain of salt that I'm going against manufacturer recommendations.
Unfortunately (for me particularly) I could not get the tape to work with my Computrainer, nearly at all. I tried multiple tires, different amounts of press on force, pretty much everything I could think of and it always either bunched up or pushed off of the side of the tire within the first few minutes (generally before I got to the point of setting the rolling resistance)

a whole load of things not to use with BTT in one picture!

My theory is that the Computrainer uses a mounting bracket for the resistance unit that allows for quite a lot of adjustment, both fore and aft and also side to side. Unfortunately this opens up the possibility to get the roller slightly off center/angled. Racermate's way to check is to roll the tire forwards and backwards and watch for the tire to move side to side on the roller... and while I've got my unit nailed down to where it is no longer noticeable, I would guess that it is still a couple of degrees away from perfectly even. That seems to be just enough to push the tape off the side of the tire. Double wrapping did not help. I would also guess that since ERG mode (on all smart trainers like the Computrainer) adjusts the resistance in ways other than you actually shifting gears, that you would heat up the tape quite quickly (which I don't think I need to tell you is not good) and probably have similar or other mixed results. Unfortunately I do not have another Smart trainer to test this out, so that's only speculation. (And BTT does not have any warning against using it with other smart trainers)

computrainer resistance unit bracket, you can see the large hole in the middle that allows for adjustment/tuning.

I *did* try the tape with my Tacx trainer tire on the Kurt Kinetic as well (again, using a trainer tire is not recommended by BTT) and although it did not work (it actually bunched up, I should have gotten a picture but didn't, sorry.) with a single wrap, it did stay on and work as advertised with a double wrap. Now, why you would use BTT on a trainer specific tire... I don't know... but I tried it anyways just out of curiosity, so it *can* work.

The Ugly
BTT currently sells for ~$13 a roll. Each roll is good for (I actually got a little more than the advertised amount out of my roll) 10 tape jobs, 5 if you double wrap. Now, considering a single wrap is estimated to give you 40-80hours of ride time (I'm afraid I did not put the longevity to the test, but it does seem reasonable) then for the most likely "target" audience that is considerably cheaper than buying a trainer specific tire, even if you swap between road and turbo a bit. However, the cost does start to climb if you are going indoor to outdoor frequently, as the tape is done once you pull it off. (I tried to re-use a strip and it did not work at all)

That means that the other target group, the warming up cyclists, will burn through a roll of the tape pretty quickly. If, like me, you are going to double wrap your tire, you're looking at $2.60 in tape each time you warm up before a race. Is that more or less than you'll chew off of a race tire in around 30 minutes of warming up? I'm not sure (and it likely depends on your setup) but I'd guess it's somewhere in the ball park. Is that couple of dollars worth not having to deal with swapping out your race and trainer wheel to warm up? Again, depends on the person, but I'd guess that in general it is.

BTT contacted me and let me know that there will be upcoming promotions aimed towards time trialists to help ensure they get a good bang for their buck. I will update when we have more information.

Oh, and only orange? C'mon guys... we need a variety of colors to coordinate with our kit ;)

Final Thoughts
BTT is certainly a quality of life item, not an essential one, but like central heat and air or smart phones... there's nothing wrong with quality of life items. There are definitely those out there who it will work better for than others, but if you are the type of rider who pretty much stops riding outdoors as soon as the weather turns cold, or are somewhat apathetic when it comes to changing tires between the great outdoors and the turbo (be honest...) then BTT can be a nice middle ground. Same for the racers looking to protect their high thread count rubber before start time.
So, if it sounds like BTT might be for you, I say give it a go. While it won't be something I use a a regular basis, I will definitely have a roll in my travel bag ready to use before my races.

As always, thanks so much for reading, I really appreciate it!

- Christopher Morelock

TN State Championship Time Trial

Life had been barreling towards June 11th for the better part of this year. I focused all of my attention towards it, with the intent of trying to win the Cat 4 race. I knew going in it would be a tall mountain to climb, as the level of fitness I've enjoyed in the past has continued to elude me. I spent a large amount of time squeezing every bit of speed I possibly could out of my position and economics, but at the end of the day, I was shooting towards averaging a relatively low 235 watts over the 40k. Certainly not "strong" by most any cyclists measure.

Friday evening start times were announced. I had (correctly) picked out Matt Hunt as the man I would have to beat to win, and as fate would have it I was starting 30" behind him. Looking at it retrospectively, you could say this is where things went off the rails. Normally, a time trial, and especially a 40k are dictated by pacing properly and following your own race. For one thing, you generally have no idea exactly how you are doing compared to your competitors, so the best you can do is pace yourself well and hope it's good enough. I was in a fairly unique position however. I was as certain as I could be that I would know exactly how fast I needed to be to win... I needed to keep Matt within 30" of me. So, a choice had to be made... do I race my own race, or do I throw caution (and pacing) to the wind and try to keep first place in sight.

As I have mentioned many times in the past, I came to the State TT to win. I would be just as unexcited with second place as I would with last place, so the decision was simple. I would not look at my powertap, I would simply do all I could to keep my chance at winning in view.

Looks count for something, right?

Off and away

It was mercilessly hot even as I was gearing up and heading to the start line. I don't dislike hot conditions, but I knew this was going to be merciless as the entire course is on a no turn (except the turnaround) highway with no shade. I watch Matt take off and shortly it's my time to follow. With a moderate tailwind going out I know that I'm going as fast as I am on borrowed time. We pick people off at a feel good rate for the first 20 minutes, at which time I hit the lap button on my powertap so I'll be able to look back later. 255 watts avg. 20 watts higher than what I had planned for the whole ride. Nonetheless, my plan is so far working, I'm within spitting distance all the way to the turnaround.

And then, reality comes crashing in. Overcooking myself, along with 90 degree temperatures catch up with me, hard. That nice tailwind turns into a headwind, and those rollers I had been bombing down don't seem nearly as friendly going back up. I know it's all about damage control now, as Matt disappears out of my sight (and on to win!) and I am left with that long, gut-check ride back to the finish. I make a deal with myself that I stay tucked in aero on all but the longest climbs, but let my watts fall to whatever will get me there. At the second 20 minute lap I am averaging 213 watts, a meltdown if ever there has been one. The last twenty minutes is a grueling battle both physically and mentally, I don't care what anyone says, the hardest minutes of your (athletic) life are when you know it's over but you still have to get to the finish line as fast as you can. For the last 20 minutes I averaged 203 watts, as complete of a disaster as I've ever seen.

I stopped the clock in 1:00:05 - 24.7mph average over moderately rolling terrain. Good enough for 6th place, almost 3 minutes behind 1st place.

Looking back, it's easy to say it was a mistake to not pace myself, but I disagree. I think it was not only the right choice, it was my only choice. I knew going into the race I would need a lot of things to go right to claw away the top step of the podium, and given the opportunity to see exactly how fast I needed to go, I don't think there was a better setup to throw a hail mary. It's hard to separate results from the correct line of action, but it should still be done. I went all in, first or nothing... and with it probably cost myself a podium spot and certainly a much better time, but despite the fact that we endurance athletes generally phrase it that "we're racing against ourselves" eventually that simply isn't true... we're racing others, and sometimes to have a chance to beat them you have to go out of your comfort zone / planned pace/race. You miss all of the shots you don't take, as the saying goes.

I would like to thank all of my sponsors... Provision in particular... without their help I wouldn't have even made it to the start line, let alone the finish line. I'm not discouraged, now that this race is over it's time have some fun!

Some pictures of my buddies starting

Jimmy was looking for a back to back jersey win, but also had a tough day

Matt crushed all the 4's and can now claim back to back state TT wins, helluva ride

Sharon had a very rocky start, involving ripping her rear derailleur off her bike on the warmup and having to borrow another bike just to get to the start. Still snagged second too!

No Show Jones

There are certain qualities you can admire about people, and other's you should likely shy away from. In my own case, not showing up for the start of my performance is a quality I should NOT try to emulate from Mr. Jones. Nonetheless, at the Three Rivers Rumble TT last Saturday, as my start time came and went, I was not there to witness it. I was instead sprinting up a hill through the crowded parking lot trying to make it in time, which I failed to do.

Perhaps it is internal self sabotage, perhaps it was not syncing my Timex with my smartphone's time, or perhaps it was just an oversight... but regardless, it shouldn't have happened, and I am kicking myself still for such a bungle.

Nonetheless, there is good stuff to be learned from even the most foolish races. So let's go through the race.

My warmup was spot on. I brought my road bike and trainer so I could get my warmup in without having to mess with my View Speed skewers removal and re-installation. (along with not shredding my paper thin tire) I got a solid 40 minutes in of varying intensities, along with a few short high watt efforts to open up the legs. Then I jumped off the trainer and took my final pee break.  Unfortunately, this is where I severely misjudged how much time I had before the start. I leisurely walked back to the car and started changing from my warmup shorts to my Nopinz skinsuit. As I'm trying to get it on the wife says "I think it's your time to start." Oh... woops. I fumble getting into my skintight suit and my aero gloves, totally skip my overshoes and grab a final drink of water as I'm getting on my Speed Concept. I head up through the parking lot attempting to re-set my Powertap (it was paired with my trainer bike) when I start hearing people yelling my name. I realize it's my time to go and put down a solid sprint up the hill and through the parking lot. As I come toward the line Jerome is yelling at me "shop, put your foot down and GO!"

Oh...

I guess I missed my start by a bit then.

Fortunately year's of triathlete habit kick in and I'm unclipped and re-clipped without fumbling around too much, then it's a solid sprint from the start line. I had planned to get up to speed faster than usual for this race due to it's shortness, but I hadn't really planned on a full out of the saddle sprint. Part of my matchbook just got burned up in the first 10 seconds. I settle in and attempt to do damage control. The course starts with a short incline, then tapers off into a long gradual decline to the first turn. With my overly large gearing I'm able to continue applying steady cadence and power the entirety of the decline and hit the turn about as hot as I could without crossing the yellow line. At the turn the road kicks up just slightly again all the way up to the next 180° turn. I take it at an almost perfect apex and then it's the long final drag to the finish line. Head down I dig into the hurt locker... my legs and filled with lactic acid at this point and I'm very lucky that there was absolutely nothing but straight road in front of me because I didn't have the mental faculties left to do anything but point forward and push. I hit the line and very nearly vomit on my fancy skinsuit. I was pretty happy that I had given it the best I had under the circumstances.

Disappointed face

I got back and sucked down what must have been a gallon of water. Jimmy pretty handily slayed the CAT4 group, as he is wont to do in a 4:52.  I checked my time and saw I had laid down a 5:15, which obviously was not terribly impressive (landing me in 8th I believe) but was not giving up and insane amount of time to the stronger riders out there (whom a shorter course should favor in my opinion) so although disappointed I was not heartbroken.

All the Water!

I'm not sure how much time I gave up from my start. My 30" man started very close behind me, so I can speculate, but that isn't worth much. I also obviously gave up some time by doing a foot down start as opposed to a hold, so I figure I was fighting with the top guys had I been on time.

So the lesson for everyone out there is... BE ON TIME TO YOUR RACE! Especially in races that are decided by seconds! (which is all of them!)


I apologize to my family who came to see me, my sponsors who got me there, and to you guys for having to read through what seems like one more of an endless report of excuses. I have to get my game tight once again, and I have failed so far as to do so, and I'm sorry.

Thanks so much for reading! I really appreciate it!

Next week, fun at Rev3 Knoxville (although unless I find a relay team it looks like I'll be sitting this one out... I have no business swimming in my current shape.)

Thanks so much for reading!

Christopher Morelock

A very short, very cold Race Report.

Saturday was the Taco Mama Time Trial in New Market Alabama. Not a race I had really planned on, but Jimmy offered to drive and I didn't have a good excuse NOT to get out there and give the Speed Concept a maiden race voyage. It was going to be cold and only serious TTer's were going to show up, so I figured it would be a good test of my fitness.

The week of the race did not go as I had hoped. Between building Jimmy's Speed Concept, fitting Emil (as best I could to his Transition with it's overly short seatpost) and having to re-cable the brake of my own SC, I did not get much time in the saddle. I also didn't get a test ride on the SC until Friday night at about 9p.m. and then for about 10 minutes. Good enough, right? I went over my checklist and didn't *think* I had forgot anything.

He's low due to his short seatpost, but it didn't stop him from dominating

Saturday morning it was up early for the 45 minute drive to Jimmy's house. He was having problems with his Garmin Vectors so we worked on them for a few minutes and then decided just to load up and go and try to fix it on site. We made it with plenty of time to spare and took a quick drive of the course, noting that it was a little hillier than expected. This made me a bit nervous as I hadn't tested out the 1x setup on climbs.  I was 99% sure it wouldn't be an issue, but nonetheless conjured images of walking up one of those hills.

Then it was get set up and start the warmup ritual. I got dressed and it warmed up to the point (high 30's) that I felt my long sleeve skinsuit (+ aero booties & gloves) would be more than sufficient to keep me warm. Jimmy couldn't get his Vector's fixed and was forced to race on feeling. I got in a good warmup but timed it a little off and ended up getting fairly cool before my start.

Warmup on a cold morning

Then, it was time. 10 countdown and I was off.  This year my main goal is to pace myself better than I have in the past, and so my first couple of seconds/minutes did not involve a massive sprint spike of power. I hit my target watts and settled in. Before the first turn I had caught my 30" man, and I took that corner so hot I almost overshot it into the ditch. Pfftt... who needs brakes.  The short rollers began and I hit my minute man and shortly after my 1:30 man... that felt dang good considering I was still within the first 5 miles of the race. Shortly after catching my 1:30 I start down a roller when disaster strikes! One second I'm tucked for the downhill and then all of a sudden I'm riding a bucking bronco. FLAT!!! And on the front no less! I make it up onto the bullhorns and don't panic, doing my braking with the rear I'm able to come to a fairly successful stop without rolling the front tire off the rim. Race over...bummer. Unfortunately in my preparation/rush for the event, the one thing I didn't really pay much attention to was my front tire/tubes condition. Later I would find that my tire was actually dry rotted (what I get for stocking NOS bonty aerowings.) and that had caused a small puncture in the tube.

The real annoyance was that it was preventable in so many ways. The tube was a Michelin (without a removable valve core) so I didn't have any sealant in it, which almost certainly would have prevented a flat. Checking the tire of course would have also been a good idea, but sometimes you forget things. I guess I'm now ordering 20mm Supersonics. Oh well, live and learn.

Unfortunately my story doesn't end there. I figure I have a short wait until the sweep, so I start cheering on my fellow competitors. I see Jimmy come around on his second lap and he looks to be right at the front which is exciting, but also disheartening as it let's me know there is not a SAG wagon behind the last starter of the CAT4's.  Ut oh. I do some math in my mind and figure I'm about 5 miles from the start, quite a ways to walk in socks.  Surely somebody is coming. So I wait.
And wait.
And wait.
Then I see riders coming again. The next group has started.
Sh*t.
By now it's been well over 20 minutes. The body heat I had built up riding has faded, and I'm acutely aware that Castelli's Bodypaint skinsuit is not insulated. I chuckle, but as the overcast hides the sun and the wind picks up again, I start to get a little concerned. I'm literally shivering at this point.
I see Emil go by, the master's have started. I cheer him on meekly, as at this point I'm hunched down in the ditch on the side of the road trying to stay warm. I figure Jimmy has probably finished at this point and hopefully he'll be in mind to realize it was me on the side of the road. Otherwise, I'm going to be a freeze pop.

After another unknown amount of time, a mustang (the first car I've seen) pulls off the side of the road and I'm saved. SAG has arrived. I hunker into his car and turn the heat on full blast, teeth chattering at this point. When we make it back to the start line I thank him for saving me and find Jimmy and Mike (who was about to pull out to come save me) and more importantly the car and all those warm clothes inside.

Jimmy of course won the CAT 4's by a commanding amount.

Hard not to expect it from the state champ!

The real story of the day however was Emil, who absolutely dominated for his first TT in 12 years. He finished second with a time that would have won most of the categories (these old fella's are fast!) and that was with a too short seatpost and a slipping armrest pad.

Hard to keep a good racer down! That thermal suit though! I needed that!

So, a pretty big success all around. Sure, I'm disappointed... I know to take the time to check and re-check my stuff... I didn't and paid the price. I'd have liked to have had a measure to see where my fitness looked compared to my primary competition (Which I suppose is Jimmy hah) but I felt like I had a small hand in my friends accomplishments, so I'll be happy with that for now.

Of course, the fire has been re-kindled as well. Now I'm ready for race season. It's going to be a good one!

Thanks for reading! Next week we'll start a little tech how-to section (one I should have read before this week) so stay tuned!

- Christopher Morelock

Oak Ridge Velo Cat 5 Omnium Race Report

Tough weekend in the books, and fortunately it was a fun, safe and exciting one as well. Since I've got three races to talk about let's skip the fluff and get right to it.

Sharp dressed man

Cat 5 road race

The Omnium started off with a 27 mile road race. Thirty(ish... not sure exact #) riders hit the line, including myself and Matt, who I knew was likely the strongest man in the field. I figured he would attack on the single climb and my goal was to turn myself inside out to make the split with him.

The first few miles were sketchy. I was milling around mid pack when we hit the first set of train tracks... the guy in front of me locked up his brakes and I only very narrowly managed to dodge him. I gave him some (rather harsh) tips on how to ride predictably. At that point I decided I needed to quit messing around and get to the front.  Our pace for the first few miles was abysmally slow... everyone content to just hang out. Just to spice it up I throw in a spirited move which raises the pace and starts putting people in the "racing" mindset. Unfortunately once up front nobody is willing to pull through. I'm fine with that for a mile or so but eventually simply sit up and soft pedal until finally someone has to pull through. (*or we all stop) Once that goes down the pace stays fairly high up until the first (and really only) climb. As it pitches I see Matt make his move and I jump on. When the road flattens back out for a second there are 6 of us. When the road pitches again I'm caught by surprise by another acceleration and can only watch as the others ride over the crest without me. The descent is not a tricky one, no brakes needed, but nonetheless I come out of it with a sizeable gap between myself and the others. Another gentleman catches me (I'm in the red) and we do what we can to erase the gap. We catch another guy a mile or so up the road and eventually catch two more a little further again. That puts three guys who stuck in the break. Our pace must slow as we're caught by another group not long after and eventually we regroup as a fairly big pack. We most certainly *could* have caught three riders in the miles we had left, but disorganization in the pack and the "out of sight out of mind" effect eventually put us far enough back that we're no longer racing for podiums. I had overestimated my fitness (or underestimated the others) and didn't have much to say or do other than sit in and count off the miles. On the last straight stretch there are a few attacks launched, but they are quickly reigned in and we make the final turn together.  The finish is devious on this course, as at 500m you see a hill that looks perfect to launch an attack on. I made this mistake two years ago. What you don't see is that as soon as you crest that hill the entire remaining shot to the finish line is also uphill... so burn yourself out powering that steep section and then you have to coast into the finish. I have the advantage to know that so when I see a couple of guys gun it I don't sweat it. Actually at this point I have no interest getting tangled up in a sprint for...well... not podium... so I am happy to sit on the wheel I've been on all day. At 200m the rules allow for the use of the whole road instead of one lane, however nobody seems to have noticed that sign... everyone is fighting in the right lane still. At the last second I pull hard to the left and sprint into open space. I cross the line in 7th, nothing special but I did pick up some omnium points I would have otherwise foregone. Matt ended up beating the other two guys in the breakaway up that final incline and won the race.

Taking the left lane

Afterwards it was a lot of downtime avoiding the sun and waiting for the 3:30 time trial start. By the time I was ready to start warming up it was well above 90° and I was already boiling. Somehow in all of this I manage to be "late" (actually they were calling me to line up early... I still had 3 minutes to sit in the start house when I got there) to my start, so I scramble to get my Bodypaint skinsuit on (not easy...) and end up in the small chainring at the start house. Not my smoothest warmup or setup for the start.

Cat 5 Time Trial

waiting in the shade

I get out of the start tent and immediately jump to the big chainring.  Once there I get into aero and start grinding away. My goal was to hold 250 watts for the 8 miles, but as the road starts it's gradual incline I realize that's probably optimistic. I hammer the flats and try to keep a steady power on the uphill and downhill sections but I definitely didn't feel like I was staying smooth. I am the first man out so there is no minute (or 30") man to catch, so I am just looking for the end of the road. Eventually I find it and cruise through in 18 minutes and some change. Last year I hit the course in 17:3x, so I was a bit off... however at 30 watts less avg power that's to be expected. I still managed to nab third place, a distant third behind Matt (who again won) and another boy who had been in the road race breakaway. All damage said and done I was a distant third in the Omnium, about 15 points down, and only a few points ahead of 4th place. After the TT it was a quick trip back home to shower and get dinner and turn in... the crit was still ahead.

Off to mediocre results :)

Cat 5 Criterium (TN State Championship)

Crit's are something I have grown to love. No other race has the same kind of anxiety hanging over it, and no other race requires the same amount of concentration for the distance. Our race was 30 minutes with two prime laps. Both Matt and the other guy had proven they were stronger than I was, so the only thing in my favor was that I had done crit's before. (both of them first timers) The course for the ORV race is very tricky for a crit. The "P" shaped course has two defining points... the final turn before the straightaway to the finish line and the U-turn at the end of the P, which heavily favored the first person in (and out) of it.

We line up, get our instructions and the start. I attack from the first pedal stroke for two reasons. First, I wanted to be the first person into the U-turn on that first lap, and second I wanted to try to immediately remove some of the riders so there would be less jumble. My gap sticks however and nobody is interested in chasing, so I string out for a few minutes considering my options. Obviously staying out is impossible with two stronger guys not far behind me, so my plan is to get one or both of them to bridge up to me.
Best laid plans don't count for much as the next time around it's announced to be a prime lap. Probably at the worst time, I get hit hard with an attack from behind right before the U turn. I come out of it and a sizeable gap has opened between myself and Matt/2nd. My ride was likely over if another rider hadn't meant to catch them. I hang on for dear life and we do eventually re-connect, along with another guy, putting us at 5 guys who had a shot. At this point I'm pretty gassed, and fortunate that nobody put any hard accelerations in for a couple of laps. I even got to coast for a few seconds here and there. At 5 laps to go Matt has been on the front for likely 70% of the 30 minutes, with the guy in second probably making up most of the other 30%. I'm locked on his wheel like a magnet though, and as the laps start ticking down I can tell they both would prefer someone else took a pull. Sorry... not this close to the finish. On the final lap we head into the U-turn in the same order, and I'm praying for a sprint. Matt must have read my mind because as he comes out of the U he jumps...hard. The fellow in second doesn't immediately respond and right then and there Matt wins the race, quickly gapping the rest of us. For a split second I imagine trying to bridge up to him, but reality quickly returns me to earth and I have to watch him ride to an uncontested finish. As for the rest of us, the race is still very much on. The final corner comes and I'm still on second places wheel. As the road straightens up he catches me by surprise by slinging hard to the left and starting his sprint. I'm in absolutely too small of a gear so the start of my acceleration is lacking and he pulls a little. I find a real gear quickly and start doing my best Cavendish, making up the gap and then putting some distance in.  Despite a poor start to it, I still managed to avg over 800 watts for the sprint... not near my best in training, but an average I was very happy with. So I finished 2nd in the Crit. Matt was immediately upgraded to Cat4, and put back in the (immediately starting) 4's race. WHICH HE FINISHED 2nd IN! (Seriously...beast power)

The U-turn

Despite finishing second I couldn't quite squeek out the difference in points to boost myself to second in the omnium, so I had to settle with third. Nonetheless, it was a good weekend for me, and a much needed confidence booster for where I am in my recovery. As I've said in previous posts, where all this will end up is still in the air, but the road back is at least the road I'm on again.

Podium shot with the mayor

Thanks so much for reading. I really appreciate it!

Coming soon, pictures of the new TT bike being built!

-Christopher Morelock

Episode Whatever: A New Hope

It was pretty hot yesterday...

A little late on the update because I wanted to see how my training TT would go Wednesday afternoon, whether I was still dragging ass or if I was coming back around to a reasonable level of fitness.

I managed an 18:22 in 8 miles, a little over 26mph on a moderately hilly course. My watts were down a good amount from previous attempts (which was to be expected and planned for) but my pacing was much more "optimal" than past TT's, so I managed a better time than I expected.  The problem I have (and am working my best to fix) in local TT's (and Tri's for that matter) is that I am not good at pacing up and down short hills. I'm one of those types who loves to crush a 15-20" climb in a big gear with massive watts, then recover on the downward slope of the roller... and around here that means doing that over and over again. Of course that means I have a low avg. power and high NP, along with a slower overall time, mainly due to burning myself out with 500w intervals, along with not maximizing my speed.

Last night my goal was to hold my target watts throughout, going moderately (but reasonably) above on the short climbs and slightly lower on the declines, but still holding close as possible to that number. It felt odd, I've almost taught my body to unconsciously take it easy going down, so pedaling harder (and faster) was foreign... but I could feel the difference. I was definitely going faster over the 8 miles despite not spiking over the uphills. I still wasn't anywhere near perfect (or smooth for that matter) I'd say I paced 75-80% optimal... compared to my usual 50% or lower though, that was a big boost.

My body also felt more in tune, like it was ready to accept the stress/work vs. me trying to battle with it to keep going. Not sure what that was...it's hard to explain... but I hope it's the fact that my body is at least starting to heal and re-balance itself vs. the often very "dead/flat" feeling I had grown used to in the not so distant past.

I rode my Cervelo (hoping that I get my Felt finished before the next one) and the position on it felt exceptionally good... which is odd considering I was having a tough time staying in aero in my first TT this year and have not done very much riding in aero since then. Outside of the turnaround I never sat up, and just all around felt very comfortable.

Same position different day

Sooo... there is hope. Hope that I'll be a healthier, smarter and ultimately faster athlete. Some day.

Thanks for reading, I appreciate it!

- Christopher Morelock