Re: [CR] Vintage bike Time Trial - how long might it be?

Thanks very much to Ted, Jim, Dale, and everyone else who responded about the vintage time trial question.

To sum up the suggestions: Distance - 10 miles or 25 miles, depending upon intent ... although there were instances of 40k. Route - Full circuit, out & back, or as little as a one mile circuit or out & back with repetition to make the goal. Some advantages to using a smaller course are: easier to respond to mechanical or medical problems, much more viewing action for the fans, ability to make time checks for virtual comparison, easier to monitor against cheating.

Thanks again, to all...

Ciao, Mark Agree Southfield MI USA ~ ~ ~

In a message dated 4/20/2009 1:41:11 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, ternst1@cox.net writes:

Whether steel or artificial material the distance remains classic 10 and 25 mi. We have a series of club race time trials 7 to 10 per year depending on weather and open events. They are usually on the last Sunday of each month in the season and when some of our riders need to get the extra miles for the district championships, we let the riders do a 20 and then a 25 for those who will be doing the full distances. This gives the non circuit competitors a chance to test their ability and improvement in their respective categories and gives all our club members a chance to get the feel of competition without going big time. Not all folks have time to race and train full time, and with work and family many riders will welcome the opportunity to get the feel and enjoy their cycling even more without the whole hog commitment. We have found that many of our gals enjoy the lower pressure of the TT's and come out to test themselves instead of being left behind. We usually have two runs, and the group is split so the members help each other with timing, recording, and marshalling, first and second group. Your times should be anywhere from 20 to 35 min. for the 10 and from 50 min. to maybe 1'20" or so for the 25. Points are scored and at the end of our season we have a picnic/banquet with free food for all, door prizes and the awards are given out to the placers in each category. 10 miles is a distance most riders can do without being too daunting. Juvenile age riders when we have them are distanced at 5mi. The riders that are going for the district distances will start with the first group and the clock will keep going for them as they go the distance. Our course is in traffic free warehouse areas about 1mi so the laps are easy to monitor and split times are compared as well as being able to cheer and encourage our riders to greater effort towards exalted hyperventilation. We are in an urban area, so out and back is difficult .The problem with out and back is keeping an eye on your riders in case of problems and traffic. Flats, spills, exhaustion, cheating, traffic, etc., are things to be considered on an out an back. A mile loop plus/minus works better for this type of endeavor. Who monitors running traffic stops, rednecks, etc.? Just a few of things to consider to do a nice job for the riders.
Ted Ernst
Palos Verdes Estates
CA USA