Maybe we could pay our massage therapist a little extra to handle some feeding?

@Stephane I mean...you do you usually like to pay your massage therapists for "a little extra" something, don't you?

If she confirms she's coming (logistical problems that should be solved), she will be working at Fleischmanns near Belleayre before working on us. I told her we just expected her to give us fresh legs for the next stage, she mentioned she should avoid deep massage then (which leaves us with dead legs... mine will be dead when I come out of the kitchen). So she won't be here for the feed zone. Since we are a dozen or so, we should hire an octopus or one of the Hecatoncheires, the giant greek gods who had, like their name suggests , a hundred arms. Since they also have fifty heads, they'll see us coming...
http://www.theoi.com/Titan/Hekatonkheires.html

@ Ryan: for massage, I'm usually self-sufficient, I use the "stick". Last time I had a massage, in the French Alps, I missed the beginning of the dinner and felt so tired (relaxed?) that I was ready to go to sleep.

I echo the feedzone request... Meet up Saturday morning or Friday night? I will gladly make a "donation" to make it worth someones time!

My wife and our 9 months old daughter are coming, if anyone else is bringing small kids feel free to msg to maybe setup play time (for the kids!).

@joel I'm bringing wife & 2 kids (2.5 & 0.25) stroller, diapers, crib, toys, sippy cups, baby monitor... oh and a bit of bike stuff if I remember.

Hey...

Is there anyone who might have a little extra space to carry up some boxes of food? Now that the grocery order designed to feed 13 hungry bike racing jackasses has actually arrived I'm slightly concerned about us having enough space in our van.

Betsy will be staying with Fuoriclasse. She would like to start with us, so the earlier the better. We are five listed for the moment (Ryan, Jules, Joe, Patrick and me). The estimated time for the finish is 2 pm. At what time do you think one would be ready for the first massage in the house? 4 pm?

TT start times:

http://www.tourofthecatskills.com/storage/ToCTTStartWebsite.pdf

What happens if one has a flat/mechanical during the TT? Do we have to finish it to be allowed to ride Stage 2? Are we given the worst recorded time?

Some info. A bit depressing, apparently I will lose about 8 years due to my standard road bike set up compared to a skin suited TT rig! Oh well, had all week to drop 3K to improve my time but didn't do it.

http://www.socalttseries.com/Training/Articles/AerodynamicsforTimeTrial/tabid/217/Default.aspx

Adam,
It's not nearly as bad as that. Really. Position is paramount. clip-on aero bars in a flat time trial negate the biggest time differences between the full-on TT rig and a standard road bike. And the chart demonstrates. Second-biggest difference is wheels. So long as you're not using 32-spoke box section wheels, like using low spoke count alloy Neuvations, you're blunting the advantage of a deep dish front and disc rear. Borrow an aero helmet and you'll at least not have that disadvantage. And, at category IV speeds, the time lost won't be as great as at pro speeds, which the chart is probably using for reference.

Considering deals you can get through the club, and eBay, I figure for $300 you can minimize the advantage that someone spending $6k has over you (aero bars, alloy neuvations, aero helmet). Even if you go in with standard road bike, 32-spoke wheels, you'd probably only lose two minutes to the wealthy bastard version of Adam who has the fastest gear and has been to the wind tunnel. Just ride the drops the whole way, keep your jersey zipped, and ride the correct pressure in your tires.

If you're climbing well, you could gain several minutes on Devil's Kitchen alone.


Stephane,
they should let you start the next stage regardless. There is almost always a provision for mechanicals in stage race time trials.

Thanks JP,

I like re-assurance. The positives I am taking from my road bike set up are-

a)My bike weighs nothing (very light, even for modern road bike standards). I know this isn't a climbing TT but it might count for a couple of seconds
b)I've ridden hundreds of miles on this bike and can get a very comfortable 'aero' roadbike position and keep it for more than long enough for this TT.

Also, as you said, this is Cat4, not TdF-the time gaps based on gear (ignoring ability) will all likeliness be seconds not minutes: it's only 12 miles! And, as you said, I'm thinking that the monsters who get top 3 in the TT will not be the spritely, anti-gravity emaciated types who get big time gaps on the climbs and go for GC (an assumption I know but might be accurate).

Just using the TT as a warm up. However, having said that, like all road cyclists, I am somewhat attracted to the idea of financial investment to negate physical limitations! It a roadie disease I think. Symptoms include Zipps at Floyd, Carbon road shoes-at any race we do, and $300 cycle helmets on the club run. That said, they are very nice things to have.

Adam,

just let the guy ahead of you pull you... (watch out, no drafting!)... then the next one.... especially if they have the right gear...

How long are you allowed to draft behind another cyclist in a TT? Is there a specific number of seconds, or does the referee just make a judgment call?

Jeff,
You're not allowed to, period. I think there's even a minimum passing width. That written, if you're moving quickly enough, you can probably ride into the draft of the person you are overtaking and use it to help pass the person so quickly that they don't have a chance to draft you.

As you've seen in the Tour, the passing rider often does get a little draft from the rider he's overtaking. This is "allowed" because both riders are interested in taking the shortest line possible. But, if you've been passed, and want a decent time, give the person 20-30 feet and try to hold that gap. The focus might make it easier to dig deep.

If you don't think you can contend for the overall, you probably don't have to ride the time trial all out. Check the rules, find out of there's a time cut. IF there's no time cut, you can just do it as an endurance ride. If you want to put in some effort, but don't want to dig deep, you can probably get away with riding at a tempo effort for most of the tt, and then open up to an all-out effort for the final mile or two.

Also, for those riding with power meters, watch your power! One of the biggest problems is people going out too hard from the start and then accelerating too hard out of the turnaround. Pacing strategy is really important in time trials. People are amped at the start, so they often sprint out of the blocks. You do not want your hardest minute of the time trial to be the first. Start in a pretty easy gear, like your big ring and the 21, and only shift up when you get your cadence over 110. The sooner you sit down, the better. And once you hit the power number you want, dial back your effort and settle in for the ride. The pain should build slowly. For those depending on HRMs, I recommend shooting for at least 5 beats below your estimated threshold HR by the end of the first minute. Once you reach your threshold HR in the opening of a TT, you're probably already over threshold power.

The longer you can spin and keep your power up the better. Only start mashing as you lose the ability to spin.

Great for climbing DK under the rain!

http://www.thefind.com/apparel/info-climbing-slippers

The three rules of Time Trialing:

1) don't go out too hard
2) don't go out too hard
3) don't go out too hard

Last year we were able to score a good spot out of the sun to warm up on our trainers.

I'm leaning towards warning up in the parking lot at the finish line.

Saluting the DK...

http://i3.squidoocdn.com/resize/squidoo_images/-1/draft_lens2331493module13019916photo_1229144225ChrisSharma-byCoreyRich-07.gif

.

Good luck to all the Catskillers!

http://www.twitvid.com/S5NQJ (not 30% but, this video show's the pitch)

Unbelievable—22.9% pitches, 2.7km, lord have mercy! Right now I have 39x27.
I appreciate it's last minute, but if anyone has a Shimano 38 front or 9-speed 28 cassette, I'd be grateful for any respite it might offer.

Last September, I climbed this monster with my 9 speed 39 x 27 Ti training bike. It's doable, John, but I had not been racing before that, just climbing to the Madonna del Ghisallo, warming up on 14% parts, so it's completely different.




http://www.climbbybike.com/profile.asp?Climbprofile=Muro-di-Sormano&MountainID=2747

I'm having a flashback to last years Harlem River Valley 100; 9000ft vertical, riding a (don't laugh) 42x23. A few tiny little leg cramps... for the last 15 MILES! Smooth move that one. This time I'll be prepared! I'll put G&T in one of my bottles.

Good luck all.

We are finishing breakfast in tannersville. Going to head up and pre-ride tomorrow's descent in a little bit.
If you are interested text me
917-817-1362

Yup, good luck all. I'll be thinking of you when I'm not walking my bike up a 23% grade.

Brief updates - Norm goes 7th and Jeff Owens goes 8th in the TT (yes he's still bitching about how out of shape he is). Jules is 11th and I'm 19th. All within about a minute or so of the lead.

I'll let others fill in the rest. Joe and Wojiech did well in the three race, especially considering they were both going cannibal style. Rumor is Woj. puked on himself a little.

It will all shake out tomorrow. The TT was a lot of false flat, not suited so well for our climbers, even though some of us did pretty well. Lots of guys who did well in this TT will lose gobs of time tomorrow.

From trolling the results, it looks like the Kissena guys in the cat 4 "b" group are leading the team competition. And their time, actually puts them ahead of all Cat 4s. Great job guys!

So awesome!