Monday, April 5, 2010

Anyone want to help set up an informal TT series in the Omaha area?

I wonder if there are enough aero-minded cyclists and triathletes in the Omaha area to support a monthly or bi-weekly time trial series?

Here's what I envision: every other week, we could congregate near at the beginning of a five-mile stretch of lightly-traveled road. One rider would volunteer to record names, assign numbers, set up a start list, and keep time. At six PM, riders would start in 30-second intervals and ride out to a pre-marked turn-around spot; another volunteer could serve as a flag man. As they returned to the start/finish, riders would simply yell out their number as they crossed the line. The time-keeper would then record when they finished and perform some basic math to determine their elapsed time.

We could get a shop to sponsor the series and award a gift certificate to the overall winner for each session and for the season as a whole. We could also hold a raffle at each session to encourage participation. And an Eddie Merckx category (road set-up with no aero gear) would widen the pool of prospective participants.

I'd be willing to run the first session, and I think the road that runs to the east of Eppley is a great choice of venue--it's flat, lightly traveled, and easy to ride to.

Thoughts?

2 comments:

  1. Man, I think this is a good idea for a whole lot of reasons. I'd even say I'm willing to throw $5 at the start every week and we all divide up the cash or something like 50% payout to top 3 and then 50% pay out to a couple random placings drawn from a hat or something just to keep everybody interested you know? I know its hard for somebody like me to get way out east by 6 PM for a TT but I'm sure it could be figured out and maybe good retribution would be to have one way out west here too.

    I said to several people several times an alternating weekly TT/Crit or Circuit Race series on a weeknight. I hope I'm not the only one that thinks this is a good idea.

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  2. Sorry I am late to this but I think it is a great idea too. I know a couple candidates for Venues.

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