Race 3 – 2012 Charlotte Speedway Time Trial

ByMike Byrd

We finally had a decent night to race a TT at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Time Trial Series.  By this, I mean that the wind wasn’t blowing over 10mph!  I was excited about the TT because I’ve been riding pretty well lately.  I feel like I’ve got some form building and really felt like I’d be able to put up a good time.

As usual, getting to the track was an adventure.  I had to pick up our newly wrapped Van at Lake Norman Media.  The plan was to pick it up and be rolling at 4.  Well, I left LKN Media at 4:20, stopped by my house to get my bike, pick Chester up at the store and finally got on the road about 4:45. 

When I arrived at the track, I parked and spoke to a couple of the Cool Breeze/Trek Bike Store team members that were at the track.  A lot of talk revolved around the ‘new’ van.  My start time was at 7:45 so I had some time to pass out some Lake Norman Excursion flyers.  Probably not the best way to use my legs before a TT, but it would be interesting to see if it hurt.

I got suited up and started my warm up around 7.  I don’t like warming  up on a trainer so I did a few laps on the small track and then headed outside the Speedway to warm up on the road that goes around the track.  In the past, I’ve always turned left out of the speedway but tonight I turned right.  I think this is the best way to warm up as it is uphill at least ½ way around the track.   I was able to get my heart rate up to 160 bpm on my 3rd lap and the legs felt good.

I ended up with a solid 40 minute warm up.  I started at 7:46 and immediately was up to speed halfway through the first turn.  I tried to take it a little easy on the start but quickly noticed my heart rate jumped to 170.  Oh well, it’s supposed to hurt.  I felt great on the 2nd lap and was able to ride the line on the 2nd lap which turned out to be my fastest lap.

The 3rd lap wasn’t so good.  I noticed my speed dropped significantly on the backstretch.  I think the wind must have picked up because both Sarah and Jasen experienced the same thing.  But it could also be because we finally had favorable conditions and we were actually going harder than we thought.

When I was finishing up my 3rd lap, one of my training buddies came out of the start chute and passed me.  I figured this was good because I could pace off Mark for a little while.  We ended up going just about the same speed for a lap with me riding a couple yards off Mark’s right shoulder.  On my 5th lap, a guy passed us and Mark made a big effort to match his speed.  I couldn’t jump and held my speed.  It sure looked like Mark was long gone. 

I was suffering pretty good but started making up time on Mark going down the front stretch.  I was able to pass him in Turn 1 starting my 6th lap.  At this point in the Time Trial, knowing I only have two laps to go makes it a little easier mentally.  I kept pedaling as hard as I could and had a good lap.  Lap 7 was as hard as they could be.  I tried to keep as much power on the pedals as I could.  I entered Pit Road going as hard as I could.  I couldn’t see straight when I finished and stopped my Garmin and saw what I wanted to see, a time under 21 minutes.

My official time was 20:53 (28.73mph) and I suffered a lot.  It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to get into that kind of zone and it has been several years since I’ve broken the 21 minute barrier.  My PR is 20:28 set in 2008!  I really want to set a new PR this year which means I need to find at least 5 seconds a lap.  I’ve been training with Sarah at Cool Breeze Coaching and riding Brushy Mountain in Wilkesboro a lot to build strength.  I really believe I can set a new PR and get the Cat 3 record in the process with the right conditions at the track.  Wish me luck!

The Bike Racer

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the Internet. My name is Mike Byrd and this is my website. I enjoy sports, being outside, new challenges, marketing and anything that comes my way. I am the author of the blog posts on thebikeracer.com. I enjoy writing about cycling, poiltics, coffee and anything else that fits in the "My World" category. Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter to say up to date on anything new that gets posted to thebikeracer.com.

Similar Posts

  • What is Keirin Racing

    ByMike Byrd

    A keirin race is a mass-start race with 6-9[citation needed] sprinters riders and a paced start. Riders draw lots to determine starting positions and start as the pacer (usually a motorcycle, a derny, or a tandem bicycle) approaches. The riders are required to remain behind the pacer, which starts at the deliberately slow speed of about 25 km/h, gradually increases in speed and leaves the track approximately 600–700 meters before the end, at a speed of about 50 km/h. The first cyclist to finish the race is the winner (sometimes finishing at 70 km/h). Keirin races are about 2 kilometers in length (eight laps on a 250m track, six laps on a 333m track, and five laps on a 400m track).

  • 2009 Tree Shaker Mountain Bike Race Fort Mill, SC

    ByMike Byrd

    The Tree Shaker 12 Hour race in Fort Mill, SC was my last ‘race’ of the year. Anything from here on out will be for fun.

    Last year, my team of Neal Boyd, Scott Streuer and myself took overall honors in the 3 person team event. This year, TJ Wood took Neal’s spot as Neal had timing responsibilities.

    The forcast was for wet weather but thankfully, we only had a few sprinkles throughout the day. TJ took the first lap, me the second and Scott took the third lap. The first lap always seems to be the hardest as you are trying to go fast, learn the course and not blow yourself up for the rest of the day. I had a great first lap and was looking forward to a good day.

  • 2011 South Carolina State Criterium Championships

    ByMike Byrd

    Sunday morning started much like Saturday, early.  Neal and I left the house right at 5:30AM to get to the criterium course held in Hampton Park next to the Citadel in Charleston, SC.  We stopped, got coffee and headed down I17.  There was a full moon and it seemed like we were going to drive right up to.  One of the coolest moon sets I’ve seen.

    We managed to get the Start/Finish Truss and stage set up in record time.  The SC Criterium Championship is held on a flat course with two real turns.  It’s a super fast 1 mile course.

  • Race 2 – 2011 Charlotte Motor Speedway Time Trial Series

    ByMike Byrd

    May 11th, 2011 was the 2nd race of the Charlotte Motor Speedway Time Trial Series held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.    I met Jasen at his house, loaded up his car with our time trial bikes and headed down to the Charlotte Motor Speedway.  My start time for the time trial was 7:45pm so I had plenty of time to warm up.  I put my Cervelo P3 together, pasted my number on my speedsuit and managed to get about 5 laps on the track before it was closed for the race.

  • | |

    Gravel Bike Ride: Old Falls River Road in Rocky Mountain National Park

    ByMike Byrd

    Kim surprised me with a trip to Fricso, Colorado over Labor Day weekend 2023.   We took the gravel bikes with us on this trip and were looking for a good gravel rides.   I wanted to visit Estes Park (also knowns at the Rocky Mountain National Park) and we found a gravel ride review for Old Falls River Road.

    The reviews said it was a challenging but beautiful ride.  We watched a Youtube video review and decided, why not, let’s do it.

    We drove down to Estes Park and as usual, ended up with a later start than planned.  That seems to be our MO these days.

  • Shootout on Anglers Ridge

    ByMike Byrd

    Andy Good and I headed up to the ‘Shootout on Angler’s Ridge’ on March 13th.  Andy raced in the Sport 50+ class and I raced in the Sport 40+ class.

    My race had about 25 people in the class and it was good to see some familiar faces in the lineup.  I was on the front row of our group which seemed like a good place to be until the Race Director called ‘role’. By the time my name was called, I was on the 3rd row for the start of the race.