Great idea and I’ve recently had the same idea. Only problem is TTs were virtually dead before this catastrophe occurred. I just don’t think there’s the intrinsic interest, combined with the fact that most of my tri and cycling buddies have cut back on the training a lot.

I'm not training any less... what else is there to do? Even if you still have a job, the roads have a less traffic now.

Surely TTs that are currently on the schedule should have good turnout? And I'd expect some tri and road races who don't normally do them would show up as well.

TTs are so inherently safe that they should be viable by the beginning of June. We'll be at the tail end of new cases by then with current measures, and should start opening businesses up to a degree. Pack racing, tris, and running events might not be allowed all year...

Awhile ago USAC issued a number of recommendations for "safe" racing, including eliminating the use of a holder at TT start. I think TT has the best shot to run this year.

In addition to the existing USAC recommendations, the following might also decrease risk:
--increasing the start spacing (usually at 30 seconds) to a minute or more
--cold starts only (no warm-ups, isolate in vehicle until start)
--no podium pics
--face masks prior and after race
--no snot rockets

Still, there's a lot of respiratory spewing that goes on. The risk can't be eliminated.

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No coasting in running and no crying in baseball

You could also run local 5K and 10k races as a TT and if a local tri is small enough that could work too.

I don't see tri, even small ones, working. There's just too much variation in speed across the three sports. No way to keep people evenly spaced out.

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No coasting in running and no crying in baseball

I hope so but I doubt it anytime soon. The local events here are still posted for the next race on April 26th, but don't think that will happen. Still training but not that hard.

I didn't see an exception for the holding off of on USAC races for TT to go on. Did I miss something?

I think I wouldn't want to be the starter or person handing out numbers.

One thing we are starting here in OKC is a social isolation Strava TT challenge. Our first route is 42 miles. We use Strava as the timekeeper/leader board. I think the "event" duration is 3 weeks, so you can pick any day within the 3 weeks to ride the route. Roads are open to traffic (obviously) and it's up to the rider to make sure they are being safe in intersections. At the end of the 3 weeks, the fastest rider gets a small prize. For the first route, it's a roll of toilet paper and a gift card to one of our local bike shops (the bike shop will benefit from the purchase of the gift card).

I'm setting up another route today with about 20% dirt road and 80% pavement, and quite a bit shorter. The first route was great for TT bikes, but a lot of people don't have TT bikes. Plus, 42 miles is a big commitment. The dirt road would be rideable on TT or road, but fastest on a 30+mm tire i would guess. Fastest time in the month of April will get $20 at a different LBS

It's a way to still allow riders to be competitive, but without gathering a bunch of people to a location at the same time.

group gatherings this is the issue. In most localities you can not have a group of more than 4 or 5 people and others no groups at all and physical distancing is being enforced strictly. I think that people need to stop looking for loop holes (I did not invent that line one of our Provincial leaders/ Premiers and a health official as well, said it). This is not a joke or a thing to try to get around, one infected, but asymptomatic, person can infect many people without knowing it. There was a case of a funeral in one Canadian province that has led to many becoming ill and even people who attended dying because of the fact they chose to ignore the warnings and do the right thing. Just wait, it will pass, patience is the virtue here.

Will you go without on-site medical coverage? What do you think those people (EMTs, etc.) think of this?

Do you have anyone at the turnaround or at intersections? What do you think those people think of this?

Will you have insurance to cover this? What happens if someone gets sick from attending this event? What do you think the lawyers think of this?

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"Go yell at an M&M"

I've been very surprised there is not more interest in this, but at a grass roots level. That is, I see why a conventional race organizer doesn't want to try to do a "real TT" with hundreds, or thousands of people. But I am shocked there are not more small groups (clubs, friends, whatever) that decide to do a TT.

I was hoping people would find RāsFrē useful for this..... No starter need; flying start is fine. No numbers, no other support required. Just tell people - "hey, lets all go ride this route and upload our data". Maybe you could even tell people "Let's all start between 9am and 9:26am; arrive at the minute of the letter of your last name. I.E. Lasts names starting "C" start about 9:03". Actual start time doesn't matter; just give everyone space and cross the line when you are ready and nobody else is around.

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2015 USAT Long Course National Champion (M50-54)

I'm not thinking this would be a good idea now, rather June or whenever case #s have dropped to a low level and businesses that have been closed start opening up. But we still need social distancing to some degree to prevent flareups. Sadly I don't believe mass-start races or large events will be viable til probably next spring/summer.


Accidents are uncommon at TTs... particularly with the lower traffic levels. By June the hospital crisis with C19 should be past, and the infection rate very low, so there shouldn't be a problem.

I'd have no qualms about handing out numbers, spotting the turn, or even being a holder at the start in that environment. All of these could be modified or eliminated also.

Who gets sued if you or the checkout person gets sick when you go the grocery? Who gets sued when the dork in front of you causes a crash in a road race and you break your neck?

The beauty of TTs is that you don't need to "cluster" at all. An important factor of this is how much time you spend breathing the same air as an infected person. The risk outdoors is very low unless you are careless. A pass in a TT has almost zero risk.

Yep, that's a way it could be done even now. For people who hate TTs you could do hill climbs or circuits.

I've heard some buzz about riders in the UK getting shit for "being far from home", even though they are riding alone. In several Euro countries the pros aren't even allowed outside to train. So I wonder if the more "nervous" people who saw some riders on the same road, who looked like they were having a race of some kind, would have a fit.

Rob,

I am trying to do something similar in my area. Right now its just a hill climb challenge up an established segment over 1 day, but I like the Idea of a longer ride over several weeks. How are you getting the word out to your cycling community? and Are you just creating a new segment on strava for each new route? Thanks.

I would expect most of the risk during any race is not while racing but during registration, gathering for briefings, bike inspections, having a chat with fellow competitors before and after, taking water at aid stations, travelling there and back, etc.
Sure, most and perhaps all of these can be mitigated, but is it worth it?

It already is google zwift ;)

 
i thought about creating cyclocross time trials too. no tape, but just use some flags or whatever, and make a little course in a safe open space. best time for 10 laps, or whatever.

I'm down with it, someone local to us near Raleigh had idea of a hill climb totaled over a few segments. Different days poses the risk though of really helping or hurting though unless the weather is super consistent.

Same for the TT stuff.

Instead of actual winners/losers, since it's not the same/fair course............maybe do a series. You do a hill climb or TT each week and if you get points along the way for PR's or something.

Otherwise, all the folks who have the time will just pick the times wind is at their backs.

I set up an Event on Facebook and invited all my local cycling buddies to it. Facebook lets you create an event for 2 weeks. I put the link to the strava segment in the event description, along with some rules (no drafting, no motor pacing, don't be an idiot, etc). Within strava, you can view fastest segment times for the current month, so i could just look at that. But the first two routes we used are brand new segments that nobody has ridden before, so it's easy to track who the overall KOM winner is.

I also added a bonus. If you take break the KOM and take a selfie in front of the nearest local shop that includes the bike you rode it on, then i cash app you a bonus $5. Mostly because i wanted to see what bikes people are using, but also because i wanted the shop to get more traffic (this shop has a coffee shop that's still open inside)

My friend in Dallas setup something similar, but his is a bit more involved. He and his wife set up 4 segments on a popular route and invited people to join a strava club if they want to participate in the challenge. They export the data from the club into an Google Sheet and add the segment times together. The person with the fastest times over the course of the month is the winner.

Risk during registration and chatting can easily be mitigated. Bike inspections, briefings, and water stations don't occur at any TTs I've been to lately, anyway.

Note, this is a June+ activity... when the first wave has passed and things are opening up again. Should be less risky than going to the grocery, which most people are doing currently.

As a single father of two young kids, I can't help but laugh at this statement. I wish I had time to train, but, as it stands, I'm barely getting anything in right now

I suggested something similar to this to my social network. The difference is I have it set as a weekly Time Trial series. I have a local ~7 mile route I use with a start and course that is off the normal route(s) enough that random people won't trigger it. It's actually a really nice course. I will upload results to FB on Mondays. Had 3 people, including myself, hit it Sunday and another that rode it on Monday. Hopefully more people get into it, but I will try and hit it every Sunday, regardless. Time Trial bikes are much more fun to ride in anger.

Any of you ST foks near me that are interested here is the Segment.

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I like this idea and may steal it. No bike shop nearby, but maybe the neighborhood's sign?

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