2018 Rock Hill Time Trial Tandem (June)

I needed this. I mean, if ever there was a time for someone to call me up and say, you wanna do a race with me tomorrow? This was the time. (So please excuse the fact that it takes longer to read this post than it was for me to actually do the race.)

Last year when I did the CMS Time Trial, I hung out with my buddy Paul. He was piloting a tandem bicycle for this guy named Chester. I got to know Chester that night as we hung out and went to grab a bite to eat after.  Then 2 days later, I ran on a triathlon relay at Tri! Ballantyne. Paul and Chester rode the tandem in the bike leg. Last year was the beginnings of Paul starting the Para-Guide Race Team.

Chester has stargardt's disease. Basically it is degeneration of your straight ahead vision. He does have some peripheral vision. He can use his phone, but has trouble seeing the pressure gauge on his bike pump.  He cannot drive. Chester is on the para-cycling national team and competed in Rio de Janeiro earlier this year. His team is R5 Para Racing.

Chester Getting that Seat Adjusted

So Chester sent me a message, asking me if I would like to be the "driver" for him on the tandem bike sometime. I said that would be cool.  I didn't hear a single thing from him for a month.  Then all of a sudden, the Tuesday afternoon before a Wednesday Rock Hill time trial, I get another message.  Basically, you wanna race tomorrow?

I was feeling pretty sorry for myself after Raleigh 70.3, so I jumped at the chance at another race. I really thought it would be cool to pilot the tandem.  I also knew that I needed practice. I figured we would do a training ride together, but no time for that now.  We did message back and forth regarding stem size and basic fit so the bike wouldn't be completely uncomfortable to me.

I met Chester down at South Pointe High School. He had gotten his mom to drive the van down for him. Wonderfully nice and patient woman.  He brought the road bike and the TT bike. I'm like, let's ride the TT, that's what I'm more comfortable with. I brought my pedals, and Chester adjusted the seat. I rode around the parking lot a few times until we got the seat adjusted correctly. It really didn't feel that different at all - with no one on the back that is.

He has di2 on the shifters on his TT bike. I've never rode di2. I'm like, Hey Chester, not only have I never ridden a tandem before, I've never ridden di2. No worries. We did a short test run around the parking lot. The plan was to ride the entire 10 mile course as a warmup.

We clip in on the right, then we coordinate, 1 - 2 - 3 Go. We push off and clip in on the other side, and we're riding! The bike feels a little heavy.  We get down to the bottom of the parking lot and we need to turn to get out. But we're not turning. We're still going straight. Headed for the curb. I'm like 'Oh $#!T Oh $#!T Oh $#!T Oh $#!T'. I somehow get it to slowly turn. Chester is laughing at me. We miss the curb and make the turn up towards the road.

At this point I really don't think we'll even be able to finish the 10 mile course. Like at all. Luckily there are no cars coming so we can just get out onto the road without stopping.  We do stop at the stop sign before the start and wait for some cars. Lots of communication just for starting and stopping.

We head out onto the course and come to the fist turn. I yell 'turn' and we sloooowly start making a very wide turn going across the center line. And there is a pickup truck heading right for us. 'Oh $#!T Oh $#!T Oh $#!T Oh $#!T'. More laughter. It's probably a good thing Chester is mostly blind. The pickup is nice enough to slow down to almost a stop so we can get back on our side of the road.

Now were rolling. I stay on the horns as I don't feel comfortable enough to get fully into aero position.  We handle the downhill ok, and the railroad tracks that are all torn up.  At first it almost feels like I'm fighting Chester on the pedals, but after 5 miles or so we get into a pretty good groove. I actually feel comfortable on the last couple of turns.

We finish up back at the parking lot. I look at my watch: 24.5 mph for a warmup.  This bike is fast with 2 people pushing watts.  We grab something to drink and then head to the start line.  We line up 2nd from last, and eventually work our way up to the start.

Right before the start, as we are balancing there, John Patterson holding our bike, all 4 feet clipped in, I suddenly get super nervous. Like when they say start, and John lets go, that we are just gonna fall over.  So when that time comes, I just push with all the watts I got. And miraculously we start moving.  Luckily you get up to speed quickly on a tandem.

We are rolling down that first hill and I feel pretty comfortable. You hit the first turn, less than a mile in. I yell TURN! Chester echos back 'Right Turn'. We lean, and stay on our side of the road. It's the little victories. Then it's hammer time down the big hill as we reach 47 miles an hour. I start to get more comfortable with the leaning and I am able to stay in aero.

Either this HR graph is not right, or I had a heart attack right in the middle of the race.

We start to catch some people. We slow waaay down at the railroad tracks about 2.5 miles in. But again you pick up the pace pretty well in the tandem.  We get in a groove and hit the next 2 quick turns pretty well.  We come through the 5 mile mark (on my watch) in 10:16, a 29.2 average.

Now we're in the long straight stretch.  My legs are pretty toast from doing a half iron triathlon just 3 days before.  Chester is feeling good luckily.  I feel comfortable enough to stay in aero and even slingshot draft people along that stretch.

We hit the last 2 quick turns and I yell "Hammer!  Hammer!" We're both a little tired and we lose some on the last hill, but very pleased with the overall effort.  We come through on my Garmin with 9.92 miles in 20:47 for a 28.6 average.

We spin around a little bit then head back to the parking lot.  We grab something to drink and put everything up. Eventually we go over to Cheryl announcing the times.  Of course Chester and I were faster than everyone. It's really not fair on a Tandem. BUT we were 13 seconds faster than Chester and his normal pilot, Chad, were just 2 weeks ago.  Yeah boy. I guess Chester ought to be calling me up more often!  Full Results Here. Cheryl took 10 seconds off for the train tracks (as for every TT this year).

Uh, got some segments

I know I can crank some power, and I'm aero and comfortable in TT bars, so I guess it shouldn't be a shock that we rode such a fast time. But I think Chester is really good at adapting to drivers and getting the most out of whoever is upfront.  It felt so awesome to race with him.  I kept thanking Chester for inviting me and he kept thanking me for piloting. (It was a little pathetic).  To Chester, with his vision impairment, any time he can get outside and ride, he feels like it is a gift and he is thankful. It's something I've taken for granted. Lately, it's all felt like a chore.

I think the pure pursuit of winning has drained the fun out of it for me. Most people do a much better job of enjoying the journey.  I was at first, but the last couple of years I have not.  I have fallen from the purer faith.  Maybe it's not about winning. Maybe it's not about making the podium. Maybe it's not even about competing. Maybe it's about doing something for someone else. Maybe it's about helping someone else on their journey.  Maybe that's the true journey. Maybe, just maybe, that is "what it's all about". I honestly don't know, but I intend to find out.