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Social Media and Bicycling

04.13.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 7 Comments

This evening was the first Run Far Time Trial of the year in Austin. It’s run every other Tuesday from now through September. I didn’t ride it tonight, because I’m pointing toward this weekend’s MS 150, but I did head out there for my usual Tuesday evening Veloway ride.

I won’t go into details about the time trial itself, because I’ve written about it once or twice in the past. For me, being there held the prospect of putting some faces with the names of people I see all the time on social networking sites.

I like social media. Besides this blog, I use Twitter every day. I have two accounts — one is work-related and the other is dedicated to bicycling (my most recent Tweets appear in the right column here).  I’m also on Facebook. It doesn’t eat up as much of my time as you might think.

This afternoon, the Tweets started appearing about the time trial. My friend @weiland said he would be there, and @T_Starry replied that he would, too. Then @cyberjunkie21 said he’d join the group. I replied that I’d meet them there as well. We all posted what kind of jerseys we would wear.

I got to the Veloway, where riders check in for the time trial, a little early, and decided to take a lap. Most of the time trial riders had the same idea.

Rider takes a warmup lap on the Veloway before heading out on the time trial. The wildflowers are spectacular this spring. These are Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush.
Tim Starry, aka @T_Starry, aka Old Guy On Two Wheels.

When I got out to the parking lot, I saw @T_Starry right away. His coach from Austin Cycle Camp was explaining how to attach the timing chip. I first met Tim Starry through his blog, An Old Guy On Two Wheels, then met in person back in January at an MS150-Tour de Cure training ride. We follow each other on Twitter, and read and comment on each other’s blogs, but I hadn’t seen him since then.

While we were talking, an attractive woman pulled up on her bike and greeted Tim. She introduced herself as Patti Hill. I stuck out my hand and introduced myself with my real name. Her reply was polite, but lukewarm.

“I’m Bike Noob,” I said.

“Oh, Bike Noob! Hi!” @pattidhill answered with a smile.

Another rider stuck out his hand. “I’m cyberjunkie,” he said.

“Cyberjunkie! That’s terrific!” I exclaimed.

A man standing by laughed. “You guys are a lot more friendly when you use your phony names instead of your real names,” he said.

Maybe. It’s our common ground — a starting point. We joked about our Twitter pictures, talked about rides we’d been on recently. But it was time for them to head out on the time trial course. I resumed my easy laps of the Veloway.

When I finished, I found @T_Starry and @weiland back from their time trial runs. They exchanged stories about how it went. The southeast wind was tough tonight, and smacked riders in the face during a nice downhill when they’re supposed to be making good time. Tonight, it was a struggle.

They’re all great folks, and without social media, I doubt we’d have ever met, even if our paths crossed at various cycling events. Now that I’ve met their real selves, instead of merely their virtual selves, the connection is that much more meaningful.

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Categories // Blogging, Community, Odds 'n ends Tags // Blogging, social media, time trial, Twitter, Veloway

A minor milestone

09.08.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 7 Comments

If you’ve been reading this blog for more than a few months, you’ll recall that I took a stab at a bi-weekly time trial run in my neighborhood. That was back in May, and at the time, I figured I wouldn’t bother with it again until September, when I would run it to see if I improved at all during the summer.

Holy cow! It’s September! Not only that, but only two TTs remain until they shut it down until next spring. So if I was going to gauge my performance (or lack thereof), I’d better step up now.

It just so happened that tonight was one of the two remaining TTs. My work schedule allows me to take off earlier on Tuesday than the rest of the week, so I got home, changed into riding clothes, and headed out.

Not without some trepidation, however. Our temperatures may not be topping 100 anymore, but it was still 96 when I headed over to the staging area. The wind had picked up during the day, and was blowing from the east southeast at nine, gusting to 22 mph, according to one of the local TV news channels. I didn’t know if I could battle the wind enough to improve on my time from May.

A quick recap for those who may be new to the blog: The time trial is 8.12 miles, along the Mopac extension in southwest Austin. There are a few hills, but only one that I consider a challenge. Of greater concern is the fact that the TT starts at 6 p.m., the height of rush hour, when the traffic along this stretch of road is comparatively heavy.

When I ran it in May, my time for the 8.12 miles was 24:34, for an average speed of 19.5 mph. So my goal for tonight was to beat that mark, and if possible, get below 24:30.

Right after I checked in, a cyclist rode up to me with a big smile and an extended hand. Evan is a Bike Noob reader, and since I was wearing my Bike Forums 50+ jersey, he recognized me from past pictures I’ve run here. This was Evan’s first time trial, and we talked about the route and procedures. I looked over his bike — a Surly Long Haul Trucker with wide Schwalbe Marathon tires and bar-end shifters. Evan was dressed in a t-shirt, baggy shorts, and touring shoes. These are the guys you have to watch out for. I’ve been passed too often by them when I’m riding along at what I think is a good pace.

I took a warm-up lap on the Veloway, where I nearly hit a deer that burst out of the bushes and ran at me, then went out to the course. Joe from our club, who leads the A group rides on Sunday, headed out with me. He’s my age, but much faster, so I figured if I could just keep him in my sights, I’d be okay.

We went through the starting timer and headed south, into a wind from the southeast. Although I could feel the resistance, I could also tell I was making good time. Once we turned west and had the wind at our backs, we could make good time up the only real hill on the course. The eastbound leg has a good downhill, but we were into the wind here, and I could only get up to 27 mph. I knew I had to pick up the pace on the last northbound leg.

I pushed over the series of easy hills, and could see Joe all the way. When I got to the finish line, I waited until I heard the timing beeps, then clicked my stopwatch. I did it! Unofficial time 24:10 — beating my old mark by 24 seconds! Average speed: 20.16 mph (I may be old, but I’m still slow).

But it’ll stay unofficial. We learned late this evening that an electronic glitch at the finish line prevented any times from being recorded. Hmph. Well, at least I’ve got my stopwatch. It looks like I’ll have to do this all over again in two weeks.

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Categories // Racing Tags // Racing, time trial

The RunFar Time Trial

07.29.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 5 Comments

Every other Tuesday from April – September, a company called RunFar puts on a time trial in Austin. It’s an 8.12-mile course along the Mopac loop that I ride so often. But this, as they say, is the “Ride of Truth.” Riders are welcome to come out and see how they stack up against their goals, their previous personal bests, or that character who shows up all the time, and always seems to get the better of you.

I rode the time trial in May, and I’ll do it again next month. But in the meantime, I took a video camera out to this week’s event, and maybe was able to capture some of the atmosphere. Cameo appearance by my friend David at the end.  Temperature: 102°F (39°C).

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Categories // Racing Tags // Racing, time trial

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