Cannibal (Road Bike) Time Trial Q&A

We wanted to give racers an opportunity to try a new and exciting Time Trial format at this year’s Two Days of Buffalo Omnium. Omnium/Stage races are really cool in theory. It’s the closest you get as an amateur racer to “The Tour”. For many racers however, it can be challenging to bring a full time trial to a race. The added complexity and cost dissuades many racers from participating in a race like this and sometimes the added space a TT bike takes up in your car can prevent teammates or friends from carpooling to a race.

So this year we decided to offer a 4.6 Mile Prologue distance Road Bike only TT at our race. The benefit of this format is that anyone can participate and be competitive! Crit guys, Climbers, Cross racers, anyone!!! No fancy disc wheels or dedicated TT bike required. Just you, your road bike, and guts!!! Not to mention with this style of TT, the course can be a bit more technical, complex, and challenging!

Since this is a new format, I wanted to go over some of the rules to ensure everyone plans accordingly and has as much fun as possible.

BIKE

You must use a mass start legal road bike with round handlebars. No bull horns or aero bars. No Clip-On’s. Get in the drops and go fast!!!

WHEELS

Mass start legal wheels. No discs, 3 spokes, 5 spokes, Spinergy, disc covers, etc…

CLOTHING/HELMET

Did you ever show up to a crit and say, I’m attacking from the gun? However you would dress in that situation is how you should dress for this event. Mass start helmet (no TT helmet). Skinsuits & aero gloves, and shoe covers allowed.

The intention here is to level out the playing field and open up this TT to people who would normally not want to participate in a TT. I know a lot of fast guys that roll their eyes when the topic of time trials come up. Let’s face it, a TT is a simple race. Fastest person from point A to point B. It is the race of truth and I hope to see all of the “fast guys” show up and show us all what they are really made of.

I expect average speeds to top out at over 30 miles per hour and the fastest times to be in the 10 minute range. If you really want to do well in this event the most important piece of equipment you can bring is a barf bag.

Good Luck, Be Safe, and Have Fun!!!

Take a Breath for Life Foundation

When I was handed the diagnosis of lung cancer I was 49 years old and had never smoked. As a teenager I had lost my mom, also a non-smoker to this same disease just before her 53rd birthday. All,  making this diagnosis that much more surreal.

My sojourn began in May 2009 with a small nagging cough.  After a few weeks my husband encouraged me to go to the doctor.  Initially it presented itself as pneumonia.  With no improvement noted after a course of antibiotics, further tests revealed it was cancer. I had 2 surgeries in 4 months with many more tests and appointments following.  I was accepted into a 2 year clinical chemo drug trial and am happy to share that the drug has since been approved by the FDA to help fight Lung Cancer.

I am thrilled to say that I’m Cancer Free! I have to be mindful of the possibility of recurrence but I am being carefully monitored.  During my experience I have seen firsthand how we fall short in providing adequate lung cancer education and equitable funding for lung cancer research. People may think that Lung Cancer sufferers have brought this on themselves with poor life style choices but many of us have never smoked or purposely exposed ourselves to risk. Lung Cancer remains the number one cancer killer and sadly receives far less financial support from the varied donor sources. In response to those realities my family and I established the Take a Breath for Life Foundation with our goals being to bolster awareness and increase funding for Lung Cancer education and research through our annual fund raising event.

We have again paired our event with a Cyclo-cross race hosted by the East Aurora Racing Club. I have been working with Dan Kowalik and several of the guys from the team. It is so heartwarming working with these guys who are so willing to share their time and talents for us to meet our goals. What a wonderful group of individuals!

Our fundraiser will be held on November 16th from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. in the Old Casino on the grounds of the Erie County Fair in Hamburg.

We will offer a cyclo-cross race that will be held on the race track, Registration info- https://www.bikereg.com/Net/21370  There will also be entertainment, theme baskets, raffles, a kids Korner and food being available.   Please join us!  Bring your family and friends.  And a big thank you to the EA Racing Club.

Michelle McMahon

EARC Awarded USA Cycling 2013 Best New Club Award

In 2012, our first year, USA Cycling awarded the East Aurora Cycling Club the Best New Club of the year.

We are very proud of our efforts in 2012, and thankful to USAC for bestowing such an honor on our club.

See you all in 2013! We have some very exciting things that we are working on…

Hope you will come out and join us!