More Info about the TnTT
Who’s in charge of this zoo?
You are. You decide if you’re going to ride. It’s a public road – you can ride there whenever you want. You can time trial on it whenever you want. If you want someone else to time you, show up for the TnTT and Timer Tom (or sometimes someone else) will time you and we’ll publish your time on this blog (unless you really don’t want us to).
Hazards
Cycling is dangerous. If you haven’t crashed, you will. If you haven’t been hurt, you probably will. The only person who can make it safer for you is you.
Objective Hazards
Besides the obvious – mechanical failure (tires, frame, fork, etc), cars, trucks, joggers, walkers, dogs, cats, wind, rain, sand, bumps, narrow road, etc – there are some other, not so obvious hazards on this route.
Squirrels – There are lots and lots of squirrels. And squirrels are stupid (or vindictive depending on your viewpoint). They’ll watch you approach, then when it’s too late for you to steer away, they’ll run into your path, knock you off your bike, bite you and infect you with rabies. They’re mostly located in the Squirrelville areas on the map but they can be anywhere.
Deer – Fortunately there are not that many deer but they’re out there. And, amazing as it may seem, they’re stupider than squirrels (and lots bigger). They rarely travel alone and they will cross immediately in front of you even if there’s a choice to go behind you (Ask Gary H about this). Remember deer=stupid, big and dangerous.
Hogs – Much rarer than deer and fortunately much smarter, however, if mama’s on one side of the road and babies are on the other, watch out. Mama will run interference.
Buzzards and other large birds – They take off slowly. At full speed you’ll close on them very quickly and stuffing your helmet into a buzzard’s butt will probably not be pleasant, especially considering their diet.
Snakes – Don’t fall near them and try not to run over them as they’re squishy and messy.
Gators – Not too common along John Anderson but not unheard of. There was a baby living in the pond on the southwest side of the Flagler Bridge. Unless you’re a UF fan, probably best to give them a wide berth.
Turtles – Obviously slow. Probably would take you down if you hit one square.
Armadillos – Not quite as slow as turtles but would definitely take you down when hit. And did you know they can have leprosy?
Dragonflies – Not likely to knock you down but will disturb your concentration when you collect one between your glasses and helmet or down your jersey. And there’s lots of them. Not sure of nutrient value should you ingest one – probably crunchy.
Frogs, lizards – Squishy. And the little itty bitty frogs that appear after heavy rains stick to the downtube.
Subjective Hazards
There’s only one – you. Obviously you should be in pretty good physical and mental condition before attempting a time trial.
The harder you push physically, the less you have available mentally. If you don’t believe, try an experiment. While cycling at a easy pace, do a math problem in your head, then try it again while pushing at your limit.
