View Belfast Time Trial Maine Time Trial Series # 4 in a larger map
The Belfast Time Trial is a 16 mile out and back time trial held on Route One just outside of Belfast, Maine. It is the fourth race in the Maine Time Trial Series. The course features rolling hills, very long sight lines, some tough hills and a glimpse of the Penobscot Narrows Bridge. Conditions were dry and calm with temperatures in the 70s. About 50 riders started the race. Frame and Wheel tracked the race with an Android smartphone and added some labels with details about the race. Total duration is 49 minutes (including creeping around the parking lot), total distance is 18 miles, average moving speed is 22 miles per hour, maximum speed is 41 miles per hour, maximum elevation is 124 feet, total elevation gain is 759 feet and maximum grade is 7%.
Frame and Wheel sets out and soon begins to feel the previous day of racing. The first part of the course is a false flat and goes on forever. Frame and Wheel concentrates on staying aerodynamic and not getting bogged down in a big gear. Frame and Wheel tries the technique of shifting down a few gears and attacking the steeper climbs out of the saddle. Recovery from these efforts becomes very hard later in the race. The first respite comes on the big downhill that leads to the turnaround. Frame and Wheel is very slow in the turnaround. The marshals and the police have done a great job of halting traffic, but there are lots of cars and it is Route One.
The return trip is characterized by the climb up to the hill by the over pass. Frame and Wheel attacks out of the saddle on the climb, but suffers badly on the false flat that follows. The terrain is increasingly a mild downhill to the finish and Frame and Wheel tries to push the big gears, but this is very hard to do. Frame and Wheel pushes through one last rise and heads for the finish. Frame and Wheel completes the course with a time of 35: 24, which is fast enough for second place, but well behind a truly inspiring performance by time trial expert Tim Mitchell (CCB Racing), who after a win on Saturday in the 70 mile Lake Auburn Road Race, completes the course in 33:35 and sets a new and surely indelible course record. Paul McMahon completes the course with an impressive time of 36:54, which is fast enough for third place. Frame and Wheel is pleased with the result, given that in 2010, Frame and Wheel suffered a flat and spent some twenty minutes walking along Route One in the rain. Frame and Wheel thanks the Belfast Bicycle Club for putting on and managing a great time trial and congratulates all the participants on their willingness to race a tough course and on their results.
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