6/28/03 by George Liolios
The Peninsula Time Trial Championship held at Presque Isle State Park on June 28 is one of the best and well-organized time trials I have ever competed in. There is no day of race entry all riders must pre-register. The week of the event you receive a post card with your start time, which makes your travel planning much easier.
The day of the race you show up to pick up your race packet, which includes, numerous merchandise coupons, water bottle, t-shirt and a pretty cool Louis Garneau mussete bag.
There is a digital timing clock at the start line and finish line with an official starter counting your time down with the same hand and verbal signals given at the Tour. 5,4,3,2,1 away! Riders are off at 20-second intervals with two sets of two helpers holding you for the start. As soon as your 20-second man is away your two holders roll you to the line for your start. The only thing they lack is a start house, which I have only ridden from once in 26 years.
The course skirts the shores of the Presque Isle peninsula for 12.5 miles with no real turn-around and a westerly head wind on the return to the finish. The course is open to traffic with one entire lane reserved for racing. Along the route you pass landmarks appropriately named, Misery Bay and the Graveyard Pond, which I managed to avoid!
100 riders showed up for the event, from young to old on all types of rides including road and TT rigs. I was fortunate to improve my time from last year by 35 seconds, placing 10th overall and 1st in my category. My secret weapon?
New proto type safety pins I developed which I call TiCarbo Pins! It was a very labor-intensive process of layering and molding microscopic fibers of carbon in the spring and clasp and bonding them to the shafts made of titanium. The carbon fiber allows for the flexibility required to clasp and un-clasp a pin and the titanium the stiffness essential for good closure. The new TiCarbo pin is half the weight of a typical safety pin allowing the use of 8 pins as opposed to the traditional 4, of 1 pin in each corner. With 8 pins you secure your number at all 4 corners and at the mid-point of the horizontal and vertical planes of your number. This system results in better aerodynamics by eliminating the parachute effect, which is typical in the four-corner number system set up. Unfortunately it doesn't appear that there is much of a market for the pins.