Cyclists Test Times in Weekly Trial

Most group physical activities are about competition; sizing yourself up against other individuals and teams. And with the riders of Concord’s Northeast Bicycle Club, Wednesday nights are indeed about just that. But no harm, no foul in a little spirited competition.

During the NEBC’s weekly Charlie Baker Time Trials, riders are far from throwing sticks on the ground in an attempt to pop a fellow rider’s tire and legs aren’t flailing in the air, with feet aiming to boost a rider off their seat.

Instead, this is a friendly contest. The “Race of Truth,” which began in mid-April and continues until Sept. 7, is a 9.75-mile ride of rolling terrain, starting in the northeast corner of Lowell Road and Barnes Hill Road. The first rider pedals at 6:15 p.m., with fellow riders following in 30-second increments, alongside the busy rush-hour traffic.

Six-year participant Don Ryder, a Carlisle native, began coming to the CBTT as a training exercise.

“It actually started for me as a training session when I was training for other kinds of races,” Ryder said, “and part of my training was to do some high-intensity training so that’s why I got started with this.

“It’s the best high-intensity workout I get every week because I go harder when I’m competing as opposed to when I’m just [riding] by myself.”

Jim Kangas, a Pepperell resident who has been participating for the past three years, agreed with Ryder. Kangas rides five or six days a week, about 150 miles, and he began as a way to continue his training as well.

“Competition. Keeping track of my time,” Kangas said. “I’ve been an avid biker for a number of years and what it’s become is my weekly power test.”

Caroline Kavanagh, a Westford resident who was riding in just her second CBTT on Wednesday, competes often in power tests, having been a triathlon participant for six years now.

“This is a good workout just to get out there and go as hard as you can for 9.75 miles,” Kavanagh said.

A cyclist since he was 17-years-old, middle-aged Boxborough resident Juan Puerto started competing in the CBTT three years ago with some friends to keep up with his training.

“I started cycling before it, then heard about this and that’s why I decided to do it,” Puerto said. “I [started biking] when I was 17. I did it for three or four years and then I came back to cycling like four years ago.”

Ryder, Kangas, Kavanagh and Puerto all started in the CBTT with friends and/or from hearing of it through word of mouth. The regular circle that competes is on the smaller side, with roughly 20 or so cyclists on this particular Wednesday evening.

“It’s a small group of people here in the races,” Ryder said, “so I know a lot of people.”

But it is a friendly competition, Ryder added. The CBTT is, obviously, for measuring one’s endurance, fitness and performance, and every rider’s purpose is to gain strength, but it’s all in good nature as well.

“We definitely know where we finish relative to one another,” Ryder continued. “[But] I’m either significantly faster or significantly slower than they are. I never beat them, but I always try to get closer and closer.”

Added Kavanagh, “Having people to catch pushes me to go harder. It’s a mental thing to push yourself.”

Kangas and Puerto also said they feel the need to focus on themselves and their individual times too.

“[It’s] competition with myself,” Kangas said. “Some weeks are better than others. I don’t do it every Wednesday, two or three [a month] maybe.”

But Kangas said he enjoys the challenge and will continue to compete until his legs give way.

Puerto said for him it’s more to see where he is in his training.

“It’s an event that I can just do every week and it will give me the edge of a race so that’s pretty much why I do it,” Puerto said.

“It keeps me healthy and it keeps me balanced,” Puerto continued.

Times are recorded and posted on NEBC’s website, where riders can view different course records, such as: Individual Men, Individual Women, Individual Men No Aero, Individual Women No Aero, Fixed Gear, Fixed Gear No Aero, and Tandem, among other categories.

Puerto said his improvement is “up and down,” while Ryder said he’s had a good year so far.

“I usually have a speed around which I cluster every year,” Ryder said, “so I have differences by year more than week-to-week. Some years I’m faster and some years I’m slower. This year’s been a fast year.

“I’m always trying different training techniques and I think this year I’m getting it right,” continued Ryder. “I really enjoy it. The race itself, just 23 minutes of going as hard as you possibly can, is a difficult thing to do.”

Kavanagh added that she doesn’t want to get too attached to a particular number, as she doesn’t see that as overly positive. Having both good and bad times and not focusing so much on the actual time is what she strives for.

“I think you can learn a lot,” Kavanagh said of the CBTT.