LarryOz
Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
Cruzbike Time Trial Challenge 2020
What is it?
The 2020 Cruzbike Time Trial (TT) Challenge Series is a 21-week cycling challenge that is created and administered by Larry Oslund. It is officially approved by Cruzbike.
Week #1 will begin on Monday May 4th - and last through Sunday Sept 27th.
If you participated in the 2019 Summer TT Challenge, this will be very similar, utilizing an outdoor 12-mile Strava Segment, it will just be 21 weeks instead of 12 weeks this year. You can even use your save Strava Segment if you were happy with it.
You don’t have to be a good (or fast) rider to win!
Anyone can win! Based on Alvin Maxwell’s live Time Trial Series in Washington, NC, this series is designed to give everyone an equal chance to win – male and female, young and old, any bike type, regardless of rider conditioning. The rider that is the most consistent and improves the most over the course of the series wins. There will also be weekly winners so everyone in the series has the chance to win at some point!
What will I need to participate:
The Nitty Gritty
The 1st week:
All riders ride their courses as hard and fast as they can (no sandbagging!). This will be your initial Personal Best (PB). Each rider will receive 1 point that rides during this 1st week. There will be no weekly winner the first week. The cutoff for submitting your segment each week is Monday at 11:59 p.m.
2nd through 21st week:
Everyone tries to beat their Personal Best each succeeding week. You are allowed to ride your TT as many times as you want, but you cannot make-up a ride or ride a future week “early”. Scoring is based on how many riders are competing. After the cutoff for the week, each rider’s time offset from their Personal Best will be used to determine the placing and points for that week. If 20 riders compete, then 1st place gets 20 points, 2nd place 19, etc. If 10 riders, then 10, 9, 8, etc. If there is a tie, the tied riders will get the same number of points.
Bonus Scoring:
To encourage consistent all out effort and disincentivize sandbagging, we are creating a new weekly bonus point system which is based on a % of your Personal Best (PB): Below I will use a 60 Min PB as an example.
What if I can’t start next week, can I still play?
Absolutely! Anyone joining after the first week will be considered a new rider and receive 1 point after their first ride regardless of what week it is. If there is more than 1 new rider, they all receive 1 point. If you do not ride, you do not get any points. If you ride and get last place, you still get more points than the rider that did not ride at all!
You can ride your segment anytime within the week from Monday at 12:00 am to Sunday at 11:59 pm. We will announce a weekly winner along with the cumulative points for each rider on Tuesday.
Weekly standings will be posted on the Cruzbike forum.
The participant with the most points after the 21 weeks is the winner.
What if I move or need to change my route “just because I hate it”?
Yes, you can even do that!
The deal is: you have to be able to prove that you are matching your effort on your new course with your PB on your old course. You can really only do that with the use of a power meter, that requirement is: You must have power data from you past PB.
The Process:
Who can ride?
Anyone on any bike can participate as long as they can ride the same 12-mile TT route once each week. The results will be available on the Cruzbike forum.
Please email larryoslund@gmail.com if you are interested in participating.
What do I get if I win? Or don’t win?
10 other “Special Category” Awards to be given out
Cruzbike has also graciously offered to create a special one-of-a-kind Medallion for this 2020 TT series. At the end of the challenge, each rider who has won one of these categories below will receive one of these special medallions engraved with the name of the challenge, their name, and the category with appropriate data on the back of the medallion.
Some of these categories will need either a power meter, heart-rate monitor, cadence sensor, and or weight, so if you are interested in going after any of these categories please make sure you are collecting this data while you are riding.
The categories are:
These kinds of stats are lots of fun to collect and compare. I would encourage everyone to at least get a HR monitor and cadence sensor. Also power meters have come down in price greatly and are a great training and racing aid.
If you can’t secure any of these “advanced” data collection devices there are still 5 of the above categories that every will qualify for just based on time or other gathered data.
NOTE: These special categories are subject to change during the challenge based on participation.
Weekly “winners”
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sbf459xzGsnvgLnZTvIY6ABDzZtcgU7hy_wW5Atga7k/edit?usp=sharing
What is it?
The 2020 Cruzbike Time Trial (TT) Challenge Series is a 21-week cycling challenge that is created and administered by Larry Oslund. It is officially approved by Cruzbike.
Week #1 will begin on Monday May 4th - and last through Sunday Sept 27th.
If you participated in the 2019 Summer TT Challenge, this will be very similar, utilizing an outdoor 12-mile Strava Segment, it will just be 21 weeks instead of 12 weeks this year. You can even use your save Strava Segment if you were happy with it.
You don’t have to be a good (or fast) rider to win!
Anyone can win! Based on Alvin Maxwell’s live Time Trial Series in Washington, NC, this series is designed to give everyone an equal chance to win – male and female, young and old, any bike type, regardless of rider conditioning. The rider that is the most consistent and improves the most over the course of the series wins. There will also be weekly winners so everyone in the series has the chance to win at some point!
What will I need to participate:
- Your bike - any kind!
- 12-mile Strava Segment of you choosing. You can probably find one local to you that someone has already created, or you can create a new one of your own.
- Strava account (you can create one free)
- You will need either a smartphone to run Strava or a Garmin (or similar data collecting device/ride computer) that can collect your ride data and upload it to Strava. Most new ride computers can be set up to auto upload to Strava.
- Consistency. You should be willing to do the TT at least once a week, but whenever you want. You can skip weeks, but the more consistent you can be the better.
- You may also submit a Zwift or Rouvy ride for your weekly ride. If you decide to do this Virtual ride option, then all your weekly rides must be via the same platform and Segment. Virtual Rules:
- for Zwift: You must use "Fuego Du lollipop" Strava Segment in Watopia
- for Rouvy: You must use 3 virtual laps of Monza (https://my.rouvy.com/virtual-routes/detail/26695)
- You must use you a TT bike, so no drafting
- You must report your weight for each ride
- You must upload your Zwift ride to Strava and make that available to me
- Weeks will run Monday through Sunday
- Week #1 will begin on Monday May 4 and last through Sunday Sept 27. The remaining weeks #2-21 follow the same Monday through Sunday pattern.
- Prior to your first week you need to have identified or created your 12-mile Time Trial (TT) route. Ideally it is flat and must be out and back or a loop that starts and ends at the same spot. Several smaller loops such as (4) 3-mile loops can also make your segment, but I would really recommend trying to find a good out and back route. Pick something that does not have stoplights, and only right hand turns if you can. (If you do not know how to create a segment, let Larry know and he can help you do it, or do it for you: larryoslund@gmail.com. There is also a post (https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/216918157-Create-a-Segment) with screenshots that explains it.)
- NOTE: Your route does not have to be exactly 12 miles long, but should not be less than 11.5 or greater than 12.5 miles. Remember - you are not ranked on your overall time to complete your course, but how fast you are each week compared to your personal best.
- Each rider will ride their 12 mile “segment” at least once each week and submit their best result by emailing Larr (larryoslund@gmail.com) their Strava ride link. Results must be submitted by 11:59 pm the following Monday for the previous week.
- Larry tabulates the results and posts them on the Cruzbike forum usually on Tues
- You and your local friends who are doing the challenge may use the same course, but drafting is not allowed. If you do use the same course calculate the difference between your PB’s and start the person with the longest PB first and leave at your delta interval. This way you will most likely end up at the finish at roughly the same time
- Obviously the same bike type (upright, bent, velo, trike) should be used for the entire challenge. You are free and encouraged to make aero adjustments to your gear and bike to help you go faster. That is all part of learning to go faster, but concentrate on the “engine” the most.
The Nitty Gritty
The 1st week:
All riders ride their courses as hard and fast as they can (no sandbagging!). This will be your initial Personal Best (PB). Each rider will receive 1 point that rides during this 1st week. There will be no weekly winner the first week. The cutoff for submitting your segment each week is Monday at 11:59 p.m.
2nd through 21st week:
Everyone tries to beat their Personal Best each succeeding week. You are allowed to ride your TT as many times as you want, but you cannot make-up a ride or ride a future week “early”. Scoring is based on how many riders are competing. After the cutoff for the week, each rider’s time offset from their Personal Best will be used to determine the placing and points for that week. If 20 riders compete, then 1st place gets 20 points, 2nd place 19, etc. If 10 riders, then 10, 9, 8, etc. If there is a tie, the tied riders will get the same number of points.
Bonus Scoring:
To encourage consistent all out effort and disincentivize sandbagging, we are creating a new weekly bonus point system which is based on a % of your Personal Best (PB): Below I will use a 60 Min PB as an example.
- Beating your PB by > 0.0% to 0.417% = 5 bonus points (60min PB up to >0 < 15 secs)
- Beating your PB by 0.417% to 0.833% = 3 bonus points (60 min PB = > 15, < 30 sec)
- Beating your PB by 0.833% to 1.249% = 2 bonus points (60 min PB = > 30, <45 sec)
- Beating your PB by 1.249% to 1.667% = 1 bonus point (60 min PB = > 45, <60 secs
- Beating your PB by more than 1.667% 30 seconds = 0 bonus points (This is >1 sec for each minute of your PB - so for someone with a 60 min PB, this would be >60 secs)
What if I can’t start next week, can I still play?
Absolutely! Anyone joining after the first week will be considered a new rider and receive 1 point after their first ride regardless of what week it is. If there is more than 1 new rider, they all receive 1 point. If you do not ride, you do not get any points. If you ride and get last place, you still get more points than the rider that did not ride at all!
You can ride your segment anytime within the week from Monday at 12:00 am to Sunday at 11:59 pm. We will announce a weekly winner along with the cumulative points for each rider on Tuesday.
Weekly standings will be posted on the Cruzbike forum.
The participant with the most points after the 21 weeks is the winner.
What if I move or need to change my route “just because I hate it”?
Yes, you can even do that!
The deal is: you have to be able to prove that you are matching your effort on your new course with your PB on your old course. You can really only do that with the use of a power meter, that requirement is: You must have power data from you past PB.
The Process:
- Tell me ahead of time you want to switch routes
- Ride your new route and record your power
- Make a Segment from your ride if one doesn't already exist
- I will look at your avg power and compare it to your avg power from the week you rode your last PB
- I will do some math magic and calculate your new "PB" based on your wattage delta and speed comparison between your old route and new route using your PB, speed and power from both ride
- Base on this new "PB", you will then be ranked back on your new course time.
- If you rode at a higher power lever you will set a new PB this week and be ranked according based on your new calculated PB.
- If you rode at a lower avg power, your calculated PB will be your new PB, and you will be ranked according to how many secs off this new PB you were this week.
- You will retain all earlier earned points and category awards
- You will become ineligible for greatest improvement and most consistent awards
Who can ride?
Anyone on any bike can participate as long as they can ride the same 12-mile TT route once each week. The results will be available on the Cruzbike forum.
Please email larryoslund@gmail.com if you are interested in participating.
What do I get if I win? Or don’t win?
- Best prize of all - “The satisfaction of a job well done” when you try your best. Everyone is a winner when they do their best and accomplish a goal - plus better fitness is a great bonus too!
- Everyone has a chance to “win” each week by beating their PB by the most seconds.
- Overall winner with most points - Well, Bragging rights of course?
- Cruzbike will provide a custom 2020 Cruzbike TT Challenge racing Jersey to the overall winner.
- Cruzbike Retreat TT Challenge. Anyone going to the retreat this year (Oct 15-18) that participated in the challenge this year will automatically be entered in a similar “live” event held during the retreat. There will also be a 2020 Cruzbike TT Challenge Jersey awarded to the winner of this event.
10 other “Special Category” Awards to be given out
Cruzbike has also graciously offered to create a special one-of-a-kind Medallion for this 2020 TT series. At the end of the challenge, each rider who has won one of these categories below will receive one of these special medallions engraved with the name of the challenge, their name, and the category with appropriate data on the back of the medallion.
Some of these categories will need either a power meter, heart-rate monitor, cadence sensor, and or weight, so if you are interested in going after any of these categories please make sure you are collecting this data while you are riding.
The categories are:
- Most Improved (Greatest % improvement from their first PB to the last)
- Highest Average Heart Rate - any single TT ride
- Highest Average Power - any single TT ride
- Highest Average Watts/KG - any single TT ride
- Most efficient (Highest Avg Speed based on Watt/KG) - any single TT ride
- Most consistent (Smallest % difference between Longest and Shortest time during challene)
- Highest Avg Speed - any single TT ride
- Highest Avg Cadence - any single TT ride
- Highest # weekly wins (rider who “wins” the week with greatest time over current PB)
- Highest # PBs overall (max = 21)
These kinds of stats are lots of fun to collect and compare. I would encourage everyone to at least get a HR monitor and cadence sensor. Also power meters have come down in price greatly and are a great training and racing aid.
If you can’t secure any of these “advanced” data collection devices there are still 5 of the above categories that every will qualify for just based on time or other gathered data.
NOTE: These special categories are subject to change during the challenge based on participation.
Weekly “winners”
- Each week we will announce the weekly “winner” who is the person that “beat” their PB by the most time that week.
- We will also announce the “virtual winner” (kind of like the yellow jersey wearer”) who is the person with the most points up to this point.
- Also a weekly “who’s who” for the 10 special categories listed above (That way you can see who the “top dog” is and see what it will take to beat them)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sbf459xzGsnvgLnZTvIY6ABDzZtcgU7hy_wW5Atga7k/edit?usp=sharing
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