On this crisp and sunny morning riders gathered for the official Fall GTC Time Trial. Eleven riders showed up to see how they faired against the elements and challenging GTC TT course. Doug Coy was the organizer, time-keeper and course marshal for the event, and he did it all without any problems and made it look easy.
Defending a record that has stood for nearly 4 years, Dan Coy arrived knowing he would be the marked rider. Having only been back on the bike for 13 weeks since a six month bout with illness and injury, great results were not expected. Also on the start list was the runner-up to Dan's previous TT results, the 51 year old New York native, Stephen Simpson.
Other riders included Dean Coy, The Halgat clan, father and son Fontaine, David Alley, Chris Owens and David Penn.
The starting order was loosely based on each rider's abilities, with last being the probable fastest rider that day.
Starting Order:
1. Cathy Halgat
2. Jay Halgat
3. Jaymes Halgat
4. Christian Fontaine
5. Allain Fontaine
6. Dean Coy
7. David Alley
8. David Penn
9. Dan Coy
10. Stephen Simpson
* Chris Owens started earlier (w/Mike Owens in tow).
OFFICIAL RESULTS
1. Stephen Simpson - 00:47:29 - avg 25.02 MPH *course record
2. Dan Coy - 00:48:29 - avg 24.5 MPH
3. Christian Fontaine - 00:54:59 - avg 21.67 MPH
4. Jaymes Halgat - 00:56:00 - avg 21.21 MPH
5. David Alley - 00:56:51 - avg 20.9 MPH
6. Jay Halgat - 01:00:03 - avg 19.78 MPH
7. Dean Coy - 01:04:12 - avg 18.5 MPH
8. Allain Fontaine - 01:07:46 - avg 17.53 MPH
9. Cathy Halgat - 01:11:41 - avg 16.57 MPH
10. David Penn - 01:12:07 - avg 16.47 MPH
11. Chris Owens - 01:17:28 - avg 15.34 MPH
The on-form Stephen Simpson shattered the course record by more than 2 minutes, and a surprised Dan Coy improved on his previous record by more than a minute. The weather was favorable for a time trial, the traffic was relatively low, but there were several times some riders were stopped at intersections, most riders cleared the intersections unimpeded. Dan Coy lost about 20-30 seconds at the first two crossings of Harbins Road, it was just bad luck.
Coda: The REAL bad luck came after the Time Trial event was completed. Doug and Dan Coy had gone for a cool-down ride around the usual roads they ride. As they were descending a particularly steep hill on Mt. Moriah Road, Doug's rear tire hit a rock and instantly blew out. Traveling at over 45 MPH the tire quickly came off the rim and jammed in the rear brakes, skidding on the bare rim, Doug was fighting to control the wildly swerving bike. Ultimately he hit the ground and slid across the extremely rough surface on the concrete bridge at the bottom of the hill. Sure, it could have been far worse had there been oncoming traffic, or if he careened off the bridge, however a possible dislocated shoulder and large areas of road rash were enough to warrant a trip to the Emergency Room. Thanks to Dean Coy for the prompt rescue and we hope Doug recovers quickly.
Posted by dancoy at September 19, 2004 04:29 PM