In a usual bicycle race, racers can peek over their shoulder as they pedal down the road and see those behind them. Seeing the competition creep up can give a racer that adrenaline rush needed to push them forward and preserve a lead.

Bicyclists in the area have been pushing themselves in a different way recently. Inner Banks Outfitters has been hosting weekly time trials this summer. Those interested have met at the store around 5:30 every Thursday for the past few weeks. The objective isn’t to beat out another bicyclist, but rather to beat one’s own personal record.

“We meet every Thursday night and we do a time trial, which is you racing against the clock,” coordinator Alvin Maxwell said. “You’re not racing straight up against each other. Each person does a 6-mile backend and you’re trying to beat your previous time.”

The trials use a staggered start for each cyclist.

“After we established everybody’s best time, we allowed everybody to start based on the difference in the times,” Maxwell said. “For example, if somebody is three minutes faster than another person, they would get a three-minute head start. It makes it an even race. It’s something like they do with drag racing.”

There are races that require time trails for those looking to qualify. However, the bulk of the motivation behind hosting weekly trials is simply becoming a better, faster cyclist.

“Everybody has gotten stronger, faster since they started doing it,” Maxwell said. “You’re doing 12 miles by yourself. It’s just you against the clock. If you can improve on your time, you’ll win that week.”

There’s a point system they use. It rewards participants for coming out and for their improvements. Maxwell said the leaderboard has changed up almost every week.

One may think that racing against the clock removes a degree of competition from cycling. Those that have been participating in these trials insist that’s not the case. There’s a physical and mental limit the cyclists push themselves to.

It’s not an easy line to toe.

“You have to teach yourself to push yourself to the limit and hold it right at the edge where you would almost crack if you went a little harder,” Maxwell said. “There’s a learning curve to doing that. It probably takes five or six times to just get your best time out of your abilities the first time you show up before you can actually get better. … It’s just about fine tuning what your max ability is.”

Many of the cyclists are using these weekly time trials as a mean to improve themselves ahead of the Aug. 20 mid-Atlantic race, which is a qualifier for the Race Across America.