The TT Thread

[Frank9755]

Wow, it took something to put Rob's super effort on a windy E2 in the shade, but that did it! Great first ride and the best TT story I can remember.
Glad none was hurt, things can get nasty quickly if they go wrong at speed

[Bairn Again]

Rode my first ever TT today, the Spring Bunny 25.
1:00:11, lost a minute to a high speed crash!

https://www.strava.com/activities/1496312917

I was catching up the rider in front, doing a shade over 40kph, he was about 100m ahead.

A group of 3 cars overtook me, and were forced to pull into the gap by an oncoming vehicle.
They then had to brake hard as they were behind the cyclist.
I was up off the aero extensions as fast as I could and grabbed a handful of brakes, and managed to shave a bit of speed off.
But they out-braked me by a huge margin, and I came close to smashing into the back of the last car.
A swerve into the gap between the car and the verge, but it was too narrow and I hit the verge at about 35kph and went ass-over-elbow into the soft verge.

I remember as I saw the front wheel hit the verge thinking "Oh fuck no, not my new wheels!"

Dusted myself down and carried on, but the whole thing cost me about a minute.
The bike was OK.

Jeezo Ron, hope you are ok.  That sounds similar to my only TT based "off" in 2016 when a car joined a roundabout from my R without realising my speed (I was approaching it downhill and heading SO) - then stopped completely shortly after without having accelerated enough to get a decent distance in front of me, due to a bit falling off their car. 

Ive got my first 10 of the year on Saturday.  The Falkirk BC Ten.  Seemed to be fate to do a TT on my birthday in the town where I was born (ok the actual start is in Larbert).  The start list seems largely alphabetical so im off 2nd last at 10-29.  At least that means that I can only be caught by one rider   

[Bairn Again]

So I did the Falkirk 10TT on saturday. 

Twas cool with very light winds. 

After about 4km I had trouble seeing properly, which meant I couldnt hold the aero position all the time.  Rider #90 passed me about 8km.  Id been hoping to go close to 26 mins (37.2km ave) and my average speed was just below 39 kpm at the 10km point. 

At that point I managed to flick my (magnetic) visor almost completely off while trying to push my helmet up to aid visibility which slowed me a bit and thereafter I was having difficulty seeing through the sweat drips.  My average slowed up to the extent that I knew with about 2km to go that Id be over 26 mins and with a long drag up to cross the 3rd and final motorway flyover I finished in 26.40. 

Disappointed not to go close to 26 mins but it was my 3rd fastest 10 ever and was within my age standard on a course which the locals assured me was "not fast".

I spent yesterday helmet fettling and doing the  2 mile Turnhouse Road cul de sac on the old main road to get my visibility sorted.  Ive concluded that my front end is too low for me to see safely over any meaningful distance so am planning to bring it up a bit so that I can stay in the same position throughout.     

Went to the gym today ad managed to average 260W over 25 mins with my heart rate averaging 164 bpm so I'm heartened that its not my legs that are the biggest issue!               

[DuncanM]

I did a TT last night and managed to fail to set my computer to record.
Normally I use the lap functionality, but it wouldn't lap when I had been stationary at the start for a few minuted. So I stopped the ride, thought I had started a new one, and then rode.  When I got to the finish, I pressed "lap" and it said "recording"! D'oh! So I have a record of the ride to and from the event, but not the actual TT itself.

It was hard. This is the route: https://veloviewer.com/segment/14859848 There was a bit of wind - mostly headwind from the start. I went too hard into that, with the aim of recovering a bit on the downhill bit, but that didn't really work, and I really struggled on the middle third of the route.  Wasn't helped by the guy behind me flying past! The road surface was pretty crap, so that didn't help. The 3 up guys did it in 25 minutes, but I don't know my time - I doubt I beat 29 minutes, but hopefully it was under 30.

My new TT saddle (ISM PN1.1) and stem (-17 degrees) arrived in the last couple of days, so I can sort out my position much better - lower at the front and much more forward on the saddle. The next TT is on 24 May, but I'm going to have to mix riding this position and my regular one because there's some team TT stuff happening and you aren't allowed aero bars for that.

Edit - times in. I did 29:38. The 3 up ladies did 25 minutes, a couple of the 3 up blokes did ~21 minutes. 1 up guys varied from ~25 minutes to 32. I knew I wasn't last because I came close to catching someone - turns out I was last but 2! 

[rob]

Charlotteville 50 on the A31 this morning.   Cold again, racing in a base layer and full gloves.   I was up and down on my previous course best over the course of the 2hrs with the wind a bit hard to tie down.

Ended up with a 1:57:14 which was 6 seconds better than last year.   Might screw my BBAR improvement hopes a bit as I don’t think I can make another qualifying 50.

Form seems to be there after a few up and down weeks.   Just need to find some good days.

[Frank9755]

Great ride on a cold day, Rob. 
Had been hoping to say hello but DNS'd as my daughter decided I only deserved one hour of sleep on Saturday night and, although the ride would have woken me up, I didn't fancy driving down. I expect there was an element of the weather playing a part; if it had been a warm float morning I might have managed to make it!

[rob]

Great ride on a cold day, Rob. 
Had been hoping to say hello but DNS'd as my daughter decided I only deserved one hour of sleep on Saturday night and, although the ride would have woken me up, I didn't fancy driving down. I expect there was an element of the weather playing a part; if it had been a warm float morning I might have managed to make it!

Sorry I missed you.   Might see you at the Hounslow 100 in a few weeks ?

I almost climbed off after the first lap when I could see my car.   I needed to get a counting 50 in, though, so kept plugging at it.   Also I'd driven just over an hour to get there.    A few people did pack up and go home, though, and I can't blame them really.   You can do all the training you like and invest in decent kit but if you don't get the right day then you're still stuck.

[Feanor]

First event of the local club (Deeside Thistle CC) evening league tonight.
10 mile TT over a gently rolling course.
My first ever 10 TT.

Conditions were a bit rough; cold, wet, and very blustery.
Had on a heavyweight merino long-sleeve thermal under the skinsuit, which was a bit 'lumpy', and heavyweight gloves and overshoes.
Gusty side / head winds on the way out made it hard work, and the bike was a handfull to control.
I'd have been better without the deep section rims, I think.
The return leg was gusty side / tail winds, and a bit faster but equally twitchy.

Official times not posted yet, but I'm hoping for sub-24.
Mr. Garmin reckons 23:04.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1543857122

Official results out now. I got 23:16, for 3rd overall.

On my ride home, I stopped at the chip shop
I did notice some other passing riders having a snigger at the TT-setup bike parked up at the chippie...

[Frank9755]

Sorry I missed you.   Might see you at the Hounslow 100 in a few weeks ?.

I hope so; still under negotiation, but fingers crossed I'll make it.  I can trade in the previous weekend when I was going to go to the North Norfolk wheelers, which is now cancelled, so I have a good chance...

[rob]

Looking at the remaining 50s in the calendar there's a fast one on P885 in June but I think it will be a stretch as my run of weekends will then look like 100TT, 400k audax, 100TT, 12hr TT, 50TT.    Also it's my Mum's birthday that weekend so I expect I'll be up North.

The other option is the Breckland 50 in Sep.   My original plan was to pack up racing by the end of July as we have a 2 week family holiday in August.   I'm not sure that returning from 2 weeks of doing pretty much nothing would be conducive to riding a decent 50.

I think I'll need to see how the 100 and 12hr go and what my BBAR average would look like before committing to another 50 qualifier.    It's highly doubtful that I'll race at this level in 2019/20 as there's too much other stuff going on so I'm trying to squeeze as much out of my knackered body as possible this year.

[DuncanM]

First event of the local club (Deeside Thistle CC) evening league tonight.
10 mile TT over a gently rolling course.
My first ever 10 TT.

Conditions were a bit rough; cold, wet, and very blustery.

Official times not posted yet, but I'm hoping for sub-24.
Mr. Garmin reckons 23:04.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1543857122

That's proper quick for a first 10. Chapeaux!

[Frank9755]

Looking at the remaining 50s in the calendar there's a fast one on P885 in June
...
I'm not sure that returning from 2 weeks of doing pretty much nothing would be conducive to riding a decent 50.

I've got that one pencilled in.  Done it a couple of times before and I like the course.  Late start is a big advantage as the traffic builds up. 

I always wonder about the two weeks off thing.  My personal experience is it's not a bad thing, but I've never trained as intensively as you so maybe you would go off the boil. 

[joy of essex]

Lea Valley CC  Tuesday Tens- May 8th  -

Lea Valley CC's Ten Mile  TT  series returns to the Lea Valley Velopark this tuesday.

Ride as many or as few of the weeks as you want – A rider’s six best times from the first 10 events qualify for the overall competition.

Sign on from 18:00 and first rider off at 19:01

Check site for more details.
http://leavalleycc.co.uk/tuesday-tens/

[Feanor]

So my foray into this shenanigans continues with tonight's evening league event.
A lumpy 12 mile circular TT on familiar roads.

According to Mr Garmin, I got 27:27 on the course, but the official times will be different.
I got 27:05, which was second overall, and good enough to get me to the top of the league table.
Where that gets me in the vets 'versus standard' is yet to be declared.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1558591473

Oh, and I was wearing my new pointy hell-mutt which makes everything sound a bit odd and echoey, and the sound of my own wheels drives me crazy sounds like a vehicle approaching from behind.

[rob]

ECCA 50 on the E2 today.   Was well up on last year at half way and just didn’t slow down.

Really pleased with 1:46:59 for a pretty big PB and club record.  Must have been a fast day as comp record was broken.

[mattc]

ECCA 50 on the E2 today.   Was well up on last year at half way and just didn’t slow down.

Really pleased with 1:46:59 for a pretty big PB and club record.  Must have been a fast day as comp record was broken.

Hoorah - so 300km audaxes *are* good preparation for races!

[rob]

ECCA 50 on the E2 today.   Was well up on last year at half way and just didn’t slow down.

Really pleased with 1:46:59 for a pretty big PB and club record.  Must have been a fast day as comp record was broken.

Hoorah - so 300km audaxes *are* good preparation for races!

If that’s the case the rest of the year should work out quite well.

My next few weekends go 200k/100TT/400k/100TT/12hrTT.

[Revellinho]

ECCA 50 on the E2 today.   Was well up on last year at half way and just didn’t slow down.

Really pleased with 1:46:59 for a pretty big PB and club record.  Must have been a fast day as comp record was broken.

Hoorah - so 300km audaxes *are* good preparation for races!

If that’s the case the rest of the year should work out quite well.

Your calendar sounds very similar to mine - just the results that are different.  I was pleased with my 2hr 22min for a fairly flat 50.  I'm keeping audax to a minimum this year (just an SR and some 'must do' events) and aiming for a good result in the 24, plus a BAR result even if it is not top notch.

My next few weekends go 200k/100TT/400k/100TT/12hrTT.

[DuncanM]

ECCA 50 on the E2 today.   Was well up on last year at half way and just didn’t slow down.

Really pleased with 1:46:59 for a pretty big PB and club record.  Must have been a fast day as comp record was broken.

Chapeaux! That's a great result, well done.

[Frank9755]

My next few weekends go 200k/100TT/400k/100TT/12hrTT.

Wow, that's quite a schedule - you must be in great shape to take that on. 
The one I would worry about is the second 100, but I'm sure you know what you are doing! 

Congrats on the stupendous 50 PB.

I managed a rather more sedate 2:08:52 in good conditions on the F1B 50 yesterday. 
I'd hoped that I would have been faster.  It was my comeback TT, first open event in almost 3 years, so I expect I could improve on it a bit, but it didn't give me any grounds to expect I could threaten my PBs this season, so may review my approach.  I need to review my position as I am slipping forward on the saddle way too much.  Not the right time in the season to change position so maybe I need to wait for next year to challenge the PBs.

[rob]

My next few weekends go 200k/100TT/400k/100TT/12hrTT.

Wow, that's quite a schedule - you must be in great shape to take that on. 
The one I would worry about is the second 100, but I'm sure you know what you are doing! 

Congrats on the stupendous 50 PB.

I managed a rather more sedate 2:08:52 in good conditions on the F1B 50 yesterday. 
I'd hoped that I would have been faster.  It was my comeback TT, first open event in almost 3 years, so I expect I could improve on it a bit, but it didn't give me any grounds to expect I could threaten my PBs this season, so may review my approach.  I need to review my position as I am slipping forward on the saddle way too much.  Not the right time in the season to change position so maybe I need to wait for next year to challenge the PBs.

I was quite confident right up to the point you mentioned that.   The 200k will be done pretty gently.   Last year I got round the 400k in 17hrs (quite flat) and was back in in bed by midnight giving Sunday to recover.   Overall, I think it should be OK.    I feel like I'm starting to ping along quite nicely now so need to make sure I don't push on to hard.   it's highly unlikely I'll do anything after the end of July.

Good to see you getting going again.   Hopefully see you at the Hounslow 100.

[DuncanM]

Team TT 10 last night.  Mixed group, so easing up to allow everyone to stay together was the order of the day. We did a 30 minute ride, which was reasonable for the whole group. I used the analysis tool in TR to create a lap for it, but the distance is wrong (and therefore the speed), so I'm not sure how accurate the other numbers are.
https://www.trainerroad.com/career/duncanm23/rides/34504820-wotg-ambassadors-ttt

[Feanor]

Last night, another 10TT over the same course as my first.
Windy as heck on the way out.
Felt slow, and so it turned out, but in fairness, it was like that for everyone.

23:26, which is 10 seconds slower than my first effort over this course.

4th overall which is a bit meh.
I felt about as aero as a brick, and the demons on my shoulder are whispering in my ear about getting an actual TT bike ( I'm riding a standard road bike with clip-on aero bars right now ).

[rob]

My fast 100 on the E2 planned for the 10th June has just been cancelled due to roadworks.   

[sib]

Rob,
EDCA100 on 15 July should be a reasonable substitute ?