The TT Thread

[Frenchie]

Did a great 25 the other WE. Just got lost! But comfort, pace and feeding were all working well. With the commute I ended up riding my fixed TT machine for 60+ Mi. I'll be ready for the CTT race in 10 days though. I know where I went wrong!

[julianbramley]

I've not done a 10 all year, and I'm probably fitter than I've ever been.
However I'm always scared the 'race of truth' will find me out to be a liar, and I'll record a rubbish time.
Still I know where the course is so I could always sneak out and do a secret one!

[Frenchie]

I've really enjoyed my 10s this year, although time pressure means I only rode 4 competitive ones! I race myself, with my trusted fixed and that's it! Sheer fun. 1h30 out dor to door, short if 40 Mi in total... Bring on next year I say!

[Dinamo]

I've really enjoyed my 10s this year, although time pressure means I only rode 4 competitive ones! I race myself, with my trusted fixed and that's it! Sheer fun. 1h30 out dor to door, short if 40 Mi in total... Bring on next year I say!

My first season of TT, and cannot wait for next year either.
First ride recorded a time of 26.16 eventually reduced this to 24.27 

Finished 6th in the Severn RC Evening 10 points competition. 

I'm tempted to enter the Club Hill Climb in early October,
and will be out for the Boxing Day 10m TT.

[Greenbank]

If I needed any further encouragement I went out for a few beers with an old school friend of mine who I used to do loads of cycling with when younger. He'd been going through the loft and found his old TT results and records:

23:02 and 1:03:56.

Aged 15.

They've stood as his old club's junior records for coming up 17 years now.

His outright bests were 22:xx and 58:xx and I'm pretty sure this was as a junior then too but there must be some reason why they aren't down as the club records.

To think I used to be able to keep up with him too.

Git.

[nic]

First Hill Climb at Conder Bottoms (Lancaster). 2'41.8s over 0.6 miles. Shortest ride but the hardest ever. I am still coughing my lungs out 30' after the finish.

04 September 2008
Lancaster Cycling Club 1st stage Hill Climb Champs
Condor Bottoms


1 Garham Atkinson 2:17.9
2 Patrick Chisholm 2:26.0
3 Simon Mumford (Lune RCC) 2:31.0
4 Graham Kennerley 2:38.0
5 Nic Bertrand (Lune RCC) 2:41.8
6 Ian Boyden 2:45.9
7 Graham Harcourt (BCW) 2:50.2
8 Paul Maxwell (Lakes RC) 2:55.8
9 Ian Harcourt (BCW) 2:58.1
10 Tim Rollinson 3:01.5
11 Phil Taylor 3:29.1

Pictures taken by Robb Edge

[David Martin]

First Hill Climb at Conder Bottoms (Lancaster). 2'41.8s over 0.6 miles. Shortest ride but the hardest ever. I am still coughing my lungs out 30' after the finish.

04 September 2008
Lancaster Cycling Club 1st stage Hill Climb Champs
Condor Bottoms


1 Garham Atkinson 2:17.9
2 Patrick Chisholm 2:26.0
3 Simon Mumford (Lune RCC) 2:31.0
4 Graham Kennerley 2:38.0
5 Nic Bertrand (Lune RCC) 2:41.8
6 Ian Boyden 2:45.9
7 Graham Harcourt (BCW) 2:50.2
8 Paul Maxwell (Lakes RC) 2:55.8
9 Ian Harcourt (BCW) 2:58.1
10 Tim Rollinson 3:01.5
11 Phil Taylor 3:29.1

Pictures taken by Robb Edge

Tis a very short hill - our local hill climbs tend to be in the 6-8 minute category.

(club hill climb on Tuesday, I will do badly, but at least I will do)

..d

[nic]

Tis a very short hill - our local hill climbs tend to be in the 6-8 minute category.

(club hill climb on Tuesday, I will do badly, but at least I will do)

..d

Very short indeed but terribly painful. No scope for pacing yourself at all on there. Next Thursday evening will see the Jubilee Tower hill climb.  Between about 8-12' of pain and misery.

[Frenchie]

Oh dear!

I went to a local 25 Mi TT this morning after about 2 weeks off the bike. And it felt. After 45 Min I felt very uncomfortable on the bike (crouch and hand/arm positions). I soldiered on, but I kept sliding on the tribars. Results nearly 70'! Most of my club mates were in the 64'. There's always next year...

On the plus side I am sure I had the cheapest bike in the race! And it could have been fun had I been better on the bike!

I was riding my beloved fixed and a 79'' gear, which was too short, but that's all (the largest) I can fit at the moment.

[Fixedwheelnut]

 I rode our last Catford Event today, it was moved to the Cudham course due to road works at Polhill.
 It's about 9.5 miles but horrible starting and finishing halfway up Cudham lane
 I rode my Lambert on 51 x 18 = 74.5" gear  for 28.48

 I was pleased with that as it is my fastest on that course, the winner Steve Brake rode 26.13

[Dinamo]

First ever Hill Climb yesterday, up Hinton Hill Course UH90, 2 miles east of Pucklechurch.
Hill is measured at 0.8km in distance and at a 1 in 7 gradient.
Rode in time of 3:06 which I was happy with. Winners time was 1:51 



Photo taken by Mrs Dinamo at the final bend on hill, where a small crowd was cheering each rider as they passed.

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/UH90-Hinton-hill-climb

[BornAgainCyclist]

Anyone from YACF doing the Catford Hill Climb next Sunday?
If so, look for old bald geezer in GS Avanti jersey - that'll be me. Introduce yourself.

[LEE]

Let's say I wanted to find out how slow I was over a 10m TT course in Hampshire.

Can anyone tell me any official 10mile routes I can go to and have a try in my own time?

PS.  I'm NOT cycling along the A303 like I see some folks doing.  I'm afraid that's just too scary (although I may achieve a quick time if I'm embedded in the radiator grill of a 40 ton Slovakian Lorry)

[giropaul]

Let's say I wanted to find out how slow I was over a 10m TT course in Hampshire.

Can anyone tell me any official 10mile routes I can go to and have a try in my own time?

PS.  I'm NOT cycling along the A303 like I see some folks doing.  I'm afraid that's just too scary (although I may achieve a quick time if I'm embedded in the radiator grill of a 40 ton Slovakian Lorry)

That's how the TT people go fast - lots of traffic and drag from lorries. It may be a motorway in all but name, but "it's a fast course".

A friend of mine, an ex-pro rider, refers to "voluntary euthanasia" courses!

[LEE]

Let's say I wanted to find out how slow I was over a 10m TT course in Hampshire.

Can anyone tell me any official 10mile routes I can go to and have a try in my own time?

PS.  I'm NOT cycling along the A303 like I see some folks doing.  I'm afraid that's just too scary (although I may achieve a quick time if I'm embedded in the radiator grill of a 40 ton Slovakian Lorry)

That's how the TT people go fast - lots of traffic and drag from lorries. It may be a motorway in all but name, but "it's a fast course".

A friend of mine, an ex-pro rider, refers to "voluntary euthanasia" courses!

I'l need to find a slower course then because it's just too dangerous cycling on the A303.  I know, I've done it (for the time it took me to get to the next junction off it).

[clarion]

The problem in London is finding anywhere to ride for a reasonable distance without being stopped - by lights, roundabouts, junctions, crossings, eejits, eejits in motor vehicles etc.

[LEE]

No problem with needing to stop around here, I regularly ride for several hours without needing to stop for any reason.  The main problem is the lumpiness, not big hills as such, just that the area is rarely flat for more than a few hundred yards. 

I think I may have found my own stretch of Time-Trialiness though.

Hurstbourne Priors to Hurstbourne Tarrant, just east of Andover, follows the Test River for about 10km without crossing any roads or encountering any roundabouts, it's usually very quiet so I may measure out a 8.045km outward leg and do a 'there and back' run.  I'll never achieve A-road speeds on such a country road but it would be nice to see exactly what I am capable of.

This 'flat' route of 16.09km has 135m of ascent (and corresponding descent) which I consider dead flat for these parts

The first 16.09km of my 'lumpy loop' has 210m of ascent with a gnarly little 1 chevron climb which must account for a couple of minutes in my granny gears.

My average speed around my 14.7 mile "lumpy loop" is 18.8mph which would give me a 32min 10mile TT time.

I'd be happy to go under 30 mins (20mph average) along a flatter route for now.

[harrumph]

That's how the TT people go fast - lots of traffic and drag from lorries...

So road racers have always said; from my experience, lots of traffic does not equate to fast times, just lots of buffeting. Give me a still day on an empty road any time.

[gonzo]

I found down around Bath that the fastest times were recorded when there was a slight side wind. Also, the number of lorries on the route was directly related to increase on average speed.

Basically, that's agreeing with what aerodynamic studies have found.

[harrumph]

...the number of lorries on the route was directly related to increase on average speed...

I would need to be able to subject your data to independent statistical analysis before I would be convinced of this 

[LEE]

Well, I went out on my stretch of flattish 10 mile country lane and clocked 30 mins 10 seconds.  (Yes 10 bloody seconds).

I lost some time stopping and turning around after 5 miles then a slow RLJ at a tiny hamlet and temporary lights so I know I could have got (just)under 30 minutes.  I'm pretty happy with my 20mph average though.

Unfortunately my personal rules state that I can't bleat about any obstructions (traffic, road works, cats, ducks, and so on) so I need to get out there again and try again, I'll be happy with 29 mins 59secs.

Also I did it on my touring bike and rode 8 miles to the start, next time I'll use the Orbit Road Bike.
I can still remember the pain so I'll leave it a week.  Chapeau to all you 24 minute types.

[David Martin]

That's how the TT people go fast - lots of traffic and drag from lorries. It may be a motorway in all but name, but "it's a fast course".

A friend of mine, an ex-pro rider, refers to "voluntary euthanasia" courses!

This is a bone of contention. I suggested using a local dual carriageway during quiet hours (before 9 on a Sunday morning - flat, great visibility, risk assessed till the cows come home).

There was much muttering from one section of the club about lorry chasers etc. I proffered the counts and pointed out there were more lorries on the current courses used (which are starting to worry me a bit - Anth has seen some of them) which are SC and not terribly pleasant.

Why would I ride the fast flat course? Because it is fast, it is flat and there is plenty of space and little traffic. We are pressing ahead with the risk assessment and going to talk to the local plod about it at some point.

..d

[Palinurus]

I've no idea whether extra trucks on a course makes me faster, but I prefer it when it's quiet and I can concentrate on the traffic a little less and on my pacing a little more.

The only time I'm sure it helps is in the specific circumstance when a faster rider overtakes me and a truck gets stuck between us, but that doesn't happen often (enough).

[Dinamo]

Date              Dist         Course          Weather             Time

25/6/08        10          UC182          v.windy           26.16
02/7/08        10          UC182            windy            25.22
09/7/08        10          UC182         wet&windy         24.50
16/7/08        10          UC182             dry              25.06
30/7/08        10          UC182            warm            24.41
06/8/08        10          UC182             dry              24.27
04/10/8        HC          UH90              damp            3.06
26/12/8        10          UC101            clear             27.26

Rode the Severn Road Club Boxing Day 10, in a time of 27:26. ( 7th position )
A lovely dry, clear day with the temperature at only 2 C with a cold easterly wind.
Winning time was a low 25 minutes, a good field of 28 riders enjoyed the conditions
and the welcome hot drinks at the finish.

[rogerzilla]

I'm going for evens tomorrow on the Brompton (I did 29:36 or something the last time I did a New Year's Day "10", and that was with the proper bike, so it's unlikely).  The Brompton only has a 69" top gear, which gets you 21mph or so.

EDIT: damn, the lurgy struck in the night and I have a mild viral infection (temperature and weakness).  I had this at New Year last year too, and I fainted when I tried to ride a bike.  I'll have to give it a miss.