The TT Thread

[Dinamo]

Course	Date	Time	Comments
U21/10	15.05.13	29'22	Madone 5.2, open pro wheels, 23mm tyres, dynohub, edelux, drops, windy, no helmet

First TT in nearly 5 years. Goal, get under 30 minutes (bike is set-up for audax riding, so is slower than the configuration used for the previous 2 times). My second best time for a 10.

Well done for beating evens 
What's the U21/10 like ? Start near Axbridge ?


Set up my clubs course this week ( UC108a )  on Tuesday evening, heavy rain, cold & windy, but even the dire conditions didn't deter 6 riders showing up !

[Karla]

Our club runs a league based on placings, so it's a canny move to turn up on all the horrible evenings: not many people will brave the weather so you'll get lots of points for your 'high' position.

This is why I'm doing my mandatory marshalling stint next week, for the first flat 10 of the season.  It's always the best-attended event, see 

[L CC]

What's a respectable time for a 50?

My stoking power has been requested for a repeat of our 30 mile record breaking setting run, and although, apparently 'we just have to finish', I'd like not to be too embarrassing. We broke evens for the 30, FWIW, and I think I may be on better form, as long as I don't overdo it on the audaxing between now and then (June 23rd).

[JonBuoy]

It was the first of the 2013 Thursday evening club TTs yesterday.  After a lovely day we got hit by the rain on the edge of a thunderstorm just as we were starting.  Quite a few DNS and I seriously considered a DNF.  I was the slowest on the night at 28:22 for the 10 miles.  This is about 2:30 down on my fastest last season but more importantly my colleague beat me for the first time.  I will have to take the mudguards off for next week.

The tea and cake at the end was as good as ever 

[Lady Cavendish]

There is no cake at my evening 10s. I think I need to change club.

A couple of decent 10s for me this week. Cracked out a 22 on a good course on Weds.

Fboab, I don't know what a 'good time' is for a 50, I've only done one.....

[simonp]

Course	Date	Time	Comments
U21/10	15.05.13	29'22	Madone 5.2, open pro wheels, 23mm tyres, dynohub, edelux, drops, windy, no helmet

First TT in nearly 5 years. Goal, get under 30 minutes (bike is set-up for audax riding, so is slower than the configuration used for the previous 2 times). My second best time for a 10.

Well done for beating evens 
What's the U21/10 like ? Start near Axbridge ?


Set up my clubs course this week ( UC108a )  on Tuesday evening, heavy rain, cold & windy, but even the dire conditions didn't deter 6 riders showing up !

The course is almost entirely flat, straight out and back to the East Brent roundabout on the A38. The only climbing is the M5 bridge. The road surface is a bit rough in places. It was windy but dry and sunny. I averaged about 29.7kph in the cross/headwind to the turn and about 36.4kph on the return. I rode a now defunct course on the A10 in 2000, on drops, virtually identical course, and took 31 minutes.

I have some new clip-ons in the post. I should be able to improve on the 28.05 on this course, especially when I put my faster wheels back on.

[L CC]

Fboab, I don't know what a 'good time' is for a 50, I've only done one.....

Doesn't need to be good, just, not embarrassing!
We'll have two engines but an extra wheel so should we expect to match a solo lady? I don't think we'd be able to hold evens over the whole distance but should manage 18s? I really have no idea!

[Lady Cavendish]

You're strong, so you definitely wouldn't do an 'embarrassing' time!

I did 2 hours, but the one I did I think there were quite a few around the 2.30 mark (this was on a pretty quick course) and definitely some the other side of it. You'll be totally fine.

[Frank9755]

I did 2:08 last weekend, which put me about 2/3 of the way down the field.  Fastest time was 1:44 and slowest was 2:39, so I expect you'll be somewhere between those. 

Last season I did one on the bike that you saw me on in the 3 Down, which is set up for the 24 with the bars much higher, and it was about 4 minutes slower. 

Good luck!

[simonp]

PB for a given distance in bold.

Course	Date	Time	Comments
E3/10	24.04.08	30'15	Madone 5.2, racelite wheels, 25mm tyres, clip ons, normal helmet
E3/10a	24.07.08	28'05	Madone 5.2, racelite wheels, 25mm tyres, clip ons, normal helmet
U21/10	15.05.13	29'22	Madone 5.2, open pro wheels, 23mm tyres, dynohub, edelux, drops, windy, no helmet
U21/10	22.05.13	27’05	Madone 5.2, racelite wheels, 23mm tyres, blustery cross-wind, clip-ons, bambino helmet, not happy with position yet

Was bloody hard work, especially 3 day after the Bryan Chapman. Conditions were not ideal, sunny and warm, but blustery cross-wind was not the best.

[mattc]

PB for a given distance in bold.
27’05
...

Was bloody hard work, especially 3 day after the Bryan Chapman.

Well I did say you should be going faster! [On friday night] 

I have no idea how you did that. Yesterday I rode 10 miles of the club (20 mile) chain gang. I got chicked and dropped quite comprehensively. Sore legs wasn't the limit - I couldn't get my HR upto anywhere near race pace.

Just pathetic, even worse than I'd expected.

[tonyh]

PB for a given distance in bold.
27’05

Congrats!

[Lady Cavendish]

Nice one Simon.

I had a go at a course with a good downhill start.

21.60 Next time grrrrrr.

[simonp]

Well I did say you should be going faster! [On friday night] 

I have no idea how you did that. Yesterday I rode 10 miles of the club (20 mile) chain gang. I got chicked and dropped quite comprehensively. Sore legs wasn't the limit - I couldn't get my HR upto anywhere near race pace.

Just pathetic, even worse than I'd expected.

Eating lots of carbs since the Bryan Chapman? I don’t know. I expected to improve on last week, given that I changed wheels, added clip-ons, removed gps and edelux, and had an aero helmet. But when I did 28’05 on the fastest Cambridge CC course, I had everything except the aero helmet, and it was, IIRC, 10 days after the Bryan Chapman.

[Dinamo]

PB for a given distance in bold.
27’05

Congrats!

Well done Simon.
May try to come down & ride it on June 5th !

[drossall]

31:39 which is rubbish, even on our sporting course, which makes a circuit round the Shuttleworth aircraft collection at Old Warden. However, I've now raced twice in a month, which is the first time for some years, and I never do any of that underhand training stuff.

Went the whole way round just knowing why I've always enjoyed doing this, and wanting more. Whereas others were saying how they hated it. So you're here why exactly

[Karla]

Last night was my first experience of timekeeping.  There was a bitter wind and a threat of rain, so I wasn't sure whether I'd have preferred to shiver on the line or to race round in the blustery conditions.  Turnout was predictably low on what is usually the most popular event of the season: the first flat 10.  Still, at least it meant I didn't have to stand on the line for very long! 

We had several people doing their first TT, which is always heartwarming.  It does mean that I've just posted something on the club forum about placing your number (i.e. low) and calling it out when you cross the line.  Still, we managed to get correct times recorded for everyone.  Phew, now I feel like a proper tester!

[Frank9755]

Just woken up from my post-TT afternoon nap.  PB for 100    Did 4:18:21 on the H100/88 course down on the A31.   Was a good day on a road that I like and it was 20 mins faster than my only other previous 100.  With the possible exception of PBP in 2011, it's probably the best bike ride I've done so am feeling very happy.

[Karla]

4:18?  That's an amazing time, chapeau and chapeau again to you! 

I've entered the ECCA so I'll see how I'll ride 2 weeks after doing a 600km audax.  I was going to aim for 4:20 but I guess I'll have to revise that down by 2 minutes now   More tellingly, I've entered a 10 on the V718 that is 2 days after said audax, so I'll see if I get the simonp effect!

[PS If you knock another 20 minutes off next time, you'll start to challenge Oranj for his PB  ]

[David Martin]

We had several people doing their first TT, which is always heartwarming.  It does mean that I've just posted something on the club forum about placing your number (i.e. low) and calling it out when you cross the line.  Still, we managed to get correct times recorded for everyone.  Phew, now I feel like a proper tester!

As timekeeper you need (ideally) at least two and preferably three people. A time keeper, a number spotter and a recorder. The timekeeper takes the times, in order which the recorder then writes down. The number spotter takes the numbers in order and then the two lists can be reconciled.
If I can get hold of them I use these for timing where I can then write the riders number next to the split time.
http://www.amazon.com/Ultrak-Memory-Stopwatch-Printer-System/dp/B0001F2NCW
They are not cheap but are very very nice to use and provide an audit trail.

One common mistake by people who are novice timekeepers and/or who have not been properly trained is that they record the wrong time. It is not acceptable to give the rider a time faster than they rode, so all times are rounded *up* to the next whole unit of measurement. So if you ride 24:55.01 that is recorded as a 24:56, exactly the same as if you rode 24:55.99 (assuming you are recording to the nearest whole second which is the principle for manually timed TTs) I did have an argument with a long established local official when all our times were 1 second out.

[Dinamo]

Club Evening 10 last night, cold wet & 'orrible !
Only 7 riders braving the elements, I rode my commute bike for a very slow 29:03.

[Dinamo]

Rode the Somerset RC Evening 10 from Axbridge tonight - U21/10.
A flat out & back course on the A38.
Fair breeze blowing tonight but this didn't stop me producing my fastest time on a 10 ! 24:40
Just to put it into perspective though I believe the fastest time was 20:30 

[David Martin]

Tonight was my first open 10. Not as a rider but as the organiser.

In total we had 27 riders start including 1 youth B, 1 youth A and 1 junior. We should have had another youth A but he was out with a broken collarbone following a racing crash in Milton Keynes at the weekend.

A damp start but drying. My turn marshal team were expertly led, reported in on time having ridden out there directly and reported no problems.
Building bridges with officialdom, the chief commisaire was our SC regional development officer who was very impressed. Signage well up to standard, marshals in all needed places, plenty of help from the club. A relative cornucopia of overflowing food afterwards.

Only slight hiccup was me missing a time when sorting out the prizes. Soon resolved with a bit of embarasment on my part. And a novel prize being a data geek, the rider with the time closest to the average (one rider hit it dead on).

And relax.

[simonp]

Rode the Somerset RC Evening 10 from Axbridge tonight - U21/10.
A flat out & back course on the A38.
Fair breeze blowing tonight but this didn't stop me producing my fastest time on a 10 ! 24:40
Just to put it into perspective though I believe the fastest time was 20:30 

I’d have been there if it wasn’t for the lurgy. Still not 100% so not sure if I will ride tonight, riding to/from work in Bristol took its toll.

[mattc]

... cannot ... resist ...

"average" time David? Was that the median?!?

IGMC ...

p.s. well done, sounds like a great evening.