The TT Thread

[nic]

You aren't a real TTer until you've thrown up whilst still pedalling!

Easy. Eat scampi and chips 20' before the start.

[Gus]

You aren't a real TTer until you've thrown up whilst still pedalling!

Then I'm a TTer 
(don't do TT the day after a Rammsteinconcert and lots of lager)

[Bigdaveskinnytyre]

Second 50 today, dropped my PB from 2:04:31 to 1:54:48

It didn't feel as hard as the first one either

[Blah]

Good show Dave, you're obviously going well!

[mattc]

You aren't a real TTer until you've thrown up whilst still pedalling!

On Saturday I threw up just off the bike. 120 miles done, still 15 hours to go. Several people have said that this makes me a proper athlete now - I just felt an idiot!

[David Martin]

The last 10 of the season for me. On the Cleish course which I didn't ride two weeks ago due to babysitting duties.

Warm and humid.The rain had passed through so it wasn't really warm and really humid. Still a good field (31 riders) despite the inclement weather.

I had planned to go off at a reasonable pace then work hard to not lose speed through the first set of lumps (I don't do hills very well). This went according to plan, but then picking up the speed into the second quarter was hard. Below my target and Iwas really suffering. Kicked hard, got passed by my 2 minute man at about 5.5k which meant I was doing reasonably well (he normally takes about 6 minutes on me) There must have been a slight headwing going out to the turn (very quiet road so we can have a dead turn). I managed to pick the speed up for the return leg - even got into a good rhythm then BANG - I blew at about 12 miles and was touring for a few hundred metres. checked the time and distance, realised that if I could get it together I'd scrape a respectable time (for me). Hammer down, distance ticking away, time ticking away, would I get inside 28 minutes?

No. 28.11. Equal fastest time I have ridden for that course. I should be pleased with it on what was a bit of a curates egg of a ride. Very promising in parts, but seriously lacking in others.

At the start of the season I hadn't ridden faster than 28.47 in the previous five years. My PB was 28.17 set in 1990. This year I have ridden 4 out of 8 tens faster than my old PB and set a new PB of 26.55.

It has been a good year.

..d

[Fixedwheelnut]

Date             Distance/Time         Course type       Weather conditions            Bike ridden               

05/07/06           10mls/26.39    Rolling  Q10/26        cleardry             Raleigh 76" gear
12/07/06            10 mls/25.38      rolling Q10/26      clear dry           Raleigh 86" gear
21-22/07/07   24hr TT/334           rolling                   cold drizzle       Lambert 72" gear
15/08/07           10mls/26.45      rolling Q10/26      clear dry       Lambert 72" gear
30/03/08             9mls/29.37       Hillyish Qs/30        wet            Lambert 79" gear 
20/04/08           10mls/28.42    Hillyish Q10/3      dry and cold    Lambert 79" gear
26/04/08           10mls/27.09      rolling Q10 /22   warm & sunny  Lambert 76" gear
25/06/08        10mls/27.24        rolling  Q10/26     hot/windy        Lambert 76" gear
28/06/08           10mls/27.16    Hillyish Q10/3      dry and hot Lambert 79" gear
9/7/08         9mls/30,23    Hilly QS 30   pouring down/windy RonCooper71.22"gear
23/07/08  10mls/25.33 rolling Q10/26  hot & windy Graham Weigh  83" gear
26/07/08   10mls/25.30  flat    Q10/24   hot /windy   Graham Weigh 83" gear

29/07/08   10mls /25.40  rolling Q10/26  hot slight wind  Graham weigh 83" gear

 Didn't feel as windy as last week but everybody said it felt harder and slower to the turn, pleased I still had a good time for me but I'd rather have gone a bit faster 

[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

Managed to negotiate some time off work to ride last nights TT.
A warm night, with only a slight wind attracted over 50 riders.

Improved on my PB by 9 seconds - Got a good start on the downhill stretch of the A38 and kept the momentum going for quite a while, felt strong as turned back through the lanes towards Rockhampton, but again struggled on the uphill ( not really a hill, more an incline* in the road ) section about 2 miles from the finish, before it flattens out again.

*Any suggestions to help overcome tiredness on incline, would be gratefully received

[Blah]

*Any suggestions to help overcome tiredness on incline, would be gratefully received

Shit loads of hill repeats. Find the baddest hill around and learn to love it

[Simon Galgut]

Last ten of the season last night. Finished third overall in the competition and top vet - I think there's a prize !!  (£10?)

Managed six PBs this season including two in 25s. Might have been a better result if I hadn't been injured for the first five events of the season after my broken steerer incident. Still not too shabby.

Now there's the hillclimbs to do. Managed to be second vet last year, so there's room for improvement.

[mattc]

*Any suggestions to help overcome tiredness on incline, would be gratefully received

Shit loads of hill repeats. Find the baddest hill around and learn to love it

Are you riding fixed? Is the hill steep enough that you run out of (sensible) gears? If not, and at the risk of disagreeing with the forum's leading '100' rider, I don't think hills need any training - it's all a question of pacing.

We all slow down a bit on hills - if you don't, then you obviously aren't trying hard enough on the flat bits!

[David Martin]

Last ten of the season last night. Finished third overall in the competition and top vet - I think there's a prize !!  (£10?)

Our league includes the 5 next week, the two hill climbs and the 1 mile sprint. Points count from all events so the league won't be sewn up till september. It has an interesting scoring scheme.
Points from 20-1 for the top 20 and 1 point for finishing an event  for everyone else. Then your 12 best scores are multiplied by the number of events you have scored points at or marshalled/officiated.

So the final tally will only be known at the end of the season. I might manage 12 events this year (I've done 8 and there are 4 to go) but have only got more than the 1 point in 1 of them.

Now there's the hillclimbs to do. Managed to be second vet last year, so there's room for improvement.

I might ride them if the weather is not great. If it is just right then I will bring the camera out for the first one - there is a stunning view to capture the riders against. I'm no good on hills (too much excess baggage) but can set a time to beat next year.

..d

[Simon Galgut]

At least I can understand our scoring system       Points scored 20 down, best 7 events from 15 score.

The hillclimb is a separate competition, but the first leg is horrible - by the time I finished it last year I couldn't see anything and could hardly breathe. Thankfully it is only once a year.

[Blah]

*Any suggestions to help overcome tiredness on incline, would be gratefully received

Shit loads of hill repeats. Find the baddest hill around and learn to love it

Are you riding fixed? Is the hill steep enough that you run out of (sensible) gears? If not, and at the risk of disagreeing with the forum's leading '100' rider, I don't think hills need any training - it's all a question of pacing.

We all slow down a bit on hills - if you don't, then you obviously aren't trying hard enough on the flat bits!

I'm not riding fixed at the moment, and the hill isn't steep enough that I run out of sensible gears on my geared bike.

I agree that hills are a question of pacing, but I think that needs some practice. After a couple of years of riding only fixed I had to learn to use my gears again. I can get up most hills in most gears, but it's certainly faster in some gears than in others.

The point of hill repeats for me is to beast yourself on a training session, then anything on the flat or on a hill at a slightly lower effort will feel 'easy'. Not sure I'm explaining myself very well.

the forum's leading '100' rider

 

[Greenbank]

The point of hill repeats for me is to beast yourself on a training session, then anything on the flat or on a hill at a slightly lower effort will feel 'easy'. Not sure I'm explaining myself very well.

After just one run of the Cheam & Morden Hilly 50km route (1000m climbing in 50km, on fixed) I found the hills on my usual DIY200 route up to Cambridge and back (1400m climbing in 210km) had almost completely disappeared.

[mattc]

I'm not riding fixed at the moment, and the hill isn't steep enough that I run out of sensible gears on my geared bike.

I agree that hills are a question of pacing, but I think that needs some practice. After a couple of years of riding only fixed I had to learn to use my gears again. I can get up most hills in most gears, but it's certainly faster in some gears than in others.

Sorry, I did some unclear quoting back there ...
I was wondering if DINAMO was on fixed, because he was asking about a particular course with a hill - if he's racing on gears, I don't think hills need any special prep.

The point of hill repeats for me is to beast yourself on a training session, then anything on the flat or on a hill at a slightly lower effort will feel 'easy'. Not sure I'm explaining myself very well.

Yup, riding hills is an excellent way to FORCE yourself to train in the critical zones. Of course, it's purely psychological, as I can ride on the flat at 180bpm too, but we all need every motivational trick we can get!

[Dinamo]

No, I'm not riding fixed - just find I'm knackered by this point (more incline rather than hill) in the ride and even changing down gears doesn't help.
Once back on the flat for final mile my pace picks up again.

I'm sure in time my strength / ability will improve ( only 5th week of TT ing )

[Blah]

Bornemouth 50 today. Time? Don't know. Went the wrong way at the finish, you're not supposed to do a U-turn on the roundabout by the finish, you're supposed to go straight on to the next roundabout.

I thought my time looked a bit too fantastic the first time I finished. Then a fellow competitor told me that I probably hadn't gone straight on as I was supposed to. So, just as I was thinking, thank ffff this is done, I won't be needing my big chainring again today, I went off again to do the loop properly and finish properly.

Official time 2:16:58. Judging by my average speed (22.45) and what I lost I must have done well under 2:14. I had thought between 2:10 and 2:15, so on a day with quite a strong headwind toward the finish, I'm happy with that.

Oh well. Pay better attention to the route next time and don't rely on the marshals*.

* I don't blame the marshal, I blame my interpretation of his hand signal.

[gonzo]

23.20 Yesterday morning for a 10. That put me 7th of about 40 starters.

Not a great day; the fastest time was 21.58!

[David Martin]

Some days are good. Some are less good. Some are best forgotten.

Wet. Very wet and windy. The final midweek 5 mile of the season. I ended up being off number 1. Not properly warmed up, stomach complaining, legs felt empty.

My aim was to beat my time on a slightly different course  at the start of the season. I did, but disapointingly only by 5 secs. 13.55.

However, the low turnout meant I got nearly as many league points from my placing tonight as I did from all my other rides this year.

..d

[Fixedwheelnut]

Date             Distance/Time         Course type       Weather conditions            Bike ridden               

05/07/06           10mls/26.39    Rolling  Q10/26        cleardry             Raleigh 76" gear
12/07/06            10 mls/25.38      rolling Q10/26      clear dry           Raleigh 86" gear
21-22/07/07   24hr TT/334           rolling                   cold drizzle       Lambert 72" gear
15/08/07           10mls/26.45      rolling Q10/26      clear dry       Lambert 72" gear
30/03/08             9mls/29.37       Hillyish Qs/30        wet            Lambert 79" gear 
20/04/08           10mls/28.42    Hillyish Q10/3      dry and cold    Lambert 79" gear
26/04/08           10mls/27.09      rolling Q10 /22   warm & sunny  Lambert 76" gear
25/06/08        10mls/27.24        rolling  Q10/26     hot/windy        Lambert 76" gear
28/06/08           10mls/27.16    Hillyish Q10/3      dry and hot Lambert 79" gear
9/7/08         9mls/30,23    Hilly QS 30   pouring down/windy RonCooper71.22"gear
23/07/08  10mls/25.33 rolling Q10/26  hot & windy Graham Weigh  83" gear
26/07/08   10mls/25.30  flat    Q10/24   hot /windy   Graham Weigh 83" gear

29/07/08   10mls /25.40  rolling Q10/26  hot slight wind  Graham weigh 83" gear

 A perfect night if only a bit warm, and another personal best I worked on the principal that every time I put a bigger gear on I go faster so I upped it to 47 x 14  88" gear.
6/8/08       10mls / 25.10  rolling Q10/26  hot             Graham Weigh  88" gear

[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

PB again last night,  a dry night although was raining by the time I cycled back to Bristol.
Took on board Blah and Mattc advice and comments and pushed hard on the hill towards the end of the course, seemed to work and PB was beaten by 14 sesc. 

[nic]

Date             Distance         Course type       Weather conditions            Bike ridden               Time
07/8/08          10 miles        Salt Ayre Track           19C 4mph wind            Focus Cayo              26'47s

03/7/08          10 miles        Salt Ayre Track           14C 9mph wind            Focus Cayo              27'12s
28/5/08          17 miles        Circuit of Coniston  Wet / no wind / 12C          Focus Cayo             51'20s

Last time trial of the year on the Salt Ayre track. I can't say I felt good during the ride as my legs felt heavy may be because of the Bowland and the mid peak audaxes. Happy to have improved on my previous time.

Bring on the hill climbing early September

[Maladict]

Glad I didn't ride tonight, with the thunder and lightning!

[Frenchie]

Date              Dist         Course          Weather             Time

07/8/08        10          Clarion       nice/windish         26.12

Reasonably pleased. Am still not *dying* though and still riding a 79''. I could accommodate a mid 80'' gear now I think, and would hope to follow FWN. The work done in recent weeks¹ has led to a 23 sec. improvement on that sporting course though.

¹ I am aiming for a couple of 25s in late August and September and riding longer distances at present. Hence sticking to 79'' as well.