2012 Mersey Roads 24TT

[zigzag]

great effort by everyone! ultan's distance is nice and round 800k (looks better in kilometres)

[Frank9755]

I think he was holding himself back to make sure he didn't end up doing far enough to qualify for RAAM 

Yes, I think that's right.  It's not that he doesn't specifically want to do RAAM, just that he hasn't got the right lights for it

[Karla]

I thought you must be misssing a lap Frank, as your 12 and 24h distances didn't really compute.  Extra well done!

Matt needs a new signiature: NOT QUITE RAAM QUALIFIED YET.

[Peter]

Well done everyone!

[Peter]

Can I just ask - how many of you were using tri-bars?  It's something I've never tried (groan).

[Bairn Again]

Another two to add

ECK  with 406.674 
   
YLEEG with 284.469 

I had quite a bizare ride.  started off like a train nudging evens after 5 hours.  Progress was slowed a bit by a puncture on the leg down to shawbirch on the only killer pothole on the whole route.  I fixed the puncture but in the process broke my pump and damaged the valve in my replacement tube.  thankfully it all held to Prees and jogler came up trumps with a spare pump .   

By 12 hours my computer read 308km but I was getting sleepy and slow.  I got back to Prees and had a strong coffee and set off for the 3rd leg to Shawbirch about 4am.  By the time I'd got about 3 or 4km down to Tern Hill I simply could not stay awake and had stopped a couple of times for a handlebar based nap.  I set off again but was weaving all over the road so I set off back to Prees for a sleep.  For all practical purposes I'd decided to pack, other than the fact that I hadnt done so officially.   

After a sleep (over 4 hours to be precise) I decided to get back on my bike and ended up adding another 130km in the last 5 and a half hours.

My worst ever performance in the 24, but I knew beforehand that I wasnt going to break any records.   

Also, a MASSIVE thank you to Mrs Eck (and my son Tom on his maiden voyage to the Raven Cafe!) who were a massive help during the event alongside Jogler. 

I'll be back.   

[teethgrinder]

I shouted my number to the couple of timekeepers, but one was clearly not happy and complained to me, so I think he may have docked me a finishing circuit lap.

I doubt that they'd deliberately reduce your mileage but I can understand them complaining about making their job even harder.
When they do the final count up, they check all the results from the marshals. I think that for the provisional results, they just add up a few key results. When you have 100 riders passing several times and numbers are obscured, misread, misinterpreted or just wrongly recorded, it's not surprising that a few mistakes are made.

[thesloth]

Well done all. Good to see lots of familiar faces.
Could not have asked for better weather, especially considering the "special" summer we've had thus far.

I was trying to get above 400 miles which I managed, but also tentatively gunning for my club record of 431, which I fell short of.
Allot of lessons had been learned on last year’s ESCA 24hr.I managed to cut total time stopped from 1hr to just 20min & was a allot more comfortable with my improved lighting, food and drink.

During the first half I was well ahead of schedule.
Mid Sunday morning my back gave out. Serious shooting pains all the way down the left side, with muscle spasms every time I tried to put power. My own fault - I've got weak arms and poor core strength and didn't put any work in to rectify this. I think for this event a well-conditioned upper body is essential. I could see that the top guys managed to hold their aero tuck right to the end.
At 8am I was still on schedule for my club record, but that would have meant maintaining a 29km/h average, which I was no longer capable of.

Hippy must be happy with his second place, a massive distance increase on last year. New club record?

As well as my own support crew who did an excellent job, the encouragement from other supporters and marshalls was much appreciated. It makes a difference, especially when you a dying a slow death on the finishing circuit!

[Frank9755]

I shouted my number to the couple of timekeepers, but one was clearly not happy and complained to me, so I think he may have docked me a finishing circuit lap.

I doubt that they'd deliberately reduce your mileage but I can understand them complaining about making their job even harder.
When they do the final count up, they check all the results from the marshals. I think that for the provisional results, they just add up a few key results. When you have 100 riders passing several times and numbers are obscured, misread, misinterpreted or just wrongly recorded, it's not surprising that a few mistakes are made.

Absolutely - I felt daft when I realised that I had obscured my number and couldn't complain if I'd lost miles as a result.  Timekeeping on a big and complex event like this is a heroic achievement.
I'd be pleased if I get my lap back but it's not the end of the world if I don't.

[Frank9755]

I could see that the top guys managed to hold their aero tuck right to the end.

Hippy must be happy with his second place, a massive distance increase on last year. New club record?

Yes, this was noticeable - the fast guys were not only on their aerobars the whole time but they had their bars in very aggressive positions which they could clearly hold for long periods. 

Hippy's set-up isn't as aggressive as some but it worked for him.  He blew away his club record which was about 465.

I'd erred on the side of caution and put my bars right up.  But my back and shoulders were fine so I could probably get away with a cm or two lower

[Sergeant Pluck]

Phenomenal achievements. Well done to all.

I was speaking last week to someone involved in helping an entrant get his set-up correct, and I was astonished to hear that an hour off the bike in 24 is considered wildly excessive.

[Exit Stage Left]

When I went on to the finishing circuit I was still wearing most of my night clothing.  I felt terrible and realised I was overheating so I stopped and took off my merino base layer.  I needed to put it somewhere and wrapped it round my waist, but it was obscuring my number.  I shouted my number to the couple of timekeepers, but one was clearly not happy and complained to me, so I think he may have docked me a finishing circuit lap.

My fault, but it's not a big deal as I know I cycled 392 miles but was in no danger of breaking any records.

Agree that it was confusing who to shout numbers to at night.  I think I erred on the side of caution and shouted mine at lots of innocent bystanders!

Oh, and did anyone else notice that some of the other riders' lights were a bit too bright..?   

There were very large numbers of Marshals at Prees and Espley, not so much at Tern Hill, and I never went to Shawbirch. It's handy to have reserve capacity to cover for breaks and incidents. I spent most of the night just making sure that people took the correct path through Espley. But having a Marshal visible, and with a camera, does alert drivers coming onto the course.  Numbers were taken coming into the roundabout on both sides.

[GraemeMcC]

I could see that the top guys managed to hold their aero tuck right to the end...

...they had their bars in very aggressive positions which they could clearly hold for long periods. 

Tri bars are a very relaxing way to support the upper body - the weight transfer is skeletal rather than via muscles.

I did 419 miles in 2011 using a Planet-X Stealth lo-profile in daylight and a very lightweight Ribble Scuro road bike for night (I couldn't fit a compact/bright headlamp to the aerofoil bars on the Planet-X.) I wasn't sure how long I could ride the lo-pro having only previously done up to 100m TTs on it. Come the event, I could bearly wait to get back on by Sunday morning. My neck and shoulders were aching from holding the road bars.
Not so on tri-bars and comfy armrests. It really helps when you can seat your elbows in the cups which also avoids potential bruising on forearms.

[Jes]

Well done to all. Great ride Toby!! That curry must have done the trick.

That was quite an experience. It's still all a bit too much to take in and nothing about it has really hit home yet.

Directeur Sportive Assasin and Ploddinpedro were an awesome crew without whom I'd never have managed.
Have developed a liking for chow mein pot noodles and rice pudding (which normally I hate) with jam. Thankfully Assasin had thought to bring soft food stuff that didn't require much effort to get down as I couldn't actually eat anything I brought - reverted completely to pre teeth diet.

On the way home today though I managed a massive breakfast in The Raven Inn !! It had to be done!

[teethgrinder]

(I couldn't fit a compact/bright headlamp to the aerofoil bars on the Planet-X.)

I had the same thing with my setup this year. So I dug out the bit of broom handle that I used to use to hold my saddlebag and rear light. It had to come out of retirement after being used to hold my rear light in previous 24s and was re-employed to hold my front lights and computer. I just taped it to my tri-bars with insulation tape.

[Peter]

Was it a campag broom, properly drilled out, Steve?

[teethgrinder]

It did have holes drilled into it, where I fed cableties through to hold it to my saddle rails.

[scherrit]

Hippy must be happy with his second place, a massive distance increase on last year. New club record?

Yes, this was noticeable - the fast guys were not only on their aerobars the whole time but they had their bars in very aggressive positions which they could clearly hold for long periods. 

Hippy's set-up isn't as aggressive as some but it worked for him.  He blew away his club record which was about 465.

Positioning is almost always some sort of a compromise- most obviously in long stuff and he has done some long hours on that bike. His midfoot cleat position also seems to be working. The fact that he is a real tough nut helps as well.....

Well done to all finishers! So happy that the weather gods smiled on us!

[mattc]

(I couldn't fit a compact/bright headlamp to the aerofoil bars on the Planet-X.)

I had the same thing with my setup this year. So I dug out the bit of broom handle that I used to use to hold my saddlebag and rear light. It had to come out of retirement after being used to hold my rear light in previous 24s and was re-employed to hold my front lights and computer. I just taped it to my tri-bars with insulation tape.

Genius! I can now throw away those crappy Minoura Space-Grips and their stupid tiny soft screws.

[teethgrinder]

(I couldn't fit a compact/bright headlamp to the aerofoil bars on the Planet-X.)

I had the same thing with my setup this year. So I dug out the bit of broom handle that I used to use to hold my saddlebag and rear light. It had to come out of retirement after being used to hold my rear light in previous 24s and was re-employed to hold my front lights and computer. I just taped it to my tri-bars with insulation tape.

Genius! I can now throw away those crappy Minoura Space-Grips and their stupid tiny soft screws.

Broom handles are great. You can easily drill into them and screw self taping screws into them. They won't rust and not very heavy but are quite strong. Plus a whole broom handle is quite long, so you can have lots of different set ups and cut to fit various sizes. You'll probably need some insulation tape to bulk it out to fit most light brackets.
You can even paint them if you like.

[Tomsk]

I was able to keep to the tri-bars more this year, despite less practice on them, possibly because I used a borrowed  bike for the event, [yes, not the best plan, I know!] with a shorter reach to the bars. My normal road bike position is quite low and stretched out, so probably I need a short/raised stem for a long tt?

Re: mounting lights - my tri-bars came clamped to a length of plastic tube in their packaging - I then attached it with cable ties to them and it securely holds two Hope Vision 1s.  I filed a couple of broad notches so it wouldn't rotate. A broom handle, being a form of carbon fibre, could be considered an upgrade

[Sergeant Pluck]

Provisional Results

Here are a few of the interesting ones

1: Ultan Coyle 488.993
7: Steven Abraham 448.193
11: Toby Hopper 432.663
18: Matthew Scholes 418.382
30: Ian Hennessey 405.286
39: Matt Chambers 380.481
41: Frank Proud 378.320
54: Ross Bentley-Davies 352.224
56: Matthew Haigh 346.684

Berwick/Jurcyx (TAN): 362.611


Well done Ultan, and everyone else on good rides!

TG and MattC both look like they've had a particularly good year.  Does this signify a wholesale conversion to gears Steve? 

That’s just staggering. Well done TG - and everyone

[MattH]

All in all, I don't think I did too badly.

It's been a rough year for my cycling - I did a 200k in March with Adam, then fell ill for the Brevet Cymru (I started it but packed at the first control - my first ever DNF  ). I wasn't well enough to contemplate doing BCM, then I got caught up in moving house and the subsequent DIY-fest. The next time I got on my bike was to ride Paris Roubaix at the start of June. Then with doing house stuff the next time I rolled out a bike (other than a couple of 1 mile round trips to the shops on my hack fixie) was to clean it up and do the club 10 as a shakedown last Thursday. I entered the 24 at the last minute as a means of getting some miles in this year as I needed to go up to Manchester this weekend anyway. I rode it unsupported with a saddlebag (didn't even bother with the bag drop).

I was doing OK until I did my first stop for food at the cafe at 100-ish miles. Ordered food, sat down, called home, had a chat to the people next me, realised that 20 minutes had gone by and my food hadn't arrived whilst people who'd turned up after me had been fed and left  They were very apologetic, and got me sorted quickly afterwards, but by the time it came and I'd eaten I'd lost a huge amount of time; I'd gone from being ahead to being way behind on my provisional schedule and over the next couple of hours just couldn't make any headway into that deficit so lost heart a little. Reflecting back, using the cafe for subsequent feed stops was a bad call (even though they were quite fast), I should have used a garage and had much lower downtime. So, excuses out of the way, given my mileage this year and fitness levels I probably did better than I had any right to expect and only ended up about 10 miles lower than the minimum I was hoping for.

I too had problems identifying who was taking numbers and who was just sitting watching the ride with a book - maybe a sign next to them would help? It seemed far more obvious on the ES ride.

When I'd finished and was spending ten minutes having a sit down before riding back (typically finishing almost as far as you could get from the base on the finishing circuit) it was surprising how few riders called their numbers even when prompted - probably 1 in 4? That must make it hard for the marshals, there were a couple of instances where they weren't positive about a number.

But it was well organised and a good event, it must take a lot of effort to put that on.

[hippy]

Hippy must be happy with his second place, a massive distance increase on last year. New club record?

Yes, this was noticeable - the fast guys were not only on their aerobars the whole time but they had their bars in very aggressive positions which they could clearly hold for long periods. 

Hippy's set-up isn't as aggressive as some but it worked for him.  He blew away his club record which was about 465.

Positioning is almost always some sort of a compromise- most obviously in long stuff and he has done some long hours on that bike. His midfoot cleat position also seems to be working. The fact that he is a real tough nut helps as well.....

Well done to all finishers! So happy that the weather gods smiled on us!

I didn't know you were on here too. Bloody stalkers..

I was sceptical to start with but the midfoot setup worked very well - not a single instance of Achilles or calf problems training or racing this year.

Went for a skinsuit this year and ran a deeper front wheel and wheel covers on the rear. Bigger lighting setup too and of course the Aussie flag bottle cages.

It might be possible to ride long TTs with a lower setup but it's a risk - you have to ride LONG to discover any painful limitations.

[hippy]

(I couldn't fit a compact/bright headlamp to the aerofoil bars on the Planet-X.)

I had the same thing with my setup this year. So I dug out the bit of broom handle that I used to use to hold my saddlebag and rear light. It had to come out of retirement after being used to hold my rear light in previous 24s and was re-employed to hold my front lights and computer. I just taped it to my tri-bars with insulation tape.

Genius! I can now throw away those crappy Minoura Space-Grips and their stupid tiny soft screws.

My Space Grip was fine. You know you're not meant to tighten it with the screws, right?