Tomorrow We Ride

Road racing on the bike is a very different beast to time trialling. This is a truism, but it certainly becomes apparent very quickly when you make the leap into the dark side. Today was the Bristol South Road Race, taking in 8 laps of Stowey Hill near Bishop Sutton, with an 80 strong field. It was very hot indeed. I took one bottle, which may or may not have been an error. There was a KOM competition on Stowey Hill; on the first lap i sat back and let it go, waiting to warm up a bit. On the second lap i moved to the front and rode hard, and may or may not have been pipped on the line by an Exeter Uni rider who was full of beans. He was on the right and i was looking to the left – another schoolboy error.

After the climb i sat up a bit, only for a team-mate to come through and ride hard on the front each lap. I didn’t really want to ride hard on the front but couldn’t really stop him. He got in a bit of a ding-dong with the Exeter Uni rider about his overshoes. It was like two bald men fighting over a comb. ‘Overshoes are illegal’, said the Exeter guy. ‘They’re aerodynamic’ said the team-mate. I don’t think it makes the slightest bit of difference either way, and i don’t think the scrutineers could really give two shits, but i kept my counsel. Nevertheless, it was typical of the dialogue in the bunch that crops up from time to time for no particular reason. Where’s Le Blaireau when you need him.

On the third lap i held back a bit and then moved through the bunch to line up for another pop at the climb and was feeling confident. A large car with an even larger caravan came round the corner – the front part of the bunch passed through ok, but as it rounded the corner it nailed first one rider then the others fell like dominos. The combined sound of aluminium caravan meets carbon fibre meets skin and bone was jarring and the crash left a scene of chaos. There were 3 BSCC riders taken out immediately and one Bath Uni rider, possibly some others. The front of the bunch slowed up and we neutralised the race. I rode on ahead to check with the marshals at the top of the climb what was happening, they told us to race on and listen out for the commissaire. As i passed the message up from near the very back – after talking to a fairly damaged looking rider and suggesting he might retire -the bunch got rolling again, but one rider took the ‘opportunity’ to attack and immediately rode off the front. i was at the back at this point having only just got back on. I was distinctly unimpressed. I guess it depends how you see the race and what you think is acceptable or not acceptable, and how much you want your points. As we looped back around the course past the crash site the section was neutralised and there was a rider lying on the road in a BSCC jersey. This was enough for me. Without even thinking about it I climbed off the bike and went back to the HQ. A number of other riders did the same. On each subsequent lap the race was neutralised past the crash, which was essential but effectively prevented there being a real selection or a timely break and meant the race came down to a bunch sprint – anathema to climbers like me.

In hindsight, the race was fantastically well organised and the commissaires have to make a tough decision when there is a crash on a looped circuit. They chose to continue, which was probably, on balance the right one. I chose to climb off, which was also probably the right one.

Lessons learnt from Rocky 1 to Rocky 5

-       Road racing requires a bit of a freaky mindset.

-       it can be hard to summon up the motivation to ride tempo in a bunch that undulates and shifts like the stinging tentacles of a portugese man of war, and it’s particularly hard to ride hard to the finish if you struggle with some of the more existential questions that tend to pop up in the race; i.e why are we riding when three riders have just been reduced to angles of limbs and blood on the tarmac by an enormous motor caravan? i struggle in that respect.

-       if you’re going to road race then that means riding 3^rd and 4^th category races. That means crashes, smashes and the pain of fractured limbs, torn face and mouth, road race and abrasions, missing teeth, broken bike parts and torn clothing. Frequently.

Lastly, it made me yearn for the simple pleasures of riding my bike in the countryside with friends, connecting with the landscape around me and enjoying the flow activity in all its infinite glory.

nb: i’ve edited this post a bit after going out for a walk in the evening sunshine. it’s softer than it was.

Cycling in Circles Around Chew Valley Lake

Chew Valley Lake is a popular circuit for training; it’s relatively near Bristol for one thing and you can nip down, do as many laps as you want to get to the relevant distance, then nip back again. It’s an undulating circuit which adds an element of difficulty. The only issue is getting there and back involves chew hill and dundry, two of the more beastly ascents north of the Mendips.

The Classic League uses the lake for the bulk of the summer months and on Wednesday i managed to make it back down for the first time this season. In my last ride of last year i scraped under the 19 minute barrier with an 18.59, which works out at a 26mph average.  This year i aimed to improve it by a little bit. It wasn’t a particularly fast evening, there was a minor headwind for a bit then cross with a nice tailwind section that helped keep the speed up. The course is short, only 8.3 miles. However, with the hills it’s a curious effort to judge, there is around 300ft of climbing crammed in. This doesn’t seem like a lot but it’s definitely a sporting course.

You have to stay resolutely focused and make sure that at every turn of the pedals you are putting through as much power as you can. There is no room for any drift, those points in the race where your mind wanders and you start thinking about dinner, or where those things might have got to that you are sure you left in the bike tool box but have now disappeared. It’s a tough one, but i managed it. After about 6 miles i realised i was on for a pretty quick time and should go under 19 minutes without too much bother, so i stepped on the gas, but I also eased off on the deadly corners in bishop sutton, and still had enough to stop the clock at 18.25, shaving 34 seconds off last year’s PB. I managed to bag 18 points in the handicap competition because i’d put so much daylight between me and the other riders, in this case beating Andy Legge into second by around 45 seconds. It’s my biggest points tally in ages and it didn’t even need a comp record. I was 15 seconds off the course record set by Rob Pears (who else?) about 6 years ago.

This weekend is the Bristol South CC Road Race. I’d be lying if i said i wasn’t nervous and anxious about this race. I have very little road race experience and also have a 100% crash record. I haven’t raced at a distance over 34 miles yet this year and rarely do more than 18 miles in training. The race is about 55 miles. It does have 8 ascents of Stowey Hill though, which is sure to test the legs. I’m currently undecided as to whether to ride the C-Bomb or the ‘Austin Allegro-Brown Condor’, as Simon Williams recently called it. The Condor is making funny noises, again. I’m thinking that it’s going to be the C-Bomb. It’s what it’s designed for, after all.

On a different note, several generations of the Keene clan were out in force on account of it being George’s 80th birthday. George is an inspiration to all at the club and has been riding for just about all of his 80 years. His name is on several of the club cups from the 1950s right through to the present. And he is still riding.

George Keene: Legend

i’m undecided as to whether the drag of the balloon is counteracted by the elevating properties of the helium

The Westbury White Horse Hardrider

One of the nice things about the hardrider series is the range of amazing locations. it’s been said before, but it’s a league away from the A419. The Westbury Wheelers have been running an event for a few years now that heads  across, over and around Salisbury Plain, with the finish beneath the Westbury White Horse.

white horse and iron age encampment

The course runs around the edge of the military range on the Plain and is criss-crossed with the parallel mud marks of tanks and other assorted weapons of death. it’s a quaint juxtaposition. Red flags and angry signs warn of live-firing, lest you miss a turning and find yourself head down in the village of Imber, wondering where those marshalls are and why the army appear to be trying to kill time triallists.

unexploded military ordinance, do not leave the carriageway

the marshalling was exemplary, lots of people and lots of red flags and pointing. it’s reassuring. there was quite a bit of traffic, the race seemed to coincide with the moment when the brave Wiltshire burghers decided to get into their various cars and horse boxes and drive around quite slowly in a gentle fug, before being freaked into a panic-ridden state of catalepsy by crazed time-triallists on the charge. I got held up three times, once coming to a complete stop because of a bad decision by a car up front. I gave him a piece of my caffeine-fuelled, adrenaline-addled mind. It disrupted my rhythm for a while, but i was soon back in the tunnel of time-trialling darkness, head down, eyes up the road and the noise of the wind amplified by my spaceship helmet.

It was a fast course that suited me. There were lots of hills but they went up in a big-ring friendly 5% or 6% gradient. I say ‘big ring’ friendly, most people I spoke to afterwards were reaching for the Granny (the lowest gear you’ve got, usually the inner ring on a triple which, like Grandmother, is somewhat lacking in teeth) to give it a good shake. I then said that i could have gone into the small ring, but I would only have had to change back up again in a  couple of minutes so it seemed silly. I didn’t add at this point that it meant i was riding up the hills in the 54:23, that would have been uncouth and unchivalrous

 

I fancied second place today. This was because Dean Robson was down to start. He’s a handy cyclist who has previously won the national time trial series and had a CTT scholarship to race in France. He won the Little Mountain time trial a couple of weeks ago. Dean is one of those people who looks fast even when walking around the HQ. The other usual suspects were out and about, but no Rob Pears who is riding the National 10 Championships (good luck!).

cornering

I wasn’t sure how my legs would stand up to two days of abuse on the TT whip, although it’s as much mental as physical. I followed on from my most recent strategic shift: ride as hard as possible from the start and then carry on to the finish, without letting the mind wander at inopportune moments. It worked well, i managed a 25.2mph average speed, just above evens, stopping the clock at 54.42, a minute ahead of Dean and also Matt Burden. It was great to see Matt riding so well, he’s had a really tough time of late. Sometimes when life gets utterly overwhelming, the pleasure to be had from riding a bike fast through beautiful scenery can be something simple and profound.

The prizes were the usual cash money, but with the addition of a bag of John Hurd’s Traditionally Bunched Organic Watercress. This is one of the odder prizes i have taken home but it is exciting and adds another dimension to tonight’s dinner. In another great day for the club, Mary jane took the fastest lady (said the bishop to the actress) and Rob took the lanterne rouge, clearly he has half an eye on the lucrative post-hardrider criteriums.

the pain and glory of the race of truth expressed through the medium of organic watercress

It’s been a great weekend and i’ve exceeded my expectations and aims. I had an idea that I might just bag a win if the Gods smiled benevolently on my awkward progress, but to take two open wins in a row has left me grinning from ear to ear.

Back to the Graveyard

the U7B

Normal service was very much resumed today after my brave midweek excursion to the darkside of road racing. I dusted off the TT whip and skinsuit, found some matching overshoes and headed out to the U7B for the Bristol South Open 10 Mile Time Trial. I didn’t ride this event last year, i can’t quite remember why. I rode the year before and came 7th, with a 22.37. It seems like a very long time ago. It was about 24 degrees that day and i remember my mouth being all claggy afterwards from dryness and sweat. It wasn’t very nice. I seem to remember Belle sunbathed on the grass verge next to the main road whilst the mad cyclists went out and rode their bikes in the sultry afternoon heat.

I rode out today because i didn’t have the car. I always feel really odd when riding through the centre of town on a Saturday afternoon in the full TT get up. It didn’t help that i was soft-pedalling to save energy. At one point i saw another chap also in full TT regalia, disc and aero bits much in evidence. We gave each other a nod of understanding. I hope so anyway, and presume that he was riding to a race as well, rather than just TTing up and down Coronation Road which would be strange indeed.

Edvald Trotman-Hagen gets ready to mash his big gear. and his legs. The man behind has no sleeves.

There was a headwind all the way there, about a 21 mile ride, but it wasn’t too bad so i felt optimistic about the race. I knew on paper i stood a chance of winning the event and in truth i really wanted to win. I’ve been close this season a few times, but usually the winner has been substantially faster. This time it was going to be squeaky bum time, the other fast rider was Peter Georgi who is very quick early in the season but seems to slow a bit later on. I was wondering which Peter would turn up. I resolved to ride my best race and then what happened would happen.

The headwind wasn’t enough to knock me off my stride. It becomes a question of mental fortitude when there’s a bit of a headwind. Generally, and I am generalising, slower riders tend to allow moderate headwinds to get on top of them. The quicker riders just ride though it, dig a bit deeper and hold the big gear, knowing that the turn offers salvation and respite and a much more rapid experience. It’s strategic thinking. i rode quite hard to the turn and knew that i could make time up on the way back, which is precisely what happened: 27mph to the roundabout and 30mph back, including the climbs. I nailed a 21.22, a couple of seconds away from my PB set last year and pretty good given the conditions. I then had a nail-biting few minutes waiting for Peter’s time to go up on the board. I beat him by ONE SECOND. i was speaking to Ed afterwards – who had upped the gear inches and suffered a bit because of the wind and the hill and having no bail-out gear – and we talked about the need to concentrate all the way through, to not let the mind drift and the speed tail off slightly. A ten is such a short event, comparatively, that you have to smash it all the way. Whenever i try to pace it things tend to go wrong. When i just go out and ride as hard as i can things seem to go right. The latter was in evidence today. I feel chuffed to bits to get the win, but also feel really pleased that it came in a Bristol South CC event. We took the team prize with Sam and Danny turning in quick times. There were 18 club members of the startsheet. Just a few years ago you’d be lucky to get 4 or 5 riders. On a slightly separate note, i was wearing my BSCC skinsuit. it’s seen better days. today the zip got stuck and i had to pin it shut at the top before riding. I then couldn’t get it undone and had to cut myself out of it when i got home. It was that or just keep it on all night ready for tomorrow’s race.

The nature of progress and hard work is a very strange thing. It’s incremental and you make the gains over time, sometimes without noticing. But right now, having read back the previous post linked above, i feel aware of the progress i have made in 2 short years. If you’d told me after my ride in May 2010 that i would be winning the event in 2012 i would have laughed long and hard.

And finally… the BSCC 10 is also a counting event for the Classic League. I get handicapped to DEATH in these events. This is a good thing, it makes the contest wide open and ensures those who improve and keep improving get a shot at the trophy. But as a demonstration of the level of handicap for the scratch rider, see the photo below.

Andy Capp.

In order to win the classic league today, beating George Keene and defeating the mysteries of the chairman’s handicap system, i would have to have ridden a competition record for 10 miles. And not just a comp record, but a long 16, which equates to a 35mph ride and is about a minute quicker than Wiggins. ON THE U7B. Maybe in two years time i’ll link back to this post and laugh…

Touring the World by Bicycle

Some time back i read the first of Ann Mustoe’s books. She was a headteacher in a prestigious school in London. On her retirement she had a Condor Heritage made especially and simply rode off into the sunset. Prior to the journey it’s reported that she couldn’t mend a puncture. Her narrative is inspirational.

Ann Mustoe heads off on her travels with an educational guard of honour

I’d recommend the books to anyone interested in travel, the spirit of adventure and cycling. Ian Hibell is another famed and epic cyclo-traveller. He rode a Freddie Grubb, one of the more evocatively named British framebuilders of the 50s and 60s.

Ian Hibell on the open road

Currently following in their gumwalled tyre tracks are Christina and Hattie. Christina is an erstwhile BSCC member who came out on quite a few winter club runs. Their fantastic blog documents the journey thus far: highly recommended reading and an incentive to get up off the sofa and experience the wider world.

There is something utterly liberating about cyclo-touring and i’m reminded of the mini-tour i did with Graham and Steve last summer; 4 days down and around the Devon and Cornwall wild places. I got to rereading the posts i’d done and was struck by how many amazing, unusual and captivating experiences were crammed into a short space of time.  The world pays heed, things happen, nature obliges and your sense of time changes.

R25/3L: Not a Fast Day (although quick enough)

Today involved a schlep over to Glynneath to ride the superfast Welsh course. Fingers were crossed for a float day, but it didn’t materialise. Conditions were certainly better than earlier in the week, a bit chilly possibly, but the sun was out and it wasn’t blowing a gale. Small mercies. My wounds have also healed, just about, and generally I felt ready to ride.

There were a number of BSCC riders on the startsheet; Allen Janes, Dan Kempe, George Keene, Andy Legge, Yan Keene and me. On paper we had a strong 3 rider team and there was some gentle talk earlier in the week of challenging for the club record. I was quite eager to give it a go, not having managed to get any club records as yet. I think Andy also liked the idea of getting his name up on the honours board alongside his dad. Equally, I didn’t want to curse it by admitting it might be on the cards. The target was 2 hours 43 minutes and 49 seconds which roughly works out as three 54 minute rides.

There were also another outfit on the day, the Drag2Zero fastboys, who were looking to bag a record. Their target was a slightly quicker 2 hours 28 minutes and 33 seconds for the National Competition Record. They had 4 possible riders, such are the riches available to Simon Smart’s crack team of aerodynamicists.

Racing out to the turn was a complete blast; i topped out at 46mph on the slight downhill at the beginning and averaged 32mph for about 12 miles. This is a full three and half minutes quicker than the same section when i last raced on this course. I sensed the gentle push of a kindly tailwind and gamely crossed my fingers that it wouldn’t come back to slap me in the face after the turn. At one point i looked down and saw i was doing 36mph. On the flat. Without too much bother and nowhere near max heart rate. I remember thinking ‘this must be sort of slightly what it’s like to be Bradley Wiggins’. Of course, if Bradley Wiggins was riding he’d probably be doing 46mph at that point, so i was a bit wide of the mark, but you can see my point.

I went round the convoluted turn and back down onto the main road, at which point the wind immediately began to molest me and do anything and everything it could to hinder my progress. The average speed dropped slowly and painfully in tiny increments, and with it my hopes of various achievements slipped through my fingers. First to disappear was the club record of 50.53, although i may have been being a bit optimistic to think i could grab it anyway. Then i realised a 51 might also not be on the cards which meant i only had two things left: a PB and the counter for the team prize. Right at the last the PB disappeared out of reach; i missed it by 6 seconds. I’ll be honest here, as i crossed the line i didn’t shout out my number, i just swore, loudly, in a surly and unpleasant manner. This is the trouble with chasing times – when you don’t get them there’s not often a whole lot else to be thrilled about.

By the time i got back to the HQ i felt better. It was still a 28.6mph average and times in general weren’t that quick. However, the other BSCC riders had turned in some cracking rides. Andy managed a PB by over a minute, a 53.41, and Dan turned in a very tidy 56.20. With my time of 52.20 we had nailed the club record by over a minute. It’s a really great result that etches our names into the club’s history. Meanwhile, the aeronauts managed to dial in a 2.24.46. Matt Bottrill managed a frightening 46.47 for a 32mph average. I can’t even begin to imagine what sort of time he averaged out to the turn, but i’m guessing it had to be up near a 40mph average. He’s a postman; he wasn’t riding his work bike though.

In personal terms, it feels good to be riding fast and to be part of a team that has achieved something lasting. We might even have another crack at it later in the year…

Down to Earth With a Bump

Yesterday was an eventful day. It was my first foray into the Classic League; the club’s annual time trial series. The first few races are held at Aust, in the shadow of the severn bridge and not far from the old ferry crossing, famously visited by his royal Bobness on his landmark electric/folk judas tour in 1966. I’m not sure if he was in town for the time trial or not.

Looks like a climber to me. (Barry Feinstein Image)

The weather for the race was a lot nicer than it was for Robert Zimmerman. The wind dropped and we had some late-evening sunshine.

i decided to ride out to the start in a slightly circuitous fashion and treat the whole endeavour as a training ride. The loose plan was to ride a slightly hilly 20 miles out, do the 5.2 mile TT, then ride home a further 15 miles, with the out and back being fairly hard, but not so hard that i couldn’t sustain it. You get into a fairly remorseless rhythm; for me it’s around 25mph or so, maybe a bit more, with heart rate at around 80%.

The first bit went well, then i dropped down to the suspension bridge coming back into Bristol. A car in front was doing a steady 15mph. I was behind – and certainly quite near, trusting in two things, that they would continuing moving at the same pace, and that the cycle lane belonged to me. They started to drift into the cycle lane, so i shouted, fairly benignly, to ask them to vacate it – but they didn’t hear. The driver then swerved suddenly across right into the lane and stopped. I presume he was checking his change for the bridge. I had no time to make any kind of decision, slammed on the front brake as i hit the car on the side and went straight over the handlebars pretty quickly, ending up wedged between the car and half on the pavement with my bike on top of me and a freaked-out looking driver nervously getting out of his car.

When you have a crash like this there’s a couple of things to consider, usually in a set order. Firstly, I checked to see if i could stand up, walk, raise arms, and made sure nothing was broken. Then i checked the bike thoroughly. The bike is absolutely fine, no damage whatsoever. My helmet is cracked and scraped though and there is a massive hole in my assos skinsuit.

this is what the crash looked like. see speed drop from 16mph to 0 at the beginning of the trace.

i had a lengthy conversation with the driver, he was quite shook up as well. he gave me some wetwipes to clean my face and shoulder. After that i decided to ride across and down bridge valley road at which point i’d decide whether i wanted to race or not. it’s hard to know what to do in the aftermath of a spill, and is best to sit still for a while. Heading across the bridge i got caught in a massive hailstorm and then had to shelter in the public toilets. it was quite an eventful few minutes.

it looks like i've stuck my shoulder in a tin of dulux matt emulsion

i can heartily recommend prendas baselayers. they are the bees knees.

once i got to the bottom of the hill i decided to ride out to the start. i was running a bit late by now so had to get on it. once i got up to speed the pain dissipated somewhat. I tacked along and made it just in time.

the race was comparatively uneventful. i rode as fast as i could, didn’t worry too much about pacing it, and managed an 11.02, which is an improvement on my PB of one second. i was a bit disappointed not to go faster but it wasn’t ideal conditions and also it didn’t help that i’d crashed heavily on the way over. It was good enough for the win by around 30 seconds. Somehow i’d like to find a further 20 seconds in the next two weeks. It was just one of those days where i thought i was going to really fly but didn’t actually go that fast.

We all rode back in a sort of TT and road bike convoy. I rode on front almost the whole time because i was still looking to do a bit more training. the others seemed happy to follow. I was glad to get home and have a bath. I’m a bit sore this morning but am optimistic that i will be fine in time for Sunday and the fastest course in christendom.

statistics:

total of 40 miles @ 21.5mph average; 1 x 5.2 mile TT @ 28.3mph; one violent collision from 16mph to 0mph in 70 cm; one energy gel consumed

Life/Cycling Balance

it’s been a ridiculously busy week, one those utter humdingers where you don’t even have a moment to yourself. i worked three 12 hours days on the bounce and then went to London. in amongst the work i tried to keep cycling, getting up at six to go out and do an hour before work with a couple of hills. the weather continues to be absolutely lovely and i’m now resting ahead of the weekend’s race.

this morning i went out up over dundry, it’s one of my favourite climbs because it’s long and relatively shallow before pitching up in a short series of nasty little kicks at the end. the view as you gain height up over Bristol is lovely, especially in the crisp morning air. i then cut across towards Belmont – sometimes i go on up and over Redhill but this adds a further 5 or 6 miles and i really don’t have an awful lot of time; it’s a very tight window and i have to ensure i’m really on the ball if i take the extended detour.

Belmont is a very popular climb on the edge of Bristol, used by most of the local roadies. it’s about a mile and a half with some changes in gradient and is a tough climb, it’s very easy to overcook the beginning. I’ve ridden up it very fast indeed and this makes life hard because i find it hard to get near that on a day to day basis. it’s a big segment on Strava and the top spot in the high score table is taken by Scott Easter who rides for Felt and is an elite mountain biker. He managed a 3.41. there was a hefty tailwind that day, i know this because i grovelled into it going the other way on my commute. a couple of days previously on a becalmed afternoon i managed a 3.44. Anything under 4 minutes, not in a hillclimb (without the benefit of wearing the number) is a very quick time. today i scraped to a 4.04, with my bag of school stuff – clothes, sandwiches, fruit, books and so on. i think that in clement conditions i can probably go quite a bit quicker, but it’s about choosing the right day – or waiting for a hillclimb, in which case it doesn’t really matter, you just muller it right through. at the top i came across a friend, Adam, who was out and about on his lovely Mercian at 7am. the sun was radiantly bright and the stillness of the morning felt lovely, the first warming spring day. it’s the best part of the day.

post belmont.

this weekend i’m riding in the Bath WTTA event. I don’t think a podium is in reach because lots of very strong cyclists are riding, but i will give it everything. the course is sufficiently hilly to suit me, so i live in hope.

The BSCC roadmen are riding tomorrow at Blackawton in a two-day race. It’s brilliant to see the red and gold out and about.

the rock island line is a mighty good road

and here’s some leadbelly:

The Pain of the Fast and Hilly Time Trial

my legs are currently in bits. this is the technical term for when you’ve really cooked it and they are very hurty. this is the current state of my legs. i also feel a bit full because i just ate lots of spinach and eggs and bread and quorn sausages.

today i rode out to the start of the Severn Hardrider, keeping it resolutely old school. All i needed was some wheel carriers and i would have scored maximum points. it was a 15 mile ride with a couple of big hills. i kept it slow and steady and avoided the tribars. riding out to an event is an odd experience. i left the house at around 7am, which was pretty early. i caught sight of drunks and stop-outs making their way home. i think i made for an odd image with my full TT bike and aero-helmet. I hoped to avoid any hilarious comments and also to make it to the HQ without any mechanical issues. i managed both. alec baskaya summed it up better than i can.

The Severn event is hilly, but doesn’t contain any really mammoth climbs, instead it undulates and rolls like an ocean swell with some fast descents and short, savage lumps. there is also the worst section of road in christendom, a long drag with a cratered surface, low grade tarmac and usually a nasty headwind – although not today, fortunately. on strava i have labelled this ‘the lumpy ass drag to hell’.

Again, i rode pretty much on feel, keeping an eye on how fast i was going in terms of average speed and how far there was left. this event went past in the wink of a young girl’s eye. glory days. it was over almost before it started. it hurt a lot and I felt a sense of nasty lactic build up but tried to ignore it. my fear was that it would begin to inhibit my ability to climb quickly, but it never really got to that and like i said, the race went really quickly as  time and space accelerated. Everything blurred as i got a bit cross-eyed looking at my forearms and the road ahead in an attempt to keep my head down and low. it seemed to work.

eyes on the extensions and road

the start of the course is a real up and down roller coaster, i chickened out and used the brakes. i didn’t want to do a rasmussen (in terms of technique, not in terms of drug-related geographical misinformation).

having said that, i did have an unscheduled clipless moment whilst warming up. i opted to use my super bling dura ace pedals with their carbon fibre stealth and light absorbing properties. they really grab the cleat with a resounding ‘thunk’ and don’t like to let go. i was turning slowly in the road and tried to put a foot down, they didn’t let go. i just about got out of it. luckily no-one saw so it never happened. or it didn’t make a noise. or something.

the second part of the course was super fast, a long and steady descent of around 6 or 7 miles. i maxed out at around 35mph here and really pushed the big gear. it was pretty good fun, although i was nervous about not overcooking it. i passed a few people, some of them were freewheeling. i have an opinion about this – if you’re going to freewheel in a time trial it can only be because you are descending a steep, gravelly, technical, nasty, wet, greasy and terrifying hill and need to simply control the bike to stay alive. any other freewheeling is really bad form.

i was dreading the lumpy ass drag to hell – as it shall from henceforth be known by all and sundry. in the end i stuck it in as big a gear as i could manage without my legs seizing up completely and bullied my way along this section. it was nowhere near as bad as i’d anticipated. once through this pitted canyon it was head down for the finish with a repeat of the rollercoaster bit. i didn’t touch the brakes this time and slammed it up the final climb in the big ring, squeaking across the line a little while later.

i managed a 52.34. a theme is developing here; these rides don’t feel that fast when i’m doing them, in fact, i feel like i’m going too slow and am always trying to force myself to push that bit harder. in reality, the course record for the u601 was a 52.01 from last year, which means i was within 34 seconds of it. i was thrilled to bits with this, but also knew that Rob Pears would go quicker and that this is a course that really suits him, it lacks the bigger climbs that level things out. he duly smashed the course record, coming in at a mid 51.

the numbers!

there were 8 Bristol South riders on the start sheet which was absolutely fantastic. A further 6 were in action at the Merryfield Circuit Race and 1 was mountain biking. The difference from last year’s events, with just me and Dan testing and Steve doing road races is startling.

Personally, it’s great to be going quicker, to be exceeding my aims and goals and to be making such vast improvements. before the start of the season i was worried that I wouldn’t or couldn’t be as quick as last year. Today’s time was a full five and half minutes quicker than last year, and 3 minutes quicker than my later time in the WTTA event on a shorter course. i am going to target a fast 25 in a couple of weeks. in the meantime, i have some other, non-cycling related aims, hopes and dreams that are coming to fruition. These are the most exciting of the lot.

Riding Uphill Fast: GDW Open Hardrider

After last week’s cyclonic descent into hell, this week’s race was played out in beautiful conditions. There was some lingering mist across the tops of the hills, but it was warm enough to dispense with the kneewarmers and the heavy duty overshoes. it helped the scarring memory of last week to gently fade into the ether. Dennis and Paul are two of the timekeepers that appear regularly at district events, they are very friendly. i usually chat to them on the startline, it takes my mind off the torturous effort to follow. Dennis remarked that i would have nothing to write about on the blog – something like: ‘clement weather, riders happy, cycling done’. i was secretly flattered that he read my blog. in all the chit chat i forgot to set my garmin so ended up fiddling with it on the way up the climb.

very nasty start, very fast finish

There were a number of bristol south riders on the start sheet, 6 in total. Reinforcing our presence was the magisterial wonder of Allen Jane’s car with its custom BSCC paint job. It rounded out the picture beautifully. It was great to have so many clubmates, there is a solidarity amongst those of us brave enough climb onto the hilly time trial carousel (and an even more pronounced solidarity amongst the VOTCH – veterans of the chippenham hardrider – brigade).

Dan, Allen and the team car. there is a lot going on in this picture.

the gillingham course is relatively short, coming in at 19 miles. it starts with a 1.2 mile climb up and out of bruton which the organisers designated a ‘prime’, with a prize going to the fastest ascent. once over the top it’s relatively straightforward for a while, before hitting a series of morale-destroying false flats and 1/2% climbs. not unlike a night out at the Vauxhall Tavern: exhausting and beset by unnecessary and intense drag. these sections link together to form a sort of 6 mile ‘super drag’.

unnecessary super-drag

Gillingham Hardrider Course

once up and rolling i enjoyed most of it, except for the long and drawn out false flat. it hurt a lot and i felt that i wasn’t going fast enough. in my head i think i managed to convince myself that i was, and that everyone else would be experiencing similar issues. this sort of relativity is helpful and stops me worrying and getting ground down by the tougher sections of the course. A hill is always a hill, you expect it to take a toll, but a false flat into a headwind plays a deceptive and damaging game with your perception.

I managed a 46.36 last year, good enough for 7th and a really promising ride. This year i wanted to get as near to 45 minutes as i could. this meant i would have to do a 25mph ride on a really hilly course. i figured it was possible and i would have to manage it if i was going to get 2nd place which was my ‘A’ target. I try and avoid fatalism, but Rob Pears is really very fast indeed and unless the road climbs without end for the whole 19 miles it’s unlikely i’ll catch him.

the hillclimb threw a bit of excitement into the mix. i knew i’d go for it and wouldn’t really be able to not take up the challenge. it’s essentially my pride as a hillclimber that was at stake. There’s no point referring to yourself, however obliquely, as being ‘good at hills’ if you’re not then prepared to go out and make it happen. With this in mind i opted for a really simple strategy: go really hard at the beginning all the way up the climb to bag the prize then carry on all the way to the finish without stopping. I think it was a successful strategy because these things, these horrible hardrider things, are based on how much you can hurt yourself and how hard you can go for a set period of time. yesterday i went really hard and put in a huge effort all the way round. the result of this was a really quick time of 43.37, coming second to Rob by less than a minute. I made up all of my time on the ups and he stole it back on the last 5 miles, where he rode at a 33mph average to my 30mph. i managed to beat Dave and Derek, (like Derek and Clive, but in lycra) by a minute and a half and two minutes respectively. It was a very good day, made even better by just how close I got to Rob. He sportingly said that I ‘was getting dangerous’.

I won the hillclimb prime by around 15 seconds from the next rider. This is quite a lot over 4 minutes. It was an ‘unofficial’ prize because it hadn’t been sanctioned or recorded by a CTT timekeeper – club timekeepers don’t carry the same weight. I don’t value it any less and in fact, the surreptitious nature of it feels strangely daring. You’ve got to love the anachronisms of the CTT. It’s like the freemasons, but a bit cuddlier and without the special handshake, conspiracies and blackballing.

shhh!

Next week it’s the Severn Hardrider, then Bath after that. With a bit of luck and some ferocious pedalling i might have a decent points total by the end of the month. If you’re thinking of racing any of the events this year then i’d wholly recommend them as fantastic introductions to time trialling. The details are on the West DC website.