Rossendale Hilly 11 - Season Splutters to a Start!

One year on from my first TT, and back to Bolton-by-Bowland it was. The weather seemed like it was going to hold off, until I opened the car door upon arrival and down came the rain! Fortunately it didn't last too long, although it was enough to turn the farmers muck on the roads into a muddy soup. A light wind was blowing, but overall conditions were good for a February day in Lancashire!

Renowned as I am for poor preparation, this time...well, this time was no different! Being in the midst of the squash season, I've been complementing 4/5 squash sessions with 2/3 sessions on the rollers per week, and a grand total of 4 rides on the road since September! These roller sessions have been more geared towards the upcoming crits at the MK Bowl, (and further afield... details to be revealed shortly!), but I thought any training is good training right?! Wrong. Cranking out suitable watts at 110 RPM for crit prep doesn't equate to good TT'ing it would appear! I also managed to overtrain just under 2 weeks ago, leading to a week of feeling awful, and not being able to sleep this week. I was going to DNS, but I figured I'd already come 250miles North, another 40 wouldn't hurt!

Another undesirable prelude was a problem with CTT affiliation. It turned out when I came to enter, that LBRCC weren't affiliated - the renewal form hadn't been sent. I held off until the last possible day, but it wasn't processed, so with hours to go I decided to join another club online! I opted for albaRosa CC, based in Leeds for a number of reasons. Firstly, I'd heard and read great things about the club, which although not even in existence when I left Leeds 4 years ago, now boasts hundreds of members! I thought at worst, it would be good to show support for the club. Also, through my recent job search I have strongly considered moving back to Leeds, so I thought this would be good potential prep if I were to do so.

On the positive side, I did take the rollers to the race, meaning I actually warmed up at a TT for the first time ever!

Pain, pain, and misery...
Photo: Ellenndan Flickr

Anyway, excuses out of the way,
on to the race itself!

It transpired that at no. 20, I was seeded. I felt bad, as this was purely a result of my 21.40 on the F11/10 last year, when I was training, and wholely unrepresentative of current squash season lack of form! Especially as super strong junior Adam Hartley was off no.22, and would essentially tear up the course. I digress. I came with a race plan this year, the most important point being not to overcook it on the first kick at about 0.5km! Of course, in the heat of the moment (according to Strava) I hit it even harder than last year! Not helped by my minute man being visible at the top, and an inability to resist the chase!

The following drag was ok, a little slower than planned, as my legs didn't seem to want to turn particularly quickly! The downhill to the turn was a welcome change, but the muddy wet conditions - roads more like Belgium than Bolton-by-Bowland - left me hesitant to go full gas. 4 rides in 6 months doesn't do too much for confidence in bike handling!

Reaching the turn, a gale seemed to appear, for arguably the hilliest section of the course. BBC weather states light wind, but all cyclists know that one must multiply those figures by at least 5 for the actual effect, 10 if you're having a slow day! My lungs were bursting here, I just didn;t seem to be able to get the power down consistently, and as such I was frantically trying spinning, grinding, tri bars, drops...nothing seemed to work! I should have just stuck with one really, certainly inefficient swapping. Finally, the last little kick appeared, at which point Adam Hartley glided past me. I knew he'd be on for a 24:XX, but I was hoping to get onto the final 7Km drag before he caught me. I managed to stay close on the downhill to the turn, a benefit of having the drops on the road bike, but at the turn, the TT bike prevailed and off he shot.

The final stretch is more or less downhill...on paper. On bike, it certainly doesn't feel like that with constant undulation. More mud and wet conditions led me to be a bit too hesitant on the corners, a few more road rides and I think my handling confidence will return. Still the legs felt leaden, but I managed to grind it out to the seemingly never-appearing final turn, cursing my decision to start racing without training! Timekeepers in sight, I mustered the strength for a sprint finish. I actually hit 56km/h during this, good indicator for the RR in a fortnight, and probably the most positive thing to take from today!

I crossed the line for 33rd out of c. 100 in 28:21, an improvement of over a minute from last year, but I was a little disappointed. I was hoping for 27.XX at least, and I reckon I could get a short 26, maybe long 25 in the midst of the season. Though after some reflection, I decided it wasn't too bad without training.

The runaway winner was Adam Hartley in 24:07, and last years winner Craig Battersby second with 24:34. Fellow albaRosa riders did excellently, coming 4th and 12th, with another unfortunately puncturing, and still not coming last despite a treacherous ride on a flat! We came 3rd in the team comp, so I guess turning up had one benefit of team filler!

Positives
- Slow, but an improvement from last year at similar stage.
- Decent sprint finish bodes well for the start of my road season in a fortnight!
- Although I didn't utilise them, the new clip on bars will be better with a bit of trial and error position wise.
- Served as team filler with the misfortune of another clubmate!

Negatives
- Slow!!!
- Unsurprisingly, 2/3 hours a week on the rollers isn't good for sustained big gear efforts...hopefully better for crits, which has been the main aim of the sessions.
- Bike position needs tweaking, riding outside seems to dictate a different position on the bike to the rollers.

Next up: Back South and back in LBRCC Team Green for the start of the road season at the MK Bowl on March 14th! Time to start my 2nd season and hopefully an assault towards 2nd Cat!!!

60 minutes of suffering...Hemel Hempstead CC Hilly 21.5 mile Time Trial

Yesterday (Sunday 23rd March) was my second time trial, Hemel Hempstead CC's Sid Latchford Memorial, a tough hilly 25 mile course up Bison Hill, over the Dunstable Downs and up Ivinghoe Beacon. It was also my first in LBRCC colours, as the kit had conveniently arrived last week.

My preparation for the race hadn't been too great, my one ride in the month before, a recon of the course, ending in abandonment due to ongoing knee issues. Added to this was a 2 hour squash training session Saturday and a late night after a meal out with friends! If that wasn't enough, as a result I then woke up late, ate breakfast too close to the race and didn't have time to set my new cleats and shoes up properly. If ever there was to be a manual of how NOT to prepare for a race, I think I would have ticked all the boxes! 'Fail to prepare, prepare to fail!' comes to mind!

Anyway, despite this I made it to the start with about an hour to go, and got ready to warm up. All of a sudden, the brisk but sunny weather turned, huge globules of freezing rain coming down! Ten minutes of shivering pedal spinning later, I gave up, deciding that being warm took precedent today! Soon it was time to set off, which I did a little more confidently this time with the standing start.

The bottom of Bison Hill...Short lived smile!

The first 5km or so entailed a steady incline, maybe 1-2%max, which I was careful not to overcook after last time's overenthusiastic start. I made it about 4km up before being passed, but I wasn't too bothered, with TT bikes having a massive advantage on this stretch, especially with a fair headwind. A right turn at a roundabout and an ever increasing gradient led to a sharp right and the first climb of the day: Bison Hill, an eye watering climb touching 17% gradient in places! I'd reconned the climb last week, and thought it was tough but manageable, however, on the day I felt empty at the bottom, and really struggled up. I decided rather than blow out trying to push, I should spin it up and conserve energy for the several remaining climbs. A cowbell and cheering crowds spurred me on towards the top, no doubt finding my gurning entertaining, and a decent past Whipsnade Zoo followed.

The top...I'd quit cycling 3 times by now!

Going up here the thought of quitting cycling crossed my mind several times! A cross between no warm up and late breakfast were a bad combo, with muesli threatening to make a reappearance several times...(sorry!). As it turned out, despite the horrific feelings, I actually did the climb only 10 seconds or so slower than recon, so I must have done the first bit a little too quickly I imagine.

Anyway...There was a short gentle climb up from Whipsnade up onto the Dunstable Downs, where a tremendous headwind greeted us. Great for the hundreds of people with kites, not so much for a suffering TT'er! It was a head down and drive moment with a slight recovery down a steep gradient into Dunstable. From here there was essentially a valley, a few miles downhill and the same up the other side, with the pleasant (!) addition of a headwind. I was passed a couple of times on the downhill, once again the advantage of TT bikes was evident, but it turned out both ended up in the top 5 overall, so not too disheartening!

The uphill led to the second main climb of the day, Ivinghoe beacon, so with the wind, I held back a little, saving energy. Ivinghoe Beacon is a couple of km long with a fair gradient of 5% or so, which I really enjoyed on my recon. Feeling a little more energised, and safe in the knowledge it was downhill from there, I went for it, catching someone in the process. The last section was tricky, being a little steeper, but overall pretty good. Jenny was waiting at the top, fortunately missing a photo opportunity as I gasped 'It's not a good day at the office today!'.

From there onwards the course was mainly downhill, first a smooth downhill which I mostly used to recover, and then a sharp left turn leading to a steep couple of km over very rough tarmac to the first and last roundabout. A right turn opened up the final stretch downhill back to the finish, which I managed full gas, crossing the line (which was earlier than expected!) in 1:04.50. I would have liked to beat the hour, but given the preparation and how bad I felt, beating 1:05 wasn't too disappointing. I definitely think I could get sub 1 hour, which may seem optimistic, but all things considered, especially the fact I haven't been able to train for 6 weeks, I think it is easily within reach.

At the finish I stocked up on coffee and cake, and bumped into fellow rider Tom, who was somewhere between pleased and heartbroken with his time of 1:00.03! A fantastic ride, but so close to that magical marker! However, after we deduced that sprinting to make up that 3 seconds would almost certainly have lead to a catastrophic death (long story induced by post TT delusion!), he seemed more happy! It was good to meet a fellow team member, as I haven't really had the chance to meet so many yet, having pretty much joined the club and got injured on the same day!

The winning time was a blistering 50.03 by Micheal Broadwith (Arctic Tacx), and we hung around for the presentations. Overall, great organisation by Sam Williamson of Hemel CC, and all of marshalls, photographers, coffee makers and everyone else! Especially for the first time the event has been run.

From this race I have learned many, many, MANY things:

• Don't have a 2 hour squash training session the day before
• Don't go for a meal and get back at 1am
•  If you do go for a meal and get back at 1am, don't wake up and eat breakfats late, it will come back (literally and metaphorically!) to haunt you!
• Don't set new cleats up on the day
• Don't use new shoes on the day
• Don't use new pedals which are completely different for the first time
• Warm up!

As for my next plans, I really need to sort this knee out. I'm going to get some proper physio , fortunately LBRCC is sponsored by The Brecon Clinic, so I'll try there, and stay off the bike for a few weeks. Fortunately the weather should only get better, so a few weeks now is worth it to be ok for summer. It's a shame I haven't been able to race the MK Bowl circuit, but there will be plenty of opportunity over summer. There's a few weeks of the squash season left, so I'll focus on that rather than the bike, and combined with a week of reltive rest/warm weather training in Cyprus, hopefully my knee can recover!

Epilogue

It was kind of disheartening at first being 15mins behind the winner, but as I was packing away the bike a thought occured to me. This is what the top guys train for all year round, most days. If I look at my level at squash, which I generally spend a couple of hours, 6+ days a week doing, then it's definitely comparable. I can beat full time professionals, some in the world top 200 or so, which when you think of pro riders speeds on TT's, these guys wouldn't be near. I know there's a lot more pro cyclists than squash players, but the performances must be close. A little nugget of positivity to top the day!

First Time Trial – Rossendale Hilly 11 Bolton-by-Bowland

Last Saturday was my first race, a hilly time trial on the outskirts of the Forest of Bowland. Despite being well and truly in the North, the weather was nothing short of majestic, with base layers being removed left right and centre. As it was my first race, I set out to arrive about and hour before the start, hoping to drive at least part of the course. However, when I got there it was already starting to get busy, and the lanes were even narrower than they had looked when i street-viewed the course on google maps, so I gave it a miss.

By the time I’d collected my number and set the bike up, I had about 40 minutes, time to warm up! Many people were on turbo trainers, which had crossed my mind when packing to drive up North, but space was an issue, and I didn’t know if it would look odd, evidently not! That said, there were a fair few people riding around the local lanes to warm up, which I joined in with. I didn’t want to risk missing my starting spot, so I probably only did 20 mins warm up, some high cadence stuff to get rid of 240 miles of driving, then some general riding with some sprints. Not ideal, but I was feeling pretty good.

I bumped into  friend on the starting line, and after a quick chat 2.25pm was upon us and it was time to start! The sensation of someone holding you up on the bike was odd at first, I had visions of falling, but a firm push of prevented that, and off I went. I knew the course went up for a few km from the off, but there was a steepish kick for a few hundred metres which I hadn’t anticipated, and I hit it a little hard for the beginning, gasping for air as it evened out a little. It wasn’t too bad though, and half a minute later I was fine. Not dissimilar from a tough first rally in a squash match, so nothing I couldn’t handle! I digress.

No TT bike or aero bars, but the race wheels felt great!

The next couple of km went gently uphill at 2% or so, and as I neared the crest I saw my minute-man! Visions of finishing last vanished and I burst forward to catch him. Potentially unwise, but with a downhill section to follow I think it worked out ok. As I had’nt had chance to set the clip-on aero bars up, I got down low on the hoods, using scientific reasoning that the drops widen the frontal area – plus I find I can generate more power. As the first corner loomed, unbelievably I saw my 2 minute man ahead, although this time I resisted sprinting to catch up, and a hilly section followed. It was also at this point I got overtaken, although as we hit the climb I was matching pace, a demonstration of how effective TT bikes are on the flat/downhill.

I caught my 2 minute man on the crest of the last main hill, approx halfway round the course. I put a bit more effort into this climb than I maybe should, but a sharp hairpin requiring slow speed provided respite. The downhill second half of the course proved a little more undulating than I expected, but I think that suited me, using my preferred out of the saddle position every so often. I felt to be pushing on the limit, and despite expecting to be overtaken again, it never came. I was slightly taken by surprise by a nasty 5/6% kick, which sent me really into the red, but I was able to recover quickly for a sprint finish to the finish, which was several hundred metres away.

Riding back to the village, I was gasping for air, unable to speak as I got back to base! Thus, I think I probably rode it well, on the limit without exceeding it or cracking at any point. I aimed to break 30mins, which I was kind of confident I had. The times were soon up in the village hall, and I found out I had in fact done 29:27, an average speed of 34mph. Not quick in the grand scheme of things, but for a first attempt on a hilly course on a road bike, not too bad I don’t think. I reckon knowing the course I could knock possibly 2 minutes off next time at a push, certainly 1-1.5mins.

The winning time was 25:04, so I was less than 4.30 back. It is estimated that a TT position can save approx. 5 mins over a 25mile TT, so subtract 2 minutes and I was only a couple of minuted off the pace. I’m not saying this would necessarily be guaranteed, but science doesn’t lie! In theory anyway! If nothing else, there were some incredibly expensive bikes there, so cost:time wise I think I did OK!
Overall a thoroughly enjoyable ride, compounded by tea and cake in the village hall afterwards! I’ll definitely be signing up for more soon, with better training and a tactical plan to boot.

Things to take away for next time:
-   Take the turbo to warm up, easier to do and no risk of getting lost/puncturing
-   Drive (or ideally ride!) the course before to get a proper idea of the topography
-   Don’t get over excited when catching people!
-   Spend vast amount of money on a sleek TT steed!