Maidenhead CC Time Trial. H10/10 9th May 2024

Maidenhead CC Time Trial. H10/10 9th May 2024

Me at the finish, slightly sweaty

Nine years since my previous time trial - time flies. What have I been doing?

I have not been idle; still cycling regularly, even racing in triathlons and Sportives and online Zwift.

But not the dreaded race of truth, the 10 mile time trial.

The start of course H10/10 is less than 15 minutes cycle from my house, but the circumstances and weather have always made it difficult to get to. No excuses today.

I leisurely made my way over, signed up and paid (£6 - that's inflation for you) and got number 11 just 25 minutes before the first rider start at 7pm.

I was hoping for a time of 26, maybe 27; I wasn't confident, and my backup idea was just to beat 30 minutes. At the line number 13 told me he was going for 25 minutes. If he passed me then I'd know I was outside 27. (Each rider goes off at one minute intervals, so number 13 woulod be two minutes behind me, breathing down my neck).

Pacing is difficult, and I think I was too slow in the early part of the ride, which is mostly downhill. I was overtaken within 5 minutes, by number 12, the eventual winner. Hawthorn Hill wasn't great, but I was going OK after that. Once again, in hindsight, I could have pushed harder, but I was trying to save myself.

Number 14 went past me next  - he came 2nd overall. I was unlucky to have these two overtaking me and draining my morale.

As I approached the final bend, number 12 went past. So I was over 27 minutes in all probability. I was having some issues with my Garmin 1030 bike computer which had reset the lap at 8km so my mental calculations were a bit off (why Garmin, why?), so this was my first real indication of my time. I had to slow a little to avoid drafting him, and then I hit the finish line. 

My Official time is 27.09.

I'm fairly happy with my return to TT. It's not good enough, but I can see scope for improvement (try harder) and in the next few weeks the course is H10/2, which suits me better. Onward and upward.

 

Results:

11th out of 16 riders - MaidenheadCC : Strava

H10/2 23rd July 2015

I missed last weeks time trial, and this week I felt so tired I might have skipped it again. I had done a long slow ride on Saturday to Richmond Park with Olivia, and a faster one on my own on Sunday. On the Sunday ride I was surprised to feel my legs stronger than they have been for a while. So after a few days off, and on a warm evening with a very light westerly wind, I felt duty bound to go to Maidenhead, though it was a bit of a struggle getting off the sofa.

I think it's worth talking a little about nutrition - for breakfast I had bran flakes and granola with milk, and a small orange. I had a Sainsbury's meal deal of 500 ml diet coke, triple sandwich with chicken/turkey/cheese, and a big bag of Walkers cheese and onion. Mid afternoon Snickers bar completed the day except for a handful of salted peanuts just before I left home and an Isogel+ about 45 minutes before the race. I had about 3 cups of coffee at work too, and a few sips of water while waiting near the start line.

My warm-up was a 16 km ride to the start, a bit of a rest, and then 4 loops of the side road. I didn't do any real efforts as I was feeling tired, but i did time my last loop so that I turned up at the start 3 minutes before my time (I got number 30 this week so was off at 8:14 pm) and just had time to get my heart rate back down.

I know this course very well now, and have a very good feeling after only a few minutes for how the ride will go. Getting up to speed from the standing start is always the same, and turning the corner at the roundabout. The gradient then increases, and my speed goes down, and suddenly I remember I need to breath (at 1:50 elapsed time on this occasion :) ) The next 3-5 minutes are decisive. If my speed drops to 32-33 km/h, and my legs start to hurt, and I start panting and wanting to give up, then I'll have an average (for me) ride. I might beat 25 minutes, but might not. That's the normal early season. Today, I found I was right about my form, and my legs felt strong, and I maintained 34-6 km/h on this hard section. I knew it would be a good time.

I kept in as low an aero position as possible into the slight headwind and it seemed to work - my speed was good an the average crept up. I think I need to change my bike set up because even sitting at the back of the saddle, and reaching forwards, my elbows are practically off the front of the pads and my hands off the front of the gear controls - I can't get any lower though I feel that I want to and am capable of it.

At the half way turnaround roundabout my average speed was 39.1 km/h - this is close to my record I think and I was still feeling good. I overtook number 29 which always feels good, but was soon overtaken by 31 - not so nice. I think I must have relaxed a little on the return  - with my good start I was confident of my best time of the season. Number 31 didn't pull away from me as fast as I'd have liked and I had to slow a little to let him get out of my drafting zone - I lost a bit of time doing that but I had no choice - you're not allowed to draft other riders. I kept my average speed between 38.8 and 39.1 and after the final hill really pushed for home.

I think my push for home should have started sooner - I felt fast, and I still had some energy at the finish line. It's hard to judge this, and maybe if I'd pushed harder earlier that wouldn't have worked.

Very happy with my 24.11 time - best of the season and 3rd best ever. A little surprised it wasn't under 24 minutes, given my good first half. Maybe I should spend less time looking at my speed, and more riding by how I feel. Perhaps I'll try a ride with the Garmin screen covered :)

I rode home again as my warm down, it was getting really dark and though there had been 100% cloud cover all evening, a small patch on the horizon cleared in the west showing a red sky, which was nice.

Links maidenheadCC Strava

H10/2 9th July 2015

Feeling very tired after a hard week in the office (new job) I only prsuaded myself to do this when I saw the weather forecast. 20 degrees C and 5mph westerly wind. almost perfect.

The new routing is to cycle to the lake, look after Lyra while Anna swims, and then cycle over to the start. I did this and got number 37 this week.

There were several horses and traps around the start which made me need to take a wide path around them just before the first roundabout, but other than that the ride was uneventful. I passed number 34 quite quickly, but I knew number 37 was fast. I felt quite strong and could see from my 38.4km/h average speed at the turnaround that I was doing better than any time this season - the slight headwind hadn't affected me much.

I maintained a good speed, though not spectacular. when 37 did go past me I let him get out of the drafting zone as per rules and then pushed on after him, watching to see if I could learn anything. His cadence wasn't fast, similar to mine and maybe slower, but he was getting away from me. I think this means he just had more power.

Fairly happy with my fastest time of the season, though it's still slower than many of my rides last year. I'm slightly ahead though as I did fewer TTs last year, so still time to catch up.

Result 24.26 - 18th out of 37 riders.

Links MaidenheadCC

H10/2 2nd July 2015

I got number 50 this week, so had my longest waiting around time so far. Anna and Lyra came to watch which was nice - they saw the start and finish. Unfortunately, I struggled on the way west on the A4, and though my return was OK, I didn't have the power needed to beat 25 minutes.

It was the MDCC/TVT inter club competition, and my time was included, Happily, it was enough for us to win this year :) We went to the pub to celebrate afterwards.

Result 25:05 - 26th out of 53 finishers

Links MDCC

H10/2 25th June 2015

Following the pattern of cycling over and getting a late number, I got 37 this week.

I didn't feel very strong on the way out today, but made up some time coming back so so was happy to be a little faster than last week.

Result 24:38 - 16th out of 36 finishers

Links MDCC

H10/2 18 June 2015

I cycled over to the start as normal for my 2nd try at H10/2 this season. got the very last number - 40.

Ireally just wanted to break 25 minutes, and so was pleased enough to manage that :)

Result 24.57 - 18th place out of 39 finishers.

Links - MDCC

H10/2 21/05/2015

H10/2 21/05/2015 - 24:56

Back to H10/2 for the first time this year.

I cycled over, and just managed to get a space, 41 riders allowed and I got number 39.

Had quite a lot of sitting around, and getting a bit cold but eventually I was off.

I didn't like the slight headwind going west on the A4 and my speed was well below what it should be. I also forgot to set my Garmin's lap timer until the first roundabout, so wasn't sure of my average speed comparisons from previous rides. I would like to be hitting 40km/h average by half way.

38.2km/h average by the turnaround, which may or may not be nearly 2km/h down on my best. But the push back to the finish was wind assisted, so made better time. I felt quite good, but progress was slow. I was wearing my contact lenses, which makes reading the small numbers on my Garmin difficult, and what with missing the lap start, I had no idea when I finished what my time might be.

I was hoping to break 25 minutes, and just did it at 24:56, 38.78km/h average speed.

Note: Richard Stannard, previous Windsor Triathlon winner, raced tonight, be was a little faster then me coming in 6th, but I'm pleased with 18th.

Results Maidenhead CC and Strava 

H10/10 23/04/2015

H10/10 23/04/2015

My first official TT of the year, with Maidenhead Cycling Club out on the Drift road circuit.

I had a very fast training session on Tuesday, and my legs were still a little painful from that, but I was feeling fit. I cycled over the the start line, signed up as number 8, then went for a mini circuit that included some of the course (I didn't want to do the whole 10 miles as warmup)

Conditions were very favourable, not too warm, not too cold, and not much wind.

I had a good start, it's mostly downhill for the first 6-7 minutes, but I didn't go crazy as the main Hawthorn Hill climb was next. I was hoping to see number 7 ahead as I turned the corner to go up, but she was nowhere in sight. The climb went OK, and I passed number 5 who was doing her first TT.

After 18 minutes my mouth was dry and I felt a little sick. I think the Isogel+ I took 30 minutes before the start was not agreeing with me. Not long to go though.

Finally onto the Drift Road again, and the home straight, but my legs were not feeling good. I pushed hard, but not as hard as I should have been able to. Number 10 passed me. I looked at my time and wondered if I could beat 25 minutes (I hadn't checked, but my record on this course is 26:02 from 16 August 2012.

The final stretch was longer than I remembered, but it was downhill, and I managed to get a bit of extra speed hitting nearly 56km/h. It wasn't enough, my finish time was 25:16 in the end.

I'm pretty pleased with that; it's the first TT of the season, and I am on course for better things :)

Official Results Strava

H10/2 30/07/2014

New PB 23:57

A change from the norm tonight. Instead of the usual Maidenhead & District Cycling Club (MDCC) Thursday time trial, I came on Wednesday and raced with Middlesex Road Club (MRC). Same course, and same rules. It's a rather more low key event - I arrived at my usual time of about 7pm, and got assigned number 10 (last week I got No 33) The total competitors present was only 13, and one of those was riding a (very fast admittedly) tricycle.

I had had a good cycle on Tuesday evening, a good warm up cycling over to the start, and was feeling pretty good. That all changed as soon as I hit the first roundabout and turned left, uphill into the wind. The starting adrenalin rush disappeared, my legs started to hurt, and my breathing got laboured. I decided I would probably stop.

Obviously, I didn't stop. I'm used to this feeling and only three or four minutes later it had passed. The wind was against me on the outward leg, so I knew my average speed at the turnaround would be lower than last week's 40km/h. I tried my best to get it as high as possible, and made it to about 39.4km/h. I had a good turn, no cars, and not long after that caught No 9, which is a good feeling. The tail wind wasn't pushing me hard, but I was able to maintain my speed and not let the average drop. It is uphill a lot of the way back and my lowest point was 39.3km/h - up on last week.

Approaching the last couple of kilometres, I knew I had a chance of a PB (personal best) for this course. I pushed and pushed and my average speed finally topped the 40km/h I needed.  I got to another landmark, the pub on the right, which means the downhill is finished and it's a final slight climb up to the stopwatch. The PB was in the bag as long as I kept my speed over 40km/h, and I knew I could do that. But I looked at my time, and suddenly realised my other goal, to beat 24 minutes, was possible.

So rather than a strong and steady 40-42km/h to the line, which is hard enough, I had to try my ultimate. The finish line is always further than you think, there is some kind of odd perspective vortex that shifts it away from you. All that you can do is pedal faster and hope you get there before your legs fall off. Analysing my Strava record (linked below) I can see that going up that last hill I got steadily faster until by the time I hit the line I was going at 46.1km/h. I did it. I beat 24 minutes by a whole three seconds giving me a new record of 23:57, not only for this course, but for 10 mile time trials anywhere. (I did a 24:03 last year on a faster course)

Very pleased.

Results MRC Strava

PS - As my friend Matthew has pointed out, comparing my best time last season with my best tonight, I have improved by approximately 4%. I've made a lot of changes to get here, but it is hard to say which one worked. I am almost sure it is a combination of them all, but also, in the back of my mind, I do still think that it might just be a mental thing.

H10/8 Charlotteville CC "10"

Racing pose

On a hot tip from Anna that fast times were likely down on the Bentley 10 mile time trial course, we duely entered a race there. It was a bit different from the usual "just turn up" situation Maidenhead CC operate on a Thursday night. We had to go enter online and pay up front. It cost a bit more but there was free cake promised. It was also a Saturday weekend ride, in the afternoon. So many changes.

It was quite a nice day, but rain was forecast. In the end we both managed to finish before the rain started, but it was a big field of about 100 riders.

Anna had her turbo trainer with her, and got started on the warmup after we had collected our numbers. I haven't managed to get any kind of structure to the pre-race, so just rode around a bit, eventually getting 15km in before my start.

The course is very like H10/2 in Maidenhead - you cycle down a main road in a fairly straight line towards a roundabout, turn around, and come back passing the start a little to the finish. This is a dual carriageway however, and a better road surface. The Garmin says 39m of climbing, versus 35m in Maidenhead, but it didn't feel like that.

I started with a climb, but it was fast, then some rolling terrain, and watching my average speed I could see I was slightly above my usual pace. I can't remember that much now about the rest of the race, except that I managed to stay fast. Maybe it was the smoother road conditions, or the wind direction, but as I approached the finish I suddenly noticed I was very closed indeed to 24 minutes, which is about a minute faster than my 10 mile TT record. I pushed towards the line, which was slightly hard to see so I wasn't quite sure when I would get there.

I actually got a time of 24:01 which I am massively pleased with, a new PB by a long way. I am not that disappointed to have missed the 24 target, a 23:59 would have been nice, but I have a target now to aim at - I never expected to get even close to 24 today.

I cycled around a bit to warm down, and went to a bridge overlooking the course to watch Anna going past. The women's starts were later, and I don't think the conditions were as good, but she still did a great time of 25:36.

We did get a small piece of cake afterwards :)

I came 58th out of 87 in the senior men category - it would be nice to be higher, but a PB is a PB and this one was a good one.


Results TimeTriallingForum Strava
Photo currently here Blinkmanphoto