A bicycle made for two

 

Sam and I raced the tandem on Sunday.  A fortnight ago I'd been terrified that it was all going to go horribly wrong and we'd fall off either at the start or on a roundabout somewhere.  My broken shoulder felt painful after only 20 minutes on the bike and I was panicking at every turn. After a couple more practice runs and some changes to the bike, I was starting to feel more confident.  Sunday morning came but I was still full of trepidation.

Our warm-up went beautifully and the bike felt quick.  We were even held up at the start and managed to push off smoothly and without incident.  Everything went well until we encountered deer fighting on the course, but Sam bellowing at them seemed to settle their dispute and we sailed past.

We crossed the line in a time of 24.51, which turned out to be the fastest of the day.  We'd been hoping for top 10 so we were very happy.

 

Half an hour later I was ready to race solo.  I hadn't even contemplated how much racing twice might hurt.  I'd been told that this would be excellent training, so I suppose I was approaching it with that in mind. After two pedal strokes, my legs felt full of lactic acid.  The tandem had been hard on them but my lungs still felt good.  It was going to be a question of getting a grip on the hurt.

 And hurt, I did:

I'd just wanted to finish the race.  I kept focused and rode as hard as I could. It all felt like I know a time trial should: I was pedalling at every point, I didn't lose concentration, I didn't go too hard on the way out, I caught people but I didn't let that disrupt my race. The only thing I didn't know was how much the tandem had taken out of me. It proved to be the perfect prelude; I rode myself to a win.

Sunday morning in Richmond

 

Sunday morning, 4am is fast becoming my favourite time of the week.  Yesterday, the Park was cold and there was a good wind on parts of the course.  This time round I had company because Sam was riding in the men's road race category.  Two of us with bleary eyes.

 I tried hard not to race the first part of the course too hard.  I think it worked.  The conditions made the course slower than expected but I held it together better than in previous races.  The Cyclefit position and Adamo saddle are definitely working for me.  I'm so much more comfortable on the bike. 

 

It was good to have Sam racing this time.  We are going ride the tandem at the next event. I don't know how well we'll go.  I suppose we shall see.

Thanks for a great race, London Dynamo and Bex Slack and thank you for photos Ella Keen and David Rowe.

Small Victories

I love the Richmond Park TTs.  London Dynamo and Rebecca Slack always do an incredibly good job of organising and marshaling.  There is a warm and friendly atmosphere and a healthy amount of backchat on the startline.

I'd hauled myself out of bed at 4am, eaten porridge and then loaded my little car.  In a new tradition of calm and sensible race-preparations, I was the second competitor in the carpark.  I think I may even  have been the first to sign on.

I can see from the photgraphs that I rode hard.  I was mindful that I had two teamies in front of me who are both ace riders.  I was  running scared.

It is hard looking at photos of myself where I'm trying this hard.  It isn't pretty, but it is me.

It's worth it to have won my category and to to be LWCR league leader (however brief that honour).  The team vibe was fantastic.  Lovely to see Maryka Sennema turn up to present the league prizes with her new baby.  Made the morning perfect.  Thanks to all.

National 25TT, 2011

I think I'm just about feeling over the excitement of the last couple of days.  Sam and I drove down to Devon on Saturday, driving the course (hilly as hell) before finding our hotel for the night in the incredibly beautiful, Widemouth Bay.

 

Leaving early, we managed to arrive at HQ an an hour and forty-five minutes before my start time.  This is unprecedented behaviour for me and I shocked Coach Simmonds with my organisation.  (He was stunned to find me mid-turbo when he drove into the carpark).

 

With good knowledge of the course, a decent warm up and my new "speed suit" thrown into the bargain, I was feeling pretty relaxed.  I didn't feel nervous.  Just aware that I would have to ride the first half of the course conservatively if I were to make it home in a good time. There was already a small crowd gathering in Holdsworthy's town square and a sense of occasion was created by the commentator and starting ramp (small but purposeful)!  

Climbing the ramp, I answered the usual barrage of questions about "Look Mum No Hands!", where and what it was.  On another day I might have found this frustrating but it kept me calm.

 

The way out was hard.  There was a stiff headwind and a few technical features.  I kept pedaling and stayed focused. As I approached the turn (over half-way at 13miles), I started to find my groove.  Riding well on the hills and spinning quickly with the tailwind, I was at least enjoying myself.  

There were supporters all along the course.  The race had caused something of a spectacle and the cheers from the onlookers were much appreciated.  Sam was at 21miles with the Slack party and managed to catch me gurning on camera.  I was pleased with how I'd ridden and thanks to a good old chinwag over coffee with the wonderful Jen Hewitt, had approached the race with the mentality that this was the only outcome that mattered. 

Back at HQ I was quickly pounced on by Dope Control.  Bah.  Humbug.

Peeing into a pot while scrutinised by an official is not my idea of a warm-down, but I did feel looked after.  They let me know how I'd done (9th!  Hooray!)  and stayed with me while I went through the necessaries. 

Thanks to Sam for being a saint and putting up with my driving and inability to pee on command.  A good weekend.

Lovely photographs from Adam Brittain

Adam sent me these photographs of my TT on Sunday. As previously discussed, I rode like a bag of spanners. It's good to have some pictures which make me reflect on the positive: it was a nice day and I finished. 

"The race - every race - is a fight" Gino Bartali



Today I rode a time trial which felt like a fight.  I was fighting the bike, the wind, my demons and my desire to stop. The last three miles alone (of twenty five), felt good. I've finally perfected my race preparation but only to result in a pretty terrible performance.  My muscles feel like I've been in a fight.

One day everything will come together.  Of this much I am certain.  It probably won't even matter to me how fast I go.  Just that body and mind will be on the same page.

The beauty of time trialing is that you've ridden best part of 50km before 10 o'clock in the morning.  This means you still have the rest of the day  to find consolation for a hopeless performance.  Being the lucky girlfriend of a famous cafe owner, I found my comfort in meeting Guy Andrews, Mr Kadir Guirey and Herbie Sykes at the signing of the latter's new book "Maglia Rosa: Triumph and Tragedy at the Giro d' Italia".  Three more lovely gentlemen you could not wish to meet.

I have to confess that I haven't read the book yet, but am able to say that it looks beautiful.  I stole the headline quotation from its pages.  It seemed appropriate. 

Angels of the North Road

Beautiful sunshine, hearty climbs and heaps of support from team mates and friends put me in a positive frame of mind for approaching today's race.  The North Road Hardriders is an iconic, early season time trial which claims hardmen such as Chris Boardman amongst its winners. The course had been shortened due to road works but was still hard enough for me.

I felt focused and calm approaching the startline.  I think I rode a good race and am happy with my result.  Most pleasing is the feeling that I've knocked seven bells out of my legs.  Today I hurt in a good way.

There was a good atmosphere back at HQ and some faces that I've not seen in a while.  Wouter Sybrandy again proved that he is an incredible tester and won the day.