Matlock Club 10 – Gusty!

The build up

After a couple of tough rides over the weekend my legs were still aching during the day on Tuesday, so much so that I considered not racing at Matlock but going to Cuckney the day after instead, the weather forecast looking good for a fast time too. But with the conditions at Matlock supposed to be warmer with a lighter wind than last week I figured it would be good to stick to my plan and race here. Having raced on this course last week, I was already thinking of lowering my PB, from 23:17 to a long 22 minutes, anything under 23 would be a good leap forward.

Having got home and eaten a pre-made bowl of pasta I loaded up my bike and kit into the car and then waited for Mrs Murph and Junior Murph to arrive home so I could have some family time before making the short trip down to Darley Dale. After 30 minutes play on the back garden and a look at the horses in the field, known to Charlie as “Bobboes”, we came back in for some wind down time before getting Charlie ready for bed. With him safely on the sofa with his “milky” I got my trainers on and set off for tonight’s time trial.

Arriving in good time, I parked up, opened the car door to be met by a very strong wind, gusting much stronger than last week. I was ruing my decision not to skip tonight and do Cuckney on Wednesday but figured it would be more good practice in different conditions, after all, living in England if you only raced when it was perfect, you’d never race at all. As I began to get kitted up I spoke with another rider who was equally apprehensive of the conditions, at least it was warmer though we said, searching for a positive. I rolled around to the start area I decided to sign in early before setting off on my warm up. Cycling down the first section of the course again I trialled going over the train tracks in the aero position but decided that would be the last time I’d do that, no point risking it in the race. During the warm up I felt pretty good, having almost decided on a day’s rest I was pleased that I’d decided to race as I headed out towards Rowsley. As I pulled in to take a swig of water and to consume my caffeine gel I could feel the gusts of wind, it would be unlikely that I’d be going quicker tonight but with last week’s winner not racing could I win? At the very least I’d be aiming to put out more than the 272W I did last week.

Race Prep

The start time is a little bit more relaxed at Matlock, 7pm is more of guide but eventually I got my number, 7 again, maybe a good omen I thought. Having spoken with a couple of riders about bikes, (they were quite interested in my Canyon) I had another chat with Matt Ingram who also mentioned the windy conditions, but with little time to go before the off I decided to have a quick wazz behind some bushes and got into race mode. I prefer how my own club does our races in that you get your number at least 30 mins before the start, this ensures you are fully kitted up, can commence a warm up and then come to the line ready to go. Getting your number 10 minutes before the first rider sets off is not ideal, I think this actually favours the later starters, starting 7^th meant I just did a couple of minutes of riding, a couple of spin ups and then got to the line, this time leaving my warm up jersey in the officials’ car.

Race Time

I’d started my Garmin a little too early meaning my elapsed time already indicated 5 seconds, I’d also find out later that this would affect my Strava segment time as I waited at a standstill for 1 minute, it doesn’t really matter it’d just be harder to compare my race with last week, lesson learned. 5,4,3,2 and then 1 and I was off down the lane quickly getting into my aero position. The wind immediately buffeting me around as I seemed to find the bumpiest piece of road in Darley Dale, a look at the speed meant I needed to push and push I did as I sped round the corner, crossed the train tracks and went up the cassette as I ascended the hill towards the A6. Thankfully after giving my bike to Malcolm at Castle Cycles the chain was no longer catching on the frame, he’d even touched the paintwork up too which was great service as usual. Entering the A6 without hindrance I again began battling the wind as I headed toward Rowsley, earlier in the day I’d aimed to do 280-285W to the roundabout in Bakewell, as with last week I was initially well over 300W but the stats would later show that I’d equalled my time from last week to the A6 so my initial pacing for the first section was pretty good.

I didn’t know if I could beat my time from last week but what I did know was that my legs felt pretty good, the wind was stronger though, the gusts hindering my speed as I battled to keep the wattage on track. By the turn I had caught and passed all 6 people who had started before me as I then focused on the traffic in Bakewell town centre. A lorry was approaching the roundabout in front of me, I said to myself “please get round quick”, thankfully there was no traffic coming from the right but it took an age to get out the way, the only thing in my way now was a Vauxhall Corsa which was slowed by the lorry, even though it was costing me time I remained calm and resisted the urge to sprint out the roundabout, instead I collected my thoughts and made the turn for home.

Like last week the wind would be helping, but unlike last week it wasn’t a constant wind, the gusts came and went meaning I wasn’t going quite as quick, but still my power was good and the time looked OK, I also remembered that whatever my Garmin was saying I could take off 5 seconds. Whilst my legs felt ok my mouth was extremely dry, it had been since the turn, there was no chance this was from lack of hydration, I’d drank loads in the day, some at home and plenty before the off but maybe I’ll go back to Lucozade instead of water, maybe I’ll even consider taking a small amount in a bottle with me, even for a 10 as it happens every time.

Anyway back to the race and the push to the line. Last week I was pleased that for the final section of 0.6 mile “MCC Club 10 Finish” on Strava https://www.strava.com/segments/4116676?filter=overall&gender=both I’d produced 282W which was above my race pace, although pleased I felt I had left a bit out there so this time I really gritted my teeth and with no riders to chase down it was just me, my dry mouth and my burning legs for (dis) comfort. This section seemed to go on forever, mainly because I was going to be outside of my time from last week, but with the finish line in sight I just emptied all my reserves and crossed the line. The official time 23:30, so 23 seconds slower than last week. The data would show afterwards that I did that final section with an increase of 10 watts and finished 5 seconds quicker, a pity I’d lost time on the out leg.

Results

After handing in my race number and gulping down some water I headed over to the finish line and the time sheet, as each rider came through I was still winning, but then a 23:08 showed up for Andy Woolf, so I was now in 2^nd as I waited for the final 2 riders to finish. As I looked up I saw rider 16 come hurtling past the line, even with my limited experience it looked fast, and fast it was 22:59 was written down, meaning I’d be 3^rd overall on the night.

Analysis

I think it’s interesting to compare some times, Chris Green who won this evening actually went 20 seconds quicker than he did last week, Andy Woolf who came 2^nd went 37 seconds quicker, as mentioned I was 23 seconds slower despite producing slightly more power. Tim Hall actually went 53 seconds quicker last night which seems incredible, either he’s on a quick progression or had a bad run last week. Matt Ingram, who I know is pretty consistent and who’s ability I’m more familiar with went 4 seconds quicker, a couple more riders did the same or went quicker which leaves me a little baffled!

Chris Green has done (in order), 22:48, 23:07, 23:19 and last night a 22:59 so reasonably consistent, I think he would be a person to aim for, currently it’s one a piece.

I created a Strava segment that shows the start to the turn https://www.strava.com/segments/9577699?filter=my_results&gender=both ,

As you can see I was 8 seconds slower last night, I was also 6 seconds slower from the roundabout to the start of the final section last night but then 4 seconds quicker this week on the final section so this leaves me even more confused. The only conclusion I can draw for my final time is that I lost quite a bit of time on the turn stuck behind the Corsa, I know last week I’d flew around without any obstruction, this time I had pretty much stopped then had to wait so it’s quite possible I lost my time there, still doesn’t stack up but never mind it is what it is, no point complaining I’ll just try harder next time.

Times are dependent on a number of factors, the weather and traffic the main ones but judging your own performance when you have a power meter is always comparing apples with apples, last week I had produced an average of 272W, this week despite feeling a bit more fatigued I had produced 275W, not much more but it shows I sustained more power this week than last and that was a real positive. The more I do this course the better I will get, my target of 22:30 whilst seemingly a way off tonight should be within my range if I can continue to improve.

Schedule

Quite a busy schedule of racing coming up, Saturday will be the National Team Time Trial over in Newark, a few days later I’m entered in the MCC Grouse 10 which takes in 95% of the main Matlock club 10 course, then weather permitting I’ll try Cuckney again the following week before racing in my first solo 25 mile TT at Matlock on the 21^st. Hopefully that won’t fatigue me too much as on the 24^th June it’s my own clubs event on a 22K hill fest. Bring them on I say…………

Matlock Cycling Club – Evening 10 (2nd Place)

Pre-Race

After resting on Sunday, I hit the turbo trainer on Monday night to do a few efforts on the TT bike, the plan for this week was to do the Matlock Cycling Club (MCC) 10 which starts just down the road in Darley Dale on Tuesdays at 7pm. I did my first ever TT here back in June 2013, it took me over 26 minutes to complete, on the night that was a good time for me, I think I’d set myself something conservative like 30 minutes and in warm conditions I surpassed that by quite some way. Last night however the conditions were not looking great, a few showers around when I got home from work, a very stiff breeze blowing but also quite cold, not the sort of conditions conducive to doing a fast time. However last night I wasn’t too concerned about the time, I just wanted to race, the buzz of Saturday still firmly in my legs. I was quite relaxed, I’d put no real pressure on myself to perform, I just wanted to get out there and compete.

Having arrived in good time and familiar with where to park, I got kitted up and as the officials hadn’t arrived I decided to cycle some of the course to re-familiarise myself with the start and just check the conditions. The course starts on a side street, swings right over some train tracks and then goes up a shortish hill before joining the A6 heading towards Bakewell. In Bakewell you go around the small roundabout and then head back along the A6 to Darley Dale, finishing at the entrance to the recycling centre.

During my warm up I had a slight mechanical, this time the strap on my helmet came loose but thankfully nothing broken and I just stopped to sort it out and made my way back down to the start to get signed on. I recognised one rider as Paddy Gould who rides for MCC, I’ve seen his times in other races, he’s quick. As I handed over my £3 and then waited for my race number my thoughts went back to that first TT in June 2013, I can always remember looking in awe at the bikes that some people were on, tonight there was again a nice selection of Cervelo’s but my machine didn’t look out of place, in fact I thought it more than held its own. I also remember that last time I’d rode in at full pelt to get there on time, did the race and then had to race home before it got dark, this time I was somewhat more relaxed.

I eventually got my race number, “7”, lucky number 7 I thought, no reason why I thought that, just did. I asked a fellow rider to attach my number, this time I wasn’t so concerned if it was a bit flappy but he did a pretty good job. I returned the favour and we were both good to go. At sign on I’d heard the name “Matt Ingram”, it’s a name I’m familiar with as his name appears on a lot of the local strava segments, and indeed he only lives around the corner from me in South Wingfield, I introduced myself, it was nice to put a face to the name. I also knew he was quick, he puts in a lot of miles too, often very early in the morning so he was a rider I respected. There had been a delay with the numbers which meant I only had about 10 minutes to warm myself back up before making my way to the line. As mentioned it was also pretty chilly as the time passed 7 o clock so I didn’t feel quite as ready as I normally do, but it was the same for everyone so no excuses…..

Race Time

I’d approached the line still wearing my jersey over my B&DCC skin suit, normally you can leave things at the line and collect later, but clearly I should have left this at the officials car, rider number 8 kindly offered to take my jersey to the car, I really appreciated this and rolled to the line. I clipped in and before I knew it the time keeper counted down the familiar 5,4,3,2,1 and I was off. I’m not sure if I had the image of Wiggins in my head but I set off pretty quickly, probably to keep warm but it was not a sustainable pace so I tried to rain it in a little. I got into my best aero position and booted it down the lane, momentarily sitting up to cross the train tracks and then made my way up the hill to the A6. On my warm up I figured this would be no problem holding the aero position I’d just need to go up the cassette a bit and spin my legs, so spin I did. Bearing in mind my target race power is about 275W, I ended doing the first 1.5 miles in over 300W, the first 2 minutes in 330W, I was praying I wouldn’t pay for this later. I made my way onto the A6, luckily I didn’t get hampered, but then a 4×4 pulled out from a side street and I thought I was going to be blocked, luckily he saw me and pulled over allowing me to pass without too much bother. I now settled in for the out leg to Bakewell.

The wind doth blow

The out leg was into the wind, it was pretty strong, my average speed regularly dropped below 20mph as I focused on maintaining a good power level. The course has a few hill inclines, nothing major but it tests the legs and means you have to balance your effort, not losing too much time going up the incline, but not going too deep into the red, I managed it pretty well, so much so that I’d passed my minute man after only 3.5 miles. As I came past the Bakewell show ground a Range Rover pulled out with a horse box attached, thankfully she only pulled half way and I continued up towards the turn. As I came into Bakewell a large articulated  lorry was pulling out of the junction, it was effectively blocking the road, but as I went back around the range rover I darted safely up the inside and as if by magic the lorry cleared out the way and I made my way to the roundabout, it’d cost me a couple of seconds but no more.

Turn and Burn

Although your legs will be burning, the return leg is the easier part, the wind was now helping a little and the terrain is a bit easier, it’s also on roads I’ve ridden many times so I was a little more precise judging my effort. For the last 4 miles I was doing between 28 and 32mph, it felt good going that speed, a reward for the demanding out leg into the headwind. Time wise I was going well, power wise also pretty good, I’d also noticed my heart rate was lower, probably due to the cold, but the effort I was putting in felt more manageable as I came around the corner in Rowsley. I’d passed a couple more riders just before the turn but as I came onto the final 0.6 mile sprint for home there was another rider up ahead, this proved a great motivator and I just went for it. I gave it my all and shouted my number as I crossed the line, the time 23m 17s, I thought that would be pretty good tonight, I was certainly pleased with it. I turned around  and made my way back to the finish, did a little cool down and pulled up at the starters car to see Paddy Gould there, he’d started in front of me.

Race Analysis

I asked Paddy how he’d got on, a veteran of this time trial he confirmed that he’d thought it was a very tough night, he’d done a 22:37, that meant he was only 40s in front of me which I was pretty chuffed with, I’d expected to be 1 minute, maybe 90s behind. At this point I introduced myself, he’d recognised my name from Strava, we had a good chat about course times and how he felt this was a “proper course”, I agreed with him and we both made our way over to the time keeper. As I scanned down, I was in 2^nd place, I’d even beat Matt Ingram, there were a few more riders to finish but as it was getting cold I followed Paddy up the A6 eventually turning off and heading back to my car.

When I got home I uploaded my ride to Strava and checked what a few others had done, I was still 2^nd, checking the MCC Facebook page later on confirmed my placing, I was 2^nd..  I’d also beaten a few riders that I knew were a good standard, my strava time for the course put me 16^th out 77 people that had done it previously, not bad for a cold and windy night, I’d also gone 7^th out of 2977 people on one of the smaller 3 mile segments on the route!

Position: 2^nd / 19.

Time: 23:17.

Average Power: 272W (-3W from Power PB of 275 set at Sleaford)

Due to its proximity it’s a race I’m likely to do more often than Cuckney, it’ll be good to track my progress, both time wise and against other riders. I’ve set a goal of 22m 30s, that’s 47s quicker than tonight which’ll be no mean feat but it’s not supposed to be easy. The only thing left to do before I next climb on my TT bike is to check the cassette out, it looked very wonky causing the chain to catch, that’s a few seconds saved right there…….

The day I raced Bradley Wiggins on the V718

The night before

So after all the messing around last week with wheels, tyres and inner tubes I decided to call in the A-team and went to my Time Trialling sensei Bill Seddon on Friday night to finally get my wheels sorted. He employed a magical method and in no time at all the tyres were on my new carbon rims, inflated and bunged in the back of the car as I headed back to South Wingfield. On arrival home I put the bike on the stand, put the wheels and new brake pads on and admired their beauty, slight issue with the wheels catching but I’d sort that in the morning ready for a test run before making my way to Hull.

Race Day

I’d been a little downbeat after Wednesday but there were mitigating circumstances which I detailed on my last post and as Saturday morning came, with the prospect of setting off 3 minutes behind the 2012 Tour de France and 2014 world time trial champion Bradley Wiggins I was like a kid on Christmas morning. After my mum had picked my little boy up for the day it was time to get myself sorted. I’d need to set off around 11:45 to give me plenty of time to get to Hull, get setup, and be ready for my 16:33 start time. First things first, adjust brake pads so the wheels can actually turn, fairly straight forward task, took me about 15 minutes, I then got changed into my skin suit to give the bike a test run. I did about 4 miles in total, riding up and down Holme Lane. Wheels felt good, brakes worked fine, but if felt pretty windy. When you’re running deep section rims they can be susceptible to the wind, it would have been nice to have raced on them previously before barrelling my way down a dual carriageway in pursuit of a quick time, but I wasn’t unduly worried. So as 11:30 arrived, the bike and kit including my old wheels as a backup were loaded in the car, petrol tank filled, car tyres pumped up, a few snacks purchased and off I went.

I didn’t really know where I was going, but essentially, M1, M18 and then M62, the journey itself quite simple as I put the car in cruise control and made the 75 mile journey up norf. The closer I got to my destination the windier it seemed to get, slightly concerning for me, slightly more annoying for Wiggins who’s be targeting Alex Dowsett’s current 10 mile time trial record of 17m 20s. As I headed towards the HQ I felt pretty hungry but thankfully I noticed a chip shop so thought I’d get something from there, hardly the best pre-race meal but with 3 hours to go it’d have time to settle. Having parked the car, I walked back down the road to find it had closed, the 2 shops on the same road didn’t really have anything I fancied so I drove back to the garage and managed to find a ham salad cob with no mayo on, some frazzles and made my way back to the HQ to try and spot Wiggins signing in. Although his team car was there, slightly more flashy than my Astra estate, he’d left signing in duties to his management team so he could focus on getting ready, quite understandable.

Wiggins Team Car

Countdown

I spotted a few of my club mates arriving, Mike Garvey first, then my arch rival Craig Devonshire, he’d travelled up with Mark Bridgman-Smith (MBS) and then also Dave Johnson who was having another attempt on this course. I’d also spotted a few other local time trialists Alex Deck looking great in her Langsett Cycles kit and two of her team mates Chris and Karen Ledger. The Ledgers had apparently thought I was Simon Travell (B&DCC club mate), although quite why this was I didn’t know. I’m 6ft with a shaved head, Simon is about 5 foot 2 with heels on and has ginger hair and sideburns! Not sure what happened there, not his sideburns but with the mistaken identify! Anyhoo, back to business, the course itself has a code, each course in the country has a code, it goes back to the days when racing was done in secret so rather than say where it is, riders knew the course by code to avoid the rozzers. This course is the “V718” or the “V” as it’s known in time trialling circles. The course is recognised as the fastest in the country, (hence why Wiggins was here), mainly due to the amount of traffic that will pass you, the course is also run on a dual carriageway. This had made me a little nervous but actually due to the fact there are no give way junctions for people to pull out into you, it makes it quite safe, well as safe as it can be when you’re doing between 25 and 40mph with only 22mm of rubber connecting you to the road.

With Bradley Wiggins racing, there was a real buzz around the HQ, a quick explanation of how I’m managing to compete against him…. As mentioned the V718 is a fast course, people want to race here to get a fast time, hence the events are massively popular and preference is given to the fastest riders, this being only my 5^th race my PB at this point was 22m 48s so I’m not really in that bracket (yet…). So to help with this, City of Hull Road Club put on this event which gives preference to riders with a PB of 22 minutes and over, Wiggins not having set a time in the last 3 years therefore became eligible. Surprisingly the event was not filled with riders over 22 minutes and there were approximately 25 riders who’d gone quicker than that who got a place. My aim though was to set a good time and hopefully be high up in my category. The faster guys are CAT A, I’d be in CAT B.

Delayed Start

Due to a wonky lamppost the race was delayed by 30 minutes and then to 45 minutes, meaning I’d now be off around 5.15pm, no bother. To pass the time I’d had a bit of banter with my club mates and spent some time relaxing listening to Talk Sport in the car watching other riders doing their warm-ups, some more scientific than others. But as the clock ticked down Craig rolled up to my car to set off on his warm up, he was starting 15 minutes before me, I wished him good luck (genuinely, although I want to beat him, I still hope he does well). With about 45 minutes to go before my start time, I began my final prep of caffeine gel, rubbed extra amounts of muscle warmer on my shaved legs, ate half a banana and had a good swag of water before I set off up the road to get warmed up. The start is about 4 miles from the HQ so it’s quite good for doing a warm up and then getting to the start ready, trouble was I wasn’t too sure where I was going, I had a good idea but when you have anxiety your mind can play tricks. I decided to go back to the car, I knew this would still give me time to get back to the start so I used the time wisely to have another drink and then to stop my mouth drying out I had some skittles, I don’t imagine Wiggo was doing any of this.

The start

As I turned onto the dual carriageway (DC) to head towards what I was 80% sure was the start a rider with 71 on his back passed me, was I on the finish bit?? Luckily no and I made my way down the DC to the off ramp. WOW!! The crowds were massive, at Cuckney you have a time keeper and  someone to hold you in position, I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say there were about 300+ people and a mass of cars all waiting to get a glimpse of the champ. It was a little daunting inching my way down the side of the road but then I spotted Wiggo, he looked every inch the champion he is, resplendent in his white skin suit and gold helmet. Everyone wanted  a picture, it was selfie madness as people jostled for position, but for me I just wanted to see him and then focus on my race. I joined the queue behind him and then off he went, it was like he was fired from a cannon as he blasted off from the start to massive cheers from the crowd. The crowds then dissipated, a few people bumped into my bike which I wasn’t pleased about but I sucked the remaining juice from the skittles and approached the start line.

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/racing/british-racing/bradley-wiggins-vs-andy-birdsall-part-two-wiggos-minute-man-battles-world-champion-172029

Go time

With the familiar countdown, 5,4,3,2,1 I set off, purposely not exploding out the blocks, I immediately had to take avoiding action as there was a bit of traffic chaos but it didn’t hinder me as I brought my Canyon Speedmax AL 8.0 up to speed. And what speed it was, before I knew it I was doing over 30mph and finding a nice rhythm. I knew the wind would be behind me on the 5 mile out leg, but consequently that meant I’d be battling it for 5 miles on the way back. It was pretty much accepted that it was a slow day, Wiggo would most likely not be beating the record. As I pushed on down the DC I really focused on my position, the new wheels felt great and no twinges in my calf (I’d rested totally since Wednesday so let’s not dwell on that today) as I kept checking my power output. I wanted to keep it around 260-265W, certainly not 280W as I’d done for the first few miles at Cuckney, I wanted to be strong for the final 5 miles in my quest for a new PB. The crowds were amazing, people cheering from the bridges and laybys, they’d come for Wiggo but they gave all the riders encouragement which I know we all appreciated.

Race day picture courtesy of Kimroy Photography

Although focussing on my own race as I glanced right momentarily I could see Wiggins coming up the opposite side of the DC, no time to admire him, push on Murph! Push on I did as I approached the off ramp, no idea what to expect, well that’s not strictly true, Bill had given us all some guidance beforehand, but I’d forgotten all of it by now!! Off ramp negotiated, lots of marshals’ and arrows in place and cheered on by the crowds I went around one turn, dodged the pot hole and then right again to make my way down the on ramp for the final 5 miles.

The master at work, I’m talking about Brian Hall with the camera, Wiggins also looks good.

The run for home

I knew I was going well, I’d reached the turn in under 10 minutes averaging 263W, 30.7mph in lay man’s terms, but I knew the really hard bit was to come, 5 miles into a headwind. I immediately felt the wind, this made me focus on getting as aero as possible and with my minute man insight up the road I dug in. I was catching him slowly, but I was a little nervous moving out with traffic coming up but move out I did and then really gritted my teeth. My mouth was drying but with only 4 miles to go I knew the suffering would be over in less than 10 minutes so despite my legs beginning to burn I gave it my all on the uphill section, desperate to set a good time I glanced at the elapsed time, I was going well but there was still work to be done.

Battling the wind, the slight uphill gradient and my tiring legs there was only a mile to go, I spotted what looked like the finish (I should have looked at the mileage I’d done), and pedalled really hard to really empty the tanks. The clock at this point was still reading 20minutes, it’d be a struggle to break 21 but that’s what I focused on. I misjudged the finish line slightly but managed to hold on as my Garmin ticked over the 21 minute mark, my official time was 21 minutes and 7 seconds, a new PB by 1m 41s, initially frustrated that I’d not gone under 21 that soon passed and I was really pleased with my time. I’d done the home leg in about eleven and half minutes, averaging 270W or 26.6mph which I was really happy with. I’d executed my race as I planned, hold a bit back on the way out, finish strongly, mission accomplished.

Back to HQ

The 4 miles or so back to HQ gave me chance to have a proper cool down, as I rode up the DC I caught up with Wiggo’s minute man Andy Birdsall, he’d had a lot of publicity this week, he seemed ok with what he’d done today and I just continued on my way back to base. As I approached I couldn’t see my car, I had a momentary panic that it’d been stolen but thankfully there it was, right where I’d left it. I popped the boot and sat down, took a big drink of water and looked at the crowds gathering outside the HQ. Andy then pulled up to massive applause from his club mates, good on ya mate you earned it. My mind shifted to how I’d done, how had Craig done? I’d soon know as he rolled up beside my car.

Unlike Wednesday he looked a bit deflated, but not quite as deflated as his rear tyre. He’d suffered a puncture with about 2 miles to go, thankfully for him he was on tubulars so whilst it hampered his race, he managed to keep above 24mph and get to the finish, the clinchers I run wouldn’t have afforded me that luxury, it’d be game over. I’m sure it’ll happen but today I had a good race. He’d still done a good time, 22:17, happy that he beaten the fastest lady by 1 second!

I got changed and made my way inside the HQ, Wiggins although anonymous at the start had promised to make a visit at the end, I wanted to see him, after all this was unlikely to happen again. Being one of the later riders off a lot of the times had been entered on the board, including Wiggins who’d done 17:58, outside the record but still a great time in the conditions. As I scanned up and down the leader board I began to get a little excited, the more I looked the more I couldn’t see anyone under my time of 21 minutes and 7 seconds (apart from Wiggins), I’d obviously gone well! The Ledgers were looking at the scoreboard, Karen had gone well, she’d taken 2^nd place in the women’s comp in 22:30. Chris asked me my time, “21:06 I think” was my reply, “you’re 2^nd” he said, wow I was amazed. Wiggo has been put in the CAT A and so far there was only one other CAT B who was quicker than me, I’d also beaten Chris who finished in 21:16 which was a real scalp to take. As I hung around, there was some movement outside, Wiggins was here.

As he came into the room he looked a little uneasy as he handed in his race number, this was surreal. As he handed in his sheet I actually began clapping, thankfully everyone else followed and he acknowledged the support before going over to get a cup of tea. People were genuinely in awe of him. I try not to have sporting heroes, invariably they let you down but today I was in the presence of a true superstar and sporting icon and fired off a few pictures. Wiggo then preceded to give an interview to the local press before accepting the win, he didn’t take the cash though, he gave that back to the organiser, he hardly needs it.

The best bit though was that he spent as long as it took for everyone to get autographs and pictures, at this point he was fast becoming a hero to me. He was down to earth, one of us, my respect sky rocketed as I decided to try and get a picture with my new hero. I gave my camera to someone else to take the picture, now I’m not sure what decade this woman had teleported in from but I feared the worse when it was clear she was fumbling. Picture taken eventually and as I shook Wiggo’s hand I inspected the shot. Naturally it was crap and blurred, I could have killed her, but the memories would remain for ever. What a day it’d been, I’d set a new PB, was most likely to be in the prizes and I’d met and competed against a Tour de France winner and current world time trialling champion, not your average Saturday!!

It is Wiggo, honest!! 

Final results and stats. – https://www.strava.com/activities/305840005

Whilst initially thinking I’d come 7^th, my final position would be 11^th overall, not bad from 164 starters. But although not confirmed yet I think I’ve got 3^rd in my category which should mean some prize money! Coming 11^th overall meant I’d also beaten a large number of the 26 CAT A’s as well, this was really encouraging. The feeling was that Wiggo had the form to beat 17:20 today, the wind though had beaten him, so the course was slower than normal, this gave me even more reason to be pleased with my time. The nightmare in Cuckney now banished.

B&DCC rider times, slightly out as this is Strava segment not official times:

Comparing Chris Ledger and myself, as you can see at the turn we were level:

What’s next?

Today is Tuesday and I’m hoping to ride at the Matlock Cycling Club 10 this evening, failing that it’ll be more turbo work in readiness for the 3UP Time Trial in Newark on the 28th May. Things are looking good.

A nightmare in Cuckney – (Cuckney Club 10)

A word to the wise, if you don’t want to spend the next 5 minutes hearing a grown man whinging on about poor preparation, excuses and injuries then feel free to skip down to the results and analysis section!!

“Failure to Prepare, Prepare to Fail”

 Whoever first said that was right, especially right for me last night (Wednesday). Having done a solid 50 miles on the road bike on Sunday I followed that with two days’ rest on Monday and Tuesday, not ideal preparation for last night’s club 10 at Cuckney. Instead of some time on the TT bike I instead spent most of the time faffing around with inner tubes that weren’t right or trying to find ones that were. These inner tubes were needed for my new wheels, a 40^th birthday present from Mrs Supermurph, that I’d hope would give me a bit more speed and see me further lower my PB, sadly as I now write this post the wheels are still in the shed without tyres on, more on that later.

Scenic pic:

I got home in good time last night, but with my ongoing anxiety issues I further exacerbated the problem by messing around and whittling about things that I didn’t need to, net result by the time I actually got to Cuckney my warm up routine was compromised (sounds like a military operation in progress, sometimes it feels like it), still I thought it might be one of those “expect to do bad, actually do good” type of races, that wouldn’t turn out to be the case. By the time I’d got signed on and kitted up the first rider was almost off, this meant that I’d have to warm up on different roads and not be able to go back for my drink. Having spent 20 minutes riding around I spotted one of my B&DCC colleagues Simon Travell who kindly gave me a gulp of his drink, my mind immediately flashed back to last year when we did the Cheshire Cat Sportive and he’d had to do the same as I completely forgot to put water in my bottle, he’d remind me of this later. But even though I was grateful, it was too late, my mouth was dry and I lacked any focus to put in my best effort. But worse than all this was the fact that for some unknown reason despite being super comfortable on my TT bike I’d altered the position of the bars the night before and having not done any testing the new position felt terrible, further hampering my focus, lesson well and truly learned.

On the line

As I rolled to the start line Zoe Hibbard was on time keeping duties again, always with a smile which helps dissipate some of the nerves, but this time it was fellow TT’er Dave Johnson who would be holding me in place, last time it’d been my chief rival Craig Devonshire, but he’d already blasted off up the road earlier. He looked quick, his position also looked better than I’d seen before, I doubt anyone would be saying that about me tonight. So as Zoe counted down from five I hit start on the Garmin and set off up the road. I noticed last time I had lost quite a bit of time to other riders on the 1^st mile so while I wasn’t going to “blow my wod” I purposely set off with a bit more speed. Unlike three weeks ago when the conditions were quite still, there was a definite breeze blowing, was it helping or hindering I really couldn’t tell. For almost every race I’ll do there will be objectives, normally this will be to do a time based personal best (PB), but that can be dependent on the conditions so other objectives can be based on power or performance against my rivals. While obviously wanting to beat Craig, I’d also wanted to monitor the gap against other riders, notably Bill, Xavi (B&DCC) and also to Ian Guilor who would most likely win again. But in addition to that I also wanted to compare my power output, last time I’d put out 261W while setting my PB, so to beat that would be a good indicator that I’m getting stronger, although having ruined my position this was never going to be like for like.

Bill Seddon looking quick and taking the best looking bike prize again:

Craig in attack mode:

The out leg

The new position was annoying me from the start, it was also distracting me as I fidgeted around on the bike, but glancing at my power I was averaging above 280W and continually seeing 300+ so maybe it wasn’t all bad as I ploughed on in search of a PB. The poor position was now relegated to 2^nd place in the list of concerns, due to my poor preparation my mouth was now like Gandhi’s flip flop and I still had about 7 miles to go. Oh joy. The last race I’d continually filled my head with positives, tonight I just couldn’t focus on anything, apart from WHY DID I MOVE THOSE DAMN BARS!!??? Up ahead was my minute man, I refocused on him and then steadily caught and passed him as I continued along.

 Not again….

I was expecting the ramp to be the most painful bit but as I pedalled hard I was hit with a familiar pain, a twinge in my left calf, at first it wasn’t as bad as when I’d got it in the 2UP time trial but it didn’t disappear as I made my way on the out leg. I tried to remained seated on the 6% ramp but then decided to stand up to maintain speed, this turned out to be a mistake. As I got out the saddle to inject some pace my calf had other ideas, I was in considerable pain, pain I can deal with but I just couldn’t pedal as it went into some kind of spasm. As I then went back down the 6% ramp to head for home I eased right off hoping it would pass, it didn’t, it got worse. But with 4 miles still to go I had a two choices, back off and limp home or carry on, I carried on. I’m so brave. I figured that despite everything my average power still looked ok, so time wise I probably wasn’t far away from last time. As my mouth got drier and drier, not helped by a fly getting stuck in my throat I just buckled down and did what I could. Whilst I do feel there is a weakness in my left calf I think the problem is made worse when dehydrated, I hope this is the last time I put myself in this position. Next time, fully hydrate and apply deep heat, this time I’d done neither.

This sums up the pain quite well:

Ride Summary:

Comparing my previous PB, tonight and against Craig:

The final push

With 2 miles left, this is normally where I have my bad spell, but I’d been having a bad spell since before the turn so just dug in and pushed as much as I could. At this point I felt that a time PB wasn’t going to happen, but amazingly my average power was still above what I’d done before, probably because of the wind and less aero position but still, amongst all the negatives that was a positive. Mile 9 approached and I just hit the go button to give it my all, whilst I managed a bit more, my calf by this point was screaming stop, “Shut up legs” wasn’t quite working for me and as the clocked ticked towards 23 minutes I could feel the disappointment, I passed the line a few seconds after and hit the stop button on my Garmin. 23:06 was the official time, 18 seconds slower than last time.

The aim tonight was to be under 22:30 but in slightly slower conditions and having produced more power despite the injury, (did I mention I had a bad calf?), then maybe it wasn’t all bad. I rolled into the make shift car park, “how did you do?”, “crap” was my answer. That was an honest response, as I began to tire and the pain in my calf got worse, I really couldn’t muster any positives. Craig came over and asked me how I did, “crap!” I replied again, but I instantly felt that he thought crap could have been 22:49. I could sense he was happy with his time and as he spoke with Joel and myself he said he’d been happy to go under 24. I thought this was odd, he’s quicker than that, but anyway I got changed and limped (bad calf, did I mention it?), over to the laptop. My name was directly below Craig, he’s done 22:54 (he obviously meant “under 23”) a new PB for him and a (one legged) arse kicking for me.

Massive thanks

Before I go into the numbers I’d just like to express my thanks to the marshal’s and time keepers again, as always a professional and courteous job well done. It’s always a nice feeling that as you’re pedaling hard and focusing on going quick, someone is there trying to keep you safe. Thanks also to Brian Hall for the pictures, he said some aren’t his best, but to me they are always excellent.

Results and Analysis

As I expected Ian Guilor took top spot but great to see my two club mates in 2^nd and 3^rd, I’m sure they’ll close that gap soon enough. Craig took 9^th with his PB, I ended up 10^th. As I write this section of the blog two days after the event it’s given me time to reflect and things feel quite positive, I went 18 seconds slower than my PB but did a higher power output and struggled for over half with an injury to my calf (I believe I mentioned the injury?).

PB and Last Night Stats: (Strava segment times)

 

Result sheet:

The journey home

With the car loaded up I made my way home, there would be no celebratory McDonald’s tonight. Further to my annoyance my lovely 88mm deep section wheel, with its shiny new cassette was gloating at me from the foot well. I’ve now got 2 days to get the right tubes and then get the damn tyres onto the rim before the weekend. On Saturday I’ll be racing on the V718 in Hull, amongst a few club mates a certain Bradley Wiggins will also be racing, he’s four minutes in front of me. It’s an event I really don’t want to miss so I’m praying that my calf, although still really sore today (Friday) will heal enough to allow me to race. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I really don’t want to miss this, in reality I’ll be on the start line, if the calf goes bang, it goes bang. At least I’ll have my new wheels on, I hope……….