I said I wouldn't but I did

A couple of weeks ago I did my first time trial. Finding time for it in on a Tuesday evening isn't easy. So I was happy to put my racing career on hold.

However.

And this will please Russell, the Oxted CC chairman; I may be hooked. By the Thursday I was eager to do it again, and couldn't wait eight or nine months. So I booked an afternoon off work. And started looking for a time trial specific bike, I couldn't help myself. I didn't buy one though. Not sure I could justify such a focused bike.

I arrived a little earlier, and did a longer warm up ride. I covered a greater distance, varying the intensity. 

It seems to have worked; my time improved. Taking into account that I had to slow down to pass some horses on the fastest part of the course, and come to a complete stop at a junction while three cars passed. I am very pleased being seventeen second quicker at 28:42.

It felt less windy too, which helped. I wasn't at my max heart rate for anything like so long.

I tried to adopt a lower riding position, and really push hard away from junctions. 

There is only one more chance this year, I'm not sure I can get to it. Watch this space.

Against the clock

My plan was to sample competition this year, TT's to be precise. I didn't fancy the cut and thrust of group racing or track events. Hill climbs are another discipline, but they don't run until the end of summer going into autumn.

The course I choose for my debut was 10 miles, with a target time of 30 minutes. I have often ridden the roads so I had an idea what it would be like. Pacing was the main unknown. Going too fast at the start could mean I'd be exhausted quickly. But not pushing enough would also produce a slow time. 

There is more I could do to the bike and what I wear; but that's for another day. And will depend on how seriously I take it. This time I just wanted to see what's involved. The season will finish before I can attend my second event.

Arriving early to sign in and do a warm-up ride helped control the nerves.  Russell, Oxted CC chairman, was also competing. He does a lot of these and took me through the prep. A ride around the course to stretch the legs and open the lungs. It gave me a chance to checkout the lanes, paying attention to the junctions. I didn't do too bad, posting a time of 28:59. 

How do I improve it? 

I was at my max heart rate for nearly 90% of the time.

So I can't increase that very much.

There are eight junctions; I could attack them harder. And accelerate out faster. 

The human body causes most of the drag so a lower profile position is more aerodynamic. A bike designed for speed would also be an advantage. 

Stronger legs would get me up to speed faster, and allow a higher gear. As would a lighter bike.

It seems like I'm talking myself into buying another bike doesn't it? That will have to wait for quite some time, unless a premium bond number comes up.

For now I will work on free improvements: strength, position and technique.

Sports photography

I sat down to watch the men's road race at the Olympics yesterday. With near perfect timing when I switched on the television it has just started. I have been watching a lot of road race cycling lately. This is the first time I have watched so much of the Olympics.

The racing was close, with the action very fluid and changing regularly. I prefer one day racing, rather than the long tours like the Tour De France. Don't get me wrong I watched as much of the Tour de France as I could. But there were long periods of tactical riding. The commentators enthused about it. I didn't so much.

The best parts of the race were the two mountain circuits. Punishing climbs and very fast descents. These descents proved to be dangerous, especially the second circuit.

The majority of the race was filmed from motorbikes, a little helicopter footage and some static cameras.

The commentators made much of the dangers faced by the racers during the descents. A few crashes served as reminders about the risks. Thankfully the injuries were, I think, light. Only a collarbone and scapula were broken. Taking into account the speed and lack of run off I call this light. And lucky.
They reached speeds close to fifty miles per hour. And it got chaotic in places with the many team and official cars, the security and press motorbikes and of course the racers. How there aren't more collisions between all of these is testament to the skill, and concentration of everyone involved.

This got me thinking about how the coverage of these events is taken a bit for granted. I think only a few times was it mentioned that the media motorbikes were taking just as big risks. They had to follow the racers, not interfere with them and allow them space to race. All the time giving us quality coverage of the action.

It was easy to forget as I watched the racers fly down the twisting hills that to get these pictures a fully loaded motorbike with two people on it; the second one standing. Was following close behind.

It's not just cycle racing that is dangerous to cover. The photographer might be in a fast moving helicopter, car or boat. Perched at the top of a tall tower or swaying cherry picker. They might be standing a little closer to the action than is completely safe. Or at the very least sitting in the burning sun, wind, rain and snow for hours on end.

So the next time you are watching a sporting event on television, spare a thought for how the picture got to you.

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Update.

The women's race was marred by the crash of Annemie van Vleuten. She was in intensive care for a while. Concussion and broken bones in her lower back were the injuries. At first it did look like it could have been much worse.

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