What is a respectable time for a 10 mile TT?

Got-to-get-fit · June 2007

i do my 12 mile commute with lots of traffic, its on the coast so its always windy, loads of different road surfaces, and 4 roundabouts.....if i manage to make it through all the traffic lights on green i can do it in 36 mins and i still have a fair bit of puff left in my tank...oh im 36 and 6ft tall and weigh 14.5 stone
So i reckon around the 28-30 min mark seems reasonable for 10mile

my evil toad army will rule the world

mossycp · June 2007

I'm a new TTer, only done 6 10's in total.

The "fast" courses are indeed the ones on busier dual carriageways mainly because they are flat and straight but also because you do get a draft effect from the traffic. Around here though, and I guess in most other locations, they are rarely used because of the increase in traffic. I believe all registered TT courses are risk assessed and ones on busy roads can only be run when there is minimal traffic i.e. 7am on a Sunday morning. If traffic counts are too high then the course is no longer used.

If you try a 10 on a local "fast" course then please bear in mind that on an official TT day the course will be well signed and marshalled on every major junction. The race will almost certainly be early on a Sunday morning when there is little traffic.

Comparing each others times over completely different courses is, frankly, rather pointless as there are so many variables. Most 10's are run on sporting courses these days so will vary considerably in hilliness and junctions.

TT's are great fun and you just do the best you can and enjoy beating YOUR time the following week. The times will normally range from 20 mins right through to 45 mins, it doesn't matter, nobody cares. Most riders just ask how you went and congratulate you afterwards.

Having said all that, the local club(s) will often have a league system based on points as to where you finish with, for example, best 10 rides counting in the final league. You just aim to finish as high as you can, try and beat last weeks time or target yourself on someone slightly quicker than you.

There really is no such thing as a respectable time, they're all respectable. The scariest thing for me was being held at the start and worrying about falling off when you get pushed off! It hasn't happened yet but it very nearly did at my last TT, nearly started off in a ditch! ended with a PB though. And that's another great thing about 10's, your first few goes will almost always end in PB's as you get used to the course and the effort involved.

Seriously, for anyone thinking of doing TT's, especially 10's, just go and do it. I'd never done my own measured 10 before I tried my first one, I didn't see much point because I couldn't motivate myself enough without doing it properly. I'm not going to tell you my times because it realy is a bit pointless comparing them to anyone else unless you've ridden the same course

<h5>Today is your day, your mountain is waiting, so get on your way {Dr Seus}</h5>

Mark Alexander · June 2007

doing them erns you th rspect, but as long as you have nothing left, and have given your all you can't ask more. Surly the only thing that counts is your self respect.[;)]

age seems to be a big thing on this topic but one of the main things that i've noticed since starting TT'ng (just this year) is that the start and result sheets, seem to dominated by Vets (not the james herriot but there is a lot of bull spoken) the daft thing is that a 'vet' starts at 40. I think this is too young.
I did my 1st 50 the other day and there was a 73 year old.
Don't let age put you off.

my baby elephant has more memory than my PC

PhilofCas · June 2007

cheers Mossy, good info, thanks

gaterz1981 · June 2007

a 50tt?? thats just mad though surely.

I work hard because millions on benefits depend on me
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tabs · June 2007

Years ago many courses were 'out and back', with a 'dead turn' around the marshall in the middle of the road, and the start and finish opposite each other.
Then roundabouts came into play, allowing easier turns half way.
Dual carriageways began to be used, giving better surfaces, and slipstreaming from cars and lorries.
Indeed we used to ride well to the centre, to increase the traffic behind and then pull over to get 'the drag' when they came past!
In the 70's, drag strip courses began to appear, taking advantage of heavy holiday traffic on Saturday afternoons, but these became too dangerous.
Most 'open' events are still held on fast dual carriageways, but as mentioned, at quieter times. However, wind direction comes into play on exposed sections, and times can suffer. Some courses also have a 'gift start', with a downhill start, because nowadays, start and finish can be up to a mile or so apart.
Many local club courses are now on a circuit basis, with all left turns, going through small villages.
Go and spectate at a fast 'open' event and watch the tactics used by the fast guys. When they join a dual carrigeway, they don't use the slip road as such, they go straight over to the right to catch the drag from the traffic ASAP

ForumNewbie · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by tabs

Years ago many courses were 'out and back', with a 'dead turn' around the marshall in the middle of the road, and the start and finish opposite each other.
Then roundabouts came into play, allowing easier turns half way.
Dual carriageways began to be used, giving better surfaces, and slipstreaming from cars and lorries.
Indeed we used to ride well to the centre, to increase the traffic behind and then pull over to get 'the drag' when they came past!
In the 70's, drag strip courses began to appear, taking advantage of heavy holiday traffic on Saturday afternoons, but these became too dangerous.
Most 'open' events are still held on fast dual carriageways, but as mentioned, at quieter times. However, wind direction comes into play on exposed sections, and times can suffer. Some courses also have a 'gift start', with a downhill start, because nowadays, start and finish can be up to a mile or so apart.
Many local club courses are now on a circuit basis, with all left turns, going through small villages.
Go and spectate at a fast 'open' event and watch the tactics used by the fast guys. When they join a dual carrigeway, they don't use the slip road as such, they go straight over to the right to catch the drag from the traffic ASAP
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Interesting - using fast cars and lorries on dual carriageways for drag not only seems to me to be cheating - but seems very dangerous. I always find when the few times I have to cycle along a busy A road, that the lorries come far too close.

I would have thought all courses should be circuits starting and ending at same points, so that any downhill benefits are evened out by climbs - gift downhill starts don't seem fair.

BeaconRuth · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by PostieJohn

Mrs Postie would like to know what is acceptable for 'the ladies'.
She's mid thirties, the height of Ronnie Corbett & has curves where they are needed.(Yes she is looking over my shoulder)
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">PostieJohn, I'm organising a series of 10 mile time-trials for women in the Midlands this season. We've had about 25 women taking part so far, approximately half of whom have never done a TT before. A fair few of them have managed to get under 30 minutes, but some haven't. Most are in clubs and/or triathlons, but not all.

I've never known anyone to laugh or show disrespect to anyone over their performance in a TT - and I've done a fair few TTs in the last 10 years. Everyone knows it's about YOU doing YOUR best, and everyone knows that 95% of the population couldn't even ride the distance, let alone race it. So, if you fancy testing yourself against the clock, do not be shy about going along to a club event and asking to have a go! (Don't worry about what kind of bike you've got either.) Trying to motivate and time yourself on your own route is simply not the same at all - you will find the willpower to push yourself far harder than you could ever imagine once you've a number on your back.

ClaireV · June 2007

Ruth, what's the series you're organising? Not that I'm quite in the midlands...

BeaconRuth · June 2007

Claire, all details are here. Use the LH menu to navigate the Women's Series pages.

http://www.midlanddc.org.uk/index.php?q=node/66

The Stratford event on 19th July might be close enough for you? Would be great to see you if you can make it!

Garybee · June 2007

Sexist

Hypocrisy is only a bad thing in other people.

Gary D · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by ForumNewbie

Good post Gary D.

I must admit in a Beginners Forum, I am amazed at the amount of people that are aiming and achieving 30 minutes or under first time.

I'm now determined to find a flattish course (on my own - not nearly ready to compete) just to see what time I could achieve. There is a quiet stretch nearby about 4 miles long which I regularly cycle down at the end of a ride on the way home. It is flattish but slightly downhill most of the way. If I don't have wind against and really get the head down I can get up to about 25 mph. If I was to make this road part of a 10 mile circuit, I would have to average 15 mph on the long straight slight uphill section, to average 20 mph overall and achieve 30 minutes. These figures aren't even allowing for slowing down for corners, roundabouts etc. No way have I the strength and stamina to achieve 30 minutes.

Interested to know what speeds people average on the uphill sections of their routes, assuming routes are not totally flat? Do you manage all 10 miles (including uphill sections) on the big gear cog? Any advice appreciated.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

ForumNewbie,

Thanks for the comments - I just had to get it off my chest after reading some of the other posts!

What I would say, is that not all of the courses are flat - certainly not in my locality anyway. If you log on to the Cycling Time Trials website http://www.cyclingtimetrials.org.uk/courses.asp it gives you a list of all the recognised courses in a particular area. (If you then had the time and inclination, you could then transpose them on to Bikely, or similar, and it would show you how hilly they were).

One thing I would say, is that you WILL go faster when actually doing the TT than you ever will doing it on your own. I guess it is the andrenalin thing and doing it under "race" conditions. It can also help if you can see the person in front and then try to catch them - as long as they are not one of the Club whippets [:D]

Before I did my first, I rode the course with a friend at what I thought was a fairly fast pace. However, it took over 38 minutes! [:I] (Hence my target time of 36 mins)
Under actual TT conditions though, I don't think I stopped pedalling hardly for the whole 10 miles, and no, I didn't use the big ring all the time. My eventual time was 34' 30".

My advice would be to find a friendly club, perhaps go along and watch the first time and talk to others - and then just try one. You will enjoy it, and you will get nothing but encouragement from other Club members. I certainly did.

Gary.

Must try harder....

ClaireV · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">The Stratford event on 19th July might be close enough for you? Would be great to see you if you can make it!
Go to Top of Page <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

That's a shame. I'm going to be <s>struggling up Alps</s> enjoying a cycling holiday in France with some of my club then. Otherwise I'd have tried to get to that one. Are you going to run the series again next year? I'll have to pay better attention if you are.

BeaconRuth · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by ClaireV
That's a shame. I'm going to be <s>struggling up Alps</s> enjoying a cycling holiday in France with some of my club then. Otherwise I'd have tried to get to that one. Are you going to run the series again next year? I'll have to pay better attention if you are.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Hopefully I or someone else will do something similar again next year - look out for it and I'll let you know what's going on.

Now, what are you doing on 30th June Claire? My club's Open 10 has a seperate women's event this year and it looks as though we'll have about 15 women...... even more would be better! (Entries close on Tues.) The course is a good one and just up the M40 from you.

SteveR_100Milers · June 2007

Back to the OP, for me a rspectable time for a 10 is a faster one than what you did last time all other things being as eqaul as they can - and therein lies the fun of TTing: the excuses...[:)]

Time! Time! It's always too long and there's never enough!

ClaireV · June 2007

The excuses are great - I'm a grand master at them, to the point where I've even been asked "so what went wrong this time then?" almost as I've rolled over the finish line! I had loads and loads of them ready for Wednesday's 10, and then took a minute off my PB (purely through changing my aero-bar setup - I rode like crap) so now I get to save them up till next time :-) Unfortunately, my best excuse ever was actually real. I did my first 25 a few weeks ago on a cold wet Sunday morning, started out tired and tried my hardest but struggled all the way round, not helped by getting drenched by spray from lorries every few minutes. I couldn't understand why I was going so slowly, ended up many minutes off my target time, and was monumentally dissapointed with myself, and then discovered back at HQ that my rear brake had been rubbing the whole way. The whole experience has quite possibly put me off 25's for life!

Ruth, on June 30 I'm going to be in London signing in for the Cyclosportive the next day. Keep trying though, I really would like to come to one of your events sometime!

scm · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by gaterz1981

a 50tt?? thats just mad though surely.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
No, a 24 is mad. That's a 24 hour time trial.[:0]

--
It is better to have loved a short person, than never to have loved a tall.

SteveR_100Milers · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by scm

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by gaterz1981

a 50tt?? thats just mad though surely.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
No, a 24 is mad. That's a 24 hour time trial.[:0]

--
It is better to have loved a short person, than never to have loved a tall.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Agreed, only a fool would do a 24. The 12 hour is enough for this year thank you.[:)]

Time! Time! It's always too long and there's never enough!

Adeyman · June 2007

Well, I did my first TT. The course is quite hilly and reckoned to be fairly tough. I was determined to do it in under 30mins. Managed it in 28.42 and definitely still had fuel in the tank at the end. As a result, I'm a fairly happy 40+ old g1t, determined to do it under 28 next time.

Thanks for all the advice.

knedlicky · June 2007

As paul.dee wrote, just having the balls to do it is enough. Have a go if you fancy it! Don't worry about the marshals, they don't always know about current standards. They are often old fellahs or non-cycling friends out for a bit of activity, socialising, and reminiscing, but always encouraging to everyone.
Compared to a training run, unless you've really pushed towards your limit when training, in an event you can anticipate you'll be able to manage average speeds 10-15% faster.

In my first ever TT over 10 miles, I ended up next-to-last in my age-category, only about 10 participants, but also next-to-last in the overall of about 60-70 male competitors (a couple of the women were also slower than me, but not all).
I was surprised to find the standard higher than I expected, however that didn't matter - like paul.dee also says, everyone was very supportive, and I was 'included' in the 'group' right away (it appeared most everyone already knew each other from previous events) rather than made to feel small or whatever for my relatively-poorer performance.

I don't remember my time but I think it was about 27 mins, while I think the fastest were around 22-24 mins. It was early season, beginning of April, the course was a slow rise of 150 ft over the 10 miles. You might do better than me, for your first TT, Adeyman, because you ride more on average per week than I ever have.
Later in the same season, early September, I managed 24 mins for a flattish 10 mile TT (rise 80 ft) but I still ended up well down the field because the fastest then managed 20-22 mins!
I only did two years of TT, because I then changed to duathlons and cyclosportives.

One of the things that surprised me was how many of the participants came with special TT monolithic bikes, and aero-wheels, -bars, -outfits, -helmets, -etc, whereas I was on my usual road bike in my usual road bike attire. Don't let this intimidate you, some people think having the right gear makes them better, but it isn't always true.
I don't know how much of all this gear benefited my co-competitors, but I got my own back when we all took part in hill-climb TTs where little of that stuff helps!

caissad · June 2007

I did my first ever TT three weeks ago. It was 10 miles and I did it on my touring bike as this is the only bike I've got. I managed it in 28.18 and am looking forward to doing my 2nd next week and, obviously hoping to improve.

I thought about doing a TT last year but put off doing it. I'd never managed more than 18.9mph average for any ride I'd done before. As I live in a hilly area though I was fairly confident that I would be able to go under 30 minutes on a reasonably flat course. But the thing is you can "think" you can do it, but until you actually do it you can't "know" that you can do it. So, as I'm getting on a bit, I thought I don't want to look back on my life and think I could have done a sub-30 TT if only I'd tried. So I took the bull by the horns and did it ... and now I "know" I can go sub-30!!

It was a great feeling and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone. I did feel a bit odd on my tourer when everyone else seemed to have state of the art equipment, but as others have said, that doesn't matter unless you are aiming to be the very best. The bike you are used to is good enough.

One thing that did surprise me is just how much a slight rise in terrain affected my speed. Going flat out all the way, a slight undulation felt as though it was really steep. At one point in the course I was only averaging 15.5 mph. On the same stretch of road and without the fatigue from pushing myself over the previous 8 or so miles, I would have expected to do around 19. It really surprised me.

When I got to the finish I got a pat on the shoulder from a complete stranger who said "well done" and I felt like I had won the event (actually came about 55 out of 60 riders). It was a great feeling.

Sorry about the length of the response ... I just enjoyed the experience so much!!

So anybody who is thinking of having a go ... get out there and do it!!

Mark.Scp · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by ForumNewbie

Good post Gary D.

I must admit in a Beginners Forum, I am amazed at the amount of people that are aiming and achieving 30 minutes or under first time.

I'm now determined to find a flattish course (on my own - not nearly ready to compete) just to see what time I could achieve. There is a quiet stretch nearby about 4 miles long which I regularly cycle down at the end of a ride on the way home. It is flattish but slightly downhill most of the way. If I don't have wind against and really get the head down I can get up to about 25 mph. If I was to make this road part of a 10 mile circuit, I would have to average 15 mph on the long straight slight uphill section, to average 20 mph overall and achieve 30 minutes. These figures aren't even allowing for slowing down for corners, roundabouts etc. No way have I the strength and stamina to achieve 30 minutes.

Interested to know what speeds people average on the uphill sections of their routes, assuming routes are not totally flat? Do you manage all 10 miles (including uphill sections) on the big gear cog? Any advice appreciated.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Yes, we have a hill towards the end of the course, which you HAVE to give it your all on, its motivational:)

I am normally in 53/12-13 throughout the whole 10 miles

I just keep motivating myself to keep pushing hard, dont worry about HR, and just focus on the road ahead.

Mark

In sport, losing is the end of the world .....
la marmotte xD

What is a respectable time for a 10 mile TT?

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