Need someone to advice me / hold my hand :O)

Mimix

Hi all

Bought my first racer a couple of weeks ago with the intention to do some TT (dont want to become elite or anything - Im very realistic)

Done a few 10m rides in poor time I may add but this is because of lack of 'regular' exercise for few too many years.

I have read through other posts which were very helpful - about cats (not meaw cats = but categories ) - license and so on but I want to try a different approach (dont know if I this way I am doing it right but that's why I am asking) I want to improve my fitness/endurance and then 'debut' in a few races.

My question is do I continue doing my 10m rides and if so for how long? I want to improve my timing but not sure how.
OR should I improve the distance and ignore the timing??

PS have looked at joining a club but cant stand politics, have been offered to be part of a 'closed' club - with very good riders - but understandibly they are wating for me to get better as otherwise I wont be able to keep up with them :oops:
and for the moment I dont want to make a nuisance of myself with silly questions either.

Many thanksin advance to you all )

nferrar

I guess depends on what distances you intend TTing over. If only 10m then I wouldn't really go above 30-50m in training (but you should definitely do some rides over 10m), also build in some intervals once you have decent fitness. Back when I was TTing (mostly 10's and 25's) I rarely rode over 40 miles and did OK.

I wouldn't worry too much about times to start with, once you're comfortable with the idea of doing a 10m TT then enter one (club one probably best to start with) and see how it goes, no one's going to laugh at you (at least no one ever did at me). Maybe if you turn up on a £3k TT aero bike and do a 40 min 10 mile TT you might get some looks but hey it's up to you what you spend your money on and they're probably just jealous anyway

Once you've set a time then you can create some goals around it (bear in mind though the course and conditions can have a big impact on your times).

My experience is also that clubs aren't very political, I'm sure some are but I'd expect most are run in a relaxed way by people giving up a lot of their time to help the other members out. Most clubs will be affiliated with the CTT as well so you can enter open TTs as a member (although you can also do a private member thing without joining a club).

Mimix

thanks nferrar, at least got an aswer out of 36 odd 'lookers' :shock:

I dont think I want to do more than 10m TT until I am very good at it! But I may want to do some long-ish charity rides.

I got myself a Specialized Allez Sport, and you nailed it on the head i do take 40 min to do the 10m (not completely flat may I add in my defence :oops: )

What would be a good time for a woman to do 10m? How long realistically would it take to achieve it and how could i achieve it - training program wise??

Thanks again!

celbianchi

Mimix wrote:

thanks nferrar, at least got an aswer out of 36 odd 'lookers' :shock:

I dont think I want to do more than 10m TT until I am very good at it! But I may want to do some long-ish charity rides.

I got myself a Specialized Allez Sport, and you nailed it on the head i do take 40 min to do the 10m (not completely flat may I add in my defence :oops: )

What would be a good time for a woman to do 10m? How long realistically would it take to achieve it and how could i achieve it - training program wise??

Thanks again!

Its hard to say what would be a good time for a woman as the standard, like men varies from the elite down to the novice beginner. Also the course and the conditions affect times.

what I'd recommend as a first goal would be to just turn up at your local club 10 and set yourself a benchmark. If it takes 35 minutes (you'll go quicker with a number on your back) , then this is what you aim for next time.

A decent first objective could be considered to break evens (that is doing the TT in less than 30 mins i.e. 20 mph average).

You will probably find that your local 10 is very welcoming, people will have plenty of advice if you have a chat with them after the race.
I think the hardest part for people who haven't raced is making the first step. I can remember my first road race and my worries were "what if i make a fool of myself".

in a tt environment, people are generally only concerned with their own race, and won't be thinking "blimey she's slow". After the event, most people are happy to help out newcomers. Including those at the top of the pile, it's a fairly friendly sport.

I don't do much time trialling (mainly road racing), but my experience of TT's is all positive in the 30 or so I have done.

Jump in, have a go, you'll love it.

Bronzie

Mimix wrote:

I have read through other posts which were very helpful - about cats, license and so on

Category system and race licences only apply to bunch racing, not time trialling.

To ride a club time trial, just find a local club that puts on events through the summer (normally a weekday evening), turn up and have a go. Set a time for you to beat next week. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

They may well ask you to become a member after you've ridden a few events, and if they seem like a friendly enough bunch [which I'm sure they will], I can see no harm in you joining up.

To ride an "open event" [that is an event listed on the Cycling Time Trials website] you will need to be a member of a CTT affiliated club anyway.

Mimix wrote:

My question is do I continue doing my 10m rides and if so for how long? I want to improve my timing but not sure how.
OR should I improve the distance and ignore the timing??

Probably one for the "Training" forum, but you need to improve your "Threshold Power" - essentially the power output you can sustain for around 1 hour. Lots of advice over in Training - search for "2x20" workouts as these are great for improving your power.

As well as improving power, if you can reduce your aero drag (clip-on TT bars is the first thing to try to improve your position), you will go faster. The other basic for doing your best time is getting your pacing right during the race. Have a look at this article for more info on the 3xP's:
http://alex-cycle.blogspot.com/2009/03/old-skool.html

BeaconRuth

Whereabouts are you based? I run a Women's TT Series in the Midlands if you're anywhere nearby. Somebody could maybe tell you about a decent local club which would welcome you if you tell us roughly where you are.

As far as times for 10 miles by women is concerned, many women starting out do something between 30 and 35mins, but it really doesn't matter what you do - it's an individual challenge and you will be very welcome to take part however fast you go.

Ruth

Mimix

Ruth I am in Kent, is a shame we are so far...but I am really pleased with all the feedback here, I had a quick read but will go through them again when I get home, enough skiving at work for now :oops:

Tom Butcher

Mimix wrote:

Hi

PS have looked at joining a club but cant stand politics, have been offered to be part of a 'closed' club - with very good riders - but understandibly they are wating for me to get better as otherwise I wont be able to keep up with them :oops:
and for the moment I dont want to make a nuisance of myself with silly questions either.

My advice would be just to join one of these clubs. You need to walk before you can run and your local club is the place to get advice, training partners and a bit of competition. My experience of those who avoid until they are good is that they never actually get good - competitive cycling is hard and you need to have the confidence to get stuck in and accept that you wont be on the pace straight away. I'm assuming the "closed club" is some sort of race team - perhaps a better standard than your average club - I don't think that's the place to start.

Don't worry about politics - I don't know if your local clubs are political but even if they are I bet there are many members who ignore that and just enjoy the benefits of being members.

Mimix

thanks for your post Tom, those few words of advice do make a lot of difference

I am now in the process of looking for a club.

Tom Butcher

It's such a male dominated sport that it's probably harder for a woman to get into the competitive side of things but good luck with it and keep posting on here and let us know how you get on - the sport could certainly do with more women racing.

speckybecky

Hi Mimix,

Have a go at 10 mile TTs and see how you go!

I only got the courage to do them last year , after commuting and doing a fair bit of general riding over quite a few years. Without any extra training, other than the weekly 10 mile TT and my usual commute etc I got my time down by 2 mins so racing really helped to improve my time - its kind of like enforced effort - you just can't give in when you know you are being timed!

I had a go at bunch racing too, once towards the end of last year's season (August) and then once about a month ago. They were fairly disasterous, I got dropped really quickly. The problem is there aren't many female only races to get involved with and the mens (even Cat 4) are really quick. I'm going to persevere but wouldn't recommend a bunch race until you are pretty quick at doing 10s and ready to be dropped from the bunch a few times and still have the courage to have another go - it can be a bit disheartening!

Best of luck!

DavidBelcher

speckybecky wrote:

I only got the courage to do them last year , after commuting and doing a fair bit of general riding over quite a few years. Without any extra training, other than the weekly 10 mile TT and my usual commute etc I got my time down by 2 mins so racing really helped to improve my time - its kind of like enforced effort - you just can't give in when you know you are being timed!

I think Les Woodland once wrote that the best form of training for competitive cycling is competition itself, or something like that, so even just a diet of racing and commuting ought to improve your racing to some extent.
As for road racing, regardless of the amount and quality of traning I did, I never did get on with it, and haven't done a RR for about 8 years now! I do race in a bunch off-road, but the slower speed and softer landing surfaces make it a less scary proposition in cyclocross (this is something else the original poster might want to think about for later in the year - all you need is a reasonable MTB to get started, and if you don't go in for it at a serious level, it's a fun way of spending an hour of your Sundays now & again)!

David

spursn17

Mimix

I'm in much the same boat, I fancy trying a 10 to see how I get on but don't want to join a club (politics, and not really interested in the social side of it).
If you're in north Kent the Redbridge circuit (closed track, no cars!) is only a short drive away, and there are some open 10's starting in May on Tuesday evenings.

http://leavalleycc.blogspot.com/2006/01 ... -tens.html

blackhands

What part of Kent do you live - as I'm involved a lot with Kent Cycling and Clubs maybe I can help and point you in the right direction.

Mimix

thanks guys, forgot to check this thread, thought it was dead...so missed your replies sorry.

Been training since and I am very pleased by my progress, the faster I get the more I want to do it! Although I have been going on lonely rides - is ok as I go in a world of my own and when I see other cyclists on the road they have mostly said hello which is a nice feeling.

Spursn, thanks for the suggestion, Redbride looks good but is like 47m away from me :?

Chip \'oyler

Buy this - this will help you get faster

http://www.timetrialtraining.co.uk/