How do you know when you are ready for a TT

fatbloke8

This follows on from a thread I posted in Road beginners, I purchased a Road bike about 4 weeks ago and also joined the CTC I am also up to 30+miles (with a break in the middle) the bug has bit, I really do enjoy the CTC rides and they are great for endurance however I don't want to limit myself to one type of riding.

So was also thinking of a 10 mile TT at some point. This will give me an excellent bench mark of where I am now and also enable me to mark improvements as I go, however when do I know I am ready? I am itching to have a go but I am worried about making myself look a plonker 1 because I have an extremely entry level bike (Mercurio Alloy 14 speed), 2 what happens if my time is rubbish I don't want to finish after everyone's gone home and 3 am I too new to be even considering this.

Is my eagerness a result of ignorance? or should i just bite the bullett and join another local club and just have a go?

dennisn

fatbloke8 wrote:

This follows on from a thread I posted in Road beginners, I purchased a Road bike about 4 weeks ago and also joined the CTC I am also up to 30+miles (with a break in the middle) the bug has bit, I really do enjoy the CTC rides and they are great for endurance however I don't want to limit myself to one type of riding.

So was also thinking of a 10 mile TT at some point. This will give me an excellent bench mark of where I am now and also enable me to mark improvements as I go, however when do I know I am ready? I am itching to have a go but I am worried about making myself look a plonker 1 because I have an extremely entry level bike (Mercurio Alloy 14 speed), 2 what happens if my time is rubbish I don't want to finish after everyone's gone home and 3 am I too new to be even considering this.

Is my eagerness a result of ignorance? or should i just bite the bullett and join another local club and just have a go?

#1 Don't worry about your bike. Pretty soon you'll be hooked on cycling and spending tons of money on all kinds of NEW things.
#2 If your first TT time is "rubbish", well, welcome to the club. Happens to everyone. Hell,
my times are still rubbish.
#3 "too new?". No. Out of the pan and into the fire is about all you can do. Good luck.

Dennis Noward

disgruntledgoat

Mate, there was a bloke at our last 10 riding a mountainbike and not a new one. If anybody laughs at you or your bike then stuff them, they're an idiot.

Besides, I spent last tuesday night stood on a traffic island with a flag while guys rode a 10. Who looked more stupid there?

SBezza

I would say just do one, as long as you can ride 10 miles you are ready IMO. As above if anyone laughs at you or your bike don't worry about it, though to be honest I doubt this will happen, I have never seen it happen yet.

celbianchi

I'd echo all of the above comments.

Just jump in and have a go, whatever time you set (And you'll probably be faster than you imagine you'll be) becomes your target for your second effort.

In most club 10's you get a huge variety of fitness levels and bikes, some will be on lo-pro's, some on road bikes, and as mentioned above you may see the odd MTB.

I have never seen anyone laughing at a fellow entrant, most are fairly friendly and will have a chat and give you any advice you may seek after the event.

Anonymous

If you can ride 10 miles you can do a 10 mile TT.

I hope to find that out tonight!

richara3

Ive got my first ever 10 mile TT tomorrow night aswell . Actually its my first ever cycling event full stop.I am Aiming for 35-40 mins depending on the weather which isnt too clever at the moment. Dont worry about your bike I am riding a tricross that will probaly still have its rear rack and lightsfitted,whilst others in the club will be riding thousands of pounds worth of carbon exotica ,skinsuits and aero helmets..

If you can do ten miles then you can do a 10 mile TT.you are only racing yourself..

I will post up tomorrow and let you know how I got on. :oops:

Good luck mate

Andy

nick hanson

There was a guy who used to turn up at our evening tens on an MTB........
Mind you,it was Steve Barnes (international cyclocross rider) & he used to do 22 min tens on the MTB :shock:
Just turn up on what you've got.If you are really concerned about being so slow,ask to go off early,maybe even number one,that way you'll immediately be popular with the others,as most people stand back at the evening 10's,till some have signed on

a_n_t

dennisn wrote:

[#2 If your first TT time is "rubbish", well, welcome to the club. Happens to everyone.

I was quite pleased with mine!

fatbloke8

Thanks for the feedback, I think I will do one fairly soon just so as I have some kind of base figure to improve upon. I can ride 10 miles fairly easily at an easy pace.
Whether I can go all out for 10 miles at this stage is another story of course.

At the stage I am at now which is really early days I would hope for a sub forty minute run as I done 4.5 in about twenty minutes and that was a warm up to get to a ride.

Andy let us know how you get on & good luck

Anonymous

My aim for this year was to beat 24 minutes. That has had to be put back on hold until next year.

However, I'll be happy to finish tonight, possibly looking at 50 minutes if I do. Bring it on!

Slimbods

I was in the same boat a few weeks ago, agonised about turning up and making a nob of myself. In the end I made a snap decision last min and entered the series and have had a blast. There's about 150 in the series, people on full carbon bikes, disk wheels, funny hats and skin suits and blokes in their 80's riding old steel road bikes with platform pedals but none of that really matters as you're only setting a time against yourself.

I'm nowhere near the top, but I'm training much harder to get myself up the chart now, and that's really the best thing about entering these things, they push you harder than you'd normally go.

I would be mindful of the boys who are taking it very seriously though, make sure you give them lots of room to get past so you don't harm their time.

If you're worried about finishing last, just turn up early so you go near the start. Loads of people will pass you, but they deserve to, they've been training years and you've been training weeks. In a year or two, it'll be you going past the new lads!

addicted to Langbar

If you are worried about your time, do what I did a couple of weeks ago and find out the route and do a practice run ealry on a Sunday morning when there is no traffic about. If you can find out past results even better as it will give you a guide to how much you have to go without getting dispirited on the day.

I managed to knock 2 and a half minutes off my time on a hilly 12.5 mile course on the following Thursday night which I was very pleased with. I also went last so I didn't have the pressure of worrying that someone would overtake me, which meant that I could stick to my own pace.

Don't worry if everyone else has fancy pointy hats, tri-bars and disc wheels as they have probably been doing it for years. Hopefully people will be friendly as they will have been in your position at some point, although you will be too knackered after your first one to be able to speak for a few minutes.

GavH

My apologies for the hijack but can anyone tell me what a 'typcial' height gain (or indeed loss!) is over a 10m TT? Also, where can I find out the route of a local TT (Hampshire for me) in advance from?

Anonymous

I did my club 10 tonight. 7 weeks ago lying in hospital unable to move my leg I never thought I'd ride again.

I managed a 34.59! Well chuffed...

gandhi

GavH, check out this site.
http://www.southdc.org.uk/courses/index.htm

Quite often if you search for the code on bikely (e.g p164c) some one will have mapped the course. There are tons around, including a 10 on P724C (Sutton Scotney) tomorrow at 19:00. That course is quite bumpy.

a_n_t

NapoleonD wrote:

I did my club 10 tonight. 7 weeks ago lying in hospital unable to move my leg I never thought I'd ride again.

I managed a 34.59! Well chuffed...

great stuff! well done

SBezza

a_n_t wrote:

NapoleonD wrote:

I did my club 10 tonight. 7 weeks ago lying in hospital unable to move my leg I never thought I'd ride again.

I managed a 34.59! Well chuffed...

great stuff! well done

+1 fantastic result, considering your injuries.

GavH

gandhi wrote:

GavH, check out this site.
http://www.southdc.org.uk/courses/index.htm

Quite often if you search for the code on bikely (e.g p164c) some one will have mapped the course. There are tons around, including a 10 on P724C (Sutton Scotney) tomorrow at 19:00. That course is quite bumpy.

Gandhi thanks for that, I live in Worthy Down and that course practicly goes straight past my house so this is pretty handy!

simon_e

NapoleonD wrote:

I did my club 10 tonight. 7 weeks ago lying in hospital unable to move my leg I never thought I'd ride again.

I managed a 34.59! Well chuffed...

Well done! I broke my femur nearly 20 years ago, lots of wasted muscle tissue :-( Now I wish I'd got back into cycling sooner, I only started time trials last year.

To fatbloke8 and anyone else thinking of it, I'd recommend you give it a try. Find a club near you and browse the website/ring the organiser and go along. As said above, if people take the mickey then either ignore them or find another club. TBH most are glad to see new members and everyone remembers being a newbie. If you aren't sure pop down and see, or volunteer to marshal.

A number of people have expensive TT bikes but quite a few turn up on a standard road bike or even a mountain bike, the goal is really to try to beat your own previous times. If you're riding a MTB or hybrid I suggest you get a pair of slick 26" tyres (e.g. Schwalbe City Jet or Specialized All Condition), pump them up a bit and give it a try.

Courses vary, it pays to know where you'll be turning, where the climbs (if any) are and where the finish line will be. Don't start too hard, pacing yourself is part of the discipline. Concentrate on your rhythm, keep a low position to aid aerodynamics.

Whatever you do, it's great that you enjoy riding your bike.

Pokerface

Doing my first 10 tonight (of the year). Did a few last year and mostly came near the back of the pack every time. No worries - it's all about personal improvement and I got better each time.

here's hoping the winter has been kind to me and I'm at least as bad as I was last year (and not worse!).


My only goal usually - is just not to come last (the 70 year old guy that rides them so far has always been slower).

richara3

Well done NapoleanD.. You would have kicked my arse.. here is what I posted at

www.westlothianclarion.co.uk and a link to the map of the route http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Li ... tri-10miTT Its just under 300 feet of climb.

Well thats my first cycling event ever and it was great in a painful kind of way. I did not break any records but posted a respectable ( I think ) time giving my 5 months of cycling experience. Certainly I was slowest by several minutes but did not feel disheartened by everyone zipping past. It just let me see how good I could become if I put the effort in. One things for sure is that course is , em , more undulating than I thought and that next time I will have more idea of what to expect. So things to improve on next time are pacing myself better, arriving rested and warmed up instead of knackered and nervous, being properly hydrated and nourished in stead of thirsty and starving. Oh and next time I may take the car. I think a 40 mile day , including the TT is a bit much for someone at my level... On the way home I seriously considered pretending to have mechanical failure and getting the train from Linlithgow..

Anyway I am sore in places I did not know I had and the bits I did know I had are even worse. Hats off to everyone involved today and a special thanks for the words of encouragment that were shouted by those overtaking me... Atleast I think they were words of encouragment

All the best everyone

Andy

PS cheers for the cake Matt

BTW I managed a jersey ripping 7mph over the flyoverand not much more through Winchbourgh...Oh , and I forgot to add that my time was in the region of 36 or 37 minutes.. Proof that I am indeed King of the Road

celbianchi

i enjoy this kind of thread.

I have been racing for 5 years now having started at 33. I just did road racing to begin with and can well remember the trepidation of the first few races, wondering how badly I would humiliate myself. sure i got a kicking first couple of races, but you go back for more untiil you can start to make the others hurt.

Even when I had 4 years road racing experience last season I was nervous turning up for Open TT's when I decided to do some testing, thinking that testers and all their special kit would humiliate me.

Anyhow - where I am going with this is that I think the fear of showing yourself up is common to MOST of us when we start - if the thought to compete crosses your mind then don't think twice - just go and do it.

A few years into your 'racing career' like I am now, you'll be able to look back with pride at some of the things you achive that you didn't think possible.
I played football from my teens until 33, and I can honestly say the two wins I have managed in road races have given me more pleasure than any other sporting achievement.
And each PB in a 10 is very rewarding.
Keep at it, you can't fail but be bitten by the bug.

Anonymous

Nice one Richara! Next time go for 34 minutes...

I feel very naughty as my improvements will be quite quick as my bad leg heals more each week, skewing the handicap scores, but hey! Some people find excuses not to enter, for me, having broken my leg in three places 8 weeks ago today isn't one of them.

fatbloke8

Well done Richara3 & Napoleon D,

In the next few weeks I will be searching for a bike club who run TT's and see if I can find out their route (easy bit) then running the route first, practising and then I'm going to enter one.

Will let you know my pathetic time at some point in the future.

celbianchi

fatbloke8 wrote:

Well done Richara3 & Napoleon D,

In the next few weeks I will be searching for a bike club who run TT's and see if I can find out their route (easy bit) then running the route first, practising and then I'm going to enter one.

Will let you know my pathetic time at some point in the future.

I'll bet that you surprise yourself. And it is a great way to motivate yourself for improved times .

Pokerface

Did my first TT of the year last night. And while I am still old and slow - it was a personal best for me. 8) Much better than where I left off last year and a great start to the 'season'.

Not sure if that's due to my fitness - or the better wheels I have this year. :oops:

Bronzie

NapoleonD wrote:

I managed a 34.59! Well chuffed...

Nice one Napoleon. A very respectable time for your first effort back on the bike.

Does this mean David Harmon will have nothing to talk about during the Giro now that you are well on the road to recovery?

simon_e

fatbloke8 wrote:

Will let you know my pathetic time at some point in the future.

Hey, don't worry about it. It will be your achievement. Be proud.

If nothing else you'll have got off your a*se and done something instead of just watching the same rubbish TV shows every evening.

msw

fatbloke8, one more thing to say about the quality of your bike: if you're going to be among the slower finishers anyway, surely it'd be much less embarrassing to do it on a cheap bike than to turn up on a few grand's worth of carbon wearing an aero helmet and skinsuit and get passed by MTBs...