First TT for 30 years!

markos1963

At the age of 46 I've decided enough is enough and have commited myself to my first club 10 since I was 16. I've kept talking about doing it but nows the time to put up or shut up. So any advise? I'm most concerned about what warm up to do, don't want to over do it or start too cold.. And set up tips, I'm running a standard road bike, so tyre pressures, seat bar positions etc would be helpful.

Anonymous

For your first one, just stick with your normal riding position/setup.

Warm up varies per person, but I'd recommend at least half an hour, with some intervals at just below TT pace thrown in.

Most of all, have fun (it's very addictive...)

Aggieboy

markos1963 wrote:

At the age of 46 I've decided enough is enough and have commited myself to my first club 10 since I was 16. I've kept talking about doing it but nows the time to put up or shut up. So any advise? I'm most concerned about what warm up to do, don't want to over do it or start too cold.. And set up tips, I'm running a standard road bike, so tyre pressures, seat bar positions etc would be helpful.

I'm certainly no expert as you'll see, but after many years of cycling just to keep fit (I'm 52 now), I decided to have a go (unofficially) on my road bike as well. I've always cycled alone (apart from one outing with some forumites) and never trained but picked up a few tips on this forum. Anyway, having looked up and found a 10TT course within driving distance I went there 3 weeks ago. I rode the course from the beginning and back to the start point (14 miles) to a) recce it and b) to warm up. Decided to go out at a pace I knew I could manage and decided on 20 mph so at least I knew I could get a 30 min. On a stretch of dual carriageway I maintained 30mph as I was feeling fine. Tried to maintain 20+ mph thereafter where I could but had a few roundabouts to tackle. The last bit to the finish was slightly up hill and I just did the best I could. Finished in 27.39. Can't wait to do it again, although I know it's unofficial, to see if I can better it.
What did I learn? I think I was right as it was my first attempt to maintain a steady pace out and speed up where I could confidently do so without blowing up. Recce'ing the course certainly helped there and, as stated, gave me a warm up. Next time I'll be more confident to push it harder out.

Anyway, that's my story. Totally unscientific but I hope it gives you a helpful novices point of view and some confidence to do it. You can now await more professional advice Good luck.

Anonymous

Aggieboy wrote:

markos1963 wrote:

At the age of 46 I've decided enough is enough and have commited myself to my first club 10 since I was 16. I've kept talking about doing it but nows the time to put up or shut up. So any advise? I'm most concerned about what warm up to do, don't want to over do it or start too cold.. And set up tips, I'm running a standard road bike, so tyre pressures, seat bar positions etc would be helpful.

I'm certainly no expert as you'll see, but after many years of cycling just to keep fit (I'm 52 now), I decided to have a go (unofficially) on my road bike as well. I've always cycled alone (apart from one outing with some forumites) and never trained but picked up a few tips on this forum. Anyway, having looked up and found a 10TT course within driving distance I went there 3 weeks ago. I rode the course from the beginning and back to the start point (14 miles) to a) recce it and b) to warm up. Decided to go out at a pace I knew I could manage and decided on 20 mph so at least I knew I could get a 30 min. On a stretch of dual carriageway I maintained 30mph as I was feeling fine. Tried to maintain 20+ mph thereafter where I could but had a few roundabouts to tackle. The last bit to the finish was slightly up hill and I just did the best I could. Finished in 27.39. Can't wait to do it again, although I know it's unofficial, to see if I can better it.
What did I learn? I think I was right as it was my first attempt to maintain a steady pace out and speed up where I could confidently do so without blowing up. Recce'ing the course certainly helped there and, as stated, gave me a warm up. Next time I'll be more confident to push it harder out.

Anyway, that's my story. Totally unscientific but I hope it gives you a helpful novices point of view and some confidence to do it. You can now await more professional advice Good luck.

Defo, recce the course!

markos1963

Yes I thought about having a look at the course, I don't know the area well so might do a warm up over it. Apparantly its a circular rather than an out and back so looking at the corners might help save a few seconds.

a_n_t

dont think i've done more than a 10 minute warm-up yet!

love2ride

I do 20 or so minutes. don't push your self that hard for the warm up. do a few intervals before. Get to the line 5 minutes or so early stretch, last sip of water. Try to focus and breathe steady during the final minute. You'll be nervous but once you get going you forget and enjoy yourself.

Anonymous

a_n_t wrote:

dont think i've done more than a 10 minute warm-up yet!

The difference when for me when I did a proper warm up is quite impressive. I just used to bimble up and down for about 10 mins but demolished my PB from last year twice despite broken leg having warmed up properly...

SBezza

I found doing a proper warm up, especially for a 10, makes a big difference to my times. I do around 30 mins on a turbo (less chance of getting a puncture on the TT bike), with a few harder efforts.

It also gives me time to get hydrated properly, during this 30 mins I will have 500 to 750 ml of liquid, and focus better. Times have improved for me since I started doing this.

knedlicky

Don't do your warm-up almost right up to your starting time, and don't eat a banana within 20-30 mins of starting - two mistakes I made at my very first TT.

a_n_t

NapoleonD wrote:

I just used to bimble up and down for about 10 mins ...

thats me!

Maybe I'll have a go at doing it properly next week, need a good time for the club handicap.

coop508

i rode my first 10 in March 1950, old raleigh frame,26" steel HPs, 78" fixed. Result 27.45min.
Suggest you ride to the event! For your warm-up, get their 15 mins before start. Ride flat out, you will find your own pace for just a 25-30 min.ride, it's only a 10, and enjoy the ride.

John.T

Maybe I'll have a go at doing it properly next week, need a good time for the club handicap.

No you don't. you need a slow one so you get a generous handicap.

a_n_t

John.T wrote:

Maybe I'll have a go at doing it properly next week, need a good time for the club handicap.

No you don't. you need a slow one so you get a generous handicap.

nah, we're well into it, only 2 events left. I meant a good time to try and beat my 25.36!

markos1963

Well just got back from the TT and I thought I would let you know how it went. Unfortunatly due to traffic me and my friend didn't get enough time to recce the course so we did our warm up having a look at the first and last mile. We checked with some other riders about the route and it seemed simple enough so we signed on.

I was first rider away and Bob my friend was next. He had set himself a target of sub 35mins but I reckoned he was quicker than that. The first 3 miles were very hard, in fact I told myself that if I didn't feel better in the next mile I would have to back off(I was averaging over 23mph) but luckily my breathing,heartrate and legs seemed to come together. I had tackled the first two of three hills well and up to mile 7 I was still at 23mph average then disaster struck. I missed a turn, not just missing it but carrying on without realising it. Our lack of looking at the course beforehand had come home to roost. I carried on for two miles before I realised something was up so I turned around and hoped to find another rider. No one appeared and I eventually found the right turnoff. I upped my pace to see what I could do and eventually came in in 39 minutes!!! I suppose for 14 miles its not a bad time but everyone else was competing over 10! My mate Bob was more fortunate, he had been overtaken just before the turnoff and therefore knew where to go, he came in in a very respectable 30.57.

We're both now hooked and are planning a return in a fortnight, Bob to crack the 30 minute barrier and myself to complete the course!. I reckon a sub 28min time is achievable which isn't bad considering that the fastest rider tonight did it in 24mins.

markos1963

What a difference a fortniight makes! Got to the course in good time, had a good look around the route and did a nice warm up. Unfortunatly it was a bit windy tonight but I didn't let that faze me and I got stuck in. Went off third and kept a good pace, first 2.5 miles into the wind was very hard but I made up my mind to put the effort in here and recover on the downwind leg. It paid off and I completed this time without getting lost in 27mins 44 sec. Even better was the fact that there was more than half a dozen finishers below me out of a field of around 20. Sad it was the last evening 10 till next year but I'm hooked now, wonder if the missus will notice another bike in the shed