A chance to try out a time trial

BeaconRuth

Here's a great opportunity to see how fast you can go - three official 10-mile time trials but being organised especially for novices and beginners. None of the usual issues about being in a club, having a licence or a special bike apply. Give it a go on whatever bike you ride and then come back for the next event and see if you can do better!

Only £5 to ride.

All three events in the Midlands, just north of Coventry.

www.mntts.org.uk

Ruth

mpatts

Seems like a good idea this.

By means of balance, I rocked up to my first TT with TMK clubless, clueless, and TT bikeless. Everyone was very helpful and answered all my stupid questions - believe it cost me £4 as a non team member, and I didn't need a licence.

That said, I would have jumped at the chance to start out at a novice event.

Anonymous

Sounds a very good idea, but I would encourage everyone to give TT's a go even if not able to do a beginners specific one.

Is it 'usual' that you need to be in a club, have a licence or have a 'special' bike to do a 10 mile TT then?
I did not have the last two when I started, and being in a club just saved me 50p.

BeaconRuth

Carbonator wrote:

Sounds a very good idea, but I would encourage everyone to give TT's a go even if not able to do a beginners specific one.

I agree. You don't need to enter a novices' event as your first one at all - but there's evidence to suggest some people prefer to start with an event targeted at novices. mpatts has just proved this point perfectly.

Is it 'usual' that you need to be in a club, have a licence or have a 'special' bike to do a 10 mile TT then?
I did not have the last two when I started, and being in a club just saved me 50p.

No it isn't. But that is often the perception that new cyclists have about time trialling.

Ruth

keef66

Local club's 10 mile TT course goes past the end of my drive. I get to hear the drone of carbon wheels on a regular basis, but checking the times on their website is pretty humbling. It's actually 11 miles and slightly lumpy. At best I manage it in 40 minutes. The quickest time is generally 25 minutes, and the slowest rider's finished 4 minutes before I would.

So I'm thinking that time trialling probably isn't for me!

ForumNewbie

Sounds like a good idea. I hope it spreads to other parts of the country.

diplodicus

keef66 wrote:

Local club's 10 mile TT course goes past the end of my drive. I get to hear the drone of carbon wheels on a regular basis, but checking the times on their website is pretty humbling. It's actually 11 miles and slightly lumpy. At best I manage it in 40 minutes. The quickest time is generally 25 minutes, and the slowest rider's finished 4 minutes before I would.

So I'm thinking that time trialling probably isn't for me!

I think you might be (pleasantly) surprised. Just pinning a number on your back will massively increase your effort and reduce the time from what you expect to do on your own. Also as you get used to doing them you get a feel for pacing and become quicker.

marcusjb

keef66 wrote:

Local club's 10 mile TT course goes past the end of my drive. I get to hear the drone of carbon wheels on a regular basis, but checking the times on their website is pretty humbling. It's actually 11 miles and slightly lumpy. At best I manage it in 40 minutes. The quickest time is generally 25 minutes, and the slowest rider's finished 4 minutes before I would.

So I'm thinking that time trialling probably isn't for me!

But the point is that you're not competing against others. Just yourself and the clock.

Doesn't matter if you're the slowest rider there - what matters is going faster than you have done on that course before.

And you'll be surprised at what happens when you get the biggest upgrade known to any cyclist - a number on your back!

gethinceri

It's great fun, quite social too in my experience. I've time trialled with the skin-suited, the teen, the lady, the pensioner. TT bikes, carbon road bikes, aluminium road bikes and even mountain bikes, I've seen all on my local 10. £3.00 for a chance to smash yourself to pieces, catch up on some gossip, gain pointers from the old timers and see the future heroes of cycling.
I turned up to watch my first TT and got cajoled into entering, got the bug immediately!
You're racing yourself and although it's the hardest work it's the greatest fun.

slowbike

We have "come and try" entries - you don't need to be a member of a club and you get to ride with the rest - on whatever you have - we've had a mountain bike doing a TT - although he was a TTer anyway and put in a time that would put some to shame on their TT bikes!

BeaconRuth

keef66 wrote:

Local club's 10 mile TT course goes past the end of my drive. I get to hear the drone of carbon wheels on a regular basis, but checking the times on their website is pretty humbling. It's actually 11 miles and slightly lumpy. At best I manage it in 40 minutes. The quickest time is generally 25 minutes, and the slowest rider's finished 4 minutes before I would.

So I'm thinking that time trialling probably isn't for me!

Well, that's a shame because, really, time trials are for anyone who fancies seeing how fast they can go. The others who have posted to say that it's all about beating your own previous best are spot on. Nobody gives a monkeys if you're not very fast and nor do they care what kind of bike you ride or whether you have a disc wheel. It's a shame that people have this perception that you have to be super fast to get involved in time trials because nothing could be further from the truth.

Hence the mini series of events we're organising....

Ruth

solosuperia

Just a warning..... Be careful about trying a time trial.
Must declare here I hate riding Testers and only did them when they were part of some other race or had been dragooned into turning out.
Do you really want to plough a lonely furrow for 10 miles, 25, 50 or even 24 hours. In a massed start you can hide in the comfort of the bunch for 99.9% of the race. If you have a rush of blood to the head and decide to go off the front once it gets hard you can drift back to the safe haven of the peloton and sit on a wheel.

Just think, if you try a TT you might enjoy it(it takes all types!). If you get hooked your social life will be ruined at weekends.... Got to get to bed early Sat. night then up at some ungodly hour to get to some location in the middle of nowhere, get changed in the back of your car then ride for an hour with nobody to chat with. Perhaps the worse bit the realisation that the timekeepers watch needs an overhaul as it is running fast!!!!
Just be warned...

JackPozzi

SoloSuperia wrote:

Just a warning..... Be careful about trying a time trial.
Must declare here I hate riding Testers and only did them when they were part of some other race or had been dragooned into turning out.
Do you really want to plough a lonely furrow for 10 miles, 25, 50 or even 24 hours. In a massed start you can hide in the comfort of the bunch for 99.9% of the race. If you have a rush of blood to the head and decide to go off the front once it gets hard you can drift back to the safe haven of the peloton and sit on a wheel.

Just think, if you try a TT you might enjoy it(it takes all types!). If you get hooked your social life will be ruined at weekends.... Got to get to bed early Sat. night then up at some ungodly hour to get to some location in the middle of nowhere, get changed in the back of your car then ride for an hour with nobody to chat with. Perhaps the worse bit the realisation that the timekeepers watch needs an overhaul as it is running fast!!!!
Just be warned...

The flip side of that is that it's no fun paying £20 or so to enter a bunch race then realising 2 miles out out the neutral zone that you're way past your fitness limit already and about to be shelled with 60 miles still to go! At least with TTing you are riding at your own pace and if it's going well you can see you fitness increases being reflected in your times every week. Plus you get to look at some scenery (admittedly if you're doing it properly you shouldn't be noticing things like that) rather than spending 3 hours staring at another blokes arse

meanredspider

Being slightly provocative and never having Tested myself, it is at least noble in that it is just you and your bike. Now, I understand racing, and that's fine too. I'm just amused by the sportif riders that ride in a pack - I'm not sure what they've proved to anyone: "Helped by all these other people, I've ridden this far this fast" - why not just get electric assist? Give TTing a go and see how fast you really are.

jgsi

meanredspider wrote:

Being slightly provocative and never having Tested myself, it is at least noble in that it is just you and your bike. Now, I understand racing, and that's fine too. I'm just amused by the sportif riders that ride in a pack - I'm not sure what they've proved to anyone: "Helped by all these other people, I've ridden this far this fast" - why not just get electric assist? Give TTing a go and see how fast you really are.

Do you get much bunch riding in Sportives? I thought that course design and hills split things up rather quickly.
Testing is great training... and actually if you do some 2UPs.. drafting a wheel is no apple pie either.

Anonymous

Slowbike wrote:

We have "come and try" entries - you don't need to be a member of a club and you get to ride with the rest - on whatever you have - we've had a mountain bike doing a TT - although he was a TTer anyway and put in a time that would put some to shame on their TT bikes!

Thats encouraging for newbies.
The idea that someone is there doing it on an MTB or a Raleigh Chopper just to make everyone else look pathetic, and that others are there enjoying the spectacle :roll:

There is nothing wrong with doing a TT on a TT bike.
You don't need to be able to do it in a set time (below 30 min maybe :oops: ) to earn the right to use one.

The TT's I have done can be quite intimidating though, so beginners TT's are a great idea.

I hope that there is some kind of vetting to make sure everyone is a beginner though.
Otherwise it might end up attracting show offs wanting to be king of the hill and unleashing shame on the poor newbies!
Ironically, perhaps TT bikes should be banned.

meanredspider

JGSI wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

Being slightly provocative and never having Tested myself, it is at least noble in that it is just you and your bike. Now, I understand racing, and that's fine too. I'm just amused by the sportif riders that ride in a pack - I'm not sure what they've proved to anyone: "Helped by all these other people, I've ridden this far this fast" - why not just get electric assist? Give TTing a go and see how fast you really are.

Do you get much bunch riding in Sportives? I thought that course design and hills split things up rather quickly.
Testing is great training... and actually if you do some 2UPs.. drafting a wheel is no apple pie either.

Yes - groups of riders who think they're pros or racing or something. I ride these things solo else I've no idea how I've performed.

We had some 2-up pointy hats on some of our local segments up here near Inverness and many of the segments in NL are taken by bunches - again, I'm not sure what you're proving if you have someone tow you.

Anonymous

meanredspider wrote:

JGSI wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

Being slightly provocative and never having Tested myself, it is at least noble in that it is just you and your bike. Now, I understand racing, and that's fine too. I'm just amused by the sportif riders that ride in a pack - I'm not sure what they've proved to anyone: "Helped by all these other people, I've ridden this far this fast" - why not just get electric assist? Give TTing a go and see how fast you really are.

Do you get much bunch riding in Sportives? I thought that course design and hills split things up rather quickly.
Testing is great training... and actually if you do some 2UPs.. drafting a wheel is no apple pie either.

Yes - groups of riders who think they're pros or racing or something. I ride these things solo else I've no idea how I've performed.

We had some 2-up pointy hats on some of our local segments up here near Inverness and many of the segments in NL are taken by bunches - again, I'm not sure what you're proving if you have someone tow you.

You guys seem to be confusing loads of things/situations.

Whats wrong with riding in groups/drafting?
Why do you assume everyone thinks they are a pro?
Whats wrong with wanting a fast time in a sportive?
Who says everyone is out to prove something?
Whats wrong with 2-up TT's?

Having a tow to get a fast segment time and then pretending its a solo effort is a bit sad, but so is being that bothered by peoples times on Strava.

meanredspider

Not confusing anything. A fast time in a Sportif when you're being towed by a group is worth what? "Look at me, I did it in this time by being towed along most of the time by 7 other people" As I said, why not just get electric assist?

2-up TTs are fine because you're competing with other 2-ups - just don't compare your time with solo riders.

BTW If you're not bothered by other people's times on Strava, what's the point of Strava? I don't lose any sleep over it but, when you have a reasonable placing then you have a load of 2-up pointy hats posting their times, it's a shame (nothing more, nothing less)

jgsi

If anyone want to do a sporting 16mile TT as a 2UP in Cheshire as an intro to testing , March time. then feel free to PM me.

the_cyclist_of_catan

A fast time in a Sportif when you're being towed by a group is worth what?

I'm not sure that a "fast time" in a Sportive is worth anything at all to me; it's not supposed to be a race, after all. I find Strava similarly pointless; I know I'm not going to be the fastest, or even in the top 50%, and my bike computer will cheerfully tell me if I'm faster or slower than last week.

And I'd rather audax; I suspect that I'm a miserable sod, usually riding in silence if I'm not whining about something, but I'd rather be silent in a group (especially one not in a rush) than trying to smash myself to bits solo.

But it takes all sorts, and I know that there are plenty of people who do want to compete with others or the clock.

meanredspider

The Cyclist of Catan wrote:

But it takes all sorts, and I know that there are plenty of people who do want to compete with others or the clock.

That's fair. Though it is a thread about TTing - which I think, if you do want to compete, is a very noble activity.

Anonymous

meanredspider wrote:

Not confusing anything. A fast time in a Sportif when you're being towed by a group is worth what? "Look at me, I did it in this time by being towed along most of the time by 7 other people" As I said, why not just get electric assist?

Its worth it for a fun fast ride. People will post (upload) times, but they are not all gloating in them.

Sportives are not TT's anyway, people will know/expect you to benefit from drafting on a sportive to some degree so the time is still pretty relevant. Its a fairly level playing field and still a good effort if you manage to do it quickly.
The times cannot be taken that seriously to the minute/second, but who does?
You should also be at the head of a group sometimes too, its not like no one will ever be behind you.

meanredspider wrote:

2-up TTs are fine because you're competing with other 2-ups - just don't compare your time with solo riders.

BTW If you're not bothered by other people's times on Strava, what's the point of Strava? I don't lose any sleep over it but, when you have a reasonable placing then you have a load of 2-up pointy hats posting their times, it's a shame (nothing more, nothing less)

Agreed, if they fail to state its not solo when they have gone to the effort of both donning pointy hats, then they are tw@ts.

meanredspider

Carbonator wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

Not confusing anything. A fast time in a Sportif when you're being towed by a group is worth what? "Look at me, I did it in this time by being towed along most of the time by 7 other people" As I said, why not just get electric assist?

Its worth it for a fun fast ride.
Sportives are not TT's, people will know/expect you to benefit from drafting on a sportive to some degree so the time is still pretty relevant. Its a fairly level playing field and still a good effort if you manage to do it quickly.
The times cannot be taken that seriously to the minute/second, but who does?
You should also be at the head of a group sometimes too, its not like no one will ever be behind you.

I know I was being provocative - I'm not that bothered by it just interested to understand what people who do it are thinking.

Anonymous

Well for me personally I guess I have a goal time (if its one where I have any interest in doing it fast) and I ride accordingly.
If its a ride I have done before then I will possibly want to do it faster, or if not I will just estimate one.
Its only to make it more fun, I do not feel that the times are that relevant to other people.

If its a closed road sportive then the lack of traffic lights and ability to cut corners etc. would have more of an effect on time than drafting perhaps.

I think I have made more of an effort in high average speed on solo training rides than I have with sportive drafting.
I certainly feel I am transparent about any advantages any particular ride has. Both to others, and in my own head.

Anonymous

meanredspider wrote:

The Cyclist of Catan wrote:

But it takes all sorts, and I know that there are plenty of people who do want to compete with others or the clock.

That's fair. Though it is a thread about TTing - which I think, if you do want to compete, is a very noble activity.

One thing I like about bikes and cycling is the diversity.
I have not done an Audax yet but want to do some high milage rides so should be soon.

As I said above, I am not really competing with others (except in a friendly banter type way perhaps) when doing a fast sportive, but nothing wrong with competing with myself or the clock is there?

I do TT's, solo rides, club rides, MTB rides and buddy rides (including sportive, chatting, stop at all the feed stop ones).
I am not that interested in the pro's, certainly have never imagined I am one or am riding like one, and hopefully ride considerately and fairly skilfully when I am riding fast on a days sportiving.

markos1963

Any TT recommended by BeaconRuth must be worth giving a try. I started out TTing at a 'come and try it' event and you couldn't find an easier and more friendly way of going racing. Indeed most evening club 10's are very friendly things and no one, not anyone judges riders performances. The first thing most people will say to you is 'did you PB?" so confirming it's only you and the clock that matters.

diplodicus

markos1963 wrote:

'did you PB?" so confirming it's only you and the clock that matters.

nail on the head

JackPozzi

oxoman wrote:

Going back to the original post, I shall be giving it a try as out of the way and nobody knows me there so I can look a prat without being lampooned by someone who knows me when someone on a mtb passes me. No seriously though,I will give it a try in the knowledge that most people will hopefully be newcomers to it as well. A local club near me do it every wk in summer, but a lot turn up on bikes so blinged up that their wheels cost more than my bike and get mardy when beaten by people on cheaper bikes with flat pedals. ( not me either I just watched). To anyone who knows the course in question, is it relatively flat. Hoping it is so a slightly overweight nearly 50yr old can give it a try.

I really don't understand why anyone would get upset with someone beating them, whether on a cheaper bike or not. I've been peed off plenty of times at time trials but only ever at myself for not riding as well as I could have, if someone beats me and I've given my all, fair play to them, I just need to train harder!

No idea of the course but give it a go regardless of the terrain, it's all about going as hard as you can for 10 miles, if it's got rolling terrain it just means it's going to take a little longer than a pan flat course...

norvernrob

meanredspider wrote:

Being slightly provocative and never having Tested myself, it is at least noble in that it is just you and your bike. Now, I understand racing, and that's fine too. I'm just amused by the sportif riders that ride in a pack - I'm not sure what they've proved to anyone: "Helped by all these other people, I've ridden this far this fast" - why not just get electric assist? Give TTing a go and see how fast you really are.

I've done two Sportives, and I would think in both I was held up by groups far more than I was helped. (And no, I'm not particularly quick). I'm also sensible, and sitting on a strangers wheel when you have no idea what they're going to do isn't a very clever idea tbh.

BeaconRuth

oxoman wrote:

Going back to the original post, I shall be giving it a try as out of the way and nobody knows me there so I can look a prat without being lampooned by someone who knows me when someone on a mtb passes me. No seriously though,I will give it a try in the knowledge that most people will hopefully be newcomers to it as well. A local club near me do it every wk in summer, but a lot turn up on bikes so blinged up that their wheels cost more than my bike and get mardy when beaten by people on cheaper bikes with flat pedals. ( not me either I just watched). To anyone who knows the course in question, is it relatively flat. Hoping it is so a slightly overweight nearly 50yr old can give it a try.

Hi Oxoman - excellent. We'll look forward to seeing you at one or more of the novices' events. The course is extremely flat, with only the slightest drag towards the middle of the course. You would barely notice it if you weren't trying to maintain top speed.

We don't say that the events are exclusively for novices, so there will hopefully be a few experienced riders there, but, from our experience of running an event just like this in September, the experienced riders who came along were simply delighted to welcome so many new people. Whoever it was in a post above who suggested that experienced riders might come along to 'embarrass' the newcomers could not have been further from reality. In fact, at the Novices' event in September Colin Sturgess, former World Individual Pursuit Champion, came along and took part. I suspect that 95% of those who were there didn't know who he was or his palmares. He was extremely pleasant and courteous and seemed genuinely delighted to see so many newcomers to time trialling having a brilliant afternoon. In which other sports would a former World Champion quietly compete alongside total novices and enjoy the experience in such a humble and appreciative way?

Ruth