Hull Thursday 2007 TT season
A flat back is the perfect TT position on the bike. Gone are the days when TT riders had to check their position in shop windows. You can even make a movie of your set up with a modern digital camera.
The key to recovery was firstly rest and ice packs, then short walks. If you have to stop and bend down at times then so be it. After one week I could only get to the end of the street before having to turn back in pain. During the second week I just about managed the local shops nearly a mile away and a few days after that a five mile round walk to some shops further way - something that I loved to do before the injury. You just have to keep active and listen to your body. After 3 weeks I returned to work on the bike on "light duties". What's more I could race with a clear conscience that I wasn't on sick!
The TT bike was a pig to ride. It was very hard to get into a comfortable riding position while staying aero. I found that sitting on the nose of the saddle gave the best ride, but then the handling was shocking. It was like riding a pneumatic drill on two wheels.
The day of the prologue arrived and what an exciting event it was! We cycled out to the top of a nearby hill as a group and I pinned a yellow number 5 to the back of my shorts. At 1905 I set off and soon was cruising at 35-38 mph with a nice tailwind. I had planned to play an upbeat driving track Called Gamma Ray by the 70's German rock band Birth Control on the minidisc. At just under 10 minutes long on a course on which it was possible to ride in that time, it was the perfect length and if I finished before the track ended it would be a decent time.
Unfortunately the minidisc went back to the start and
kept playing a dweebish hippy track by the group Amsterdam over and
over again, which didn't help. Still, out of 23 riders I came in at 19
with a time of 10-05, or very nearly 30 mph average! The guy who won it
averaged at 35.3 mph, which is probably the fastest TT our club has ever
witnessed. It was really an exciting ride and one that 4 weeks earlier had
seemed impossible, due to the injury.
Club
ride report here:
12 APR 07:
A couple of days later there was a club 10 mile TT held by the Barton
Wheelers club just over the river Humber. I decided to ride out there and
give it a go. It was a pig of a course called Deepdale that we used for training
in the depths of winter. It is 3 laps of a circuit that is 10.5 miles in
total. I got there for 1810 and met a few friends at the start. At number
3 out, I got into a steady pace, not wanting to blow as there are several
nasty hills. After one lap the guy two minutes back passed me, but I
managed the 3.5 mile lap in just over 10 minutes. After two laps however
the back started to ache badly and I had to turn off the gas just to get
home. I came in at 31.14 which wasn't that bad, just over 20 mph average.
On the steady ride back home with my friends, the back ache cleared up, so
it is definitely an accumulative thing - not a good sign for the rest of
the season.
Another event with Barton Wheelers was the Elsham Mast 10 mile TT starting at 1900. On a cool breezy evening we rode out to the start point at Bonby Lodge. Had a nice chat with TT animal Chris Whitelam on the way about our train spotting days as boys. This time I was number 9 out on the course which starts with a climb up to the Elsham Wold radio mast. Number 10 came past me at this point after only a couple of miles, so he's really flying. Managed to keep him in sight for the next 5 miles though, so having him as a "carrot" helped. Took a wrong turning again like last year, but only lost a few seconds this time. After 8 miles the back started playing up again, but I still pushed it to the finish line at full bore. Didn't wait for the times from the time keeper as it was getting dark now at 1950. It turned out I did a 27:47, which is over a minute faster than last year.
A hilly club 10 mile this time. I was number 11 out with TT expert Chris Whitelam as number 12, so it was not long before he came by. I came second to last with a paltry 29:35, but in mitigation the chain came off and got jammed, so lost at least 30 seconds there putting it back on. Otherwise not very good at all - anybody want to buy a used TT bike, low mileage? I've had enough already.
 | "Enjoy Racing Don�t worry if your time is slower than you hoped. Quite often we finish and then feel gutted at our time being slow. Progress is never in a straight line. We shouldn�t allow ourselves to be discouraged it is an inevitable part of any sport. Just forget about the time and appreciate the effort you put into the race. There will come a time in the future when you may start to make unexpected improvements". |
On with the show, even though I feel like packing the whole ghastly business of Time Trials in, I have paid to ride the whole series, so feel contractually obliged to finish the damn things. So off to the village of Etton nestling in the Yorkshire Wolds on a mild pleasant evening in early May. Beautiful setting in gently rolling hills with grazing animals all around. Had to drive behind a fellow rider in the car as I didn't know the start. This time I was number 9 and after signing on I went back to the car to put the number on. The easiest way was to take off my jersey and pin the number on rather than trying to do it behind my back.
Unfortunately the car key that was in my rear pocket pinged out as I took the jersey off and landed in some long grass. Fifteen minutes later I found it, otherwise it would have been a disaster. Got warmed up and headed off to the start line which was at the start of a sharp hill. Easy enough hill start on the 3 lap, 13.5 mile circuit and soon got tucked into the aero position and reached about 28 mph. However, on the return leg it was a headwind and a long drag which saps your power big style, so when you reach the start hill again your legs are in agony. The third time I hit it I could barely keep going at 9 mph and then when you reach the flat part your legs are so full of lactic acid you just have to wait for it to clear before you can put the power down again. In terms of perfect time trials, they say if you can sprint for the line, you've ridden it wrong - you should have given every last effort so that there's nothing left in the tank at the end. On seeing the finish I was happy that there was no sprint in me.
While waiting a couple of days for the times to appear on the club site I looked at the times of the previous years and decided that 37 minutes would be fantastic and if over 40 minutes, I'd chuck it in. I did it in 00:37:22, so well satisfied. The winner came in at 00:30:38.
23
MAY 07. Little Weighton circuit.
It
wasn�t a good omen for this ride. Coming out of my driveway on the TT
bike, my foot got stuck behind the front wheel and I ended up falling off
in front of my next door neighbour who was tending his herbaceous border.
After getting back on, I heard him yelling at me and pointing to the water
bottle that had flown out of the cage. I picked it up and headed out to
the course about 7 miles away. Finding the signing on sheet and start line
proved tricky as the club website showed an out of date start/finish line.
Eventually, got number 9 again and headed up the long slow drag to the
first left turn.
At the left turn there was supposed to be a marshal,
but nobody was there and I continued onwards by mistake. The guy behind
had almost caught me and he took the right route, so I followed after
losing time taking this unnecessary detour. Two thing enter your head then
a)
Go back to the start point
and post a DNF.
b)
Get angry and try and
to get the time back.
I chose b) and foolishly tried to regain the time I lost and nearly blew.
Again, looking back over the past years,
showed that 37/38 minutes wouldn't be a bad starting time for this course,
the only thing being is that all of the guys who have posted such times in
the past have packed it in, leaving only the dedicated hard men. This
means you are looking at coming 2nd
or 3rd from last at best, whereas in previous years you'd have been comfortably
clear of the bottom.
Across the river, the Barton Wheelers TT is a nice family
event where young and old take part and so I come higher up the table
there,
18th out of 29 a few weeks ago, but with my own club, few people turn up
for fun, it's all serious (but friendly).
The time was 36:23 for the 12.5 mile
course, not too bad seeing as
I got lost.
This race was supposed to be out at Sproatley, east of Hull but was switched because of a single temporary traffic light on the course, which of course renders the circuit useless for TT purposes. However this substitute race itself was truncated as there was a dodgy corner that had been dug up, so instead of a two lap 16 miler it was a single lap 8 mile race. Drove out to the course which is about 10 miles west of Hull and found the rest of the club parked up down a side road.
Still, for the first time since the back injury I felt really good and this course suited me down to the ground. It was pan flat all the way round the large square shaped course and so the guys who are good on hills get no advantage over you. The wind didn't worry me as I had a great aero bike which immediately gives you a big confidence boost. Looking back at previous years showed many guys doing 20 to 23 minutes who are still racing, so a 22 would be good. That would equate to a 27-30 10 miler, which is faster than I've ever done. My PB at the moment being the 27-47 in April.
Got number 13 and at 7-13 exactly got under way. First shock was a nasty Z bend which appeared from nowhere, but soon got going at a steady 25 mph heading west. Turning south, I was still pegging 25 mph which was good and for the first time my breathing was deep and regular, not panting. At the turn east the wind was in the face, so I got dragged down to 23 mph and the hamstrings were hurting, at which point number 14 came past as I knew he would as he is a strong rider, but it had taken him 5 miles to catch me. On the homeward leg north I started to get stitch but wasn't going to back off and throw away what I had in the bank.
As the hamstring muscles ache increased I shifted to the nose of the saddle to work the front thigh muscles more which gave the hamstrings a rest. On finishing, I looked at the clock and saw it was 7-33, so I had posted a 20 minutes something time! Fantastic. I didn't hang around and so waited to see the results on the website. The time was 20-46 which was really pleasing as it showed I'm making some real progress. Whether it would have translated to a sub 26 min 10 miler, of course I'll never know but I feel as though I'm getter better, just got to work on cornering as at the moment I slow right down for them.
Due to the cancellation of the Sproatley ride, this one was a duplicate of the one we rode exactly 4 weeks ago. In the meantime I've been on a 2500 mile driving trip around Eastern Europe and on arriving home been subject to terrible floods. On the day of the race, I was hoping it would be called off but no such luck. So it was off to Gilberdyke by car which luckily had been fixed today after the wiper motor burned out on holiday.
Number 21 today, second from last, with big Neil Cleminshaw who won here last time one minute behind, so of course you are mentally figuring out where and when he is going to come past. Headwind on the first leg of the big square so tried to suffer the most on this leg and hope to hang in when it got a bit "easier". Of course, it never gets any "easier", you just go faster but suffer the same.
On the second leg, big Neil came past which I expected and then it was a case of seeing how fast I could get with the back wind on the third leg which was around 26 mph. I could not get any more speed, when your heart rate is at its maximum, that's it, there is no more. As Paul Sherwen says "His mind is saying bridge to engine room - more power, but there isn't any."
The final stretch was a struggle with every car in the distance the time keeper's car, except most of them are not, only horrible decoys. On passing the line my time clocked in at 20-54. Last time it was 20-46, that is consistency for you!
Still without a working car so met up with the local chain gang at the bus stop to see if they would tow me out to the start point 10 miles north. Luckily they were going the same way and it passes the time to have someone to talk to on the ride out to the start point. Met up with the other riders at a picnic spot and found out I was number 5 out, so not a long time to hang around. This event was for standard road bikes, so no TT machines or aero bits of kit were allowed, so I used the Trek 1400 that I use to ride to work.
I removed the clip on mudguards and got pushed off and flew down the fast descent into the village of North Newbald. Lots of standing water was still around from the flood, so had to take it easy. Oddly enough as I was on a normal road bike and listening to music on local roads, I had to keep telling myself I was in a race and not out on a evening jolly! At the turn, the agony kicked in on a long slow drag to High Hunsley where the local radio aerials are. Number 6 came past, who later turned out to be the mate of my school friend who is chief of police in Hull.
Didn't try and attack as I could easily blow on this hill, so kept with in the "red zone". Near the top the sadistic club photographer was waiting to capture the torment on the rider's faces, but I eased up as I caught a female rider who was started 4 minutes in front of me as we both had to turn left and I did not want to cut her up. Final blast to the line and I reckoned I clocked a 25 something which not too bad. The final time was officially 25.32. No chain gang to help me back so it was a lonely trudge back home into a head wind.
This race was a copy of the one earlier in the year (22 APR 07) when my chain came off and I posted 29:35 on this hilly course. On arriving at the car park in Skidby, the portents were not good. It was a gloomy evening with high winds and threatening clouds and looking at the signing on sheet I was down as number 21, a long time to hang around before the start. It soon became clear that a few of the riders were dropping out due to the conditions and eventually I got bumped up to number 11, the same as in April. I rode to the start line which is at bottom of a hill and got pushed off by the club president himself. The long drag wasn't that bad and passing through Little Weighton, there was no Chris Whitelam this time to go past me. At the first left turn, again no marshal, but I wasn't going to take a wrong turn again. Now it was into the 25 mph south wind, so got tucked in nice and aero and churned away.
Next left was at Riplingham crossroads, so, as it was wet, I took it really steady but even so unfortunately the front wheel disappeared from under me and I fell heavily on my left elbow and hip. The back light had fallen off and the guy two minutes behind almost crashed into me as he shot by. I quickly remounted and rode off in fury, full of adrenaline now, with my elbow pouring blood into the elbow pads on the aerobars.
One bashed up elbow.
Onto the long stretch to the finish line, I wanted to drop down a gear to ease the agony, but held it at 29 mph in a 53x11 all the way there. After the race, the adrenaline wore off and it was clear that my hip was injured and it became difficult to walk. I had to get home to put some antiseptic on the wound as the last time I banged my elbow playing football it became infected, blew up to the size of an orange and only a course of antibiotics cured it. After a week, the elbow healed up but my hip and groin had taken a bashing and it was painful just to walk, so the next week's 25% one mile hill climb at Spout Hill was out of the question.
Spout Hill - Oh well never mind.
When the times were published I got 28:38, nearly a full minute better than earlier in the year despite the crash.
With two more races to go in
the calendar, it was the end of my season due to the injury which turned
out to be a torn adductor muscle in the groin. Until
winter training in Jan 08! Hold on though!
15 SEP 07 Skidby - Little Weighton
As it happens, the injury cleared itself up in time for the last event at 2pm on a Saturday afternoon, another run of the Skidby course, but slightly altered as there was hedge clipping going on somewhere on the usual circuit. Then meant the race start was put back to the bottom of Skidby Hill and then followed by a dodgy journey through the village itself where anything can happen. Number 7 out, so at 1407 rode up the hill, then sped through the village without a hold up, got photographed and then the long grind into Little Weighton came.
Photo Courtesy of Hull Thursday Road Club.
Held
it as best as I could until the left turn at the top of the climb when
number 8 came by. Took extra care not to crash at the same crossroads as a
few weeks ago when number 10 came by who was from another club and pretty
handy. Still, the next bit was where I could use the aero bike to good
effect and for the next 3 miles kept number 10 in my sights. In fact, at
the last long stretch to the finish line I was gaining on him and holding
31 mph. Just then I remembered to get on the nose of the saddle which in
my head was my granddad prompting me from above and suddenly it all
clicked into place. A little voice in my head said that this was time
trialling at its best. Spinning a 53x11 gear at 31 mph, gaining on the guy
who started 3 minutes behind me gave me a boost of confidence for next
year.
My time was 28-31, but there was nothing to compare it to as it wasn't the
same course as the earlier ones in the year. After the event, there was a presentation
at a nearby pub where my hero, Steve Macklin (left) won the veterans trophy
at the age of 55. On a bike, he always has a big smile on his face and I
had the honour of shaking his hand before the race today.
Final Points Table (Veteran's category)
| 1 | Steve Macklin (left above) | 481 |
| 2 | Dean Fulstow | 467 |
| 3 | Paul Kilvington (right above) |
428 |
| 4 | Mark Summer | 419 |
| 5 | Tony Boynton | 410 |
| 6 | Andrew Barnes | 338 |
| 7 | Simon Mason | 299 |
| 8 | John Savage | 281 |
| 9 | David Watson | 271 |
| 10 | John Lockwood | 257 |
| 11 | Phil Tillison | 209 |
| 12 | Pete Smith | 96 |
| 13 | Roger Summer | 36 |
| 14 | Les Barratt | 20 |