This post has the capacity to be the biggest that I've written, I haven't posted for quite a while and that is down to a couple of things, the first and most important being work and the long hours and constant driving have left me just enough time to complete my training only and the second, is well, I've been underwhelmed by my start to the year and in that sense some of my mojo temporarily left me.This is what has been happening , taking it from the top as it were...
14 April - BDCA 25 - 54.07
Some good and some bad points to this performance which I think you'll find is a reoccurring theme. The course was an amended one so not the usual A25/11 course. It had been altered to a two lap affair which suited me just fine to be honest. There had been more double roundabouts thrown in to make the course work. I had the 58 chainring on and looked forward to giving it full beans on the A50. The day was warm and I had sun on my legs which always makes me go. Now for the race - I started well enough, probably too well. The big chainring working well, and for the first few miles I think I hit my numbers OK. Then it started to ebb away and I had to really race hard just to keep anywhere near my target wattage. So hard in fact that my heart rate data showed I was at a '10' effort for the majority of the ride. I finished with a 54.07 which for early season is a good ride, but I came away thinking I should have been better.
21 April - Shaftesbury 25 - 58.59
Back on trike, and a trike team comp record attempt with myself, Ian Pike & Gaz Wright making the startsheet in the Shaftesbury Middlemarkers 25 (slower than 57 event). A nice hot day and not terribly windy, about as alright as you can get. I managed 58.59 so another trike 25 PB and second time under the hour this year. Probably my best ride of the year so far for pacing and power. Left it all out there and didn't overcook it at any stage. Not a terribly quick day as it turns out so you can't always go off conditions - we missed comp record by a few minutes but will get closer as the season goes on and we will get there !
28 April - LRRA 2up - 44.31
LRRA 2up - my first appearance at this event for 5 years. It was a wet and windy afternoon and cold at 7-8c. My partner was about 2 minutes adrift of my 10 pace so I planned on doing most of the work. The course is the same as the Bourne Wheelers 50 so the first 1-9 miles are rolling up hill, which made it tough to keep the elastic band from snapping. Over 18.5 miles I'm pleased with the 290W which I put out ,which was tempered by the easing off and not going full bore for large parts especially the first half. 6th overall, winners of the county vets On Standard - which means a trophy !
After this 2 up, I decided the Trinity still felt a bit foreign to me so decided to have 3-4 weeks off open racing. I rode most of my sessions in training on it and also completed the King Edward 80 mile sportive, and the Lincoln GP sportive (also an 80 miler) on it. Something just wasn't still right and I was failing to hit my numbers in training. Desperate, I turned to my bike fitter who uncovered the truth - I had set up he bike incorrectly and the seat wasn't high enough. There's catch up to do now.
26 May - Mapperley CC 10 - 22.54
Day One-ish of the new position. It felt better albeit the result maybe didn't feed through immediately. Basically this course was a shortened A46 affair on roads I'd ridden earlier in the year. 5.7 miles into a stupid hooley of a headwind, and 4.3 miles back super quick. I felt I started better and maybe too hard but I wanted to see what I was capable of in the new position. The first five minutes felt really good, and I could see that my shadow was still on the road and I wasn't moving much. It became tougher for the next 7-8 minutes and there were parts where the power would dip maybe as the road rolled, but still aimed to keep above 300W. To and over the turn, initially I had another strong section, however as the backwind really kicked in and I started to gurn and chase the power I lost composure and posture and continually had to re-set my backside. A case of a work in progress and definately a day for those with a lower CDA. I termed this ride as progress as it was the best TT ride of the season so far and I feel like I'll grow to the point of being able to hold it for longer.
