VC Lincoln Road Race

Wednesday evening was a brutally wet one and many decided to stay at home. For me, it was the first day of our GCC step challenge, so I needed to get out and make a good start.

This race is nine times up Brattleby Hill and last year (in similar conditions) I had managed six or so before becoming detached from the group. This year I was to have a good go at staying with the group until the end of the race !

I lined up in group two with plenty of other Wheelers and was set off on our way four mins after the first group. Within the first few miles, we had our first run at Brattleby Hill, and I was very nearly spat out there and then as the group attacked it and I just don't have the climbing ability to get up it that quickly. I managed to get back on and spent most of the lap recovering - and then it happened again !  I spent most of my time at the back of the group either recovering or getting ready for the Brattleby effort.

Third time up, it was a bit easier, as the front were less giddy, and I was able to do a couple of turns on the front. My race pretty much panned out like that until with two laps to go the third group caught us and that was that when we hit the hill - I truly blew up and spent the last lap trundling along until group four came past and I managed to jump on the back of those boys who brought me back to a couple of Wheelers who I managed to go past on the very last climb. 5th Wheeler on the night but 33rd I think overall.

LRRA 10m Champs

Over to Skegness on a completely different day for weather having raced in horrible conditions the previous day. This would be my first LRRA event on the trike and I was hoping to beat or at leasy get near the championship trike record which stood at 24:28. 

Conditions were excellent and it would be a good ride I could feel it. My warm up consisted of riding up the hill to the start (what else can you do on a trike - you can hardly turbo ! ) and I was away reletavely early at no.15. 

The record was definately not on by the time I made the turn as progress was behind schedule and I had been riding against a slightly uphill profile and a cross headwind albeit not a heavy one. 

One turn later at Ulceby and boom ! a lovely bit of cross backwind and I nailed it as hard as I could. I made up some good time but was ultimately unable to claim the record as even with the gift hill finish I came up short by just under a minute at 25:22. 

Considering that was only 16s slower than my recent trike outing on the V718, I am happy with my result.



AP 282w (Strava)

Temp : 13c
Wind : 7mph SW
Course C10/9
Pos 

VTTA National 10 Champs

The weather was terrible for this one and it was a day where I drove down to the HQ at long Benno hoping that the organisers had cancelled the event. I was still heavy from a week in Kos, and I suppose along with the weather I was looking for excuses. 

Silly me, the event was still on, and I was able to do a good warm up before I made my way to the start towards the North of the Village. 

Nearly a mile of SC and a roundabout awaited ?? and I was battling the headwind all the way to the turn at Great Gonerby and all I could manage was 23.1mph for the first half of the TT. Once over the double island and with a decent backwind behind me I gave it a good go, and had a couple of really good sections but couldn't completely turn it around. 25.1mph overall, and a time of 23:49. Not too bad, but in an event which is based on standards, my plus of 2:24 was a bit dismal and placed me well into the lower depths of the placings.

NP 284w
AP 288w
Temp : 17c
Wind : 18mph WSW
Course A10/14a
Pos 95/104

TA Mike Dixie 10m TT V718

Just two days after my own event, and it was time to visit someone elses and take advantage of another ride on the legendary V718 time trialling course. This is obviously the A63 for non testers but to me it's the hallowed tarmac !!! 

It was a very early start on what was a very windy day with a southerly/ cross wind of c.19mph on a bright day. the temperature was high enough to dispense with leg or knee warmers and I was able to take a nice pootle down to the start at South Cave ready for a 9.10 start time. 

so, first part - made the start on time, and set off very fast cos everyone was watching. On the slip road down to the A63, some bell end decided to overtake me in a HGV which was a bit startling to say the least and then once down onto the hallowed tarmac, I managed to tap out a decent beat into the crosswind, so much so that I made the turn in 22.5mph which was up on last year. 

The return leg was just not as fast as I expected it to be with the cross wind playing havoc with me at times but a good ride back nonetheless at an average of 25.5mph to leave me with a time of 25.03 and 2nd place on the day. 

AP 314w (Strava)

Temp : 12c
Wind : 19WSW
Course B25/17
Pos 2/21

TA East 25m TT

My first event as an organiser, the TA East & Lincoln Wheelers Old Skool event, held at Silk Willoughby on a sometimes warm, sometimes windy, sometimes wet Saturday afternoon.

This was the second trike ride of the year for me and a warm up for Monday's trike event on the V718. I went off very last after helping push everyone else off. The weather really couldn't make up it's mind as to soak me whilst pushing off, or clearing up by the time I went myself.

The wind arrows on the BBC app would suggest that I'd have a sidewind/backwind/headwind/sidewind experience on the L shaped course and initially that seemed to playout as I cahsed down the riders in front of me. I was averaging a good speed at the first roundabout and enjoyed what I thought was a good push along the way to the Donnington roundabout and turn back. The strange thing was I expected headwind, but didn't seem to get much if anything - I was able to bury myself a bit here and make some good time - maybe it was good pacing on the way out, I don't know, but certainly not a block headwind as I was expecting.

I had a small hold up at a roundabout, and sat up in a queue of traffic that bottlenecked behind a three way trike battle going on further up the road, so lost a bit of time there, which when I look back on my eventual finishing time of 1.07.10 probably means an unofficial best ever trike SC ride.

I'm a bit pleased about that.

AP 251w (Strava)

Temp : 10c
Wind : 14mph ENE
Course C25/22
Pos 1/11

VTTA 25

This little gem in the calendar is fast turning into my favourite time trial course. The A25/.34 is where I broke the hour with a 55.21 last September and had a decent ride on the old trike previously. Whilst not flat, with a nice easterly or south easterly wind, it is truly the fastest TT track other than the V718.

Today, however, saw a northerly wind, which meant a total wind reverse to my previous experiences!

It didn't start too great, as although I thought I had plenty of time to get to the start, I in fact didn't and missed my slot by over a minute - this also meant that I received a 25 second penalty - which was very lenient in from my perspective so I took it politely as you should.

I went off at no.103 instead of 84, not that it matters, and enjoyed a good first section down to the turn at 10.4 miles averaging 27.1mph which I don't usually see on this course - I had also climbed Bingham Hill on the way at an average of 311W which is well above my usual race wattage.

At the turn though and usually I would have enjoyed some backwind, but not today, it was headwind and some long drags. On the flats I was riding well though and took advantage of the downhills - this saw an average for this section of 24.4mph - pleasing as I'd expected to lose more given the drags and the headwind. I hit the Newark roundabout turn at 25.5mph and thought I had enough in the tank for a final push, but I'm still not quite that fit and had to settle for maintaining the status quo.

58.51 - it was alright, but it's more the course than me - I had a couple of really good sections today that give me hope for the rest of the year !

NP 274w
AP 269w
Temp : 12c
Wind : 12mph N
Course A25/34
Pos 50/97

Lincoln 10k 2016

Eight consecutive years of running this race almost came unglued when I entered the Southwell Tri which was also scheduled for this morning - luckily my complete apathy for swimming as not abated and I entered this event about three weeks ago when I realised I had no chance of getting to the pool!

Last year I set a PB of 42.39, but I knew that I wasn't that quick this year, as to be honest, I'm a bit of a lardy f+cker at the moment having come back from last weeks drinking and cycling trip at 83kgs - when I ran last year I was just about sub 80kgs, so a sub 45 was the target of the day.

I climber over the rope at the start of the sub 45 box and filtered myself toward the rear of it - perfect placement if I do say so myself. The sun was out and it was a bit warm - typical 10k weather as it is always nice for the Lincoln 10k.

11am and we're off. and its all a bit jostly and slow down to the first roundabout and doesn't really unwind until a third of the way down Longdales Road as the super giddies blow up a little and the slower runners have pulled to the side to let the main flow through.

First 3 miles go really really well, posting splits of 6.54,7.01 & 6.57 - maybe I'm not so bad I thought. Next couple of miles ticked by in 7.01 and when I got to the 8km mark or so, I was beginning to really struggle.  I made a decision to get to the 9km flag and then just go for an incredible last kilometre - well, that worked out badly as the tank was well and truly empty by that point.

That last kilometer was a killer and I seemed to be going backwards with every step, suffering in the sun and wilting accordingly. A 2nd fastest ever finish of 43.27 has cheered me up though and given me the impetus to enter my next 10k race.