Stony Stratford '11.4' 9/4/11

This was a gloriously sunny morning: chilly when I set out to ride over to Stony Stratford, but warm for the race and even warmer for the ride home.  This event was the last of the early season morning time trials - the next event being on Wednesday evening. This isn't my favourite course - I dislike the climb to Nash, which doesn't really suit an overweight time triallist, and the road surface is pretty poor in places after two harsh winters.  I arrived very early and hung around for about 40 minutes or so before I started.  Once off, I felt pretty good for the first few miles, despite having to dodge some new potholes a dead rabbit and a live pheasant.  I still felt OK when I started the Nash climb, though I intentionally selected a lower gear than I normally would (this generally slows my ride overall).  I got to the turn in reasonably good shape, and could see that Richard, who'd started a minute before me was on a good ride (he did a PB, I later found). The return leg from the turn was fairly straightforward - I'd noted some of the worst potholes and road surfaces on the way out so I expected the really dreadful section just after passing through Beachampton (why can't those responsible for the roads repair the blasted potholes?).  Unfortunately I felt the time on my computer just slipping away as I made a last effort before the line to finish in 28:52. All in all, a really good morning - lovely weather, very sociable - I had an enjoyable ride home with Richard.