This was the first of two events planned for this weekend: tomorrow I plan to ride the North Middlesex & Herts CA '100' on the F1. Well, we'll see how that goes, with only about 13h separating the two events!This 25 mile time trial was held over on the E2/25 near Newmarket, where earlier this season I'd knocked out a couple of 55 minute rides. Today, Tony and I were pretty apprehensive as there was a very strong and gusty wind with occasional showers. What's more, the wind promised to make the outward leg rather difficult.
And so it proved. I found myself pushing along at a surprisingly slow speed, that correlated with low HR (I think my chest strap was playing up a bit), at least initially. There were of course some faster downhill sections, but all things considered, the outward leg was slow, and indeed I wasn't really pushing it too hard - in the back of my mind were thoughts of tomorrow's '100'.
Things changed once round the turn, when I could feel the full benefit of the tail wind, and thoughts returned to trying for a decent time. Indeed, by the time I was passed by #95 with about 4.5 miles to go, I found myself cruising well in excess of 30mph. I crossed the line in 55:43, my third 55 of the season. It left me wishing I'd put a bit more effort in! But we'll have to see what tomorrow's like for the '100'. Tony finished with 54:40 and Geoff with 57:50, results we were all quite pleased with.
Actually, once the race was over, my legs felt reasonably OK, so I'm quite optimistic about the bigger event.
