I regularly compete in the Duo Normand 2-up time trial, held in Normandy in the autumn. Associated with trips to race, we frequently take the tandem for a spot of cycling about the Normandy countryside.

I had high hopes for this evening's event - recent performances had suggested that my form was picking up under the onslaught of increased training load. Plus the evening's conditions seemed rather promising. However, there seemed to be  quite a bit of traffic, which was making many of us at the start quite nervous.Indeed, I did get slightly held up at the first roundabout, as a chunk of traffic got in the way. From there, things got a bit easier - I tried using somewhat lower gears than usual on the climb up to the dual carriageway section, but found this just slowed me down. Once on the dual carriageway, it seemed rather heavy going (aggravated by a bus passing me rather too close for comfort), but once round the turn, I seemed to be absolutely flying.I dared hope for a sub-23 minute ride, but was sadly thwarted, finishing in a not so great 23:20.Results at the NBRC website. Here's the trace:

Annual cycle tours by tandem

flies&bikes is an evolving website covering my interests which vary from biology through technology to cycle sport.  It is presently built using the Joomla! CMS.  The present incarnation now uses an integrated version of the well-known blogging software Wordpress, developed by corePHP. I maintain several other related websites: Wonderful Life is a blog covering my interests in atheism, particularly as they relate to biology and creationism. North Bucks Road Club is the website of my cycling club. Northwood Wheelers is a website dedicated to the eponymous (but now defunct) cycling club, of which my father was a member. Team Grumpy features stories concerning cycle timetrialling, particularly as they relate to 2-up team time trials. The Team Grumpy blog is Team Grumpy’s blog, and most definitely tongue in cheek. Professionally, I maintain the British Society for Research on Ageing’s website.

I attempted some modifications of my saddle - I attached a piece of cork bar tape to the nose of the saddle with a few bits of tub tape. Actually this was a bit rubbish, twice while riding to work in the morning, the tape came off and had to be rescued from my thighs! At work I fixed it better with some gaffer tape. This was probably just as well, since by the time Katja and I set off for Stony, the rain had begun to fall.After last week’s sunny conditions, it was perhaps unsurprising that tonight’s event was a bit like time trialling through a river. The rain wasn’t perhaps as who should say torrential, but it was very definitely heavier that one would like.I felt pretty good as I left the start line, and rapidly warmed up on the way to Beachampton. once through Beachampton, I climbed up to Nash. I usually attract all sorts of criticism for keeping my bike in a high gear and low cadence for the climb, so this time I thought I’d have a go a lower gear/higher cadence for the steepest bit of the climb. I didn’t really notice any greta benefit, indeed if anything I went slower!I negotiated the sharp left and right through Nash with caution, then sped up towards the turn. On the return leg, speeds were that much higher, as it’s more downhill. As it was still raining pretty heavily, I thought it prudent to take the corners with a modicum of caution. Despite this, I did clock some pretty good speeds on the main descents.I came in with 28:29, which I thought quite respectable given the conditions - good enought for second place, since one of the fast boys punctured with a few km to go.Oh, and the saddle modification not only lasted the course despite the rain but worked…Results at NBRC

This was a lovely sunny evening, though getting rapidly cooler as the evening went on. It was good to be back on the Astwood course - last time we were forced onto the alternative Stagsden course by road works.I felt reasonably OK - considerably more energetic than at Sunday’s ’25’ when I felt distinctly sub-par. Having said that, the problem with my over-slippy saddle was still noticeable. Every few pedal strokes saw me needing to push myself back onto the saddle again. Clearly some modification is needed! On the bright side, this was my first ride in the new club skinsuit. The current kit is sourced from Bio-Racer, and I was very pleased with its fit and construction (changing kit suppliers is always a bit anxious!).I finished with 24:42, I think - a bit slower than I’d have liked.Results at NBRC

I approached this event with some optimism after recent 10 mile results. However the event switched from the F1B/25 to the F1/25 due to roadworks. Everyone else seems to think the F1B/25 is the slower of the two courses, but I prefer it for a number of reasons. As an aside, this might be the last time I ride on the F1/25 - with the scheduled addition of traffic lights at the Black Cat, the course will be unusable.Over at Tempsford, we parked and were assailed with usual agri-stench from the nearby farm. The weather was exactly as forecast - only a gently 7mph westerly, and clear skies. Sadly it was rather cold I collected my number, donned my fleecy gloves, and rode off for a brief warmup. That left me feeling rather cold!From the off, I felt like I was ploughing through treacle. I hoped that I’d pick up a bit of speed on the slip road down to the A1, but that evaporated pretty quickly. I was riding along at 25-26mph a lot of the time, and I had a clear run through all the roundabouts. I did however find it pretty tough at several points after the Buckden turn, presumably a combination of gradient, the wind (albeit quite gentle!) and my general lassitude. By the time I crossed the Black Cat on the return, it was looking pretty touch and go whether I’d scrape under the hour (but frankly I though by then it would be unlikely). Indeed, I crossed the line in 1:00:40.I’m not sure what the problem was. I’ve suffered recently from pulling my rear wheel, but this was sorted the day before by a spot of judicious tinkering. I will admit to wondering if my wheel was rubbing on the frame after feeling so sluggish (but that definitely wasn’t the case).On the day, I just couldn’t lift my pace, and couldn’t get comfortable. Maybe this is just getting used to riding in the aero tuck position - which is made a bit more difficult as my new saddle seems rather slippy in combination with my club skinsuit. I’ve taken a bit of sandpaper to it (the saddle, not the skinsuit!) in an effort to make it a bit grippier.Davey Jones was out there on the course taking photographs. After the event, he lambasted me for using too big a gear!