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.
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. 