A sunny but breezy morning saw a field of around 80 riders signed up for this event, possibly the last that will be held on the F1/25, owing to the impending installation of traffic lights at the famous Black Cat roundabout.It was pretty clear while warming up that the southbound legs of the event were going to be the most challenging, and so it proved.Just after starting, as I was riding up the drag to the Tempsford flyover, someone (evidently warming up and with a later number then me) pulled out of a side road, causing me to have to deviate from my path. This was a bit annoying, and also a bit uncalled for! But no serious damage caused. Once over the flyover, I raced down the slip road to the A1, and found the going quite tough, due to the headwind. There was some unfortunate on the roadside who’d evidently had a mechanical - he was wiping his hands on grass as I passed. I circled the Sandy roundabout, and as soon as I set out northbound, things felt pretty good. The bloke on the roadside was still fiddling with his bike, so presumably it was race over for him. For the northbound leg, I was cruising along faster than 30 mph a lot of the time, with serious doubts about how easy the return leg would be.Once round the Buckden turn, things got a bit more interesting, with the nagging headwind threatening to derail my efforts. Bizarrely, my speed seemed to fluctuate quite a bit, with some sections being quite quick (probably a combination of descent and shelter from the headwind), while others were a bit slower. Unfortunately, the latter predominated.[caption id="attachment_3253" align="alignnone" width="640"] Just after the Buckden turn. Photo: Davey Jones[/caption]At the Black Cat, the road surface leaves a lot to be desired - I dodged the curved tarmac trench that threatened to dictate my passage through the roundabout, and emerged in good style on the other side, with rather less than two miles to go. I grit my teeth and tried my damnedest to keep some speed up until I reached the line.I finished in 56:34, good enough for 12th place. With the 2014 Duo Normand in less than two months from now, it seems my form is finally beginning to surface.Here are the top 12 finishers (full results can be found at the CTT website):

Another glorious evening brought out 15 riders, including six North Bucks members, to this event on the Stagsden course. There was only a gentle breeze which, while it did make the outward leg a bit harder than the return, was rather nice as it was bearing the summery scent of wheat harvesting from the the nearby fields. OK, poetic bit over, how did the race go?

The Stagsden course is never as fast as one might expect, mostly because it’s quite undulating. Indeed, the opening part involves a nasty drag up to Astwood. I was off as number 13 (it’s a good job I’m not superstitious), so I had to opportunity to catch a few riders, and to see how others looked on the return leg as I approached the turn. Unfortunately, I felt like I was riding through treacle, and the sight of other riders flying back from the turn didn’t serve to increase my optimism! Still, sense prevailed and I kept up the effort. The explanation, of course, was that the return leg has several significant descents which (though shallow) serve to give the rider a spell of 35+ mph riding. Oh, and I guess a slight tailwind can only have helped!

This was another warm and humid evening, with a rather noticable blustery wind. It wasn’t obvious where the wind might benefit the riders, and this wasn’t helped by conflicting comments from riders who’d been warming up on the course.As it turned out, I found some assistance on the ride out to the dual carriageway section, but actually there was enough side wind to make my front wheel a bit twitchy at times. Once out on the dual carriageway, we were on the newly chipped road surface. Thankfully there were no loose chippings left, but the new surface was a little rough. On the other hand the potholes have gone!The dual carriageway was a bit heavy going at times, due both to the new surface and the nagging wind, which was most definitely catching my front wheel. Round the turn, and I was going a fair bit faster.After leaving the dual carriageway, I felt like I was losing it a bit: the breeze here was definitely a hindrance, especially on the false flat in the run-up to the finish. As I crossed the line, I stopped the timer on my Garmin and looked at the time. I couldn’t actually read it (blame age-related visual issues!). It also turned out I’d not stopped the clock anyway. My best guess was that I’d done a short 23.Back at the meeting point, the riders congregated for the usual deconstruction of their efforts. No-one seemed particularly delighted with their expected times, and there were several of us around the 23 minute mark. Eventually the timekeepers returned clutching the clipboard. It turned out I’d won with 22:56 by a narrow margin!

My first open event for some weeks, mostly due to personal commitments and a seeming paucity of events in London North. The organisers were using the Sandy Sports Centre as the race HQ, which is a bit slicker than the traditional HQ over at Tempsford, but a bit further from the race start. It was a pretty good morning - quite warm, but not as humid as of late, and with a gentle 7mph wind from the northwest that promised to be a headwind on the longer northbound leg. This was to be the debut of my new TT bike, a rather extravagent purchase of a Cervelo P5!

We had around 64 riders on the start sheet - I was #46 with the scratch rider at #70. The numbers didn’t correspond to start times in the usual way, which may have contributed to three late starts! I wandered over to sign on and collect my number before returning to the car to set up my bike. I was using my old Hed Stinger 90 front and Corima disc rear, both with Conti tubs (though the Stinger had a more budget tub than the disc wheel!), so no power data were to be collected.

Once again, we were forced onto the replacement course that runs from Stony out via Calverton and Whaddon to turn at the A421. This time, of course, we were rather better prepared for the legions of parked cars and sharp turns that characterised the course.  The evening itself wasn’t too breezy, but was overcast and hot and muggy.

I got off to a pretty good start, and settled into the predominantly uphill outward leg. Really the only issue started at Whaddon. On the run up towards Whaddon, I could see Graham desperately trying to get round a slow moving tractor. As I approached him, we were passed by a couple of cars, who then had to trundle along behind said tractor. Neither Graham nor I could make it past the tractor once it started going uphill, and by the time the entire procession of tractor, cars and cyclists reached Whaddon, we found ourselves static as the tractor gave way to oncoming traffic, and the two cars did odd manoeuvres. Eventually we were moving again, though somewhat slowed by the tractor, which went all the way to the turn. 

Each year, the North Bucks club event calendar includes one event run over two laps of the Atwood circuit. This is one of the longer events in our calendar, at a shade over 20 miles. It’s a fun event, given the nature of the course, and one that I always look forward to.

I tried my best to get out of the house a little earlier than the last time we rode at Astwood, but failed to avoind the level crossing en route to the race. Once again I found myself held up while two trains passed and ended up dashing to the start. I arrived after the first few rides had departed!

Well one of the Team Grumpy riders, anyway! We walked over from Yeadon and down East Chevin to Otley. We got there about half an hour before the publicity caravan was due to arrive, and found the town was completely full. We located a standing spot on the steps of a shop and awaited events to unfold.The crowd was very good natured, and cheered mightily as each element of the Tour passed by. Particularly loud cheers seemed to be reserved for anything with a Sky logo, and for the British police motorcycles. We didn't manage to grab any of the goodies being chucked out from the caravan (I just get Haribo when I order from Wiggle!). The publicity caravan took ages to come by, then we had a bit of a wait before the race proper came by. The sun had come out, and the other side of the street was bathed in sunshine. On our side, we were still in shade, and blasted by a stiff (and rather cold) breeze.The riders came through only a few miles after the finish of the neutralised section in Harewood, but nontheless, there was a break with Jens Voigt (riding his 17th and final TdF) and two others.After all the riders were through, we filed back up the Chevin via the Cat Steps and back to Yeadon, pausing for an ice cream while we enjoyed the view from the top of the Chevin.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz_uFw4ZqqoOf course, the big news of the day was the crash in the finishing sprint in Harrogate. Here's a video from a spectator which gives a real feel for the speed at which these events unfold.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B96ldgjS_kw

Another long day at work left me tired and uncertain how well I’d ride at this club event. We did have a good turnout, possibly because it wasn’t a bad evening, with a light and variable wind. 

Lining up at the start, as number 17, I was rather aware of traffic coming past, fresh out of the newly ‘upgraded’ roundabout behind me. As usual, my passage through the first roundabout was somewhat cautious as a result, with the next being quite straightforward. On up the drag to the roundabout where we turn left onto the dual carriageway, and I was pleased o feel rather good, keeping a decent speed up until the roundabout itself.

Another lovely evening saw a good turnout of 16 riders for this event on the Stony Stratford course. Sadly, we were unable to use the regular course due to roadworks, so we switched to an alternative. Instead of heading to a turn on the A421 via Beachampton and Nash, we headed out via Calverton and Whaddon, to turn at a different roundabout on the A421.This road isn't one I ride frequently, and it was the first time I'd raced this course. I found it a particularly technical course, with many sharp turns, and frequently dubious road surface, so I was off the tri-bars quite frequently (deciding discretion was the better part of valour!). There did seem to be cars parked along the course, which one needed to be aware of, but the most alarming event was when one of my racing colleagues took a turn rather fast and appeared to be heading for a head-on collision with me! I say "appeared" because  his bike handling skills were pretty much up to coping with the turn.At one point I found myself on an unexpectedly sharp (though fortunately short) climb after a lengthy and fast descent, which reduced me to grovelling up in an entirely inappropriate gear. I'd actually be quite keen to have another go on this course, now I've got a feel for it.The event, 10.6 miles, was won by Anthony Batt with an excellent 25:43 - despite one of his tribar extensions coming loose. I was fourth with 27:40.Results at the NBRC website.

A lovely evening brought out a good field of 25 riders for this NBRC club event. I had a bit of a mad dash to the event after getting held up at a level crossing waiting for two trains to pass, eventually signing on after the first riders had started. Still, I got there and managed my first ride for a few weeks (cycling holiday, illness, then work commitments being collectively responsible).After I started, I found myself going pretty well on the main road through Chicheley. My modifications to the saddle seem to have helped solve the problems I'd had sliding forwards on the saddle. Sadly, modifications like this are UCI-illegal - fortunately, CTT sanctioned events don't insist on UCI-legality!Rounding the first turn after Chicheley, I was still pedalling smoothly, and it wasn't until the approaches to North Crawley that I began dropping speed. This little climb always saps my speed, and I didn't regain my momentum until I'd exited North Crawley. From there, it's the usual ups and downs of a sporting course, but I was hopeful of recording a '23' in this event. (I couldn't read the smaller numbers on my computer by this time due to sweat in my sunglasses!).I approached the descent before the finish squinting at my computer - was a sub 24 ride still possible? On the first bit of climb to the finish, all seemed possible, but I flagged a bit on the main bit of climb to record 24:11. Oh well, not too bad given my lay-off from time trialling over the last few weeks!Results at the NBRC website (I came 7th, in the midst of a stack of riders who'd done 24s). 

This was my first time trial in some weeks, due to being on cycling holiday, returning with a cold, and then work commitments. Not only had this restricted my racing, but my training has been affected by that dratted cold. This event had been entered some time back and I was keen to have a first ride on the F11/10, a local fast course based on the A41 Tring bypass. The course itself is  characterised by having a fairly steep descent about halfway through (see the Garmin trace below) which you don't have to come back up.In advance of the event, there had been some internet chatter about the road surface on sections of the course. Apparently the formerly smooth surface had been 'improved' by top dressing with gravel. In places, this was supposed to be dangerously deep in loose chippings. But according to others, there was no problems, just a rough road surface. In any event, Tony and I drove round the course beforehand, partly to have a look at the chippings and partly to recce the course's turns (the first turn is a poorly sighted double roundabout that passes under the A41).The event was actually two events - one with male, female, juvenile and tandem categories, and the other with another 150 riders! The HQ was in a pretty good cafe/sports place in Aston Clinton (The Hub), and after driving round the course, we parked near the HQ, collected our numbers and set the bikes up.  A brief warmup later, and I was about to start on a slip road leading down to the A41. By this time a rather blustery wind had built up, though it wasn't clear what effect that might have.Setting off, I rolled down the slip road, building up a decent speed. Sadly this seemed to evaporate as I joined the A41 and encountered the dreaded road surface with chippings. This really had a bit of a negative effect on my speed - all of a sudden, I seemed to be struggling to keep things above 25mph! Well, it did get a bit better, but then I got stopped at the first turn. The marshal was doing an excellent job of indicating that there was traffic oncoming from the right. The line of sight isn't great, and I slowed to see what he was warning about. Sadly it was a line of about eight cars, and I ended up having to stop. Annoying, but the safer approach!Moving again, I got round the turn with no further traffic problems, and set off again onto the A41. Again, the lengthy patches of newly chipped road surface were horrid to ride, rather like riding a pneumatic drill, but I did see some decent speeds on the descent and beyond. The second turn isn't too bad, a roundabout that you approach directly on the road rather than by slip roads. I had a clean passage round and headed back up to the finish. This final section was really quite tough at times, with the blustery wind causing my speed to fluctuate quite markedly. I crossed the finish line with around 22:20 on my computer (actually 23:20, since I started my computer's timer when the guy in front started), leaving me wondering just how much time the hold-up at the first turn had cost me. Back at the HQ, however, I'd been given the time of 22:31, which annoyed me a bit but, hey, I hadn't done a stellar ride and I never go questioning the timekeeper. Tony P. did 21:53 and Geoff B. 21:57.There was much chat about the conditions of the road and weather, with most riders complaining about both. Apparently the wind direction wasn't the ideal direction for this course. And everyone hated the chippings. So, the usual time trial grumblings! Anyway, despite the road surface and the wind, the event was won on an 18.I regretted my choice of wheels. I'd chosen to ride a Hed Stinger 90 front and Corima disc rear, both with 20mm tubulars at 140psi. I think I'd have been a bit better with the H3 front and Hed-Powertap disc rear with the 22mm clinchers at about 110psi. I think those would have dealt with the rough road surface a bit better.