Well for those that didn't make it down to the Interclub 25 mile TT, you missed out on a great day, though at the same time I can understand what might have held you back.
Getting up in the morning - after hearing that Sunday was going to be the best day of the weekend - I was not especially pleased to be greeted with heavy grey skies.
I think really though this was the first time I'd done a 25 mile
time trial, and I was not even sure I'd be able to handle pushing
things that hard for that long. I've only done a small
handful of 10 mile time trials, and felt like dying at the end of
those - so I couldn't even get my head
around how a 25 mile version of this was going to be.
I'd done my mental preparation, I knew where the course was, I
took the sat nav along to make sure I'd find the start.
Finding the HQ was especially easy, great facilities there, and
arrived in plenty
of time. After catching up with my clubmates that I'm
just seeing too infrequently since becoming a dad this year, I
suited up, and
headed for the start line. Only to find that I actually had
no idea where the start was.
Just as I headed to the start of the course, I started feeling
the rain fall. I knew though that the rain wasn't going
to bother me once I got started, it was going to be my lungs and
legs that would
be all I could think about. Thankfully though it was still
quite warm despite a little bit of a shower. And each time I
felt like complaining, I remembered that Ann and Mike were sitting
in
the cold with the camera taking pics of us - so really we had
nothing to complain about.
So, I rolled up to the timekeeper (making sure not to u turn
within sight of him!) with about a minute to spare...and before
long
I was setup and ready to go. A few seconds later, the
countdown from 5, and I'd been let go.
There was a roundabout right in front of us at the start, and I watched as the marshall waved me to slow down - a car was coming through. A great start I thought - but really I wasn't too bothered, I was wondering if I'd earned myself a DQ for not stopping for him - but I'd press on anyway.
Mat had kindly
shared with me that there were a few hills right at the start, nothing major, but
enough to slow down, and sure enough, that was exactly what happened,
and I watched the average speed drop very quickly to a very
embarrassing low.
I knew it'd be hard work for the first 20 mins or so. And
hard work it was. So the first 20 mins came, and went, and
then another 10 mins, and then another and another, and before long the speedo
was telling me that we were getting close to the 25 mile
mark. I was genuinely surprised that the time had gone so
quickly. I tell you what though, about 50 minutes in I could not find anyway of
getting comfortable on my seat!
I had passed a couple of people, but I was only just going faster
than them, so as I went past, I was always surprised that 20
seconds later they didn't shoot past me - to teach me a well
deserved lesson
about humility! Strangely though it didn't happen - and I
can only imagine they took pity on me and decided to let me have
my day in the
sun - so to speak!
For anyone that hasn't done one, surprisingly, and paradoxically, it's really not any more difficult than doing a 10 mile
tt. And I've certainly been more wiped out after a "casual" Tuesday night Twickenham Club training ride!
There were a lot of people at the start that
weren't sporting the TCC gear, but I was pleased to find these
interclubbers especially friendly. There was lots of
encouragement from the
competing clubs - and really quite a positive atmosphere!
The best
thing though is that it was everyone there. There was
everyone there from
national champions to first timers. And at the end of the
race, everyone was so friendly and congratulatory. Everyone
had met
adversity, risen to the challenge, and dealt with their own
demons, it was really
a very positive atmosphere.
So for anyone that hasn't tried out one of these events - it really was quite something.
A really enjoyable thing to be
part of.