TT Series Round 7- Wet and Windy

Sunday morning saw me taking a nice early morning drive up to Harby near Lincoln for round 7 of the CTT TT Series. On the way up I could see it was windy, smoke coming out horizontal from chimneys is normally a good sign LOL, and unfortunately it was due to get windier as the day went on. On getting to the HQ it was still nice and dry, and the wind didn't seem too bad. The rain was forecasted to arrive late morning/early afternoon, I was just hoping that it would hold off until around 12, when hopefully I would be finished.

I got the bike all setup and went out for a warm up lap and a quick course recce, the rain started whilst I was out there, but it was just a drizzle so nothing too bad. It wasn't long after I got back that the heavens decided they wouldn't hold on until midday, looked like we were all due for a through soaking. As I sat in the HQ shivering (it just felt very cold for some reason) I wasn't looking forward to riding to the start, and as I had given up hope of doing a proper warm up, it would be this 3 mile ride that would have to do. I just hoped it would be enough racing against the likes of Julian Ramsbottom, then again I don't think many of us did much in the way of a warm up.

As my time got nearer the rain started easing off, and actually by the time I started it had actually stopped, though the wind had certainly picked up compared with the course recce. I might not get wet, but by heck I was going to be blown around a fair bit. Once started it was obvious the wind was stronger and in a slightly different direction, but it still meant the majority of the race was going to be into a headwind/cross headwind. Once up to speed the first section along the A57 was fairly good and the speed was pretty good considering the cross headwind. I did have a few moments with breaks in the hedges causing a bit of buffeting with the wind and gusts, so glad I choose the 50mm wheel rather than the deeper section.

The next section was 6 miles into a nice strong blustery headwind, this also coincided with the hillest part of the course, though to be fair it was virtually pan flat. I was feeling pretty good here and just tried to keep at a decent power and get aero as possible, whilst watching out for potholes etc. It was down this stretch that my visor started to mist up, now normally I would be OK with it, but with the roads being wet and not being 100% sure of where any potholes were it meant taking it off and trying to shove it down my skinsuit, not the easiest thing to do whilst trying to race and stay aero. Once it was removed and stashed away I got back to sorting the effort out, and it wasn't long before I saw the turning to finally get a tailwind to the finish.

Once I turned not having a headwind was nice, but it was still hard work keeping the power up for the final 4-5 miles, at least with it being fast it would be over quicker LOL. This road was probably the worst road however and it was vital to keep a look out for the rough areas and potholes, again not always easy with a wet road, just glad I had removed the visor. Even with the tailwind the effort was starting to tell, but with the speed over 30mph I knew the miles were passing fast. As I passed an old farm building I knew I only had a mile to go, so tried to lift the effort for that final few mins, and it wasn't long before I saw the finish, though with the straight roads it looked miles away. Eventually I passed the finish and recorded a 31:29, not as fast as I had hoped after the recce, but with the wind I suppose it wasn't too bad.

On checking the results I saw that I had managed to win with Julian coming in second 41 secs behind, with Geoff Platts in 3rd place another 54 secs behind. Still finding these shorter events hardwork, but pleased that power was good and I put in a real strong finish. Just one more TT Series event left at the end of the month which being a double pointer is essential to finish at least, but with 5 wins out of 6 events (I have only ridden 5 however) hopefully it will mean I end up as series winner for the veterans.

CTT Circuit Championship

This is the first time I had entered the CTT Circuit Championship, and to be honest I wasn’t really in the right peak of fitness for it, since the 12 Hour Championship I hadn’t ridden the bike much, and had spent a week hill walking in the Lake District. Like I say not really the best prep and as my coach said, probably the worst 3 weeks of training leading up to a race, at least I was rested I suppose. Still I really wanted to do it and see how I faired, the main hope was to win my Age Group, and just hopefully get near the top 10 if possible.

The champs were being held in Dorset in Bovington, a great excuse to bring Heather and Killian with me, as whilst I was racing they could visit the Tank Museum, I knew Killian would love that with his enjoyment of anything to do with the Army. With the HQ only being a short walk from the museum it was a perfect family day out.

On getting to Bovington, I just about had time to get a lap of the course in before the event started, the start was downhill followed by a undulating tailwind section down the A352, after a sharp left hand turn you had a nice headwind section up a long drag until you got to the next turn which was then mainly downhill past the start. In effect it was a 10 mile(ish) triangle, which we would be covering 3 times. It was pretty obvious it was the headwind drag where most time would be won and lost, and that was the place to make sure power was good and you stayed as aero as possible.

I started off at number 83 which was about midfield for the men, and I knew I would be coming across the seeded riders on my 2^nd and 3^rd lap, I just hoped that there wouldn’t be any drafting going on. I started off at a power I thought would be reasonable (well it would have been when at my peak LOL), but I soon felt that keeping it up for over an hour might prove a bit difficult. The 12 hour training and 3 weeks of not doing much training were making their mark now, it was going to be a real challenging hour that was for sure.

I felt good going up the drag the first time, power was good, even though it felt like hell, I just consoled myself with the fact that as soon as I got to the turn it would be downhill for a while. On getting to the last turn and picking up the speed, I came across the line to complete the 1^st lap quicker than I envisaged which was good, and I saw rider 105 just about to start. Now I know Andrew Meliak quite well being another Kent based rider, and I knew we were fairly close in terms of ability, I knew I had to keep the effort up to make sure he didn’t catch me. The 2^nd lap is where the effort was starting to make itself known, considering I am used to long distance TT’s this one was doing a good job of making me think it was a few miles too far.

Again up the headwind drag I kept the power up as much as possible and it was up here I took in a Raspberry Ripple Torq Gel, this perked me up a little and again on the downhill section I just tried to get as much recovery as possible for the last lap. On passing the startline to start my last lap I could see Matt Bottrill about to start, now I knew there was no way I would be able to hold him off, I just pushed as hard as I could to delay it as much as I could.

With the effort really hurting now, it wasn’t long before Matt came past, just before the sharp left before the drag. As Matt slowly pulled away up the drag I was doing all I could to hold a decent power for this last time up here. Power was starting to drop though as the fatigue and loss of fitness really started to bite. Matt was getting smaller and smaller in the distance, though I knew slowly but surely I was getting towards the end of the drag. On getting to the turn I got a few seconds rest in, and then for the last couple of miles I just went as hard as I could, whilst trying to recover a little on the bigger downhill parts. As I got nearer the finish I put in a real big burst and sped across the line to record a 1:07:22. It wasn’t as fast as I had hoped, after the first lap I thought a sub 1:05 might have been on the cards, but my lack of fitness and just the general fatigue meant power just wasn’t high enough on the day.

After watching Matt smash his way to a stunning 1:01:58 I went back to the HQ to find out surprisingly I had finished in the top 10, 7^th place overall, and I won my Age Group by nearly 2 mins from Andy Perkins. I was a bit shocked if I am honest, I was really feeling pretty rubbish, and my power was a bit shocking for a race that just took over an hour, but at least it shows me the bike and I are pretty aero in the main. Big congrats to Matt who won the CTT Circuit Championship from Michael Hutchinson by 50 secs, cracking rides from both of them to finish 3 mins in front of the 3^rd place Josh Teasdale.

At least this race sort of kickstarted me again after the break, and with 2 of the TT Series races left to ride, there is still plenty to do to make sure I do well in that series. In fact my next race is this weekend up in Lincoln for Round 7 of the TT Series, lets hope the good training I have got in since the circuit champs is put to good use. Heather and Killian enjoyed their afternoon at the Tank Museum, and Killian really enjoyed his ride in a tank, a great day out for all us.