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@clubman
Hounslow& District Wheelers
**Sporting 27.6 mile Time Trial. **(20th October 2012)
The promoter’s intention that this should be a fixed wheel event ended in both failure and success.
When this time trial was first run in 2010 it attracted nine entries from fixed wheel riders and five on gears; in 2012 there were only two on fixed and twelve on gears. This was definitely a disappointment for the organisers at the start. However, even before the end of the first lap it was clear that one fixed rider was putting up a performance in a different class from the others, irrespective of the machine being used. Nic Stagg seemed to be completely untroubled by the gradients and was spinning his 88” gear in a way which made it look ideal for both ascending and descending. This was the success the promoter had hoped for.
Stagg finished in 1.5.08, just over five minutes clear of his nearest rival, Paul Holdsworth, who had elected to use a road bike. Tom Rae (Kingston Wheelers), also on gears, produced the third fastest ride with 1.11.23.
Mark Silver was fourth with 1.12.22 on a machine which almost qualified as a single speed. His Mercian (see photo) sported a 60 tooth chainring combined with an 18 tooth sprocket on a wide ratio Sturmey Archer. In practice this set up gave a single 88” gear for the race, with the 66” bottom handy for riding out to the start, and the 118” top not useful for anything. However the general effect certainly looked stylish.
Sam Day (CS Grupetto) was the only other competitor fearless enough to take up the fixed gear challenge and he finished with a respectable 1.16.26 to take 8th place.
Clearly some degree of bravery is necessary to get on a single gear bike to face a time keeper at the start of this course which consists of three laps of the ‘Gracious Pond’ circuit on the hilly lanes that lie between Chertsey and Chobham. However, it’s often said that ‘Fortune favours the brave’ and that has certainly been the case in both editions of this event. Although the course record still stands to Nic Hutchings (CS Grupetto) who recorded 1.4.29 in 2010 on a modern TT bike with variable gears, it should be remembered that Hutchings is both a successful roadman and one of the most gifted time triallists currently riding, so Nic Stagg’s time last Saturday demonstrates both his power as a rider and the competitive potential of a simple single gear machine.
Result:
(All Hounslow except where otherwise specified)
Since the course was 27.6 miles, subtracting 6 minutes from these times will give a rough idea of the equivalent time for 25 miles (assuming an average speed of 25 mph)
Picture with this post is Nic Stagg climbing towards Gracious Pond.
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