Time Trial / Time Trialling / TT

There's not a general thread (that I could find) about time trials and time trialling. Since it seems everyone is racing this year I'm guessing some of you will hit up the odd time trial. Discuss 'em here.

To start, I received this from the organiser of a TTT I did last year:

*Hello, and h**ere we go again ! The racing season is upon us ....

• Please forgive the unsolicited mail, but I'm sending it out in the hope that either you will be interested in this race, or that you know people who will be. Please be encouraged to Forward this on to others who may be interested. All the details are to be found in the attached document, so you can look there instead of reading on, if you prefer.
  
  

*This year's race will be held on Saturday 18th April. It is for teams of three riders. The course is largely two laps of a flattish circuit situated between Aylesbury, Princes Risborough and Thame. There are no significant hills, just a series of light undulations. Course record for the 50km is held by Arctic-Shorter-Rochford (Charles McCulloch, Richard Bradley & Gavin Pardoe) with 1h 5m 59s.*

Prizes last year exceeded £1000, across 225 riders. We again have sponsorship from Cobham Antenna Systems, and so I hope to repeat those big numbers in 2009.

*Composite teams will be on an equal footing with Club teams, as will Student teams as the fastest teams get the prizes, regardless of their composition. We hope to have lots of Student teams, as the TTT is again incorporating the BUCS (formerly BUSA) TTT Championships.*

As previously, I'm keen to accept on-line entries. To do this, a completed CTT entry form (for each rider) needs to be emailed to me. You can then either send a Paypal payment, or wait for me to reply with a Paypal money request. Anyone with either a credit card or a debit card can then make an instant payment. Simple!

LFGSS team?

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• TTT 2009 advert.pdf

typically, for the UK cycling calender, this clashes with the first HHPA spring omnium..

but you guys should totally do it, sounds like a laugh.

a rolla team? claus would be a good engine in a 3 man team

two for March diary that im doing:

VC Elan Hilly 22 - QS/7 - 01 March
and
3UpTT -25-Q25/2 - 15 March

Ive got the South East District Handbook, which pretty much covers all TT's in Kent, if anyone is doing any let me know.
J

Probably won't do that TTT - can't book too much leave for cycling purposes, and there's an E91/25 that I want to do on Sunday 19th.

The best TT i know of, in terms of course, and this is my personal preference, is the one down at Yeovil, on an airstrip (can't recall the name) there's one a month in the summer if i remember rightly, and it's only about a fiver to enter, all on flatish, wide, good-for-charging-down surfaces.

I was, of course, the slower end of the group but it's a lot of fun in any case, and it's only a while down the '303

You would've loved the old E72 course on the A12.

It's gotta be near enough to London. I don't like train+bike at the best of times and certainly not for some early morning TT

I could be interested in the Antelope 3 Up mentioned above.

Composite lgfss team on fixed ?

This would be strictly on the basis of 'a bit of fun' rather than training for the national championship.

To give some idea of my capabilities: my last two seasons have been very patchy, best ride in '08 was 2.13.30 in the Charloteville 50. In '06 I did a 1.2.28 25 on P881 and 4.41.09 in the Hounslow 100 (Ithink all these rides were done fixed). I've ridden a lot of TTT's in the past, although none on fixed. Obviously my career is not on the upward side of the curve; don't worry about me being too fast for you, it's more likely to be the other way about.

I do have transport,although three riders and bikes would be a squeeze, but a little determination would overcome this.

http://www.thehippy.net/nucleus/index.php?itemid=1051

We did 1:20 last year. Winners did 1:06. It was hard work but fun in a sick TTing kinda way

I'd be game, but I cant promise shattering times. Although you never know, since getting a turbo trainer I'm braving the monotony and coming on leaps and bounds.

Yay, TT season is nearly on us.

I had think about it after last years poor performance and have decided that this year will also not be the year in which I ditch tons of cash on kit. It's just not worth improving the bike until I can improve myself. So I'm going to do the season on fixed. That should toughen me up a bit.

I would offer to be part of a three up team but my best time so far is 23 miles (37k) over 1.04.09 so i doubt I would be much use to anyone unless I start training now. However, I am pretty handy at drafting.

I'm sure my better half could be persuaded to do it - she's in training for the National 25m and 50m time trials this summer. Around about the hour for a 25m. Not sure how good she'd be at the formation aspect tho. And she'd be riding geared on a tt bike.

I did that Aylesbury one last year and its great fun. A really nice little course. Narrow Lanes and some fast corners. I really enjoyed and I don't normally like TT's

Yay, TT season is nearly on us.

I would offer to be part of a three up team but my best time so far is 23 miles (37k) over 1.04.09 so i doubt I would be much use to anyone unless I start training now. However, I am pretty handy at drafting.

This seems a pretty respectable time to me.

Because:

1. If someone's best performance is over 23 miles this implies that the rider has not ridden many standard distance time trials and so is almost certain to improve rapidly with experience. If you are impressed by some old time triallist (possibly me) telling what his p.b. is for a 25, don't forget he has ridden dozens, maybe hundreds of events to achieve that personal. His best will have probably been done on a fast course (eg the E72 mentioned elsewhere in this thread), and on a 'float' day (eg just before a thunderstorm).
   
2. A 23 mile course is almost certainly not on a fast main road - it's probably on twisty, undulating lanes. This speed is roughly two and a half minutes a mile, so we're talking about a 25 inside 1h 10 minutes, on a tough course, on fixed.
   
   

Seldom Killer, you're too modest.

We did 1:20 last year. Winners did 1:06. It was hard work but fun in a sick TTing kinda way[/quote]

If more time trials had reports as good as Hippy's, the sport's popularity would be transformed.

Cheers clubman :)

What is a 'float' day? Something to do with air pressure?

In terms of times, my best and so far only 40k/25mi time is 1:01:something without any aero kit except for a club skinsuit. I'm no TT'er but I'll do some more this year I reckon. I've now got my hands on the 2009 TT book which lists all the (open?) events.

Some guys from my club (and possibly me) will be doing West London Combine 40k/25mi on March 22nd. I'm waiting to hear from Willesden's TT secretary about it.

A float day is when conditions are at their best for fast times.

You ride back from the finish to the HQ with a huge grin because you know from your own stop watch you've taken a minute off your p.b., but when the times are put up you discover someone's taken two minutes off comp record. Then the thunderstorm starts.
Yes, we think it's mostly to do with low air pressure, but there may well be other factors. Humidity? Temperature? The old chestnut of the rising wind that pushes you back from the turn. I find evenings suit me better than early mornings

Aero Kit:
Clip on 'tri' bars are said to be worth 6 seconds a mile (but not if you're only doing 20 mph in the first place). I think this may be true because in recent years when I've tried to ride a TT using the old position I've been hopelessly slow. Aero helmets: another 3 secs per mile, so they say.
Apply just these two items to any half reasonable fixed wheel bike and you should go faster than you would on a £5000 road bike without them.

The CTT handbook is indispensable to anyone intending to have a season's time trialling. It only covers open events though, for club events (which can usually be entered on the line) you need a local handbook.

How about another one rider for the Antelope 3 Up?

When is it clubman? Used to do some TT but not for a while, would be keen to have a go at one

Just seen its on the 18th April, fraid i'm away then. Definitely up for any 2up or 3 up?

Yeah, so I'd take 4 minutes off my PB just by using tribars and a funny hat :)

Thing is, I already own my expensive road bike and its carbon bars are not having clip-ons attached, nor am I wearing one of those silly hats.. unless I actually start to get close to winning one and that's very unlikely. eg. I think someone rode a 52 on that 25 I did.

What's the deal with that Combine event, hippy? Solo or team? It's a Sunday, right? Maybe I should add it to my calendar. What's the course like? Where is it? Where am I? What year is it? Who's the president?

I think "Combine" just refers to multiple clubs participating (Willesden, Westerley, etc). It's a solo event afaik. Mar 22nd is a Sunday. I spoke to Rich today and he said it's not a good course, reckons if you do 1:05 on it you'll do sub-hour on that fast course I've done. Where? West of London somewhere. 2009. President Clinton? Obama? Rudd? Dunno really.

Yeah, so I'd take 4 minutes off my PB just by using tribars and a funny hat :)

Thing is, I already own my expensive road bike and its carbon bars are not having clip-ons attached, nor am I wearing one of those silly hats.. unless I actually start to get close to winning one and that's very unlikely. eg. I think someone rode a 52 on that 25 I did.

yes, but you're only racing against yourself - so pummel that fat aussie into the ground with some serious aero gear.

Why? I'd rather train harder to get faster. I stopped "buying speed" when I left Melbourne and lost all my trucker friends ;)

ah, but you have to give yourself the chance to be as fast as you can be