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How much is the entry fee, and where does one sign up; on the line, or golf club?

Sign on in Golf Club car park. Entry fee £2. (This includes £1 CTT levy - we're clearly a non profit making organisation!)

[quote=mitre_tester;758308]What are "go faster gizmos"? If they work, I want some on my bike.

I have no secrets to tell you about gizmos, I was just trying to get over the idea that this bike was basic. I agree with you about the advantage from clip on bars, and I think you're probably right to say that a steel frame is no great disadvantage.

[quote=mitre_tester;738733]I saw P.Holdsworth (great cycling name) this afternoon, as he caught me for a minute just inside 9 miles in the Maidenhead Sunday afternoon 25, looking stylish on 86" fixed. Possibly slightly undergeared, as he romped past on an upslope but had been chasing me all the way up the fast part of the Drift Road while I made hay on my 93" gearing. We ended up first and second with 1:2:03 and 1:4:24 on the slightly sporting HCC001 course. West of Windsor 25 course.

So now we have a current fixed wheel benchmark for this sporting West London course.

It’s worth mentioning that Paul Holdsworth’s fixed wheel TT bike is an ‘old school’ machine based on a conventional steel frame. It has no go faster gizmos and no clip on bars.

Paul tells me he has an ambition to get under the hour on this bike and course, and wind permitting, he’ll have another go next Sunday (21st June) in the Hounslow’s Midsummer Cup club 25, perhaps with slightly higher gearing – 93” (49x14) instead of 86.8” (49x15) used last time.

I think he might do it, but it’s a tough challenge.

lfgss members are invited to ride this event and entry on the line should be possible unless a really exceptional number turn up. For more information look at the Hounslow’s website, or try my mobile (see Clubman’s details). http://www.hounslowanddistrictwheelers.co.uk/

HDW 100 – Fixed Wheel Report.

Andrew Phipps (Royal Navy & Royal Marines CA) took the £25 Best on Fixed prize with a time of 4.18.51. Probably more significant to him was that the ride also gave hive the Navy 100 championship.

Andrew told me that this was his first attempt on fixed at any time trial longer than 10 miles (p.b. 21.36), and that the offer of a prize did influence his choice of machines to some extent.
 His current best time for a 100 is 4.14.38, but this was done on the U47 course (Cirencester) which is generally thought to have a better speed potential than Farnham – Alton. Apart from the course he thought the weather conditions were better that day, and this seems likely as everyone found the wind difficult in the Hounslow event.

So he thought that a future 100 personal best on fixed was a distinct possibility.

Phipps told me he used a 97” gear. I did not check what the sprockets were used, and comparing the photo (above) with the gear table I’d say they are probably 48 x 13 giving 98.1”. I picked up the machine to judge its weight and it struck me as being quite heavy – heavier than my own Ancient British fixed TT bike.

There was at least one other fixed wheel rider: Peter Harridge (Icknield RC) who recorded a creditable 4.28. In addition David Eccles (Redmon CC) got round using a Sturmey Archer. At the time it didn’t occur to me to ask David if his gear was fixed but, knowing him, it could well have been. Mr. Eccles did not have a great day on Sunday, so instead of reporting his time I’ll just mention that he has, in recent years, managed a 59 minute twenty five on fixed, without the benefit of clip on bars.

Just as a footnote, Aran Stanton (2nd overall, see above) told me he often rides fixed, both for hack work and for racing. His fixed TT bike is geared to 128 inches…..

The Bowdler machine and the Fixed Wheel prize winner's bike.

Nik Bowdler powers up a climb with 80 miles already covered.

Hounslow & District Wheelers 100 mile Time Trial (31.5.09)

Nik Bowdler (Farnborough & Camberley CC) showed himself to be a worthy British Best All Rounder champion when he won the Hounslow & District Wheelers 100 by a margin of almost nine minutes last Sunday.

 His time of 3 hours 43 minutes 23 seconds was achieved in a strong north east wind which caused most of the field to suffer and record times well below their best.

Bowdler’s ride was not without its difficulties.  His chain came off (“It’s never happened before.” he said.) and he was forced to dismount because it was jammed against the frame. He also had a problem with his bottle cage and dropped two bottles on the road. Luckily he had an ultra experienced minder – Dick Poole, a former Land’s End to John O’Groats recordman, and so potential disaster was averted. The photograph shows the unorthodox drink carrier that was used.
 Nik Bowdler had been unsure of his form and this was his first long distance event of the year. Last Sunday’s ride must have given him the confidence that was lacking.

With Bowdler so far ahead the main competition was for the second place, with three contenders finishing within 1 minute 21 seconds of each other. These were: Aran Stanton (VC St Raphael) with 3.52.13, Hounslow’s own Paul Holdsworth who was third with 3.52.46, and last year’s winner Paul Dring (Echelon -Spiuk) fourth with 3.53.34.
Holdsworth said after the finish that he had not been given any time checks and regretted not knowing how close the race was for second place.

Stanton was clearly having a good day since he was one of the very few established riders to produce a personal best, achieving an improvement of just over 3 minutes.

“I tried to restrict myself to moderate gears to start with, but after the first lap my top gear (56 x 11, or 135”) seemed comfortable except on the climbs”. Amazingly he had spent the previous twelve hours at work on a night shift, so for him this was perhaps the equivalent of an evening event. Aran Stanton is a relative newcomer to long distance time trialling having only a couple of seasons behind him. There is clearly potential for further improvement.

Another notable ride came from the Ladies winner, Lou Collins (TFN Tri Club) who recorded 4.23.04 for her very first attempt at the distance. Her qualifying time was 2.10.43 in a ‘50’, so she rode twice the distance with almost no drop in speed!

Congratulations should also go to Trevor Gilbert for his excellent work as event promoter.

It is sometimes said that today there is no enthusiasm for longer distance time trials. With 95 entrants and excellent results there was no sign of this loss of keenness last Sunday.

Result:

1. Nik Bowdler (Farnborough & Camberley CC) 3.43.23
   
2. Aran Stanton (VC St. Raphael) 3.52.13
   
3. Paul Holdsworth (Hounslow & District) 3.52.46.
   
4. Paul Dring (Echelon Spiuk) 3.53.34.
   
5. Colin Mc Dermott (Festival RC) 3.59.51.
   
6. KeithGarbutt (South Western RC) 4.00.47
   
7. David Shepherd (Liphook CRT) 4.01.43.
   
8. Dave Pickering (Bournemouth Jubilee Wheelers) 4.02.54.
   
9. Simon Donne (Epsom CC) 4.03.44
   10.Phil Ember (Kingston Wheelers) 4.06.00.
   
   

Ladies:

1. Lou Collins (TFN Tri Club) 4.23.04
   
2. Michelle Ayres (South Bucks RC) 4.31.19.
   
   

Team Prize:

Reading CC:

Stephen Bale 4.16.18
Paul Elcock 4.18.28
Stephen Millward 4.21.54.

This is the text of my 'press release' report on the 100. I am posting it now before it becomes stale news. A special fixed wheel report will follow, but I've run out of time to write it tonight. There are some pictures, but I'm having trouble loading these at the moment, the reference in the report to the 'unorthodox' bottle carrier relates to the picture which shows Bowdler carrying a bottle in the neck of his skin suit.

Hounslow & District Wheelers 100 – Preview.

The Hounslow and District Wheelers promote their most significant time trial of the year next Sunday: The Ron Brown Memorial 100. (31.5.09)

Entries are substantially up this year with 95 brave men and women intending to face the timekeeper on Sunday morning. The first man off is at 6.26 am, the last at 8 am.

The course to be used is on the A31 road between Farnham and Alton. (A complete description can be found on the CTT website). HQ is Bentley Village Hall

The seeded riders and qualifying times are:

No. 120 Paul Dring (Echelon SPIUK) 3.48.10 (last year’s winner)
No. 110 Nik Bowdler (Farnboro. & Camberley) 3.37.52 (Current BBAR)(77t Chainring!)
No. 100 Paul Holdsworth (Hounslow) 3.41.39
No. 90 Sean Childs (RN&RMCA) 3.49 58
No. 115 Aran Stratton (VC St Raphael) 3.55.34.

There are six ladies on the start sheet. Last year’s winner Michelle Ayres (South Bucks RC – 4.15.57) is defending her title and the most threatening challenger appears to be Claire Ella (Lincoln Wheelers) whose qualifying time is 4.10.37.

The above is my press release for the local papers.

Forum readers might consider going to watch this. I'd be the first to admit that time trialling is not really a spectator sport, but these longer events are more interesting, especially in the closing stages, and especially if you have a sadistic streak.

Don't expect to see the fast men suffer though, they take it in their stride. They're not even on their bikes all that long, not compared with the longmarkers who are still struggling to reach the finish after five hours in the saddle.

Just a word about the seeding. I expect most of you already know about this, but for newcomers knowledge of this makes time trials easier to understand from the roadside. The normal practice (which has been used for this event) is to put the best riders on the '0' numbers (10,20,etc), and the second string riders on the fives. There is a hierachy for the others, but I won't go into this here.

The most prestigious position is to be the last starter, and this is one reason why organisers who don't have a full field start their numbering sequence from 120 and work back towards the lower numbers, as has been done on this start sheet.
 This method is not always used, but I think it is the best way to lay the field out. The chief advantage being that the main contenders for overall victory are 10 minutes apart, so if one rider on a '0' catches another seeded rider he has already taken 10 minutes out of his victim and there is unlikely to be any question as to which will record the fastest time. If they had started only one minute apart there would be a greater temptation for the caught rider to try to stay with the man who has overtaken him, leading to possible accusations of pacing.

In the past at least one competition record was disallowed because of a dispute arising from this problem.

Michelle Ayres says she intends to ride a 50 the afternoon before the Hounslow event - you might think this sounds like insanity, but there is an explanation. She tells us she intends to ride the 24, so this weekend is part of the toughening up process. I wish her luck with this venture!

If any of you do come out, don't forget to do your best not to obstruct the competitors on the course.

Hope to see some of you on Sunday.

21.23 to qualify.. sounds like Roller racing and yet another time I'll never see :)

Note that I said "I guess this is not attainable by many forum users* at the moment."

*Many riders go on improving for years, even decades in some cases. That's part of the interest in this game - many of us have achieved personals which we would once have thought impossible.

I'm glad I did not imply that no forum member could go that fast, since there was at least one. Congratulations to 16simon. On that course 21.21 is a great time - we have to remember Hutchinson is on a different level of existence.

National 10 coming up this Sunday near Newbury - anyone from here going to be there? I'll be there in a spannering role cheering on Mrs S.

I was there - in a minor helping role.

Beautiful Day and countryside. Ermine Street, the (Roman) road used for the event, was ideal although not easy. It's a country lane which includes a 1 in 12 climb, so hats off to the winners and all those riders whose times were so fast that the difficulties of the course didn't show in the results. (See CTT website)

The roundabout turn on the A4 was very busy and caused a few anxious moments, especially with the juniors who, naturally, believe themselves to be immortal.

I understand the slowest qualifying time accepted for the men's event was 21.23 which I guess is not attainable, at the moment, by many Forum users. However both the ladies and the junior events were undersubscribed, so anyone here in those categories could expect to get a ride in this 'Blue Riband' event next year.

Hounslow and District Wheelers Open 10 Mile Time Trial. (16.5.09)

Ben Instone (www.scientific-coaching.com) won the Hounslow open ten last Saturday with the wide margin of 53 seconds. His time was 20 minutes 02 seconds while runner up Will Girvan (North Hants RC) recorded 20.55.

A strong south west wind hindered the riders on the outward leg to the Holybourne roundabout and made many of the competitors wonder why they were bothering, but Instone seemed almost unaffected by the conditions taking only a couple of seconds over 10 minutes to reach the turn (4.7 miles). He returned in almost exactly 10 minutes.

At the finish he gave an explanation: “I usually do relatively well in windy conditions – big riders (he is at least 6’6” tall) can produce more power without much increase in frontal area.” He went on to say that most of the way back he had used a gear of 56 x 11 (135”) which he was turning at 100 to 110 rpm. His current best 10 time is 19.09.

Best Lady was Julia Shaw(Utag Yamaha) with an impressive 21.50, while Roy Savery (De Laune CC) scored the best veterans’ plus with 7 minutes 20 seconds.

The Hounslow did at least take home the team prize: Paul Holdsworth 22.20, Rob Gilmour 22.36 and Paul Innes 22.44.

The event was held on the Farnham - Alton course and attracted 95 entrants.

Result:

1. Ben Instone (www.scientific-coaching.com) 20.02
   
2. William Girvan (North Hants RC) 20.55
   
3. James Boyman (In Gear-Quick Vit RT) 21.28.
   
   
   

Since you won't be reading this report in Cycling Weekly I thought you might like it here. Although there is no direct fixed wheel interest Ben Instone's comments might be of interest

You've had some good suggestions in the past clubman.. any left? :)

Thanks for the compliment.

Naturally so far as Sunday the 31st May is concerned I could not recommend any other event than the Hounslow 100, complete with special prize (see above). Closing Date is next Tuesday.

If I were not out of action I would enter the Hitchin Nomads 25 on the 7th June and the Finsbury Park 50 the following week. Both these events are on the F1 course (North Road) which on a good day should give you a p.b.

If you've ridden the 100, however badly you did in it, you should be well prepared for the 50. Instead of fearing it as being too far to ride fast, you should by now be beginning to think of the 50 as a speed event. 
Incidentally remember that in the 100, if you've never ridden one before, you only have to finish to achieve that p.b.

I am currently researching a story for the 'Furthest Ride' thread which may prove embarassing to all those who think 100 miles is an impossibly long way . More on this soon - be warned!

This is why many pensioners enjoy gardening, they can actually sit and watch the garden grow without becoming bored.

Yes, and paint dries as if by magic while you watch.

In one sense RPM does have a point. Years of training do increase a rider's pain threshold, and I was once encouraged (by some one who had done a huge mileage of training and racing) to ride a 12 with the comment "You should look forward to it - it's a chance to spend a whole day on your bike."

The problem is that as you age you tend to develop pains in body parts you didn't even know you possessed.

I'm well past 40, presumably I get to use the 'old age' get out clause :-)

In 2007 Ray Dare (Kingston Phoenix RC) recorded 4.59.25. for a 100 at the age of 81.

There's no 'old age get out clause', it's just that much easier when you are young.
In the end, especially when it comes to the longer distances, it's a question of whether you want to do it or not.

A generous gesture, I hope it goes to a deserving forum member.

Thanks for this comment.

Illy is one forum member who I know could do a good ride in this event. He would need quite a lot of bad luck not to beat my time.

    Hello,

Im doing the Farnham course this weekend. I have ridden the 10 & 25 variations of it and am doing a 50 on Sunday.(quote from RP, post no. 251 in this thread)

Clubman says:
Best of luck with the Charlotteville 50.

This event is the ideal warmup for the 100. You are right to worry that strong wind would create difficulties for a fixed wheel rider, but remember Fortune favours the brave. Given the right conditions I don't believe fixed is a disadvantage at longer distances - you need confidence combined with a little luck. Don't forget the first ever sub 4 hour 100 was done on fixed (Ray Booty, 3.58.28. on an 86" gear in 1956.)

I rode this event last year on fixed and did a modest 2.13.30., but I think this was in line to equal my 4.41 in the 100 given a reasonable day. As it happened we had terrible weather for our 100 in 2008, but that's another story.

I think that if you get anywhere near 2.10 in the 50 you should try the 100, if only for experience. It's perhaps worth mentioning that you are allowed a support car in an event of this distance, and this should mean that you have the luxury of having some one running round catering for your slightest whim - and you're allowed to shout at them!

Congratulations to Hippy for getting his name in the conventional sports media (Willesden Times, 23.4.09. p.36 in case no one had noticed).

No, I don't think the extra 75 miles is too much to ask, especially from the relatively youthful readers of this forum ( I now count anyone under 40 as being in this category)

I have had a chest infection which has kept me off my bike for the past month. It has reduced my enthusiasm for posting on forums and destroyed my racing programme.

One result is that I have spent nothing on entry fees or on travelling to races and so I have donated £25 to the Hounslow 100 as a prize for the best fixed wheel ride.

The event is on Sunday May 31st and is to be run on the Farnham - Alton course (A 31 road) which I would say is reasonably well suited to fixed since it does not have any major climbs and is not particularly exposed to wind.
If there is only one fixed rider (and I wouldn't think that was a particularly low response) then to qualify for the prize the rider must beat my own last effort at the distance on fixed which was 4 hours 41 min. 09 secs.

I have no doubt there are plenty of you here who could beat this rather pre-war time which I did in this event, using the same course, in 2006. As a reference point the winner on that occasion was Paul Holdsworth with 3.51.42.

If there are no fixed riders the money will go to the other prize winners.

I'll be happy to respond to any queries with further posts in this thread.

It could be v v embarrassing - I have the potential to be beaten by a 79 year old (Steve Aveley - Tooting BC), plus a 60 year old lady (Gillian Reynolds - the wife tells me that she is pretty handy and likely to beat me!!).

Looks like its a session on the turbo for me this we - maybe a case of too little too late..

Don't worry too much about the elderly - sporting couses don't suit us.
The only advantage we have is experience, but this is much easier to gain than it is to regain youth and vigour.

One comment on last minute training: Try to arrive at the start line well warmed up but not exhausted by heavy training sessions in the preceding few days.

Good luck, Willo.

what's going on in this section surely the discussions should be about time trialling on a fixed gear
about what gear- inch you used and what time you did for a particular course and conditions.
i once did a ten in 26 30 on gears then the following week rigged up a fixed gear on a 76 inch and did a 24 30.
this year I might try an 81 inch or even an 86 inch
using a langster with 48/16 or 48/15
why are there pictures of geared bikes?

I understand where FWTTist is coming from, but I find this view too fundamentalist to be practical for my own purposes.

I prefer to time trial on fixed* if it's reasonable to do so.*
I'm not going to attempt, for example, to ride the Circuit of the Dales on fixed, and if the weather forecast tells me there's likely to be a strong wind blowing along the course I'm about to ride on, I'm not going to waste my entry fee and the cost of the petrol by insisting on not using gears.

http://www.hounslowanddistrictwheelers.co.uk/

Anyone out for a ride southwest of London this Sunday might like to watch this event.

It's an 85 mile road race for Elite,1st, 2nd & 3rd cat riders and is one of the few remaining club promoted RR's in the area (other than Surrey League, of course). There is a strong field with 10 Elite riders and 20 first cats. on the start sheet.

The course is in the area between Chertsey and Chobham. It consists of a 9 mile figure of eight main circuit (seven and a half laps), and a 3 mile finishing circuit (six and a half laps). So this means 7 ascents of Staple Hill - not too hard the first time, but a different proposition with 80 odd miles in your legs, however many gears you've got!

The Race moves off at 10.30 am, and the finish is expected about 2pm. Don't forget the clocks go forward a hour this weekend.
The HQ is at Valley End School, Highams Lane. GU24 8TB

Click on the link at the top for the club website. On the open events page there is a map of the course.

I hope to see some of you Sunday!.

Has anyone on here entered the Jim Perrin Memorial Hardriders 25. 5 mile Sporting TT?
Run By Chelmer CC

My suggestion for a separate thread for racing programmes might come in handy here. The idea is that the races we have entered would be easy to find, rather than being lost in a fog of posts in other threads. The Racing Programme thread does exist, but it hasn't seen much use yet.

I’m impressed by Hippy's ride in the Combine 25.

The obvious calculation to be made is: aero helmet + clip on bars = 9 secs/mile = minus 3minutes 45 secs. (Yes, I do realise the basic premise may not be deadly accurate.)

In addition Hippy had one or two other things against him that may be less obvious.

• He does not ride may TT’s.
  
  

Although it’s very easy to become stale by riding too many, I believe it’s necessary to ride enough to learn to judge what pace you are capable of maintaining. Also, to ride in competition is good training for later races – everyone goes a bit faster with a number on their back.

• It wasn’t an easy day.

  I know because I was out there struggling, just a few miles further North.

• It’s still very early in the season.

  I try to avoid riding standard distance events to start with – the results are usually too depressing. I know I’ll go faster later on, maybe in May or June.

• The Amersham Road is not fast, even without traffic lights.

  I’d roughly agree with Richard Jerome’s estimate, although personally I wouldn’t pick the Ski Slope as an example of a fast course.

Finally, another excellent report. Time trialling really needs more reporting because it is impossible for outsiders to understand what’s going on by just watching. In the distant past ‘Cycling’ used to report these events, but not any more. It’s up to us to use the new media, just as Hippy is doing.

A change in my routine means I've got the next four Wednesday mornings free, and brilliant Spring weather makes me ask:

Anyone fancy a ride?

I'll be starting from the Willesden area and I'd be aiming to do about 50 miles altogether.
A meeting point would have to depend on where others are starting from.

I have a reason (connected with retro cycling) to go to Hertford on 25th March, so that would be my first destination.

I'm not recommending this get up but I thought you might like the photo.

The tall one is Ron Jowers aged about 20. In 1957 Ron was National 50 mile champion & competition record holder - 1.55.28.

On the back of the picture is written: Isleworth to Eastbourne, 1952.
I notice all four have cycling shoes, but not much else.