skinsuits at dawn.... choose your weapon...


There's something very peculiar about the British time-trialling scene...

Shortly after dawn on Sunday mornings all across the nation groups of individuals, moving quietly through the still-sleeping streets and countryside, converge on specific locations marked only by cryptic alphanumeric codes meaningless to all but the 'privileged' few. Once at their destinations these individuals will unashamedly wriggle into lycra skinsuits that would raise eyebrows at even the most liberal of fetish clubs, don funny tear-drop shaped hats and compare and admire each others 'equipment' (!) all prior to lining up in a lonely roadside verge, muscles twitching with excitement in anticipation of the intense pain to come....... Written like that you'd be forgiven for thinking I was talking about some bizarre and sinister cult... and you'd be nearly right, it might be bizarre but how can there be anything sinister about an activity that requires the ritual sharing of tea and cakes afterwards? It does seem a very 'British' thing, the sunday morning Open Time Trial.....

Anyway, this morning I ventured back into the racing scene for the first time in nearly a year. After all the ups and downs of the previous 12 months I decided to keep things simple and fun this summer... so the all-carbon areodynamic 'uber-bike' I was campaigning has been replaced with my simple-as-it gets round-tubed steel fixed gear bike with the only concession to aerodynamics being a set of low-profile bars with s-bend extensions. It's working too, today knowing that I was just going to ride within myself and have a bit of fun I rolled up to the start line feeling more relaxed than I ever have as the clock counted down to zero.... The adrenalin did kick in a bit but I know I rode well within reserves because I had no urge to turn my stomach inside out at the finish line.... Surprised myself too, squeezing into the top 5 and only 20s off a personal best for the course. Not spectacular but as nearly everybody else was riding geared TT-specific machines with carbon disc wheels and streamlined tube profiles I felt pretty pleased with myself. I could have been quicker I think, my gear selection was slightly out so I was under-geared on the return leg, spinning my 53Tx16T gear like an idiot I couldn't quite squeeze the bike past 30mph... It won't happen again, I just ordered a 15T sprocket and 54T chainring.
Gawd, it's great to be 'back'!

Posted: Sun - April 15, 2007 at 04:46 PM          

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