>
The North Hampshire RC 10m on the Bentley course (H10/8) was my last time trial before a six week or so lay off. I may ride one more circuit race before packing up.
The event: I’d done my back in during the week and wasn’t expecting great things (damn that awkward laminate flooring). The warm up was very tentative – every bump in the road seemed to set muscles into spasm (in a bad way). After half an hour of gentle work I trundled to the start and set off gingerly into the headwind to the turn. My two minute man caught me after four miles, but the back was holding out and I tried hard to bring the ride home as fast as possible.
Given that I couldn’t walk down stairs a few hours earlier, I was pretty pleased with a time of 25:09 on a slowish day.
Race stats: 10 miles in 25:09 (23.86mph). 43 out of 77 finishers. Slowest mile (2): 3:10 (18.95mph). Fastest mile (9): 1:57 (30.77mph). Top speed: 36.4mph. First 5 miles: 13:59 (!), next 5 miles: 11:10. Max heart rate: 168bpm, average HR: 157bpm. Winner: Phil Sykes (VC St Raphael) 20:51
Later on that evening I (re-)discovered that alcohol is a good muscle relaxant.
The two photos (by Derek Reynolds – thanks, Derek) show my position on the bike early season (top pic) and from a couple of weeks ago. The saddle is now higher and the stem is longer. I feel more at home on the bike now, but I’m still not going as fast as I should be (despite the dinky lycra overshoes)
Lance Woodman 