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…prepare to fail.
First time trial of the year under the belt, but not a great success.
The event was the West London Combine / Middlesex RC 10m TT on the Maidenhead Thicket course (H10/2). The day was bright but eye-wateringly cold with a light headwind back from the turn.
I got to the HQ in plenty of time, rode a few miles to get the driving out of my legs then had a cuppa to get the ice out of my veins.
It was good to see the Willesden CC team turning up and riding together. We’ve got a decent squad this season (the team’s report is here).
As I rode to the start my front changer cable snapped. I’d given the bike a three hour test on Friday, but I hadn’t done much work on the big ring (fail #1). The ride was going to be a cadence test with a top gear of 39×11 (95.7″).
In fact I didn’t miss the bigger gears. I trundled to the turn feeling quite positive, but then team mates started catching and dropping me. I kept pushing to the finish though.
I finished with a 28:19 – my slowest ever on that course and nearly 2 minutes slower than the same event last year. I’ve no idea how the ride broke down because I accidentally switched my Garmin off at the start (fail #2).
I’m not sure why I was so slow (the winner, Peter Weir of Maidenhead and Dist CC, was only 19 seconds slower than last year with a 23:06). Maybe I was too calm. Maybe the medication I am on is slowing me down. I feel fit and the training numbers look all right for March.
The next race is another WLC event – a 25m TT on the Amersham Road course in two weeks.
Photo by Ron Purdy.
Lance Woodman 
>I think you're being rather hard on yourself, Lance. It was a very slow day – we were riding uphill into a headwind for about six miles and it was hard work! Normally, the prevailing wind would be going the other way. Pete's ride was fantastic, though; very impressive. He's really laid down a marker for the rest of us, eh?
>I'm confused rather than down. I'd planned to do a long 25, but I'd expected you and Hippy to beat me by about a minute. So worst case scenario – short 27. And I'm a minute down on that. You're right about Peter's ride – top effort.