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question about racing and time trials
After joining the local cycling club I am in two minds as to whether to get
into things like time trials or racing. I am often awe inspired by the times posted on here and wonder how it is possible to do 10 miles in less than half an hour, given it takes me 45-50 minutes to get to work (about 11-12 miles). How does one work up to those sorts of speeds? Do people have special training/dietry routines? From my experience of general utility cycling it seems that sustaining 20+ mph for any length of time is hard work. How do people feel when completing time trials? Totally drained? The club also do things like hill climbing trials which involve about 120 meters of climbing in 1.6 miles. I found out the quickest times are around 5 minutes which again I find amazing as that must take a phenominal amount of power. I thought I was a good hill climber until I heard that. Cheers Adam |
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#2
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question about racing and time trials
"Adam Lea" wrote in message ... After joining the local cycling club I am in two minds as to whether to get into things like time trials or racing. I am often awe inspired by the times posted on here and wonder how it is possible to do 10 miles in less than half an hour, given it takes me 45-50 minutes to get to work (about 11-12 miles). How does one work up to those sorts of speeds? Do people have special training/dietry routines? From my experience of general utility cycling it seems that sustaining 20+ mph for any length of time is hard work. How do people feel when completing time trials? Totally drained? The club also do things like hill climbing trials which involve about 120 meters of climbing in 1.6 miles. I found out the quickest times are around 5 minutes which again I find amazing as that must take a phenominal amount of power. I thought I was a good hill climber until I heard that. Cheers Adam My son does them. He loves them. Hard work, but he enjoys the way he sees himself getting fitter over time and he's met some great people. There's an old saying about the end of a time trial "If you can talk, you haven't tried hard enough" Some people do take it that seriously. Time trialling is good in that you can do it as seriously or as low-key as you like. Some want to be superfast, some do it for sheer enjoyment, for some, it's both. With my son, the day he stops enjoying it it the day he stops doing it. You can time trial on an ordinary road bike - the low-cost addition of some clip-on tribars will get you into a more aerodynamic position which will help you go faster. You can go to the other extreme of TT specific bike. It's up to you. My son uses his cycle commute to college to do some training, such as intervals. He'll also do a longer ride at weekends if he's not doing a TT. He eats healthily. The plus side is, as far as I'm concerned, it's taught him discipline, he's got an awareness of how his body works, he knows the importance of looking after his health and eating healthily and how exercise keeps him fit. He's certainly fitter than many of his contemporaries at college. At the end of a time trial he can go from being out of breath to getting off the bike exhausted, depending upon how he's treating that event. Some clubs have coaches who can provide you with advice. Some people have their own coach. But the key is enjoyment. |
#3
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question about racing and time trials
in message , Adam Lea
') wrote: After joining the local cycling club I am in two minds as to whether to get into things like time trials or racing. I am often awe inspired by the times posted on here and wonder how it is possible to do 10 miles in less than half an hour, given it takes me 45-50 minutes to get to work (about 11-12 miles). How does one work up to those sorts of speeds? Do people have special training/dietry routines? From my experience of general utility cycling it seems that sustaining 20+ mph for any length of time is hard work. How do people feel when completing time trials? Totally drained? I am a cyclist much like you. I'm over 50, over weight, and not very fit (and for health reasons never will be very fit). My normal average cycling speed is between 12 and 16 mph. I nevertheless regularly manage between 30 and 34 minutes for a ten mile time trial, and hope to break the 30 minute barrier sometime this year (there's a fifteen-year-old in my club who does 25 minutes). There's a huge difference between what you can do every day in your comfortable clothes on a bike set up and equipped for every-day utility cycling, and what you can do in lightweight lycra on a bike which is honed down for speed. You need to get as low as possible on the bike, which usually isn't comfortable, and really go for it. At the end of ten miles of really going for it, I, for one, and totally shattered, and typically spend three or four minutes just draped over the bike breathing hard while heart and lungs and legs readjust themselves. If you decide to try, don't forget to warm up first, and don't forget to warm down afterwards. And enjoy! -- (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/ [ This .sig intentionally left blank ] |
#4
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question about racing and time trials
Adam Lea wrote on 10/05/2007 00:33 +0100:
After joining the local cycling club I am in two minds as to whether to get into things like time trials or racing. I am often awe inspired by the times posted on here and wonder how it is possible to do 10 miles in less than half an hour, given it takes me 45-50 minutes to get to work (about 11-12 miles). How does one work up to those sorts of speeds? Do people have special training/dietry routines? From my experience of general utility cycling it seems that sustaining 20+ mph for any length of time is hard work. How do people feel when completing time trials? Totally drained? The club also do things like hill climbing trials which involve about 120 meters of climbing in 1.6 miles. I found out the quickest times are around 5 minutes which again I find amazing as that must take a phenominal amount of power. I thought I was a good hill climber until I heard that. Never done a time trial - not my cup of tea - but my understanding and from what I have observed in participants is that the competition is really against yourself, your own times and the targets you've set yourself. When you get really good it might be for placing against others but I have seem people compete on all sorts of bikes at all sorts of speeds and be really pleased with a long time that broke their previous best. YMMV -- Tony "The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way." - Bertrand Russell |
#5
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question about racing and time trials
wafflycat wrote:
"Adam Lea" wrote in message ... After joining the local cycling club I am in two minds as to whether to get into things like time trials or racing. I am often awe inspired by the times posted on here and wonder how it is possible to do 10 miles in less than half an hour, given it takes me 45-50 minutes to get to work (about 11-12 miles). How does one work up to those sorts of speeds? Do people have special training/dietry routines? From my experience of general utility cycling it seems that sustaining 20+ mph for any length of time is hard work. How do people feel when completing time trials? Totally drained? The club also do things like hill climbing trials which involve about 120 meters of climbing in 1.6 miles. I found out the quickest times are around 5 minutes which again I find amazing as that must take a phenominal amount of power. I thought I was a good hill climber until I heard that. Cheers Adam My son does them. He loves them. Hard work, but he enjoys the way he sees himself getting fitter over time and he's met some great people. There's an old saying about the end of a time trial "If you can talk, you haven't tried hard enough" Some people do take it that seriously. Time trialling is good in that you can do it as seriously or as low-key as you like. Some want to be superfast, some do it for sheer enjoyment, for some, it's both. With my son, the day he stops enjoying it it the day he stops doing it. You can time trial on an ordinary road bike - the low-cost addition of some clip-on tribars will get you into a more aerodynamic position which will help you go faster. You can go to the other extreme of TT specific bike. It's up to you. My son uses his cycle commute to college to do some training, such as intervals. He'll also do a longer ride at weekends if he's not doing a TT. He eats healthily. The plus side is, as far as I'm concerned, it's taught him discipline, he's got an awareness of how his body works, he knows the importance of looking after his health and eating healthily and how exercise keeps him fit. He's certainly fitter than many of his contemporaries at college. At the end of a time trial he can go from being out of breath to getting off the bike exhausted, depending upon how he's treating that event. Some clubs have coaches who can provide you with advice. Some people have their own coach. But the key is enjoyment. "But the key is enjoyment." I'll second that. In terms of the "racing" aspect I will most certainly never win one, but time trialing is against the clock, over familiar courses and run with regularity. This lets you monitor personal improvement. I soon discovered what "time trial intensity" felt like, and was able to modify my own training to take in both above and below TT intensity workouts and intervals to help improvement. An average of 20mph to give a 30min 10 or a 1hour 15min 25 is not that hard given that courses are never flat... a 30mph descent makes up for the 12mph climb etc.. They are always challenging, and whilst I can't make a silk purse out of this sow's ear, events are something that I look forward to. Hill climbs hurt me... but are another measure that I don't look forward to with the same gusto, but they are part of the calendar and would hate to miss one. |
#6
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question about racing and time trials
Time trials are interestign as you are, especially at my end of the
spectrum, racing yourself (and hoping to finish before the marshals and timekeepers have given up waiting and sloped off to the pub). I am riding essentially the same kit as nigh on 20 years ago when I rode my first. Buying aero bits to go faster seems like cheating. It is an exercise in learning how to get the best out of your body - cadence, effort, pulserate etc and sustain that over 30ish minutes (for me, less for many others). At the end I am shattered - feeling my energy just fading away as I get to the line and really having to fight to keep the bike up to speed. It is definitely worth doing at least twice. The first time you will do it wrong - your pacing will be off and you will either blow up or find you have reserves left at the end. The second time will be better. It is then a case of gradual improvement. Training helps of course. Definitely worth giving it a go. I haven't yet plucked up the courage to try a massed start race, though I could well go to the track tonight for some fixie goodness (for the first time). ...d |
#7
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question about racing and time trials
Adam Lea wrote:
After joining the local cycling club I am in two minds as to whether to get into things like time trials or racing. I am often awe inspired by the times posted on here and wonder how it is possible to do 10 miles in less than half an hour, given it takes me 45-50 minutes to get to work (about 11-12 miles). As others have said, don't compare utility cycling speeds with what you might expect to do on a race bike, with no luggage and totally going for it. Round town I aim to not get sweaty, get held up by cars etc, etc and rarely average more than 12mph on by commuting bike, but can go rather faster than that in a race. Just give it a go. If you don't like it, nothing lost. I'd also suggest that you have a go at mass start racing when you get fitter. Arthur -- Arthur Clune |
#8
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question about racing and time trials
Forgot to add...
You can find out about clubs in your locality via the CTT web site at www.ctt.org.uk The web site gives contact details for each club: club sec name + phone number. Many clubs will run occasional 'come and try it' events. Many will welcome a newcomer to try the sport at a club evening 10. With this, if you do more than a few, expect to be asked to join the club if you wish to continue to join in club events. As with any activity, some clubs are more welcoming than others to newcomers. Some are only interested in 'serious' riders. Others are much more low-key. Ring up a few and sound out the club secretaries and see what they have to offer and if it fits in with what you think you'll enjoy. |
#9
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question about racing and time trials
On May 10, 4:40 pm, Simon Brooke wrote:
in message , Adam Lea ') wrote: After joining the local cycling club I am in two minds as to whether to get into things like time trials or racing. I am often awe inspired by the times posted on here and wonder how it is possible to do 10 miles in less than half an hour, given it takes me 45-50 minutes to get to work (about 11-12 miles). How does one work up to those sorts of speeds? Do people have special training/dietry routines? From my experience of general utility cycling it seems that sustaining 20+ mph for any length of time is hard work. How do people feel when completing time trials? Totally drained? I am a cyclist much like you. I'm over 50, over weight, and not very fit (and for health reasons never will be very fit). My normal average cycling speed is between 12 and 16 mph. I nevertheless regularly manage between 30 and 34 minutes for a ten mile time trial, and hope to break the 30 minute barrier sometime this year (there's a fifteen-year-old in my club who does 25 minutes). There's a huge difference between what you can do every day in your comfortable clothes on a bike set up and equipped for every-day utility cycling, and what you can do in lightweight lycra on a bike which is honed down for speed. You need to get as low as possible on the bike, which usually isn't comfortable, and really go for it. I'd second that, in spades. Our commute speed is 12mph. We haven't done a TT in years now, but were almost always under the hour for a 25 (best 55:xx) and had something like 21:xx for a 10 (we only did a couple of them). This is all on a tandem, FWIW. Riding flat out is mostly a matter of how much pain you are prepared to put up with. After a couple of years we got a bit bored, to be honest (we'd already had a few years of rowing, which is rather similar). We also moved somewhere with some decent off-road riding, and fewer flat busy main roads (the 55:xx was up and down the A1 on a Saturday afternoon, which is not something I would want to do too many times). There's plenty of hurting in competitive MTBing, if you are keen (we did trailquests mostly) but you get better views and there's more to think about than just the pain. The last race we took part in was the first TransRockies. A far cry from ploughing round some ring road in the rain :-) http://www.ne.jp/asahi/julesandjames...ies/index.html James |
#10
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question about racing and time trials
On May 10, 11:39 am, "wafflycat"
wrote: Forgot to add... You can find out about clubs in your locality via the CTT web site at www.ctt.org.uk Right on the front page: News 10/05/2007 Changes to the Highway Code View What is the CTC playing at. :-( Any chance of getting them to put something about contacting your MP to support the EDM? http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDe...16&SESSION=885 And then there is this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardiantr...076300,00.html In my browser it shows as dated Thursday 10th May (i.e. today) - but it feels like it was written about 6 months ago. It can't have been because it references the roads4bikes petition. Depressed of Watford :-( Tim. |
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