My steel Raleigh Clubman is supposed to be a sporty touring bike. It just about does the job on our Saturday club rides and has proved quite handy on sportives and Audax UK events, but using it for a time trial, surely that would be too big an ask.
This was the conversation I had with myself when I first
discovered that the Swindon RC would be hosting a 'Come & Try It' 10 mile time trial on Saturday 5th April 2014.
Given that I only own one serviceable bike, it would have to
do. The Clubman weighs a hefty 11kg and so I’d have to strip it down as much as
possible to try and shed some weight. The plastic bell, front light bracket, spoke
reflectors (front and rear) and water bottle cage collectively didn’t trouble
the scales. The metal mudguards did a little better, but once they were
removed, I was left scratching my head wondering what else I could do without. I toyed with the idea of ditching the bracket
which secures my mini-pump, but decided against it. I know the pump really
belongs in my jersey pocket, but being accident-prone, it was bound to fall out
and knowing my luck, would probably be the cause of some horrific accident.
And so it was that me and George W found ourselves cycling out of Malmesbury at 8 o’clock on a very overcast Saturday morning bound for the Bradstone Sports Pavilion in Ashton Keynes. Looking to take the quickest route there, we opted to use the main Cirencester road, only to find that the top surface of tarmac had been lifted all the way to Crudwell. As a result, it was a bit like riding over cobbles.
Signs had been thoughtfully placed out directing riders to the pavilion. We arrived just before 9.00am, registered for free and were given our numbers. I then proceeded to make a complete hash of pinning George’s number on his back, placing it far too high up between his shoulder blades and not at the very bottom of his jersey. A seasoned hand soon put me right on this one. (Whoops, ‘school boy’ error).
Raising his voice above the excited chatter, one of the organisers announced that he was on his way over to the start and that riders were welcome to join him. I was fairly confident that I knew where I was going and with my number being in the low 30’s, I was in no particular hurry.
With the room having thinned somewhat, I was suddenly thrown into full panic mode when someone else shouted out that our individual numbers represented the minutes after 9 o’clock that we would be starting at. It was now 9.20am and I was supposed to be off at 9.34am. George W had the absolute luxury of starting at 9.36am.
We raced off to the starting point on the far side of the A419 and with 9.32am now showing on my watch, I could see the marshals gathered about 200 metres ahead. With just seconds to spare, we pulled up. I ripped off my rain jacket and went to stuff it inside my jersey pocket completely forgetting that my number was covering the opening. George W tried to sort out the mangle of bent safety pins, but it needed the steadier hands of one of the marshals to rescue me.
Held in position whilst I was counted down, I tried to focus on the ride. 3 . . 2 . . 1 and I was off. Head down, I piled it on to get my speed above 20mph as quickly as possible and then did my best to keep it there. Travelling south towards Latton there was a brisk breeze to contend with. Having negotiated the first roundabout there was then almost two laps of the second section to complete.
As a first-ever TT I was hoping for a finishing time which would relate to an average speed of 20mph, but fell just short with an unconfirmed average of 19.6mph. George W was a fraction behind me with an unconfirmed average of 19.3mph, not helped when he missed the exit off a roundabout and had to ride around again.
Afterwards, it was back to the pavilion where tea and cake were waiting for us. One of the Swindon RC members I spoke to had noticed George’s MCCC jersey, which he said had aroused some interest, as they hadn’t heard of us before.
Swindon RC and Corinium CC host a TT series over the same course every Thursday evening throughout the summer. Understandably, priority is given to their club members, but other riders are welcome.
Give it a few weeks and we’ll definitely be up for another go. Thanks Swindon RC for your help and encouragement, and giving us the opportunity to try a TT.
Riding back home through Ashton Keynes we acknowledged a
group of cyclists travelling in the opposite direction and then realised it was
our club ride on their way to the Coots café. We had no hesitation in
tagging along, which rounded off an enjoyable morning.
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