There's currently three herrvelos...my other half (andy), Druidh and Philip. We generally ride together or meet outwith club rides for faster/specific training rides. A few of the girls other halves show up on an ad hoc basis for the Tuesday sessions and pub nights but aren't members. Its been a while since we had a good turn out on a tuesday night but three of us last night managed to wreck each others legs 
We are also setting up a road race team too. You should both come along, the Tuesday nights at AS are good fun and hard work.
Bike Forum
Any tips for 10 TTs
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Posted 11 months ago #
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For my first TT, I downloaded a Garmin TCX plot of the route with a time that I wanted to aim for. I used this as a virtual partner on my Edge 500 and PLF'd to make sure I beat the time. Worked well, it shows you your time ahead/behind etc. I beat the time by 30 seconds.
This gave me a pretty good idea of the intensity I needed to aim for in further events
And I crossed the line feeling both of these:
very ill or skull fooked
Posted 11 months ago # -
aracer - Member
To get your power up it has to be steep hills as there is no hiding. Power intervals on the flat are too easy to back off on
I find it just as easy to back off on a hill as I do on the flat if I'm not in the mood.
hills arent steep enough then!
Im talking steep - with 18-20% sections where you have to go in the red just to stay upright
Posted 11 months ago # -
It'd take a lot more than 18-20% before I had to go into the red to stay upright.
Posted 11 months ago # -
the guy who drafted a tractor wasn't breaking any rules btw ;)....unless he arranged it to be there!!
yes he was; RTTC regulation 21 "competitors must ride entirely alone and unassisted and not ....take shelter (commonly known as drafting) from other riders or vehicles."
God I'm turning into a testing nerd. if you are enjoying tt'ing this book is quite interesting;
,his pyramid intervals are a fun workout!
Posted 11 months ago # -
okay now this has tweaked my interest. how does one find out about these tts and then enter them. need to be one of the evening ones for me tho.
Posted 11 months ago # -
yes he was; RTTC regulation 21 "competitors must ride entirely alone and unassisted and not ....take shelter (commonly known as drafting) from other riders or vehicles."
God I'm turning into a testing nerd. if you are enjoying tt'ing this book is quite interesting;
if he is unable to overtake said vehicle then there isn't a lot he can do...only the most pedantic organiser would take it as read...
btw i have been a tester since the age of 13...ive seen dangermouse draft cars before!
Posted 11 months ago # -
if he is unable to overtake said vehicle then there isn't a lot he can do...only the most pedantic organiser would take it as read...
The great Alf Engers was regularly suspended by the RTTC, not only for drafting behind vehicles, but also for overtaking them, as he was faster than some of the cars on the road at the time.Which is as good an excuse as any for a retro TT picture - 'King' Alf in his pomp - note the holes drilled in everything, the huge chainring (57 x 12 top gear) and the aerodynamic, but rather suicidal, head position.
Posted 11 months ago # -
We are also setting up a road race team too. You should both come along, the Tuesday nights at AS are good fun and hard work.
I'll see if I can persuade SWMBO but I'm not optimistic as she's currently in the hill-hating stage. She's not had her road bike long and even with an 11:28 on the bike and a compact chainset she can find the hills a struggle. She's allegedly in training for the womens triathlon in a few weeks but that traiming seems to involve eating chocolate, cake and biscuits rather than cycling, running or swimming...
Posted 11 months ago # -
SBZ If you can ride up a 20% hill below FTP then I would expect you to be a lot quicker than you are - no offence.
In the red means above 85% MHR.
Exceptions: you might be a slow bicycle race expert, do a mean trackstand, or worst of all, have a triple
Posted 11 months ago # -
winterfold - who mentioned FTP? I just said that I have no problem riding up 20% hills without blowing out of my backside.
Tonights time was 27:58 which was 1:32 quicker than last time. I'm reasonably happy with that - winning time was 24:32. Despite warming up well I still managed to blow my legs to bits in the first mile.
Posted 11 months ago # -
Just checked my records and my iMagic time for the Kirkliston course was 27:57. I'd be happy if I could get within 5 minutes of that for real!
Posted 11 months ago # -
i expected better ..... what sbz doesnt say is that the whole 1.32 was taken off by going off his heads up touring shopper bianchi to my flat backed layed out long px Stealth TT bike that i loaned him while im working away.
Posted 11 months ago # -
any tips for pacing during TTs? I am rubbish at my club TTs, being beaten by riders who I drop on most climbs, my best times are only when I have someone to chase down or someone overtakes me and I use them to pace at a legal distance,
Posted 11 months ago # -
Use a heart rate monitor?
Posted 11 months ago # -
learn to love the pain ...... it is not a success till you vomit on or around the finish line
Posted 11 months ago # -
Don't go off too fast. Your HR lags behind your perceived effort. Spend the first mile getting up to speed. It will feel like you aren't trying hard enough but a quick glance at the speedo will confirm that you are flying along nicely (unless a headwind
). After the first mile, try to be at threshold. Final mile ramp up above threshold so you have absolutely nothing left after the line.
Posted 11 months ago # -
The tips on pacing above are good. The lag between effort and measured heart rate means that an HR monitor is not effective for the start of a TT. With experience you can develop a feel for how to get up to speed smoothly without going over the red line. A power meter is the ultimate gadget for training and pacing, but a bit pricey unless you are really serious.
It is particularly important to pace the start of the Kirkliston 10 course, because you hit the climb over the motorway to Winchburgh very early. If you start too hard you will suffer here and lose time recovering afterwards.
Looking at absolute times can be a bit misleading, and it is probably more useful to compare yourself to other riders competing regularly, to gauge your performance. Kirkliston would be referred to as a "sporting course" in English TT terms. On drag strip English TT courses, you probably need a 20.xx to get in the top 10 and 19.xx winning times are pretty common. To put Kirkliston in perspective, until last year, the course record, set one of the top British based pros, was 21.47, and the current record is 21.40. The second fastest time last night, 24.24, was set by the current Scottish women's 10 and 25 champion. Your times are quite respectable for a novice and you should make some big early improvements as you gain experience.
Speak to club members at the event and make use of the ERC coaches; you will find lots of experienced people who are happy to provide advice if you are looking to improve your performance. Good luck!
Posted 11 months ago # -
is that road not really rough too? i've only ridden it in passing (though i fancy a go at the tt.. is membership a hassle to do?) but it seems pretty poor.. i bet that makes quite a difference too.
Posted 11 months ago # -
SBZ - different understanding of 'into the red' then
most people mean it as beyond threshold (ie you are on borrowed time before you blow).So - find a hill you cant quite climb at threshold (HRMs do help with this, but if you dont want that, then its the pace when you could just about hold a conversation), repeat until you can do it, then find a steeper hill, or click up a gear.
That's the best way of improving your power in my experience as I dont think you can hide.
Save blowing out of your backside for the last mile.
amt27 - you might find you can go harder for longer than you think. I couldnt understand how i was ever going to do it, until I had a mate show me race pace on the course I was going to do for my first one. Then I got it, it is a proper effort, but sounds like you are fit and you just have to take the pain.
Posted 11 months ago # -
is membership a hassle to do?
Info about ERC club membership
The event used to be open to non members, but unfortunately, because of changes in insurance rules, only first claim club members can participate now.Posted 11 months ago # -
is membership a hassle to do?
Info about ERC club membership
The event used to be open to non members, but unfortunately, because of changes in insurance rules, only first claim club members can participate now.Posted 11 months ago # -
Did another one tonight. 26:39, so that's almost 3 minutes off my starter time. Pretty please with that.
Tonight I gave up on the warming up and pacing ideas as they werent really working for me. Just decided to give it laldy from the start and hold on.
Posted 10 months ago # -
What did i say at te start ?
Its only 20 minutes balls to the wall
Btw 3 minutes - that was me bike that did that fer ya
Posted 10 months ago # -
I'd say half of it was down to the bike and half of it down to getting to know the course.
Posted 10 months ago # -
Aye, but did you vom on the bars George ??
Posted 10 months ago # -
Not yet, had to keep riding for a wee bit before my heart rate came down and have a cracking testers cough today.
Posted 10 months ago # -
I've done these with a power meter. I knew that my average power was 330W, so I aimed for that. It was really really easy at first.
So I'd echo the above - don't go off too hard or you'll flood your legs with lactic acid too early and peform worse I reckon.
Posted 10 months ago # -
Don't listen to all these Pseudo-Science Guys. It's a 10, there is no pacing, as hard as you can all the way, then a little bit harder for the last mile. And try not to get hit by cars.
Posted 10 months ago # -
Warm up properly. Arrive on the start-line sweating.
Don't go off *too* hard. Go easier than you think for the fist half-mile or so. Aim to build to a 'plateau of effort' for the next nine miles and then go balls-out for the last half-mile.
If you've got anything left in the tank by the end, you've done it wrong. Liken it to pouring out a jug of water evenly and constantly and having nothing left at the end.
Position is everything. Keep your knees and elbows in and your head and shoulders low (kinda shrug your shoulders) but look where you're going at all times.
CONCENTRATE on your pedalling and effort. It's very easy for your mind to wander.
Don't get bogged-down with HR monitors and 'science' at this stage. If you start taking it seriously then maybe get a basic HR monitor for training. If you're using one during a TT it's just something else to get distracted by. After a while you will know and feel when you're doing it right.
Enjoy
Just all IMHO, of course.
Posted 10 months ago # -
*re-reads thread with interest ahead of saturday*
i'd forgotten about the cough post silly hard efforts until i read your comment George - I'd better warn Druidh he'll be riding with me and an awful cough on sunday then
I'm planning on a warm up then hard as i can all the way rather than pacing, and i'll also be trying not to drown if its as wet as the last forecast i saw!
Posted 10 months ago # -
Claire - I've tried pacing. It doesnt work for me. Gunning it from the start gave me a substantial gain though.
Posted 10 months ago # -
I've been doing our club evening '10's for a few weeks now.
1st week was quite conservative. built it up over 5 miles and then nailed it for last mile: 25:45
2nd time. Went harder and seemed to pace it better (course is pretty lumpy so you have to watch u don't blow on the small climbs)
25: 16
3rd time I decided to try out some tri bars (after hearing that we get club points for where we come) trounced my time and everyone else's with a great time of 23:44!! well chuffed
Posted 10 months ago # -
Best tip for 10 tt. Do some 25's as well. It makes you appreciate a 10 so much more!
Posted 10 months ago # -
Any tips for making a standard road bike faster. Don't want to spend any money as it's a one off club TT but I'd like to win
Short of making sure everything works, removing saddle bag and bottle I can't think of much. There's potential to drop the front end about an inch by removing some spacers. Uncomfortable for an all day ride but tolerable for 25 minutes I'm sure.
Did a quick practice at the end of a ride last weekend and got 25.5min so I'm confident I can knock a minute off that without the 65 mile warmup.
Posted 10 months ago #
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