Conference noted::bicycle

    I wonder Rod, whether you wore one of those aero helmets?
    And have you now got a large solid wheel at the back on your TT
    bike? And did you get those tri-bars fitted?
    
    Oh for the heroic days when Tommy Simpson used to rely on will-power
    and strength....
    
    And I thought the bicycle was a symbol of serenity and simplicity...

    Well, let's see now Rdo, you do have aero pedals and seat post, ehh? 
    Have you shaved your arms and legs?
    
    ed

    Re Keith:
    
    Specialised helmet, no disc wheels, no aero bars (banned by RTTC
    anyway). As you well know. You're just looking for an excuse to moan.
    
    Re Ed:
    
    Dura-Ace pedals you sold me, thanks, and yes, a Campy aero seat-post!
    Shaved no, grazed, occasionally. I will report Saturday's ride here, I
    know how you'll all be dying to know.
    
    Actually, looking at the start sheet for the Newmarket event, I must be
    considered a favourite for one �5 prize: the "Colin Lawrence Award for
    Slowest Rider". Looking a *liitle* further up the list, I recognise one
    name: Sarah Springman, a world-class triathlete sponsored by Freewheel.
    
    
    Rod

Rod,

The RTTC is a time-trialling organization right?  What's the handbook like?  
I might like to get a copy... what's it cost (American) and would it be worth it
to me to get a copy?

Kevin

    The RTTC is the Road Time-Trials Council, the governing body of amateur
    time-trialling in Britain. They issue a handbook each year, a small but
    thick and closely-printed tome, contents roughly as follows:
    
    - Rules: lots and lots of them, about competing, about how to run events
    and so.
    - A list of all RTTC sanctioned events for the year: hundreds of 'em.
    Not many in Jan or Feb, but by mid-summer there are 20~30 a day
    scattered round England and Wales. My own club organises about 3 or 4
    over the course of the year.
    - Brief description of all the courses
    - List of all the winners of last year's events
    
    Plus other stuff I forget. The idea is that you get one early on in the
    season, then peruse it for TTs you might like to do. This is especially
    important if you want to enter something like BBAR, the British Best
    All-Rounder competition, a national scheme for finding the best
    competitors over 50m, 100m and 12-hour TTs (this has been discussed in
    Cycle_Racing). Entering an event is equally rule-bound, one has to use
    only a standard type of form which asks details of recent performances
    over various standard distances. Events secretaries use these details
    to decide who to allow to enter their event, generally on the basis of
    fastest only. I wasn't at all sure I would gain entry to this TT,
    because I have a minimal and unimpressive TT history.
    
    I don't think the book would of much practical use to you, but I'm sure
    I could get you a copy if you wanted.
    
    
    Rod

Rod,

Yes I'd like a copy, since I'm interested in getting something like the RTTC, 
and especially the BBAR, going here in the US (or at least New England).  I think
we need something like that for those of us who don't like risking life, limb 
and bike in crits and road races, the dominant form of bike racing here.  Its 
too dangerous for me!

Kevin

    
    Yes, Rules rule OK (Gospel according to RTTC).
    
    RTTC timetrials are not quite like the TdF where the yellow jersey gets
    to start last and the Lanterne Rouge first.  In a traditional field of
    120 riders, the fastest *should* be off no 60, the 2nd off 120..... the
    rest of the field is allocated in the order 1's, 6's, 2's, 7's etc,
    etc.. - the idea being to try to avoid pacing when riders get caught. 
    When I was a lad you used to boast you were "off on a 0, or a 1",
    indiacting you were in the upper echelon.  Of course it depended
    whether you were talking about a Nat Championship or the Wobbly
    Wheelers MM '25'.
    
    PS Enjoy the Newmarket event, I shall be interested to see if you
    subscribe to the common view that East Anglia is flat after the
    weekend.
    

>    PS Enjoy the Newmarket event, I shall be interested to see if you
>    subscribe to the common view that East Anglia is flat after the
>    weekend.
    
    East Anglia? Flat? Who said that?
    
    The course was pretty tough in fact, with lots of long drags to climb,
    and one short sharp one. The conditions were good, sunny and warm
    though a bit breezy, and my legs had their first look at the sun this
    year. I think you're right about the order in which competitors are set
    off: I did nurture faint hopes of being first rider home, but I was
    passed by number 5 after 10 miles and number 10 after 19 miles, so so
    much for that idea.
    
    I used gearing of 52-42 and 13-21, and I'm sorry to say that I was on
    the small ring as much as the big one. The machinery lying around the
    sports ground where everyone was parked was pretty impressive, and
    would have gladdened the eyes of a Campagnolo rep.
    
    If you want actual numbers, I did 1:16:49 for the 26.4 miles. The
    fastest time on the board when I left, with about a third of the times
    up, was 1:02:03. 
    
    I failed to win the Colin Lawrence award, btw.
    
    
    Rod

    
    Good going!  (And mind the sunscreen... :-))
    
    j

    RE: .0
    
    Rod, 
    
    What's the schedule for the Reading Club 10's. Each Tues at 7:00pm?. 
    Also, where's the start point for CC132? My own club (Farnborough and 
    Camberley) 10's don't start for a couple of weeks so I thought I'd have
    a go at Reading's. 
        
    Mike

    Re 8
    
    I make that an average speed of 20.639 mph.  That ain't bad at all.
    But you kinda sounded a bit flat about the whole trip as though
    you didn't enjoy it...or perhaps you have a deadline to meet.
    For information (as someone nearing 40), what's the age range like
    at such an event?
    
    Keith

    Re .10:
    
    It's off behind Twyford, but difficult to explain, for me anyway. Since
    you're in Decpark, bring a map round and I'll show you?
    
    
    Re .11:
    
    The age range is large. The guy parked next to me must have been about
    60, and he wasn't the only one. Time-triallists seem to have a long
    career. Raleigh have this year taken on as a professional Ian Cammish,
    till now the UK's top amateur time-trialler, and he's about 41.
    
    As to whether I enjoyed it or not, yes I did, as much as I ever enjoy
    any competitive athletic event. Whether you're doing a TT or a 10K run,
    you have to put the effort in and it hurts! You ought to try it
    sometime, like when you get your flash road bike.
    
    
    Rod

    I found a write-up of the TT in the April 5th "Cycling Weekly". The guy
    who won was Ian Browning of Polytechnic CC - Air Canada Cargo, the
    owner of the 1:02:03 time I mentioned earlier which was in fact just
    one second off the course record, and 1:30 faster than the next man.
    
    Some of the descriptions rang a bell, eg "The early swoop down to
    Newmarket town, HQ of horse racing, was soon counteracted by the climb
    of Duchess Drive which Browning took at a seemingly effortless gallop".
    I remember the swoop, and I certainly remember the climb, but the
    seemingly effortless gallop, no, I can't say I remember that.
    
    
    Rod

    RE:- The age of Cammish
    
    He's only in his mid-thirties and definately not 41.
    
    P.S 
    What are the courses like around Reading, the Cheshire (J courses) are
    pretty dire.

    Sorry if I had his age wrong, I'm sure I read it was 41 in one of the
    magazines. As for courses round here, they're mainly A-road and dual
    carriageway (you could have guessed that) and flattish. I'm not as
    familiar with them as I'd hoped I would be by now, having been off the
    bike since late April.
    
    
    Rod