Tour of Cambridgeshire
Discussion
JustinF said:
remember it's not a race, even if you are in the race pen.
It very definitely is a race! It's referred to as a race in the race book and it's a timed event with podiums, prizes and qualification for the amateur worlds later in the year.Fair enough, many people are just riding and I'm only competing against myself imposed time target but I, like many, many other people will be 'racing' on Sunday!
Great time at the Chrono yesterday. Went off quite near the end and the course was quite "sporting". By the time I went off it was starting to quiet down but the temperature had ridden and was sweating like a pig all the way around. Managed to finish 116th overall and 37th in my age cat (19-34), and put almost a minute into a club mate who has been beating me on the local 10s over the last month or so. Pretty happy and great to be able to ride on closed roads. Might considering doing both days next year.
Have to say it was another bloody brilliant year! Well done ToC Organisers, the army of volunteers and the goo people with the various local authorities! Amazing.
Also a massive thanks to all the people by the road side cheering and clapping! Makes a huge difference, especially towards the end when you're totally b
ksed and your legs are screaming at you!
Made it round in 4hrs 4mins 35secs on the timing chip! My evil plan mostly worked and I managed to tag onto few decent groups although I did make a total balls up of the crucial Fen section and ended up on my own, face first into the stiff north westerly, struggling to maintain 20kph let alone 20mph!
I also made the school boy error of riding a new kit combo for the first time! Muppet! Donned my skin suit with spares in the pockets and fuel in the musette... fking thing kept getting caught up on the mini pump and was a complete tt to get from the back to raid it for food!
And on that subject I have to make an unreserved apology to the group behind on the short stretch of the old A1 just before we turned onto the Alconbury Airbase. In my faffing I managed to unintentionally, and unknowingly (I only realised it was missing some time later) throw my empty bottle out behind me! I sincerely hope I didn't cause too much trouble, I heard some shouting but didn't realise that it was at me! (I didn't hear any crashing though so I guess it wasn't the end of the world?!)
I have a plan for next year, I'm pretty sure I know where my lost time is and that I can be capable of a sub 4hr time... I might even bite the bullet, join a local club and work with a group for the whole ride properly! Just got to work on my social skills...
Also a massive thanks to all the people by the road side cheering and clapping! Makes a huge difference, especially towards the end when you're totally b
ksed and your legs are screaming at you! Made it round in 4hrs 4mins 35secs on the timing chip! My evil plan mostly worked and I managed to tag onto few decent groups although I did make a total balls up of the crucial Fen section and ended up on my own, face first into the stiff north westerly, struggling to maintain 20kph let alone 20mph!
I also made the school boy error of riding a new kit combo for the first time! Muppet! Donned my skin suit with spares in the pockets and fuel in the musette... f
king thing kept getting caught up on the mini pump and was a complete tt to get from the back to raid it for food!And on that subject I have to make an unreserved apology to the group behind on the short stretch of the old A1 just before we turned onto the Alconbury Airbase. In my faffing I managed to unintentionally, and unknowingly (I only realised it was missing some time later) throw my empty bottle out behind me! I sincerely hope I didn't cause too much trouble, I heard some shouting but didn't realise that it was at me! (I didn't hear any crashing though so I guess it wasn't the end of the world?!)
I have a plan for next year, I'm pretty sure I know where my lost time is and that I can be capable of a sub 4hr time... I might even bite the bullet, join a local club and work with a group for the whole ride properly! Just got to work on my social skills...
A very mediocre 4h 10m here.
The course was much more difficult than I'd anticipated - I'd gone into it thinking it would be flat as a pancake and would be a nice easy one. Wrong. I went off too quickly and didn't eat anywhere near enough, so bonked after 40 miles. I couldn't muster up the energy to hold on to a group and ended up doing most of it solo. Which meant a long, despairing 40+ mile in the wind. It turned into one of those rides you end up swearing you've had enough of bikes and hate cycling. But as per usual, after a bottle of Coke and a dirty bit of food from the catering van, 30 minutes later all's well again.
Lesson learned I think.
I did the Velothon Wales a couple of weeks ago - even with another 4000ft of ascent and a few more miles my average was only a couple of mph worse at 18 mph than on this ride!
ETA - got to hand it to the Belgians I'd seen there, effortlessly cool.
The course was much more difficult than I'd anticipated - I'd gone into it thinking it would be flat as a pancake and would be a nice easy one. Wrong. I went off too quickly and didn't eat anywhere near enough, so bonked after 40 miles. I couldn't muster up the energy to hold on to a group and ended up doing most of it solo. Which meant a long, despairing 40+ mile in the wind. It turned into one of those rides you end up swearing you've had enough of bikes and hate cycling. But as per usual, after a bottle of Coke and a dirty bit of food from the catering van, 30 minutes later all's well again.
Lesson learned I think.
I did the Velothon Wales a couple of weeks ago - even with another 4000ft of ascent and a few more miles my average was only a couple of mph worse at 18 mph than on this ride!
ETA - got to hand it to the Belgians I'd seen there, effortlessly cool.
First time I have done the TOC and I thought it was a great event, really well organised and run and it was nice that people were cheering along the route, was good to see.
I ended up taking the short route at the 45 mile point as I'd been suffering with le merdes all morning and as a result lost pretty much all my energy, food stores and hydration due to that... despite all that it was nice to ride closed roads and most people seemed friendly, nursing some quality sun burn now though!
I ended up taking the short route at the 45 mile point as I'd been suffering with le merdes all morning and as a result lost pretty much all my energy, food stores and hydration due to that... despite all that it was nice to ride closed roads and most people seemed friendly, nursing some quality sun burn now though!
Rode with pembo for most of the route, we were flying for the first 70kms bossing the peloton like the tubby wobblers we are. In my head I was David Millar but I suspected I looked like David Brent...
Then we found a food stop with many sausage rolls and decided it was more important to enjoy the weather than pedal furiously for another 70kms.
Kudos to Edd who really was in a bad way at 0900 yesterday and many thanks to pembo for 85 miles of comedy banter.
Then we found a food stop with many sausage rolls and decided it was more important to enjoy the weather than pedal furiously for another 70kms.
Kudos to Edd who really was in a bad way at 0900 yesterday and many thanks to pembo for 85 miles of comedy banter.
Another incredible performance from Gruffy, who got round only some 4 minutes slower than the fastest time on Strava. Congratulations to j00py and Johno78 for qualifying for the Worlds. I gave it everything I had but failed miserably. Shamelessly drafted Pablo and Pembo to begin with, helping to get me round the first half in under 2 hours but, unlike Jens Voigt's, my legs answered back later and I paid for it on the windswept Fens, ending up way off at 4hr20.
At least next year I'll go up an age cat, so the amount of time I'll have to find will be a fraction less. That'll be an effective marginal gain by doing nothing except getting older. Sky could learn a lot from me.
At least next year I'll go up an age cat, so the amount of time I'll have to find will be a fraction less. That'll be an effective marginal gain by doing nothing except getting older. Sky could learn a lot from me.
Had a great time riding with Pablo yesterday, we were flying for that first 50 miles, I had to take a nature break and worried about catching the group again but a big push and the help of a couple of other guys who had done the same got me back with the group.
I came to regret that towards the end though when I started to get cramps in every muscle in my legs, Pablo stopped with to eat my Haribo whilst I lay down trying to stretch them out as the ambulance I sat opposite drove off
That would have been me in Yaxley, stopped to see my little lad but he didn't want to let me go!
I came to regret that towards the end though when I started to get cramps in every muscle in my legs, Pablo stopped with to eat my Haribo whilst I lay down trying to stretch them out as the ambulance I sat opposite drove off
That would have been me in Yaxley, stopped to see my little lad but he didn't want to let me go!
pembo said:
Had a great time riding with Pablo yesterday, we were flying for that first 50 miles, I had to take a nature break and worried about catching the group again but a big push and the help of a couple of other guys who had done the same got me back with the group.
I came to regret that towards the end though when I started to get cramps in every muscle in my legs, Pablo stopped with to eat my Haribo whilst I lay down trying to stretch them out as the ambulance I sat opposite drove off
That would have been me in Yaxley, stopped to see my little lad but he didn't want to let me go!
One of you was definitely eating the other I came to regret that towards the end though when I started to get cramps in every muscle in my legs, Pablo stopped with to eat my Haribo whilst I lay down trying to stretch them out as the ambulance I sat opposite drove off
That would have been me in Yaxley, stopped to see my little lad but he didn't want to let me go!
Good to catch up with you all again. It was good fun to ride with Johno78 for most of the ride as it took my mind off my body telling me to stop. I really didn't see very much of the route this year as I guess I was so busy concentrating, which seems a bit of a shame given how nice it was.
The take-away lessons from this year is that I went out far too hard, and would have been able to stick with the big fast group I was with for longer if I had have been a bit more sensible using up my energy, and I should have let the very fast groups go rather than try and jump on them.
I have to say that everything that I emailed the organisers about last year had been resolved such as the large mounds of gravel in the middle of some roads and speed bumps on the runway so I am impressed with that. I think the large bumps going into one of the villages could have been marked, but thats my one small issue.
The take-away lessons from this year is that I went out far too hard, and would have been able to stick with the big fast group I was with for longer if I had have been a bit more sensible using up my energy, and I should have let the very fast groups go rather than try and jump on them.
I have to say that everything that I emailed the organisers about last year had been resolved such as the large mounds of gravel in the middle of some roads and speed bumps on the runway so I am impressed with that. I think the large bumps going into one of the villages could have been marked, but thats my one small issue.
It was another good day out catching up with everyone again.
I was 13 minutes faster than last year and got the qualifiers medal. Should've been quicker, but joopy and myself paid the price for being at the head of a decent paced group for 2 hours and got spat out of the back into the crosswinds.
Roll on next year and qualification attempt for france.
I was 13 minutes faster than last year and got the qualifiers medal. Should've been quicker, but joopy and myself paid the price for being at the head of a decent paced group for 2 hours and got spat out of the back into the crosswinds.
Roll on next year and qualification attempt for france.
Very much a race of two halves for me.
Started in the 19-34 race pen, and the pace from the flag drop was nuts. I knew that I'd struggle to keep with a race group for the length, but I ended up holding a large group for the first hour, before then forming up a small 'grupetto' with others who got dropped from the main packs. I was keeping an eye on power/HR, consciously trying to avoid burning too many matches. All was going well enough, then at 80km, my legs went.
Crazy cramps in my inner thigh practically threw me out of the saddle, so had to stop and stretch my legs out. My legs do have a tendency to protest like this, and to be frank, I haven't put enough longer rides into them this year. From then on, it was a balancing act for pace and cramping. Low gear high cadence was fine, but any effort requested of the legs resulted in cramping, and I struggled to respond to any changes in pace. I tagged onto various groups, but had nothing to respond with legs wise, so it was a slow, and painful 50km back into Peterborough.
Net result was 20 minutes slower than last years time, which is more than a little frustrating!
I'm struggling with standing up, and stairs, but have a physio appointment booked in. It feels to me like I've pulled something (lliopsoas maybe) in the process.
It was a great event though. The changes they made to the organisation after last year all worked really well, and the support out on the roads was great again.
I'll be back next year
Started in the 19-34 race pen, and the pace from the flag drop was nuts. I knew that I'd struggle to keep with a race group for the length, but I ended up holding a large group for the first hour, before then forming up a small 'grupetto' with others who got dropped from the main packs. I was keeping an eye on power/HR, consciously trying to avoid burning too many matches. All was going well enough, then at 80km, my legs went.
Crazy cramps in my inner thigh practically threw me out of the saddle, so had to stop and stretch my legs out. My legs do have a tendency to protest like this, and to be frank, I haven't put enough longer rides into them this year. From then on, it was a balancing act for pace and cramping. Low gear high cadence was fine, but any effort requested of the legs resulted in cramping, and I struggled to respond to any changes in pace. I tagged onto various groups, but had nothing to respond with legs wise, so it was a slow, and painful 50km back into Peterborough.
Net result was 20 minutes slower than last years time, which is more than a little frustrating!
I'm struggling with standing up, and stairs, but have a physio appointment booked in. It feels to me like I've pulled something (lliopsoas maybe) in the process.
It was a great event though. The changes they made to the organisation after last year all worked really well, and the support out on the roads was great again.
I'll be back next year
OK, embarrassing confession time. I was struggling with a gurgling stomach and wind (both types) from somewhere near Whittlesey, at one point I farted and thought I'd followed through 
I've never been so relieved to get home and discover it was just a big fart and too much chamois cream
Lesson for next year, don't carb load on an American Hot pizza...
I've never been so relieved to get home and discover it was just a big fart and too much chamois cream
Lesson for next year, don't carb load on an American Hot pizza...
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