8 weeks to Iron Bike

I took an extra day this week to consider what exciting stuff to write here. Well it was a Bank Holiday.

Towards the end of last week, I pitched up for the Didcot Phoenix TT. Apparently it was a float night, a term which I hadn't heard before, but one testers use to describe ideal conditions for fast times. Well it didn't help me! 30 seconds slower than last year. If I try and understand why, I can point to the following excuses. I'm a bit heavier than last year. I have done less short course racing than last year. I am using a Powertap, which has two effects. Firstly the wheel is fitted with a winter training tyre, rather than my usual TT 19 mm tyre and the wheel is heavier and less aerodynamic. I think the real reason is that I'm slower!

There comes a time in your training when you have to start doing some proper hard rides and this week those hard rides start. Sunday was the Gran Fondo Cymru, which I scared myself about in last week's post. I'll try not to bore you with the blow by blow, but it's basically 200 km of pretty tough riding. The first half makes you feel a better rider than you are with a definite downhill bias. Some pretty exciting downhill at that - we all like coming round a blind bend to be stopped dead by a car doing a 3 point turn! Part 2 was like the sequel where they took all the bits you loved from the first one and turned it upside down. The weather went from pretty warm and dry to wet and ferociously windy and the downs became ups. As I said the hard work starts.

It's good to remember though that you shouldn't do this sort of thing too early on in the season as Monday I was shattered, Tuesday I was tired and today I'm not looking forward to getting rained on. That leaves tomorrow to make my training work and weather permitting it's more race of truth. Lets get that powertap off the TT bike so I can't use that excuse this week.