But then Giant Cycling Club Sydney decided to run a club championship time trial at Calga.
I joined Giant Cycling Club Sydney (with a recreational / silver license) since everyone I ride with is part of Giant, I thought it would be fun to participate in events.
The Australian Time Trial Association (ATTA) runs this time trial event every first Sunday of the month from 8am.
They have the little ramp and clock and everything!
$25 for those with licenses or $30 for unlicensed.
The distance we chose was 25km - you ride out 12.5km, turn around and ride back.
(via www.gettyimages.com.au)
On the coldest day in Sydney.
It was pretty cold.
A friend was adamant I wouldn't be last. So I looked up last month's times and saw that the last person had done it in 1 hour.
I like to have a goal, so if I achieve it, I will feel a sense of achievement on the other side.
So I made my goal to make it in under 1 hour. That would make it a 25km/hr average, which I thought was a good realistic goal to aim for.
(I love S.M.A.R.T. goals - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time Bound - I find them so effective! They take a little while to think of but are much easier in the long run.)
I asked the man holding my bike for the start whether anyone had fallen off the ramp and he said no. (I'm allowed 1 irrational thought for every cycling event I do, right?)
So I had googled this event (I never do anything without researching first) and the main points seemed to be:
- Don't be late to the start.
- Don't go too hard at the start.
- Save some energy for the big hill at the end.
Some more tips here - Coach's Corner - Club Time Trial Edition
So,
- Don't be late to the start. Tick.
- Don't go too hard at the start. Mmmm.
- Save some energy for the big hill at the end. Granny gear all the way baby.
5km in, trying to find a good pace, I realised I was in the red zone... Oops..
Once I recovered, I found a good pace.
Well, as good as one can do on rolling hills going uphill.
It was lovely because my club Giant Cycling Club Sydney are so super friendly and encouraging and everyone doing warmups or heading the other way was yelling encouragement at me!
The turn was really obvious, lots of signs leading up to it and a person holding a road sign.
My time was 31 minutes at the turn and I thought uh oh, I'm behind schedule...
The return trip was much easier (downhill) until The Hill.
Also, I was much happier knowing I was halfway through!
I thought my very fast friends would catch me, but they didn't.
Probably due to that hill at the end. It was worse than I thought.
I went into granny gear and "paperboy" as they call it where each pedal makes you veer that direction.
Probably due to that hill at the end. It was worse than I thought.
I went into granny gear and "paperboy" as they call it where each pedal makes you veer that direction.
We must have looked like one of those comedy chase scenes where the first group is going to get caught, but then both parties get slowed down by the same obstacle!
The last few kms, I pushed as hard as I could (because I knew there was only a few km to go) and was doing 35km/hr with pain face.
Which paid off because my time was 56 minutes!!!
I achieved my goal! So I was very happy.
And it was actually really fun to do.
I always joke that I hate people, so time trialling is good for me haha. But I just like that it's just you against the clock, no other variables. (well apart from wind, and terrain, etc).
No other people to hold pace or break you, you have to find your own rhythm / pace and push yourself.
No other people to hold pace or break you, you have to find your own rhythm / pace and push yourself.
My husband laughed because I went straight home and put all the dates in my calendar for the upcoming time trial events.
I'm looking forward to doing another one when it's not the coldest day in Sydney. .
I'm looking forward to doing another one when it's not the coldest day in Sydney. .
