The TT season is spluttering to an end. Last week, was a 10 mile TT on the A3. It was cancelled because of unexpected rain. After driving all the way, I thought I would go out for a little spin, it you can’t get a pb, you can always try steal a local KOM, it doesn’t make it worth while, but better than just sitting in your car. To be honest, my heart wasn’t in it, and going up the first hill my chain came off. I made the mistake of trying to put the chain on without getting my hands dirty. I tried to use some random leaves as improbably gloves. The problem is that I failed miserably and also, in the process, managed to knock off the Quark magnet from near the chain stay. Note to self – when putting chain back on – it’s always easier just to get your hands dirty with oil.
After wiping fingers clean, and generally messing around, I’d lost where magnet fell off, so the next 20 minutes was scrabbling around in the dark undergrowth to look for a small magnet. Why is it so hard to find small things when they fall off bikes? I took that as more than a hint to call it a day and head home. That was the last 10 mile TT of the season.
I usually spend a lot of time trying to work out what kind of hill all the course codes are so this is a page with some of the info I have, but bear in mind it is incomplete, and possibly inaccurate.
Sometimes it is hard to find info on the course. If you have more info, or link to event website, drop us a line or leave a comment.
To enter hill climb click on name of event. Note some events, have separate event for J/W. Best to check at CTT site.
The most helpful thing to know is roughly how long a hill climb will take. Time of 1st ride is either CR or estimate CR for men. Some course records are from memory. But, it will provide a rough guide to kind of hill
Motorists often give too little space when overtaking cyclists. It is potentially dangerous and an unpleasant experience. Often is just a combination of impatience and unawareness. But, once you have been a cyclist yourself, you would always approach overtaking a cyclist in a different manner.
Car overtaking on Oxford High Street very close
Big buses. Very often cars/ buses pass so close that if you put your arm out and signal right you will hit the vehicle.
Beware of lorries turning right
Cyclists – Pass with Care! – Buses overtake with Care!
‘Narrow Lane Do Not Overtake Cyclists’
How much room should you give a cyclist?
The Highway code states:
“give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car (see Rules 211-215)”
“As much room as a car” leaves some discretion, but, I would have thought three feet would be a good minimum. My grandma used to think the law was enough space for cyclist to fall off, without hitting the overtaking car. The highway code doesn’t quite say that but it seems a good rule of thumb.
“Motorcyclists and cyclists may suddenly need to avoid uneven road surfaces and obstacles such as drain covers or oily, wet or icy patches on the road. Give them plenty of room and pay particular attention to any sudden change of direction they may have to make.”
This is an interesting one, as sometimes, if you deviate less than one foot from your line an overtaking car will beep aggressively. True, you should be looking over your shoulder, but, if a small deviation from line causes consternation, it is probably because the car is passing too closely.
Urban roads and Rural Roads
It is common for cars to pass closely on urban roads, but at least speeds are lower, and often cars are more ready to slowdown. It is a bigger problem on fast rural roads where cars can be doing 50-60mph + and motorists don’t have the mentality to be ready to slow down. 50mph speed limits can become like minimum targets. If a motorist comes across a cyclist, they are loathe to slow down so just keep on ploughing on.
Speed of overtaking
There is a big difference between a car overtaking close at 20mph and a car overtaking close at 50mph. There is also a big difference when a lorry overtakes you and it is so close the drag pushes you around.
SPACE from carltonreid on Vimeo.
3 Feet Rule
A car giving plenty of room to a young kid on Cowley Road (look how close the child is hugging the kerb). I wonder if the cyclists was wearing lycra, helmet and fluroescent coat, the car would have given less room?
Some countries have toyed with the idea of passing a law that motorists should leave 3 feet when overtaking. If this was the case, 80% of drivers would break the law everyday.
Doesn’t giving Cyclists Room mean an increase in congestion / time wasted?
I’ve lost count of the number of times a motorist has impatiently overtaken – squeezed through a gap which wasn’t there and then had to slam on the brakes because he’s approaching a traffic jam. There is a certain karma to then be able to undertake them whilst they are stationary in a traffic jam. But, you would think, people would look ahead. Squeezing through gaps which aren’t there rarely get you any quicker anyway.
Generally, cars should give more space, but all rules need some discretion. As a motorist I find it quite easy to give space to cyclists because I always think empathise with the cyclist that I am overtaking. I would give the cyclist as much space as I would want myself.
I really don’t understand why cyclists get such a bad press in the media. When I think of the 100,000 miles I’ve driven in the past 10 years – how much time have I lost by waiting for a good opportunity to overtake. It is completely negligible. Furthermore, I enjoy the process of slowing down and giving space – because I know the cyclist will appreciate it.
It’s just a matter of perspective – Get mad because you have to wait 5 seconds, or take a bit more time and get to the back of the traffic jam in a calmer state of mind. Life isn’t rocket science!
But Cyclists don’t wear A Cycle Helmet / Cyclists don’t pay road tax
Would you want to run-over a pedestrian because they don’t pay an obsolete tax, no one pays?
Would you run over a pedestrian just because they are not wearing a safety helmet – to teach them a lesson?
After a hard couple of days racing, it was nice to be able to put the feet up and watch other people suffering for a change. This year’s road race was held on the roads of the Lincoln Grand Prix – featuring the infamous cobbled climb of Michaelgate. Just two minutes long, the climb may not seem too much on itself, but ridden nine times with many miles in the legs, the cobbled climb is guaranteed to break up a race and create an intriguing race.
The world hour record by Sir Bradley Wiggins was one of those great sporting moments. It was a great achievement, and a real pleasure to watch.
An hour of a single athlete riding around a track, may sound quite dull. But, it is testimony to the record and athlete that it was one of the most enthralling hour’s of sport I’ve watched.
As a timetriallist myself I couldn’t help but admire, for the full 60 mins the near perfect position (with ridiculously low CdA), and metronomic timing of the laps. At one point, the average speed seemed stuck on 54.62 km/h. There was a very slight dip in speed in the last twelve minutes, but, still enough to smash the record with a 54.526 km.
After the torturous hour of racing, Bradley gave a very composed and entertaining interview; an example of why he was so popular. (a sharp contrast to the inarticulate interviews of footballers after European cup final last night – which was a great game!)
Number of riders who have won the following palmeres: One – Bradley Wiggins
Olympic gold – Time trial (2012)
Olympic gold – Individual pursuit *2 (2004, 2008)
Olympic gold – Team pursuit (2008)
Total Olympic medals – seven, four gold (and Rio 2016 to come)
World Time Trial Championships
World Time trial championship (2014)
Track world championships * 6 gold medals (10 medals in total)
Stage race victories
Tour de France victory
Critérium du Dauphiné (2011, 2012)
Paris–Nice (2012)
Tour de Romandie (2012)
Tour of Britain (2013)
Tour of California (2014)
Miscellaneous
3rd Vuelta Espane (2011)
Wore leaders jersey Giro d’Italia and Vuelta
Team pursuit world record 3 times. 3:53.314 (2008)
National titles
National Time Trial Championships (2009, 2010, 2014)
National Road Race Championships (2011)
UCI World Hour record
54.526 (2015)
The coverage of the hour record was mostly good (at least after missing the start with Sky commercials. It was a little bizarre having a mid race interview with Seb Coe, who for some reason was spending the hour riding on an indoor bicycle. Carlton Kirby did a fine job in the commentary; but it was the atmosphere of the crowd seeping into the tv which was the real star.
1036mb was the air pressure making the record perhaps an hour slower. This record of 54.6 is definitely not on the shelf. I think a rider like Tony Martin could break it. – Perhaps within the year. Alex Dowsett will probably go away for a few years and feel that towards the end of his career he could come back and get close to this mark.
Would Bradley be tempted to have another go – knowing that low air pressure could give him up to another 1 km? Probably not. Bradley doesn’t have much to prove, but then he always said he would never do the hour record at all.
p.s. Kudos to the young kid wearing an Otley CC jersey I saw in the crowd.
p.p.s. I’m so glad his aero team told him to shave off his beard. I wouldn’t have got as much joy if he was riding with a beard to disturb the airflow.
The Giro d’Italia has been great to watch – beautiful Italian scenery, exciting, unpredictable racing – and as stage races go a lot of drama and excitement. If the Tour de France could replicate that intensity, we could be in for a treat. Hopefully, if the main contenders stay safe in the crazy first week, there will be many more people to seriously challenge for the lead.
One of the abiding images of the Giro was watching Alberto Contador dance up the Mortirolo climb picking off the straggling peleton like he was a pro coming across a Sunday afternoon club run. It was a really great stage. Similarly, it was just as good to see Contador suffer on the last stage. – Expect the unexpected with this Giro.
I’m a great fan of the Corinthian endeavour – amateur ideals of sport and all that. But, the thing with professional cycling is that it is often the badly timed crash / puncture that really lights up the race. If the main protagonists stopped racing every-time someone came a cropper, it would become more like a charity ride, than a race. I guess you have to take the rough with the smooth. The sportsmanship in pro-cycling that really matters is riding 100% clean.
Still, the ever-unpopular UCI rule makers should revisit those rules about fining riders who swap equipment from different teams. I think it’s good if rival team mates want to offer a spare wheel out of friendship or sportsmanship. It’s always good to have rules that outsiders to the sport understand. Unless you have spent many late nights reading the UCI rulebook you will probably struggle to understand the two minute penalty give Porte and Simon Clarke (BBC link) for nothing more than a wheel swap.
The one shadow over the Giro is why they have to always commemorate Marco Pantani as the great hero of cycling. To me, he never will be. The abiding memory of Pantani is (apart from his ridiculous Heamocrit levels) was leading the peleton protests (photo) against ‘proper drug enforcement at the 1998 Tour de France (the Tour of the Festina scandal)’. Pantani was a tragic life, a cautionary tale, a man who perhaps deserves sympathy, but, I struggle to feign admiration for any drug users – be they Pantani, Armstrong or Ullrich.
Finishing on a more positive note – another highlight of the Giro was seeing a new generation come through, like David Formolo’s successful win from a break. That was really good. Hope to see him keep progressing for next few years.
I remember when I was 11, I owned a shell suit and thinking it was the greatest thing since Marmite. I’ve now expunged all photos of me cycling in a shell suit (good job no flickr.com in those days). It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now…
There are many things that seem like a good idea at the time, cycling is no exception.
The all over skin suit
I believe under this skinsuit is Dave Lloyd
In the 1970s, these all over skin suits were all the rage in the time-trialling community. Apparently, dressing up in this figure hugging lycra piece was a couple of seconds more aerodynamic over 25 miles. The sad thing is that I’m drawn to the quality of the number pinning, which may well negate all the effort of that lycra onesie.
Dressing all in black
For many years in the UK, the RTTC had a regulation that cyclists must only wear all black whilst racing on British roads. The idea was to make the cyclist look less conspicuous – and so hopefully prevent anyone from noticing that we were doing something as rebellious as ride a bike.
These days, we go to the other extreme and wear fluorescent jackets and the like.
