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@clubman
Saturday 16th June, 1979.
Chelmer Middle Markers’ 25, E72,. 1.00.00.limit.
My current p.b. 1.03.16. (Amersham Road)
It’s a hot Saturday afternoon, a car problem makes me late and I arrive at the start timekeeper with about 30 seconds in hand. No warm up, but the adrenaline is flowing because of the rush and the fear of a late start ruining what looks like a promising day. I’m no. 42, and yes I do know about Hitch Hikers’ Guide and the mice.
The pusher off launches me onto what looks and sounds like a motorway. The surface is concrete slabs with tar jointing. I seem to be going well, quickly passing a few backmarkers and after about 10 miles I catch no. 40, a seeded rider. I’m pushing hard but not feeling any pain; the whole thing feels abnormal – dreamlike.
A marshal sends me off the main road into an industrial estate and the finish timekeeper. It seems too quick- I begin to wonder if I’ve missed out a leg of the course. I’ve no watch so I don’t have any idea what I’ve done until it goes up on the result board – 59.04.
This makes me 6th to the winner’s 57.50 (J. Sparrow). I don’t care, I’m just dead chuffed to get under.
The next morning I’m tired, but I force myself to go and ride my club’s Midsummer 25 just to be able to mention, casually of course, what I’d done the previous afternoon. My time on the local course is back to sad reality – 1.04.31. (winner 59.32), but I’m still basking in the sun of that brilliant Saturday afternoon.
There is a moral here: if your only experience of time trialling is on a back road club course and your results seem like rubbish, don’t give up! Those fabulous times other people tell you about have probably been done somewhere like the E72, and on a good day at that.
Remember main road courses can be dangerous. If you have dependents and a love of life you might like to consider just lopping 5 minutes off what you did on the club course.