Calga TT

[mikesbytes]

The first one is always a good experience. What time did you set?

[DaSchmooze]

The first one is always a good experience. What time did you set?

Not quite sure of the time but avg kph was 31.07. Was hoping for something over 32 but I'm pleased with that result doing the course sight unseen. Just need to start hauling my butt up some more hills to limit my losses I think.

[mikesbytes]

Have a look here http://www.atta.asn.au/db/005.php?page= ... id=nsw1_15

[DaSchmooze]

There we go - 48 mins 16

Would you know what Std place and Std time are?

[mikesbytes]

Std time is a calculation based on your age/gender. The time posted is the difference between your time and the time expected by this calculation. It's on the web page and I've looked at it and don't understand the formula.

Std place is where you came in comparison with your Std time

[rheicel]

Got a PB on the 43km ITT, my second try.
Same bike, change the compact to Standard Cranks = almost 2 monutes of improvement. Weather was a lot calmer though compared to the one last December.
Time from 1:16:16 to 1:13:38. I'll get a free entry next time, so I will give it another go.

[ft_critical]

So I thought I would revive this thread a bit. It has some really useful information.

I did my third Calga ITT a couple of weeks back. I warm up with a ride up the first few hills. It gives me a view on the wind and road conditions which, to be honest, at my level is unnecessary information

I took my pacing from a friend, 165 on the way out, 175 on the rises on the way back. It is good, but I try to push it to 170 on the way out also. I get passed by the 3rd place rider who is flying (43 avg for the 25k). I stick with him on the hills but lose massive ground on the flats and downhills. Somewhere Alex wrote that this is a common mistake for inexperienced riders. On the road you get used to the hammer, recover pattern of a race. I guess I am constantly looking for places to conserve. This doesn’t transfer to a TT.

I pass a few people but I struggle to keep the power high, my legs feel wooden. That said my HR management is good.

Riding a TT bike is much harder than I thought. I have sort of overcome the fear of not being able to reach the brakes immediately, though in unfamiliar areas, at high speed a nervous hand drifts back to the brake. I found over about 70km the bike feels light in the front and any gust of wind scares me. I have managed that by pushing myself further back in the saddle, unweighting the front end. This allows me to travel down into Blood Hill at 72/73 in relative comfort.

There are some ridges in the road after the turn at 21km. Bits of bitumen that rise up in little mountains. Someone mentioned being confident to ‘throw’ the bike around. I am not that. I drift it cautiously about the place. As a result I get too close to these ridges and nearly take myself out .

Potholes . So with only the ability to drift not steer aggressively on the aerobars, I finally nail a monster pothole. I figure it is game over for my wheel and a flat. It was a massive impact. But amazingly, all is okay. Calga is riddled with potholes at the moment, it is really bad; especially for a chronic, bike drifter, newbie like me.

I am okay up Blood Hill, but the stretch to home is always longer and harder than I remember. In my previous setup, at this point in the TT, I couldn’t sit on the saddle, I couldn’t see properly from the ache in my shoulders cutting off the blood to my brain and my one size too small helmet had sent my ears to sleep. With this all remedied I don’t feel too bad on the run to the finish.

43kmh at 36.7kmh, 168bpm. I still think I would be faster on my road bike, but it seems it is a matter of practice. It sounds a bit crazy, but I find that the 43km TT smashes my legs up for a couple of days. I think overall, TTs are harder than Crits or Road Races.

[mikesbytes]

The pothole you hit, was it in the stretch after blood hill?

What was your time?

[Strawburger]

It would be around the 1:10 mark

It's tough going on the TT bike FT... Having to mentally adjust is the hardest!

[ft_critical]

Hi Mike and Strawburger. Correct 1:10 flat.

The pot hole was on the stretch down into the little hill before Blood Hill. Some kindly person has spray painted circles around most of the holes half way to the 25k turn both sides. However, heaps more have opened up subsequent to that.

[mikesbytes]

Excellent time

That's a different pothole to the one that gave me a double flat on singles

[ft_critical]

So this month I concentrated on trying to put down power on the flats and downhills. This took a minute off my time at 5bpm lower HR. Felt a lot more comfortable. I wouldn't say comfortable but not horrible like last month.

Can I use the power output in watts as my FTP - even though it is over 1hr and 9min rather than just and hour? Given the 95% of your 20min time calc, I would think that this is a reasonable FTP marker even if it was 9min longer?

I turned up with rubbing brakes, they seemed fine during the warm up... I used an emergency elastic band fix. This worked fine. Broke a spoke just after I finished too...

As can only happen right!? as I was coming back through the 25km turn, a guy was rolling across the full width of the road and I had to slow right down. Seriously, the chances of having to actually slow down are very slim I would have thought. Totally ruined my time of course

[toolonglegs]

Your pacing looked pretty good mate... I had a nosey yesterday ... definitely a good FTP hit out.

[ft_critical]

Thanks TLL.

[Alex Simmons/RST]

New course record of 32:31 for the 25km ITT set this weekend by a guy I did aero testing/optimisation session with a couple of months back. He sent me an email saying he was pretty chuffed and thanked me for the help.

[mikesbytes]

New course record of 32:31 for the 25km ITT set this weekend by a guy I did aero testing/optimisation session with a couple of months back. He sent me an email saying he was pretty chuffed and thanked me for the help.

Truly excellent Alex

Out of curiosity would you be willing to guess what his time may of been if he hadn't done your aero testing / optimisation session with you?

[ft_critical]

New course record of 32:31 for the 25km ITT set this weekend by a guy I did aero testing/optimisation session with a couple of months back. He sent me an email saying he was pretty chuffed and thanked me for the help.

Amazing speed and time.

[Alex Simmons/RST]

New course record of 32:31 for the 25km ITT set this weekend by a guy I did aero testing/optimisation session with a couple of months back. He sent me an email saying he was pretty chuffed and thanked me for the help.

Truly excellent Alex

Out of curiosity would you be willing to guess what his time may of been if he hadn't done your aero testing / optimisation session with you?

Well we did find gains but I can't share that data without his permission.

[ft_critical]

Some days you wonder why you bother. Wonder whether training is worthwhile? I am lighter and fitter than I have been in a long time. This translated into a worse time by ~1min.

My target is to be able to cover the 43km course at 40kmh, but I just can't see that happening.

My legs hurt the whole time and I couldn't hold the effort I wanted. That said between the out and the back leg there was only a drop of 5watts and 1 bpm, so the pacing was fine.

If I search for an excuse; I did one 20min interval at FTP with four 30sec Z7 efforts in it. I felt sick at the end and I think it hurt my legs too much for the TT.

Searching for anything good to take away... well, I felt very comfortable on the TT bike for the first time.

[queequeg]

Some days you wonder why you bother. Wonder whether training is worthwhile? I am lighter and fitter than I have been in a long time. This translated into a worse time by ~1min.

...

My target is to be able to cover the 43km course at 40kmh, but I just can't see that happening.

Searching for anything good to take away... well, I felt very comfortable on the TT bike for the first time.

What about external factors like wind, temp, humidity? I've ridden Peats Ridge Rd many times, and I have done it tough plenty of times due to wind etc!

[ft_critical]

What about external factors like wind, temp, humidity? I've ridden Peats Ridge Rd many times, and I have done it tough plenty of times due to wind etc!

I wish QQ! No sadly not.

I think that TT exposes the underlying limitations of the individual. So whilst they call it the race of truth and everyone thinks that is just about what happens on the day, I think the TT exposes a deeper and more permanent truth. An unpleasant one in my case.

[toolonglegs]

1x20m Z4 (4x 30s Z7) ... Pretty tough leg opener the day before a 40 km ITT !!!

[ft_critical]

Thanks for the encouragement TLL. I will take it easy the day before the March event. According to someone out there March is going to be the big day, not sure why.

[Strawburger]

Lead-up to the nsw masters?

[DaveQB]

Did my first Calga ITT at the start of the month.

43 km
1:27:06
161 bpm
http://www.atta.asn.au/db/005.php?page= ... id=nsw9_16
https://www.strava.com/activities/699822007

Having never ridden it before (actually never raced a bike before) and only having 3 hours sleep the night before and I think 5 hours the night before this, I didn't go too hard for the first time. Aimed for 160bpm. Ended up at 161 so not bad pacing. I wanted to save some energy for a weights workout that night (football training).

I really enjoyed it. I like the pro like start ramp and clock haha.
It was a lot more hilly than I expected.

Did up this video of the start:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTH4bjFqHcI

I am looking forward to next month.