Big Al

Well done to everyone, cracking ride Adam, also first TT for Karen so fantastic! Thank you Jane and Iain for timekeeping and posting up so quickly, hope it wasn't too traumatic for you Where were the roadworks?

Sitting in the strip nibbling a sandwich and sipping a coffee after a slightly tough TT. I was on the reserve list for today, and was vey glad to get a start after getting up so early and travelling to Stirling. Mike Ferguson and Emma McLaren also in attendance. Minimal warm up but feeling good on the start line, this course is usually pretty tough for being almost horizontal, but the combination of headwind and slight rises on the way out brought the speed down to 18mph at one point! Caught my minute man in 10 minutes, 2 minute man Sandy Walkace at the turn and 4 minute at the finish line. Needless to say the return leg was slightly more fun than the first half, cruising about 32 mph, worst 28, best 36.2!! Awaiting results and the ither two to return, trying to stay away from the rocky road

Oh no, disaster! I went round the course this afternoon, there was a car upside down through a wall on the right hand side of the road on the Glennifer Road, halfway between the lugton and Greenacres roads, only issue would be if a tow truck turned up. The surface is mostly pretty good apart from the usual concentrated deluge of potholes on the bit just down and round the corner from the Greenacres Road turn off, you could lose a bike down some of them. There is a reasonable amount of mud in places from tractors running about, be a little cautious if it's still wet.

Good job Iain's! Season well and try kicking off!

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Surely the art of miscommunication

Thanks Tony, yes exactly the route! Al

There are 5 skinsuits ordered are there not? Me, George, Andy, Alan T, Richard?

Ps: get your butt back on the track, I had to wait 10 minutes to get my number pinned on tonight and had no one to hold on my pump valve! (Plus you're not too bad at the racing malarkey and I could do with some backup! Your favourite A group racer was cheeky off track tonight and insinuated, nay, stated I wasn't smooth! Lesson teaching time with your assistance, and some new bearings)

I teed that one up for you Richard!

Skinsuit and arm warmers ordered

Chapeau all! My bearings have gone so I went home after 2 races

Last year's times ranged from 33-37 minutes, it's a little hilly

That's not the course Kenny, it's run on a loop that starts on the Beith lugton road, opposite the long driveway that had the Eggs for Sale sign, goes to the left turn onto the braes road to Glennifer, up to the crossroads, left onto the Greenacres road, left at the 90degree bend, towards Beith, then left back onto the Lugton road and repeat (or don't repeat if you're Couttie with a puncture)

The link to that map doesn't work any more Greig, will try to find/make a new one

Looks like the weather should be better than last year http://m.flickr.com/#/photos/93919529@N03/

Karen, you need to ride in your small chainring on the front (presuming you have two of them, if it's a triple chainring then the middle one. You can change your rear gears to you heart's content, just the one hill in it really, two laps of the circuit

Yup, A for me

It all looks fantastic, there'll be no mistaking us for other clubs, great job!!

Yes to arm warmers!

I'll probably go for Ascent s/s jersey and shorts Definitely buying Ascent skinsuit, whichever sleeve that needs the numbers made up, looking like s/s just now!

Long sleeve please

Yes, me

Week off track for me, ideal time before the sprint night, get some extra training in

First TT outing of the year, the clue as to how I would get on is in the title, Hilly! A testing day and a testing course for the larger tester! Set off strongly into the headwind, got the heart rate up nicely but the 4 miles of dragging hills in the first stretch, even with a tailwind, sapped the power. Caught for 2 minutes by a skinny looking Big Ben on 5 miles, another few miles and caught by David Griffiths for 4 minutes (if he hadn't taken a wrong turn he may have won). The top 3 of Silas, Ben and David were over 3 minutes clear of everyone else in the end, I ended up mid field in 13th, but some good hard miles in the legs for the flat courses! Took the uphill sprint finish to repass my minute man Glad I left the TT bike and fancy wheels at home and went with the winter bike and mudgaurds, between the crosswinds, gear changes and rough road it was a bit tricky, most folk I talked too hadn't enjoyed the TT bikes too much! Couttie finished in 16th, I'm sure he'll tell his own tale below