Big Al Posted March 22, 2014 Report Share Posted March 22, 2014 Sunday's going to hurt If ever there was a chance for Couttie to beat me this is it. Cowden will be on the start line too. Oh dear. :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest George Posted March 22, 2014 Report Share Posted March 22, 2014 Al- Couttie put 4 mins into me today, not that that's much to shout about. But the way he passed me within 2 miles of the start, like I was standing waiting for a bus, was very humbling. He's flying- should be a good contest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest George Posted March 22, 2014 Report Share Posted March 22, 2014 & its Mr Cowden to you! Cheek. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EPCC Posted March 22, 2014 Report Share Posted March 22, 2014 Al Your safe Coutie not riding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted March 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2014 Brief report, more full effort later Mr Cowden and I had a fun day on the rolling hills of West Lothian. In short I got an unexpected 9th place and managed to not get passed by anyone! Lovely weather with a little flutter of snow at the end Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2023 Subscriptions iain couttie Posted March 23, 2014 2023 Subscriptions Report Share Posted March 23, 2014 We'll done al and iain reading this from hotel while booking bike for asult on mt tidie tomorrow Iain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Cowden Posted March 23, 2014 Report Share Posted March 23, 2014 Superb effort and great result from Al today, on a course he might not have expected to reward him and against a quality field - simply outstanding Conditions were cold, with a biting cross wind for most of the way. After a truly horrible start I managed to settle into things a bit, and actually really enjoyed my first outing on the TT bike in 6 months - felt strangely familiar and actually very comfortable. It's a testing course for sure - my minimum speed was 10mph at one point, with a maximum of 36mph elsewhere! That said it is a great test on a mostly fine surface, on one of Scotland's great roads. I would commend the event to anyone. Chapeau to West Lothian Clarion CC for another class act in hosting the event - really impressive throughout ...well organised, superbly marshalled and rider friendly. The post race hospitality was unrivalled - choice of 4 homemade soups, bacon butties for all and a pile of delicious home baking - Just as well I was in a rush or I might have been last out! Iain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2023 Subscriptions ginty001 Posted March 24, 2014 2023 Subscriptions Report Share Posted March 24, 2014 Well done guys...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2023 Subscriptions thejanullrichdietplan Posted March 24, 2014 2023 Subscriptions Report Share Posted March 24, 2014 Well done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted March 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2014 Some gorgeous sunshine but rather cold for this race, the scenery was spectacular throughout and definitely going to do it again in the future! I arrived early enough to drive the first 5 miles of the course and wasn't looking forward to it before the start! The first 2 1/2 miles is pretty much all uphill, although I knew that was going to make for a nice finish. So, got signed in and then headed back to the course for a proper 30 minute warm up on the turbo just round the corner from the start. Warming up within sight of the start certainly reduces stress, rolled onto the start still not quite sure how the legs were going to be. Managed to stay above 14 mph on the first hill staying in the big ring with a bit of standing up. Track league definitely helps with being able to transition from seated to standing and back without taking too much out the tank. There were some strong riders in the field, all the half decent ones being a fair but lighter than me, so I expected to get caught by at least one or two on the course, but it never happened. After the first hill I managed to maintain at least 18mph on most of the drags, cruise at 28-31 mph on the flatter sections, and hit 40mph a few times downhill, with the best being 44mph into a cross headwind. I caught my minute "man" 2 minutes in and just kept rolling up to more and more as the race progressed, passed at least 15 people with the biggest catch my 21 minute man! Don't see that happening again any time soon (not before the first 50 or 100 mile TT anyway!) So, managed to hold a reasonable heart rate all the way, keep it in the big ring all the way, beat my aim of (pessimistic) top 20 finish, not get passed (genuinely expected to see Gerry McGarrity (starting 5 mins behind me) on the out leg), and to feel reasonably good after the finish (although nearly fell asleep against the window of the car waiting at a level crossing on the way back to the strip). Didn't manage the 1h 10m target for the 30 miles, but times were a good 3 minutes slower all round due to the wind. Overall a great day, with a surprising 9th place finish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2023 Subscriptions AlanT Posted March 25, 2014 2023 Subscriptions Report Share Posted March 25, 2014 Good result guys. Well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2023 Subscriptions P McDonald Posted March 25, 2014 2023 Subscriptions Report Share Posted March 25, 2014 Well done pointy hat chaps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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