ED's Exploits - Testing Times

The sad death of Peter Tindley of CC Weymouth, in our open 50 mile time trial made me think long and hard about Time Trialing. At heart I am a “tester”. Probably because I have won a few time trials, its easy to like something you are successful at. More and more though, I have felt uncomfortable about the roads we race on and the danger from traffic. Historically, Time Trials started very early in the morning to avoid the police, it was illegal to race on public highways, that’s why riders also wore predominantly black kit, imagine going out on the roads these days trying not to be seen!?.

When racing became legal, the early starts were kept to avoid traffic but that was more than 50 years ago. These days, even on a Sunday morning at 07.30am there are quite a few cars about. Why do we race on dual carriageways? Why do we race on roads I would not dream of training on? Why are we obsessed with standard distances? Why are helmets not compulsory? Alas, I only have questions with no answers. I even promote an open Time Trial for my club, on a dual carriageway course, that makes me part of the problem! It’s a relief when everybody comes back safely, I can tell you.

It seems that Peter’s tragic death was due to rider error, so it could have happened anywhere, it could happen out training today. At least on dual carriageways there is room for motorists to avoid cyclists. Some of the lanes I regularly ride are very narrow with blind corners, horse riders, tractors etc. It could happen popping up the shop to get the paper. It’s known as the race of truth, its pure, honest sport, there is no luck in testing, and the strongest man wins. So it’s ok then? Again I offer no answers. There have been four fatalities in Time Trials this season alone, which is a high number for a “minority sport”. No doubt four people have been killed in traffic accidents today. So we accept the risks and try to minimize them I guess.

On a brighter note, I finally got myself a win. A road race down in Dorset, yes it was a “Fish and Chipper” but it’s been more than three years and a win is a win, and I worked hard for it, honest. Hands off the bars, milking the applause from one man and his dog, pathetic, I know but still very exciting, all the same!

Had a guy come to see me with a torn hamstring, he is a football player and he trains once a week, yes once. He tells me that if there is a live match on the tele on training night, then half the team doesn’t turn up. Compare that with most runners, triathletes, cyclists, whose biggest problems seem to be overtraining. I tried to tell him that if he trained more, stretching, core work, endurance based stuff then perhaps he would get injured less (the training effect). I am not sure that he heard me, still he is a nice guy and the “hammy” is responding well. Moral; don’t feel guilty if you miss a training session, there are still people doing less than you!

Take care out there, see you up the road…
E D