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| on the finishing circuit; cant keep my head up. |
David and I were attempting our first 12 while Simon was on his fourth start in a 12 hour TT. I had the pleasure of being the first Phoenix man off and it was a bit lonely to start with as I headed up the DC, as of the 10 starters in front of me, 5 were dns. My personal plan was to just take it really steady for the first 4 hours or so and see how things panned out. I didn't even have a cycle computer with me to tell me my average speed as all I was concerned about was to still be turning the cranks at 17:58 in the evening on the finishing circuit. I took the opportunity to freewheel where possible and try to save something for later on although the first circuit required fairly continuous pedalling. The first bottle drop was at about 50 miles or so and then it was time to head back up the DC for the second lap of circuit A. I had bagged up some sweet and savoury snacks which my Dad handed up and I ate on the go and seemed to stay down ok. I perfected a technique of gripping the bag at the end of my aerobars while hunting around in there for a haribo sweet or mini-cheddar. At the end of circuit A my breakfast coffee decided to need emptying so after trying to ignore it for half an hour I decided I would be a lot more comfortable if I just got rid, so a quick stop in a layby was needed. I didn't need to go again for the rest of the day.
I went through 100 miles in 4:36 (I had done the SCCU 100 a few weeks before in 4:37 but that was a considerably slower course on a considerably slower day, so no panic) and it had really flown by, but as I started to orbit the second circuit, that's when it started to get a bit tougher. A few aches in my neck but I was staying on the aerobars for most of the ride and more solid food was staying down (mini Cornish pasties and scotch eggs; food of champions!). It was here that the three of us found ourselves together. While I was feeding Dave pulled up behind me for a quick pitstop from James while I had a slightly longer stop. Dave headed off and about a mile up the road I saw Simon. I was just about to catch him and see how he was getting on when my chain came off the front ring, so I had to stop while sorting that out. Simon got to Lisa and dismounted, I assumed for a feed, but it turned out that the gastric issues he has been suffering from on these longer events had returned, so he had decided to call it a day, which was a real shame. Thankfully, he stayed around with Lisa and provided some great support for the rest of the day.
I have to say I really enjoyed most of circuit C. I'm a bit of a plane spotter, so the sight of a Supermarine Spitfire doing circuits and bumps on the first lap, followed by a B17 Flying Fortress landing on the next one was a very pleasant surprise. I suppose I should have been more focussed on my ride, but to be honest, by that stage, I was glad of anything that was taking my mind off the pain in my neck and my right knee which had started to let me know it was there. The neck pain made steering and watching the road particularly difficult, with my nose about 2 inches from my water bottle between my bars, just staring at my bottom bracket. I resembled a nodding dog, continually flicking my head up to try to see the road ahead. I have since looked at some photos and my aero-helmet is acting like an enormous wind-break in that position. Slightly sub-optimal! Then cramp started to set in, with both my quad muscles cramping simultaneously (why do both sides always go at the same time?) I got back round to Brian, Jake, and Dad, and Brian proceeded to get out some form of embrocation which he started to massage into my legs. There are apparently places in Soho where you would pay good money for that, but all I had to do was to ride for 12 hours. I also took the opportunity to get some salty peanuts and crisps eaten to hopefully stave off another attack. It seemed to work as I had no further cramp issues during the ride.
So after a few loops of C it was off to the finishing circuit. It was great to see Simon and Lisa there at the TK0 position, Lisa informing me that I had finished my first 12 hour TT, but adding that I should enjoy the next 2.5 hours anyway! I did actually quite enjoyed this circuit. Yes, it was a bit more lumpy than the others but this meant I was able to get out the saddle more often and change my body position and the regular time keepers posts around it made it quite easy to mentally chunk it down. I really hated the A505 section, which by this time was very busy with traffic and with me almost unable to lift my head, I was steering by keeping my left thumb, which was on the end of the bars, running over the white lines at the side of the road. It didn't stop me clattering the odd cats-eye though.
To be honest, by this stage I was just glad to be getting near the end and while Brian had been telling me that I was on for 240 miles, I was perfectly happy with 230-something, so the stops were getting slightly longer and more frequent. At my last stop, I had more cola and melon which had been keeping me going for the past 4 hours, and eventually Jake got me going again, spinning out for my final lap. Knowing it was my last 45 minutes on the bike was a big relief and I really enjoyed it, soaking up the support out on the circuit, including complete strangers handing up bottles and sponges and congratulating the other riders like me, who only had a few minutes' riding left.
I finally finished just before the timekeeper where Dad and Brian were, so it was a slow roll up to them before being helped off my bike. Physically. I didn't feel too bad as I had not really buried myself at any stage but I was suffering from general fatigue and a lot of neck ache. It took me ages to get to sleep later that night as I had so much coca cola in my veins, but it was worth it. I really enjoyed this event and I'm pretty sure that I will give another one a go at some point next year.
