Godric CC 10

Bike: Cervelo
Distance: 10 miles
Time: 23 minutes 29 seconds
Average speed: 25.550 mph

Result: 16th out of 61.

Best race of the year so far, mainly because even I cannot mess up the pacing of a 10. My legs were hurting after 30 seconds, and were hurting even more on the tortuously slow final mile, but I didn't really let up, and was hovering between 24.5-26.5mph for most of the race. A bit of crosswind, and a couple of drags, but generally a pleasant course. Probably lost a little time on the turn, as I still find the handling of the TT bike to be a bit dubious, but confidence will come with time. Also, my seatpost had slipped en route to the race: I had put it up earlier in the morning, but obviously had not judged the torque properly (the Cervelo TT seatpost is really fidgety - it needs tightening to a very specific (and low) torque. I am going to order a torque wrench and some carbon assembly compound tomorrow. I think an extra centimetre or so of height on the seatpost will make a difference, and having a torque wrench so that I tighten all the bolts of my handlebar/seat components properly will give me a certain peace of mind which I have lacked since my succession of mechanical disasters back in 2007.

Interesting trip to the race: train from Ipswich to Brampton (nearly flew into a rage when somebody literally threw their bike onto the rack next to mine), then trying to find my way from Brampton, deep in the Suffolk backwoods, to Alburgh - also deep in the Suffolk backwoods - with an extraordinarily vague map and even vaguer signposts. Encountered a couple of interesting looking breweries, but sadly could not stop off for a closer look. Similar problems/temptations beset my post-race cycle back to the station, and this time some BMXs on the train nearly scratched my bike's delicate paintwork... anyway, clocked up around 65 miles for the day, most of which were completed with a slipping seatpost.