An ultra and a return to TTing: All Points North, Buckfastleigh 50 and Torpoint Sporting 13

My entire race plan (and, to be honest, general life plan) this year was centred around All Points North: a 1000+km ultra in June that I’d unexpectedly won a place on last winter. Tim helped me build my training up to it - which, by the way, was no easy feat given the lack of daylight and safe cycling weather around a full-time job in the middle of the British winter. But thanks to Tim’s well-chosen early morning turbo sets (I cannot claim I enjoyed these, but I did get to watch a lot of TV…!), and weekend long rides when it was safe, I entered spring in the best cycling shape I’d been in in my life. And so Tim persuaded me to make the most of this and fit a TT season around my ultra, too.

I raced my first Open TT, the Four Firs Hilly 17, at the beginning of March. Despite spending the entire Saturday beforehand stressing to my (very patient) boyfriend that I was going to come last, I shocked myself by coming first, with an average speed about 5kph faster than I would have ever predicted. And from that point onwards, I was hooked. Despite not really knowing what I was doing (some highlights: going the wrong way at a roundabout, dropping my chain mid-race, having to do 20mph to get to the start-line because I didn’t realise how far it was from HQ…) by the time it came round to my ultra my TT season was going really well. And so I was a little bit sad to know that the second half probably wouldn’t be so strong, after 1200km of Northern hills had destroyed my legs…

Somewhat incredibly, I finished All Points North (I wrote about that on my blog here). One day later I tried to cycle the 3 miles downhill into work and ended up having to abandon my bike at my office because my knees were still so painful that the 15 minute journey had made me cry. Miraculously it only took one month until everything stopped hurting and I could cycle properly again, but it took a second month until I’d got my motivation to train back. I was having a great time riding my bikes, including a bike-packing trip and some gorgeous rides when visiting friends in the North West, but I just couldn’t find the will to push myself - which wasn’t something I was expecting. And so, when my next TT rolled around, I wasn’t feeling prepared at all.

But here’s the thing: racing isn’t all about fitness. I’d raced this 50 mile course once before, earlier in the season. Despite the lack of training, and some truly horrific weather conditions, the knowledge of the course gave me confidence in my navigation, which gave me confidence to push between each junction. I ended up setting a new PB by over a minute. And - more importantly - I had a brilliant time, and it reminded me just how much I love racing and the South West cycling community, and I got my fire for training back.

By race #2, the Torpoint Sporting (Hilly) 13 miler, I was well back into the swing of things training-wise and feeling pretty strong. But now we’d traded torrential rain for a heatwave, and I really suffer in the heat. The race was at 6pm on a Saturday evening, when it was still over 30 degC outside. By 4pm I still hadn’t packed, and was flip-flopping minute-by-minute between deciding to race / deciding to stay at home. I eventually decided to race on the grounds that if I didn’t turn up I would probably be no less miserable than if I did, so I might as well give it a go. I did a very short half-hearted warm-up because I didn’t want to be out in the sun, and then set off - and I have no idea where it came from, but it turned out to be the best race of my life. It was a brilliantly fun course, full of ups and downs and twists and turns, and I (for me!) nailed the corners and the pacing. I was over the moon to find out I’d set a new course record, too. Sam and I celebrated with a post-race sunset Chinese takeaway, which was a lovely way to round off a pretty perfect Saturday evening.

Alice Jane Lake