Whitby Wheelers TT, 10 Aug 2022

I decided to join a local cycling club so that I could improve my cycling and get to know some local cycling routes. On my first ride out with them they told me about the time trials that they hold every other Wednesday through the summer. Tim had been encouraging me to try bike racing, and even though they took me on a 50-mile ride with over 5000 ft of elevation, for some reason I thought it would be good to meet up with them again and went along after work the following Wednesday.

There were only five other riders this evening and I was the only female, the first cyclist set off at 7 pm with another setting off every minute after that. I set off second and was soon overtaken but just kept going as I was expecting that to happen. The course was two laps of a triangular-shaped section of road, making the race 10 miles in total. There was one marshall at a junction onto a busy main road but the other two junctions were unmanned. The course was on undulating country roads with a bit of a pull on one of the sections, especially with a bit of a headwind. As I was cycling on my own it was hard to get an idea of how I was doing or to get any motivation to go faster but I tried to keep a steady pace and then started to push a little harder when I saw the timekeepers shouting for me at the finish line.

Although I finished last, I was pleased to hear that I was only 47 seconds behind the last male. Overall it was a good experience and I will try to get to some more next summer as I think it will help me to improve my speed on the bike section of my sprint duathlon races.

Sarah Hunter

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