Thruxton Team Time Trial, 8 Oct 2023

Sunday 8th October saw me take part in my first team trial with some of my fellow cyclists at Reading CC. Initially set to be have 2 teams of 4 in the 4 up, unfortunately due to some illness we were left with 2 teams of 3. As we were doing this for fun, we thought, why not? Let's carry on. We'd had a little bit of practice and some of us have done some recent chaingangs, so we were excited to go see what fun we could have. 

Opting for road-bikes due to confidence, we got to Thruxton in time to enjoy a short warm-up, almost crossing on to the air field, before fortunately being warned where the safe zone was (no £5000 fine incurred, phew!). We had figured out our calls (the one most noteworthy for me being 'Easy' in case any of us were dropping off the back).

Then it was time, and we were off for 5 laps of Thruxton Motor Circuit. The first lap we got in to our groove, learning the bends and lines, and also the little incline that was to greet us at the end of each lap. Laps 2, 3 and 4 flew by, we kept good formation and were going at a good pace. We were getting confident with our lines on corners and were picking off some teams (a nice little confidence boost). Then on to the final lap and deciding to wind it up a little. We picked off another team and headed for the sprint finish, push push and across the line, 31.36 for 11.45 miles. Great fun and will definitely be back next year and hopefully with a 4 up!

Lottie Lindsley