Ely Hardriders 25M TT, 9 Feb 2025

Ely Hardriders was a bit of a rude introduction to time trialling. I’m not even entirely sure half of the course can be legitimately considered a road!

My only goal was to stay upright, having perhaps stupidly decided to go for it on a TT bike as opposed to my comfier and far more sturdy road bike. This meant that not only did I fear for my life the whole way around, I also had no power data. Nor, as it turned out, heart rate data, as my monitor glitched and said I was doing a cool 225bpm most of the way around.

Doing a time trial with only speed on an unknown and frankly perilous course turned out to be quite good fun. I did it on feel with no numbers to worry about, and paced it fairly well, neither crashing nor cooking myself (contrary to what my 225bpm HR would suggest). It was nice to win a dubious T shirt and the prize money which just about covered my entry and petrol to get there!

Freya Taylor