Perfect End to a Perfect Season

Tuesday, September 29 2009 @ 12:01 PM GMT Daylight Time Contributed by: eobrien Views: 420 Perfect End to a Perfect Season That’s how I imagined it. Having managed 6 sprint triathlons, a couple of 100k cycling tours, the Wicklow 200 and the Sean Kelly Challenge I was looking for an event that would finish off my season with a bang. When I saw a 100 mile Time Trial advertised in Antrim I thought perfect! I decided to do it in style. I found a nice hotel 500 metres from the race course and only 2km from Junction one Retail Outlet and booked the family in for a treat. Training was going well and I reckoned I could get close to 5 hours which is the magic figure for the distance. We made it up just in time to drive the course, 7 miles of very straight dual carriageway with large roundabouts at each end meant 7 laps in total. One thing I did notice was that there was a lot of traffic on Sat. evening and being such a straight inviting road it was moving fast. As we approached the hotel I was busy ‘visualising my race’ and took little notice of the large crowd gathered outside the entrance. It wasn’t till we spotted about 15 white Ford Transit vans that we became suspicious. Then we took a closer look at the wedding party and it dawned on us – Travellers! Being a broad minded type I decided not to panic and went in to enquire. Yes we were told there is a Travellers wedding on here but it shouldn’t bother you. It was now 8pm, dark and I had no idea where to find an alternative hotel so we were persuaded to stay. How bad could it be? Things were ok until the fight broke out at 3am and the police arrived. Eventually the crowd cleared and we went back to sleep until my alarm went off at 5am. Not the start I wanted! As I left the hotel at the crack of dawn on my bike, I had to avoid the broken glass everywhere. What I didn’t spot was the cracked window in our jeep, complete with blood stains which suggest it was someone’s head that caused it. The weather was perfect, not too hot, not too windy and a group of thirty or so set off at one minute intervals. My plan was to set an average speed of 32kph for the first lap and see how I found it. This would get me home in 5 hours. I finished the first lap slightly up on the clock and felt good so ‘happy days’. I was able to keep the pace going for the next three laps and my nutrition strategy was working well. I had planned one 750ml bottle of 4:1, one energy bar and one gel per hour. The psychological barrier was completing the fourth lap. It was a major grind the whole way and I found myself hoping for a puncture so that I could take a break. However as soon as I had done it and only had three to go, everything was back under control. I was finding it hard to maintain the aero tuck due to a stiffness in my left shoulder but it wasn’t too bad and the only other niggle was my right thigh but I was maintaining speed and cadence and got through laps five and six. At this stage I knew I would finish and I was touch and go for the time. If anything was going to stop me I thought it was my right thigh which was getting quite sore. The volume of traffic had built up as the morning went on and it was now very busy with everyone hammering along at over 100 kph. It was quite dangerous at the two roundabouts but I never anticipated what was about to unfold. Just as I began my seventh and final lap, I spotted a car crossing the road at a junction. It drove out slowly into a stream of traffic and caused several cars to screech to a halt with much blaring of horns before it moved into the inside lane just ahead of me. Expecting it to speed up and join the mainstream traffic I wasn’t concerned until it decided to cut me off without warning and drove in to the small lay-by on the side of the road. There was nothing I could do but try to go with it into the lay-by but it then came so close that I bounced off the side of the car flipped over and went sailing into the air. Down I came but luckily my head broke my fall and my brand new helmet did its job. Two small scratches to my knee and elbow were all the damage to me and more importantly the bike was perfect. Luckily I walked away from it but I decided that I had lost ten minutes and continuing was just silly so I called it a day. The job was done, I had completed 86 miles within the time I wanted and would have finished the distance bang on the mark. The traffic was by now downright dangerous and I had laid down the marker for next year. Breaking five hours should be achievable – just not on this course. (I have to say I wouldn’t recommend this race. It was poorly marshalled and there were no traffic restrictions on a major dual carriageway). Just then Steph and the kids arrived and after a bit of first aid it was off to Starbucks for a Grande Cappuchino. Not quite the perfect end to the season I had imagined and not much of a treat for the family either but things could be worse. It’s one we’ll certainly remember and probably laugh about in time.

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