Yesterday I did the Scottish 100 mile TT champs near Stonehaven.
Having never ridden a TT even half this length before, I was unsure what to do, what to expect, and how to pace.
Queue a series of YouTube videos, training diaries and messages to experts later, and I still had absolutely no desire to race.
Nonetheless, I got myself down and was on my merry way just after 7am.
The course was up and down the A90, which according to my girlfriends’ parents, was a bit of a choppy road at best.
Nerves destroyed, I started out uphill and into the headwind, at a very moderate pace.
I was passed after 10 minutes by my 2 minute man😳
Slightly cockily, I expected to see him again, thinking he’d gone off way too hard.…. He went on to destroy the field and break the Scottish record for the distance.
The next 2 and a bit hours passed relatively uneventfully.
I kept my power steady, my cadence nice and smooth, and tried to maximise the flat sections to get a little bit more speed.
On the return leg home for the final time with 30 miles to go, my legs fell off and I was on the ropes big time.
I was passed by a flying, as usual, Robbie Mitchell, who went on to finish 2nd.
I got to the turn with 10 miles to go after what felt like an eternity and rolled in, thoroughly destroyed.
The event was super itself, the course simple enough to navigate but filled with marshals and signs. Amazingly, not a single incident or close pass with a car.
Thanks to everyone at the club for the support, see you all for a significantly shorter TT on Wednesday!
Joe