Crushing my 10-mile TT PR | 2024 VC-VENTA Watercress-10 | ride with data and commentary

Another sunny day in Hampshire and a return to the Candover valley TT course for me, after a nearly three and a half year absence.

Great conditions on Saturday morning and some luck, saw me obliterate my previous horrendous PR of 28:10, taking over 2 and a half minutes off that time with a new, now just ‘mediocre’ PR, of 25:38. Stoked to have done so much better than I expected and pleased that some of my training on TrainerRoad is starting to pay off. Nice to have taken third spot in the over-50s men’s road-bike category as well !!

This was a really fun event and super-well run, so a massive thanks to Ben Gibbs and all the other officials and volunteers who kindly gave up their time to make it happen. Well done to all the competitors and congratulations to the class winners.

Also big thanks to the Watercress company based in Alresfofd, Hampshire, for supporting the event. And thanks to Amy Thorpe for some of the extra video footage 🙂

Finally – I can confirm that the Cherry Bakewell cake was very tasty!

Copyright free music courtesy of YouTube audio library:
Tell me that I can’t – NEFFEX
Losing my head – NEFFEX
Zulu – Mini Vandals

welcome back to the channel it’s Saturday morning it’s sunny and it’s TT time [Music] holding [Music] right you going to beat your bb today perfect conditions Martin no excuses you’re older [Music] so this is the Water Crest 10 TT organized by vub ventor the 10m course on the old Alford Road just warming up beautiful day so uh let’s see if I can beat my PB which was a dismal 28 minutes 10 seconds [Music] [Applause] so that’s the warmup done time to go and line up ready to smash it I’ll try my best good luck buddy than you don’t don’t 3 2 1 go M 5 4 3 2 1 go so this is it welcome to the Water Crest TT it’s the 10m HCC 281 canover Valley course and this is the first time I’ve been on this road in a TT since September 20120 so quite a while back then I did an abysmal time 2810 with an average power of 258 wats and an average speed of just under 21 mph so I’m really hoping I can do a fair bit better than that this time so this first part of the course is pretty deceptive straight into a false flat and a nasty little Hill just to take the wind out of your sails and Sack your confidence when you’ve only really just gotten into your stride I want to be the greatest everybody on the face I look around I feel like everybody is the fake is I make this every day and I’m impatient hoping one day I blow up from the B after you got over the shock of that first hill we straight into a really fast downhill and then a pretty quick set of undulations that get a little bit tougher as they go on for about a mile and a half until you take the turning the main diose fight lose yourp and lose this is the first point really in this ride where I realized I’ve messed up I didn’t put enough effort in on this riser speed dropped far too low uh compared to some of the other riders that had similar times to me uh they moved over this part the course a lot quicker yeah there’s no mercy in this world just hunger thirsty persons in different versions each quite pleased with my turn here uh the Marshall did a good job of giving the all clear and I was able to maintain a reason speed then we’re to the C Valley and it’s just settling in to the quickest Pace you can hold which for me is somewhere between 25 and 27 mph and just seeing what we can do all the way to the end before the final big hill please don’t give me a a I still in my mind everybody in here we are is the run into the bottom of the spon climb and this is where it gets tough it’s not particularly steep but it is a hard climb when you go full gas trust me there’s WR I just need to carry on society’s a my put there to make you sit listen to what they give don’t ask questions shut your lid yeah don’t ask questions shut your L I need to run away from this and go get off the GD feel like my brain is overloaded man I’m losing it don’t let I’m super pleased to get over the climb now he trying to push the speed again really hoping I can use the advantage of my body weight on the downhill and gain a few extra miles an hour trickiest corner on the TT approaching high speed to the right slightly off camera got to be really careful here please tell me that I can’t that ion that I fa that I’ll never make it out yeah please tell me the bad good till my head full of every single doubt yeah please say any negative thoughts I pop off when I hear people say I cannot I get off to the thought of proving everyone wrong I won’t stop to the top so you better back off and get LS I’mma stay loud stay proud never running out never heading south I’ll be spring out call it with a mouth can’t put me down I’ll be getting loud you can I be D now what I’m about have your CL if you raining now I keep make it sound go another round let them B can’t stop me now and this is the run in the last couple of minutes just trying to hold onto that speed as much as I can before the little Sprint up the hill to the Finish Line tell me I again just tell me that I well I didn’t get caught by the guy behind me my minute man so that’s the first for me on this course I’m naked let’s see what the result is nearly there good on up up up up up 43 up up up up up [Applause] [Music] up how’s that how’d you go on good well I was amazed you didn’t catch me I was expecting you to to catch me though you’ve got more faith in me than I have yeah you’re you’re you’re you’re a power man aren’t you what I’m a cake man but like that I I was really relieved that no that no no one caught me so I was really really pleased yeah no no one caught me I was really really pleased that but I worked so hard it hurt but it was sunny so it’s all good how did he get on mik FTP actually I’m not far off my PB right I’m not going to tell I think I did a 25 my best is a 25 30 something really pleased with that actually cuz I haven’t been anywhere near my that ride for a while and time tring so excellent hey Chris how’d you get on that was disgusting it was horrible how’d you get on uh I thought all right wow [Music] 22 that’s what I thought yeah that’s quite a bit so in real time what was my time was it better than 2810 actually your time was awesome you did uh 2538 did I yeah you were you were at the top for a while 2538 that’s uh so I’ve taken 2 and a half minutes off my PB yes edit that you smash me happy days so to the results and in the road bike female uh Danny Forshaw smashed it with a 2638 TT bikes well Bobby benfeld 2104 cracking time Alex Murphy close behind probably would have beaten him if he hadn’t had to sit up because A van pulled out in front of him near the finish and then road bike mail 21 54 for Peter Allen which is uh a cracking time for a road bike and in the men’s over 50 road bike competition my 2538 time got me third place behind Ed gurny and Ian loads what I’m most pleased about is that I took 2 and a half minutes off of my September 2020 time and also improved the amount of average power I did by quite a bit going from round about to 158 260 WTS right up to 290 so really pleased with that and I got some Water Crest that’s the prize a bag of Water Crest thank you I think I’ve got to have a cherry bake while though