Ah yes, time trialling. The title of this article alone would seem a contradiction of words for many reading, but I have had a revelation.

Regular readers of RCUK might be familiar with my ‘Joy of…’ series as I take to each new discipline of cycle sport, but it’s been a while since I’ve had occasion to put fingers to keyboard regarding a newly discovered ‘joy’. But that all changed last night.

I rode my first time trial of 2010 on Thursday evening, a 10 mile club event hosted by the Redmon CC on the G10/42 Holmwood course. There are hundreds of such events taking place on a regular basis across the UK, and for many people they form the backbone of a cycling season. Up until last night though, I would readily admit, following the handful of time trials I’ve done, that they haven’t tickled my fancy, haven’t set my world on fire. The reason for this dislike is obvious to me (and to RCUK editor RH): riding against the clock is just so damn painful and, well, it just hurt a heck of lot more than I was able to cope with at the time.

The last year has seen me improve my fitness quite a lot, however. I’ve done several big events (Cent Cols, Cape Epic, a week in Belgium) and this hardwork has made all the difference. Still, I was hugely apprehensive before the event and more nervous than I’ve been before a race in a long time. Partly there to put a silence to RH’s constant nagging to do such an event, and also to put aside the demons that clearly haunt my seemingly stillborn time trial career.

Dusting down the Trek Madone 6.9 that I’ve been long-term testing, fitted with aero deep section wheels, I took to the start. The countdown; 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go… and immediately my foot slipped out the pedal. A less than perfect start, but I didn’t panic. Into the first climb and the heartrate rocketed, I worked hard to get on top of the gear, a glance down to clock 50kph registering on the Garmin. Down the hill and into the first leg burner drag of the course, and I found myself able to pace my effort. Somehow, I felt on top of the gear, on top of my breathing, in control of the pain level rather than being at the mercy of the hurt locker.

The course is a little toughie: rolling in nature with some long draggy climbs, the hardest of which is cruelly saved for the last couple of miles. There was a bruising headwind on the way out, making it a stiff challenge indeed. My target, rather ambitiously perhaps, was to get close to 24 minutes, meaning I would have to average 25mph (or 40kph). So I was shocked and delighted in equal measure when I discovered I had ridden the course in a time of 24 minutes 17 seconds, and even more delighted to realise that not only did I beat RH – by four seconds – but I placed second overall – against a flock of lo-pro-mounted testers and just 2 minutes behind the fully-kitted tester who was fastest. Happy with that.

And here’s the thing – I actually enjoyed it. Yes, it hurt immensely: my hamstrings felt like they wanted to explode on each hill. But I put my demons to rest by finally producing a good ride against the clock and that, I’ve realised, through the suffering there’s something intrinsically fascinating about riding at your absolute limit, finding that fine line between not going too hard but going hard enough, pacing on the climbs, getting into a zone where all the troubles of the world melt away, getting on top of a large gear. It’s just you, your bike and the clock ticking away, the simplest form of cycle sport there is.

Last night I found that connection with time trialling that so many cyclists already enjoy. And I’m glad I did.

When’s the next time trial then…

Thanks to www.redmoncc.co.uk