Two’s Company

SCCA Hawk Plant 2-Up Time Trial Series 2013

An inter-club series based on 10 mile events using standard club courses. All are ‘Entry on the Line’ and for 2013 the SCCA points scoring will be the same as that used for the Parker series. The best four scores over the season for the same pairing will count towards the medal places.

A Two up time trial adds an extra mix of tactics and bike handling skills to the usual – put your head down and cycle as fast as you can. Go on give them a go and fly the red & white Hcc flag

Round Day Date Start Event Course

1 Sun 3 Mar 09:00 North Shropshire Wheelers 10 D2/10

2 Fri 17 May 19:00 Oswestry Paragon 10 D10/5c

3 Tue 28 May 19:00 Ludlow CC 10 R10/6B

4 Tue 2 Jul 19:30 Mid Shropshire Wheelers 10 D1/11 rev

5 Wed 24 Jul 19:00 Wrekinsport CC 10 D3/9 rev

6 Wed 7 Aug 19:00 Hafren CC 10 D10/8r

Points to consider

1.  Choose your partner wisely, you should be well-matched not only in fitness but in riding style.  You’ll get nowhere as a team if one of you repeatedly drops the other.

2.  You both need to have a smooth riding style.  Effective two-up riding requires the following rider to be as close as is safe to the leading rider: this obviously requires confidence that the leading rider won’t have sudden changes of pace.

3.  Practice changeovers, 30 to 60 seconds on the front are ideal and the changeover is best determined by the leading rider.

4.  Avoid speaking to each other during the event, (aero helmets muffle one’s hearing!).  Anyway, it’s not a club run and you should be riding hard enough that conversation’s difficult!

5.  Don’t worry about speed, it’s better to keep an eye on your heart rate as an indicator of your effort, and try and get a sense for how your team mate is doing.  If they are showing signs of flagging, use that to moderate your speed.

6.  Avoid letting gaps open up, with practice you’ll find you get to know when gaps might open, and learn to avoid this.

7. Enjoy and have fun 🙂