My Racing Season
by Liz Ball
No, not THAT sort of racing, I’m talking ‘The Race of Truth’ that is time trialling. No sneaky tactics, pile-ups or sprint-fests. Just me and the bike against the clock. Oh and fancy wheels, pointy helmet, and aero clothes. I’ve had a great season (26 events, 400 miles total) despite getting slower. Usually I’m at the back of the field and once was the slowest.
However, the Veteran Time Trial Association (VTTA) has discovered the secret of taking years off your life once you’re 40 or over. Data from previous TT events is used determine standard times at each distance for age and gender. For example, the additional time a standard 72 year old woman takes compared to a standard 40 year old woman is subtracted from the 72 year old’s actual time, and hey presto you’re 40 again! So my first 100 miler in 2019 took 4:50 which became 3:49 on Age Adjusted Time (AAT). Subsequent AATs for my 100s in 2022 and 2025 were both 3:42, thus compensating for age-related decline.
The VTTA hold records for each age and region; I’ve got 7 Scottish age records this season and one national 5k outdoor track age record. There was no previous record so I just had to get round the 12.5 laps without spinning off. There have been very few older women doing TTs so no need to be deeply impressed.
My worst race? A 25 miler in such windy conditions I was blown off my bike before the start. That should have been a clue to not use a deep section front wheel.
My best race? My fastest was a 10 miler at just over 24 mph. My most noteworthy was the Scottish 100 in atrocious conditions where over half the field DNS or DNF. Despite biting off the end of my Camel-Pak drinking tube, serious saddle slippage for a 25 mile lap, and no bike computer for on-board entertainment, I completed it in 5:08, almost last but 5th on AAT. I won the Scottish Female BAR (Best All Rounder, average speed over 25, 50 and 100 miles) as no other ‘Scottish’ woman had completed this course.
My training secrets? Long social rides with the lovely Sunny Weather group. And a once-weekly effort on the bars to keep those TT glutes in shape and train my eyes to look up through my eyebrows.
ERC is affiliated to CTT (the national TT body); joining the VTTA costs £21 pa and each event is about £15. An increasing number of competitors are entering the road bike category, which bans fancy aero equipment so is very accessible. Please come and join me in a sport where you can get some fast rides in the bag, obsess over your data and maybe get younger! And importantly have a blether and free cake afterwards.