Abbey Thompson

Thanks to Stonham Barns Park and Keith Suffling

Yesterday me and my dad went up to a hotel for the TT today at Mallory Park.

We went up with one other team mate, Jamie, who did really well. I came 2nd 12 year old girl, by 1 second. My time was pretty far of my PB but I did a 26:39.

There were many places I could have improved but I guess I now know for next time.
The wind was quite strong and headwind up hill + tailwind down hill.

It was 10 laps and a bit equalling 10 miles.

It was a nice course but I would have preferred better conditions.

Well done to everyone who raced today!

31st of August 2021

Dad called me to say that somehow I had won a medal and we should go to the TT and see what I had won. I thought I had come 4th Junior, so it was amazing to find i came 2nd overall-juvenile and 1st Girl Juvenile.

Thanks to the IDCA and Paul Moss for the presentation.

TT people are the friendliest to be around. I cant wait until next year…

28th of August 2021

Today I did a 30 mile TT. My average speed was 22.8 mph and I completed the course in 1:19:59. It was really fun, but it hurt. The head winds were terrible but the tail winds were great. The winds were really strong but it was really warm as well. There were 16 roundabouts in total and I was 1st juvenile / junior because I was the only one.

28th August 2021

The Postman turned up this morning and to my surprise I was given most of the post.
I opened up the letters and small parcels to find some amazing things.
I received:

A medal for coming First Juvenile in the 25 Mile TT National Championships
A medal for coming 2nd Junior (Under 18) in the 25 Mile TT National Championships
1st place in the 10-14 year old Goodwood 7.1m TT + £20!!
1st place in the 10-14 year old Goodwood 7.1m TT + £20!!
Thanet RC 10TT 1st Juvenile and Junior Course Record (Q10/30) (24:56)
I like the money, that was a surprise, but I especially like the 2nd place Junior National Championship medal. I’m 12 and not thinking about Junior (Under 18s) medals.

26th of August 2021

Today I did the Plomesgate CC 5 mile TT and got a new PB of 12:47.

I like having a person in front of me who I can chase and get within sight of, but this time it was the opposite with an adult, Hannah O’Brien starting a minute behind me. I was expecting her to overtake me very quickly as she is super fast and powerful so when I got to the roundabout, she had almost caught up to me and on the way back she gained loads of time on me and overtook me at a very fast speed. I loved trying to stay away and not getting caught. Every minute I stayed away felt like a little win. She got a great overall time and beat me by 1:09. I’m pretty happy with my time too.

I really enjoyed it today and everyone was super friendly. We’ll done to everyone who raced today!

16th of August 2021

Saturday I raced near Cambridge in a 10 mile Time Trial.

All of the female riders struggled in the relatively high winds. I had a bit of a problem clipping in, so I cant wait for the pusher off helpers to come back. I only managed 20mph to the half way point. On the return leg, I didn’t have high enough gears to get much over 30mph. My average was well-below my PB of 24.2mph. I did a 26:45, which is close to times I do on Sporting Courses and I think that shows how windy it was. I am affected a lot by wind, maybe because I am very light compared to the women I race against. They must have a lot more power to push through the wind. I reached my target for 10 miles a few weeks ago, so it didn’t matter too much.

What was nice was my new kit, designed by Keith Suffling and Stonham Barns Park. It actually fitted around my middle, so not baggy anymore. I felt proud to be wearing it.

Thanks to Davey Jones for the side-on photo

10th August 2021

Yesterday I went Goodwood Motor Circuit with my family and Grandma.

I tried to break the over-all boys/girls 7.1 mile Road Bike record for U15s, and have a go at the U16s Girls 9.5 mile record.

The Event organiser David Collard-Berry was amazing, allowing me to ride a one-off double race one after the other. The wind was really strong and there was a way more headwind than tailwind on the course, affecting everyone racing in my races, but I did ok and won both races in the females. I think I could have got the over-all if the wind was the same each lap. I was trying to beat it by a few seconds, so I could still have energy for the second race.

U15s girls record was 21:23 and the boys was 19:11. My time was 19:35, so a new girls record.

U16s Record is still 23:19 and I did a 25:41, which is a bit slower than my PB average speed for 10 miles. Although I did beat the other girl in the second race by 4:11. I really enjoyed it and I hope I get another chance next year.

10th August 2021

Credit fort photos to Darren Athersmith http://www.darrenathersmith.com Photography

8th of August 2021

RTTC 25 mile Time Trial National Championships.

1st 12 year old Girl
1st Juvenile Girl (Under 16)
2nd Junior Girl (Under 18)

I got a new Provisional 25-mile PB time of – 1:03:23 today. We went to a hotel for a race that I did this morning. The race was in Keswick, Cumbria.

When we got there, it was raining very hard and everyone was standing under some kind of shelter. I got ready for the race, signed on and got my numbers. Then I warmed up, at first I tried rollers but it made a very loud annoying noise and I ended up just riding on the road for a warm up. The wind was okay, with a tail wind home leg. The course was quite hilly, but not so hilly that it affected my times. If its hilly I lose out on the downhills quite a bit compared tot the Under 18s or anyone a bit heavier than I am. The hills were long and steep enough to get you out of the saddle at times, which isn’t where I needed to be. The road was smooth but flooded in parts and the car spray was quite hard to see through at times.

There was a pusher-offer today so I got a faster start than I got recently and by the first roundabout (about 2 miles in), I was in sight of Sophie who is the other juvenile aged 14.

Around 7 miles in, I caught up to her and overtook. I got quite far ahead and a few minutes later, she wasn’t in sight anymore. I made it all the way around the course until the end without her catching back up to me which I was a bit surprised about. 18 miles into the race, I was riding at 30mph on the flat for about a mile. In the last 5 miles, it rained very hard and my shoes filled with water.

My Average Speed was 23.67mph for e 25 mile race. It was really nice to have a presentation after the time trial as well and free cakes. I really enjoyed the race overall and everyone was super friendly.