BOTT#002 Pennington Flash

Introduction

In this week’s show, Bob Chaperone rides the first 20 miles of the IMUK bike course. Bob shares his experience and provides the following insights:

  • Traffic. Choose your time of day to practice. Sunday afternoons are bad, especially down Atherleigh Way and through Horwich!

  • Speed bumps. There are five nasty speed bumps on the exit from Pennington Flash — beware especially on race day. There’s also a selection of speed bumps from Chew Moor to Lostock — you should ride these at speed and on your drops.

  • Keep pedalling. Never stop. It’s the first rule of cycling. Maintain your cadence up and down Chorley New Road. Note how the professionals always keep pedalling. Subject to traffic, you can approach the Beehive roundabout at maximum speed and power through.

  • Autopilot. The first 20 miles equates to 15% of the bike route. You therefore need to be on autopilot. Make sure you know when to drink and refuel. Break the first hour into small sections and make sure you know when

In the countdown to this years’ event, I’ll be recording a series of episodes dedicated to the new UK Ironman bike route. I’ll be going out solo and with friends riding a variety of distances… all with the intent of unpicking this new course and reporting back.

Highlights

00:09 Introduction and why BOTT?
01:44 Today’s ride
03:00 Return from today's ride
08:57 Closing music
09:32 End

Final thanks

And finally, a big thanks to HPOD for feeling today’s ride with pancakes and coffee! :-)

Bob Buckley