Time trialling is the simplest kind of bike race – and it’s easy to get involved too. Kent Valley Road Club is the club running turn-up-and-ride events in the Kendal area, you can get in touch via the contact form for the Time Trial Secretary. The club holds a series of Time Trials throughout the summer, and those on the Milnthorpe course are most suited to the first-timer.

These races are relaxed and informal, and are the ideal way to begin. All you need to do is get there half-an-hour before the event starts with a roadworthy bike and a small entry fee of £2 plus 50p to cover insurance. We recommend you wear a helmet (for riders under 18 this is compulsory). And that’s about it.

You’ll be asked to read and sign an official entry sheet (if you’re under 18 you’ll also need a signed parental-consent form, (this can be downloaded from the download link on the right). Then you’ll be given a number and a starting time. The club reserves the first 5 places on the start list for non-members, however you can telephone Askew Cycles on 015395 728057 after noon on the day of the event to reserve a place on the start sheet. The course is a simple out-and-back route turning at the start of the dual carriageway on the A6, near Burton in Kendal. Details of the course can be seen following the link ‘Courses’ above. There are marshals at the turn who will help you cope with any traffic approaching.

If you would like to speak to someone about taking part, why not call into Askew Cycles in Kendal, all the staff there are members of the club, regularly ride Time Trials and willing to give advice.

If you enjoy your first race and want to take the sport further, the next step is become a club member. However, club rules do allow non-members to ride up to 3 events before deciding. Open trial events, are only available to members of a recognised club.

As well as conventional clubs, whose members can offer (and indeed occasionally have to be restrained from offering) endless amounts of good advice, you also have the option of joining the CTT headquarters club. This is a good option if you can’t immediately find a club that suits you, but want to do some racing in the meantime.

After you’ve joined up, you’ll find there are two tiers of competition in time trialling. First, there are club events, run informally like the turn-up-and-ride races, but only for members of a club. (These races are normally available to members of any club, not just the one organising the race although club members have to take their turn on the event marshalling rota.)

Above that in the hierarchy are “open” events. These usually occur at the weekends, and attract a higher standard of competition than club races. You have to enter in advance, by post, using an entry form available for downloading from this site. There is a full list of open events here.

For historical reasons dating back to an era when cycle racing in the UK was illegal and time trialling was a clandestine affair, open events are run on courses that are identified by a system of course codes. This means you have to get used to looking up where they are. Some opens are very popular, so if a race is oversubscribed the field is selected on the basis of riders’ fastest previous times, shown on their entry form.

Further details of open events and course codes, as well as the full set of TT regulations, are available in the CTT’s annual handbook ..