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CTT: Which are your top three favourite courses?

DW: That’s a hard call, I could easily tell you my least three favourite! But I’ll try and narrow it down in categories:

Sporting: Glencoe (WW17/01). The best sporting course I have ridden, period. It really has it all, testing hills and descents, amazing location and breath-taking scenery. GTR organised the last use of this course in 2018 as part of the Knight Composites Classic Series, what a weekend that was with the Scottish TTT championship on the equally testing WW34/01 course in the same area.

Flat and fast: Irvine WW10/03. This is my ‘local’ course and the one my team GTR Return to Life organises most of their events on. In my opinion this is the best 10-mile course in Scotland, it (now) has great surfaces, the traffic is relatively light for a dual carriageway and Eglinton Country Park literally at the start is a great location to have the sign on and warm up. The National 10 was held here in September 2018 and whilst it's not an outright drag strip, some very fast times have been posted.

Outside Scotland: L1010/L2511 etc. I have ridden the A66 between Keswick & Cockermouth a lot in the past 12 months on 10, 25, 50 and 100-mile events. I love this part of the country and the super smooth tarmac and beautiful location are a constant draw.

CTT: Which is your favourite?

DW: Despite having numerous superb courses in Scotland, I'm going to be controversial and say that at the current time my favourite is the A66.

CTT: Why do you like it?

DW: Its versatility. There are at least two 10 courses, two 25 courses, a 50 and a 100 -ile course on the same stretch of road. The surface is great and the course isn't pan flat so it can be really testing, particularly on the rise to Embleton when the wind is in your face.

The weather can be very mixed too and the course feels very different on a still sunny day to a windy day with lashing rain. It's a stunning part of the world, nothing beats warming up on the turbo looking over Skiddaw and the views on the route itself are almost enough to take your mind off the pain.

CTT: What was your best memory of riding that course?

DW: I would say the National 100 this year. After bottling it for a number of years, I finally got round to a 100. The warm conditions on the day had me concerned, as I am a serial sweater and thought cramp would be the killer. I vividly recall the utter joy of seeing the finish line and was really pleased with my time but more so that I managed to face my 100 demons. I also recall on passing the flag that I would never do another, but have since erased that memory.

CTT: Do you prefer short or long distances, and why?

DW: When I started time trialling in 2016 I concentrated on short courses, particularly 10s. As I've aged, I've found it more difficult to deal with the intensity of 10s and now prefer longer efforts. I would say 50s are a real sweet spot, you get a great workout and I'm more tempted to travel further afield as I feel that I'm getting better value for money for my fuel costs.

CTT: What makes a good TT course?

DW: I think this depends on what you're looking for, whether you're chasing PBs, or wanting to solely pit yourself against other riders. In general, I would say the constants are decent road surface, low traffic and good location. Variety of terrain also makes for a good course, something to test your riding skills as well as your engine. I would also like to see more non-standard distances and road bike events to help move time trialling away from the drag strip PB mentality.

CTT: Does travelling longer distances to get the courses affect your performance?

DW: Not markedly, I tend to stay overnight if the drive is over a couple of hours. I would say early starts are the real killer especially at long time trials with early start times. It's often the drive home that's worse, my glutes were so sore after the National 50 in Darlington I could barely get in the driver's seat.

CTT: How much of an advantage is having a local course, where you know the roads?

DW: I would say it's a real advantage on sporting courses as riding these blind or with only a quick drive round can sometimes result in me being a little cautious. I also have a history of taking wrong turns but that's another matter! For drag strip courses like my local Irvine 10 mile, there's not much to gain over an intimate knowledge of the potholes.

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