Mick Byrne 200 2015

Only getting round to this now as I was really sick yesterday, probably just looking for attention!

3rd time doing this event, missed last year, but as usual the event was great. From the effortless sign-on, the well marked route, the food stops, the extra water stop after 40 odd k. The road markings were spot on, easy to spot and clear enough to keep you in the right direction. The food stop at Laragh was a god-send, I was really creaking at that stage and needed the sit down and the food.

The route is so hard, always challenging and never a minute of easy riding. It's either up or down, and even on the more flat sections the roads were in bits so it almost felt like cobbles at times!

Luckily, for the most part, the rain stayed away. I actually never got wet. I think there was a short shower when I was in Laragh food stop, but apart from that I seemed to have dodged the rain/hailstones. The wind, well that was another matter. It really takes its toll on you. The part from Laragh up to beyond Glenmacnaas waterfall was just depressing. I was tired, the clouds were becoming darker and the wind was right in my face. I thought I was never actually going to reach the Glenmacnaas climb at all, and instantly regretted that I had as soon as I did.

Although, reading the other reports, it seems that I got lucky as I seemed to have the wind with me over the road to Sally Gap and down to Glencree.

Based on yesterdays weather we got really lucky. Another great event, and as other have said it ranks along with the best sportives despite being officially an Audux event, so a big thank you to all at Sorrento for all the hard work and time that must be involved to make this event such a success. Everyone was so pleasant and made the day so enjoyable.

Note to self: Slane concert+2.5hrs sleep+MB 200 not a good mix.
Tough day, mostly solo from Enniskerry apart from the good company at times from a fellow Boardsie.;)
Another month, another 200 ticked off. RRTY still on track.
Big thanks to Paul and the Sorrento crew for a great day. Praise as always to Claire and the other ladies for the fantasic spread they put on for us.

at1withmyself wrote: »

... back to hotel carpark to collect the car and back in Galway at about 10 last night so a long day..

:eek: Fair play for driving back to Galway. I'd be afraid I'd fall asleep on the motorway. I've gone very bad at driving any distance without feeling sleepy - even when I'm not tired.

Mercian Pro wrote: »

17 of us Boardsies have posted already that we were on the MB on Sunday. Didn't see a single Boards jersey all day. My excuse is that I only collected mine today. Maybe others were covered up by winter jackets?

Didn't see any at the Tour of Louth either!

On the Wicklow Gap!

(I'll probably go with the pink again on the WW200 even though I'm expected to wear club gear. )

I said hi to a boardsie in green shorts on the way out of Roundwood on the 200. I rode with doozerie, well I say rode with more like I crawled my way up the hills while he skipped off into the distance. Some lovely bikes on the ride. As ever it's a great event and it was nice to have some company on the ride rather than riding it as a solo audax permanent spin.

NamelessPhil wrote:

Some lovely bikes on the ride.

That's for sure! I had a brief flutter with another bike at the end, a real stunner - the frame size, groupset, and pedals were a match for mine, and even the geometry seemed the same. It just felt so ...right. My (next) mid-life crisis may well be a Condor.

doozerie wrote: »

The road between Glenmacnass and Sallygap was "interesting", the hailstones decided it would be great fun altogether to batter my exposed left ear, left cheek, and lips. They even managed to sail between the vents in my helmet to batter my head - that'll teach me to cut my hair short the day before a long ride! I spent over a kilometre riding with my left hand sheltering my ear and as much of my face as it could cover, the entire stretch peppered with loud utterances of "Ow!", "Ouch!", and "GEROFF!". I finally see the appeal of a big protective fuzzy beard, and big fuzzy ears wouldn't have gone amiss either.

That road is always interesting to me - the weather changes very quickly, no matter what time of the year. The surface is, well, true to what a bog road should be I suppose but it also changes dramatically depending on the weather! Its not a road to be tired on though, it can be a really tough ride if you are (from experience!).

I got some video footage of the hailstones that I will try to post once I figure out how to edit the files and post them (my chief technologist is currently doing exams so I am a bit lost on that front!). As I got to the Sally Gap, just after the crossroads, I could see those dark clouds forming and moving East ahead of me and I knew that this was going to be interesting - I have been exposed to clouds landing heavily on walks around there and I thought I was going to be in for a drenching. I turned on the camera anyway as the light changes were incredible and then I noticed the pinging of the hailstones on the helmet and, yes, the ear being flicked, and the wind acting as its accomplice blasting them into my face!

I was actually glad it was hailstones because when it stopped there was no residual wetness but for the road surface, which made it interesting descending down past the lakes. I normally love that descent but didn't take any chances this time - I love it even more on the MB200 as it marks the point that almost all of the suffering is done - now if they would only fix the surface of the road from Glencree to Enniskerry, that would be one of the most magnificent run-ins on any route!