Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle 2015 - entry transfers closed - do not request entries

Boscoirl wrote: »

Best of luck to everyone

There was a steady stream of cars with bikes on the back heading against me on the M7 this evening,

So jealous

Yeah it was quite the sight today around town! People rolling into town in all directions with their bikes in the boots; on racks at back of cars; on the roof of cars...just about anywhere on a car/van that could hold a bike was doing its' job well
Incredible sight. Longing now for the finish-line tomorrow and seeing the thousands everywhere!

A great sight to see so many bikes on cars roofs racks on the cork road heading to killarney. It is a wonderful sight and to see people from all over the country coming to it. It's an incredible event. Long may it last.

Boardsie down around the 55km mark. Looked to be shoulder/collar bone. I passed he was on gas and being loaded onto stretcher. I'm not sure who it was but hope it's not to serious.

Great day so far weather's being kind.

Amprodude wrote: »

It's not a race. I hate seeing so many team sky wannabies doing the ROK. If you want to fly around it then do it another weekend. No awards for a PB on ROK and if that the way people want to do it then go and race elsewhere. What are some people trying to prove that they are the next Sean Kelly. Get off the Ring.

Why don't you do it another weekend if other people bother you so much cycling at a pace that is comfortable for them, but fast to you?

You people that think anyone cycling above 20kph is a wannabe and a danger are an absolute pain to listen to.

Ring of Kerry on Irish TV now , show casing the cyclists and what the Ring of Kerry cycle is all about.. Lovely to see all the cyclist coming through the finish line..amazing sea of colour jerseys..

My sister has about 30k left. I am EXHAUSTED checking the phone all day for updates.

Finished my 3rd Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle gaining one hour on last years time by me!
Delighted Cathal Walsh had just stopped speaking as I approached the finish line today approx 4pm as I was able to say 'Thanks Cathal!'

I've never felt as safe cycling the Ring of Kerry as much as I did today. Just Wonderful support.
My morning started with a Guard saying "Best of Luck" at the Ballydowney roundabout & another Guard saying the same to me as I passed him at the Killorglin roundabout. It really is the small things like words of encouragement that make it for me.
The support en route was a Huge Lift, especially those Bongo-Players, just at the right time up Coomakista and again very near the top of Molls Gap. Just a Huge Lift for me, made me Smile when it was needed. Thanks Guys & Gals!

I met so so many newbies this year; first-timers incl one guy talking to me about ticking this off his bucket-list! Lunch with a Great Chap promoting Tour of Leinster & the Stephen Roche cycles, met him again all smiles at the finish.
The people, our fellow cyclists just made this day.

Tough would be an under-statement with the weather & the insane winds against us from the get-go, butd'ya know what, that wind was at our backs heading up Molls Gap like I was told it would be. The Sun came out and lovely blue skies rolling on Home.
Took less stops this year as I didn't feel like I needed them! Caherciveen was Brilliant! S/wich; Jaffas & a Banana!
Found the climbs so much easier this year: Up Coomakista & Molls Gap faster than planned and found them easier.

Think next-year I'd like to assist with Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle from another perspective, as a volunteer marshalling & free up my place on the cycle for hopefully another first-timer to experience what I've been Incredibly Lucky to Experience; the Wonderful Happy Memories the past 3-years!

I did feel I had my Late Loving Dad watch over me today. Just felt easier. No Battle. No difficulty at any point. My Mom made me scrumptious pasta yesterday and had me stocked up with fig-rolls & jelly-sweets for today.
Just Perfect.

Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle 2015 - Home Safe & Sound. Many Many Thanks to Everyone I met; Everyone who assisted in any ways; Just Everyone!

EDIT: The DJ & my Photo-Bomb

Thanks Again,
kerry4sam

Got around. In exhausted be relived and delighted. Was extremely tough up to Coomakista against the wind and rain. Loved the spin up Mills with the wind at the back.

Well done everyone and I hope everyone got back safely.

GottaGetGatt wrote: »

What channel was it on???

Never mind, i never even knew there was a channel in existence.Is there any playback feature i wonder?

Irish TV it's a channel on Sky. Number 250 or something in that area.

Well quick report I guess.

Arrived down in Killarney lastnight took Wishbone Ash's advice and figured it'd be easier to stay over the night before. I got there about 7 drove through from Mallow side as I heard Adare was a nightmare.

Sign on was grand and handy bit of a queue for those that registered on line but only took about 10 mins to pass through. The expo wasn't all that great if I'm honest but the few lads that were there were all in good spirits and willing to haggle on price I'd say they made a killing on rain jackets that ultimately weren't required

The town was buzzing lastnight and even when the heavens opened every pub seemed to be flying it. I was playing Billy no mates so grabbed a bite to eat in the hotel and hit the hay. Next year if I do it I'll be dragging a few down with me.

So as for this the event itself. Grabbed brekkie in the hotel around 06.30 then by the time I got setup and checked out it was about 07:30 before I crossed the start line. As it was my first ROK I was filled with trepidation about the infamous Coomacista & Molls Gap so took it handy from the offset but as I probably set off at peak time there wasn't much of an option otherwise the roads were thronged with cyclists. So took it nice and steady passed when I could but seemed to be constantly gettin boxed in so it was a bit of a lesson in patience.

I swear I could've rolled along in the bunch for the first 60-70km no ramps/climbs at all just a nice rolling road which was a pleasant surprise. Loads of nerves from cyclists not used to riding in a crowd and numerous lads just swerving about but none of it seemed overly dangerous. One thing that did drive me mad were the number of lads thinking they were in the tour riding with their hands off the bars while putting on a gilet or opening their 15th gel in 20km. A bit of a splash of rain just enough to keep the dust down and to be honest I didn't notice the wind at all. It certainly picked up on the coast but only for a short period.

Heading on to Caherciveen and what a warm welcome we got here plenty out cheering and cyclists everywhere. I did pull into the food stop but it was far to bust for my liking and I didn't actually need to stop so jumped the railing and headed back on the road toward the first dreaded climb.

Before I knew it I was half way up the infamous Coomacista I think in Wicklow they'd call it a ramp underwhelmed in a good way but what a sight seeing all those cyclists snaking their way up it. All good one done and dusted onto the next.

Stopped off in Sneem at the hotel I can't remember the name but it seems everyone stops in the town as there were only about 40 of us in the hotel with plenty of tea&Coffee mars bars oranges brack it was excellent. The hill back out of the hotel though was the toughest of the day I saw someone in sneem with a 99 I was a tad jealous. All mental notes for next year.

Next stop Kenmare stopped off for coffee and a few jaffa cakes plenty of sandwiches and not the thrown together variety proper sandwiches you'd buy in a deli. they looked good but I'm not good at eating a lot while on the bike. The queue was grand bit of a wait but nothing bad.

So onto infamous climb number 2 Molls Gap. The wind had picked up a bit now and was at our back/side so it gave a helping hand I'd say. I didn't know the route and I asked one lad and he said we go over that pointing at the bloody mountain (my heart sank I don't do hills well) right so head down and grind it out. Just as I thought it was about to turn left and towards said mountain we turned right and I could see what looked like the top of the pass. Thankfully it was. Another drumming band there to help tired legs pick up the beat and push on to the top. As far as a climb goes it's grand kicks up a bit toward the end but the snaking nature of the road gives respite every 2-300 metres.

Woohoo I'm told it's all down hill from here this is where I excel Disaster only 500M from the top of Molls I hear a dreaded ping ping ping sound. Bollox!! a snapped spoke and bad buckle in the wheel. I stopped just before the steep decent to see about a possible repair but I knew before I asked there was no chance. So loosen off the rear brake and so begins the lesson in damage limitation and nursing the bike home while not trying to take a header over the bars with only the front brake. In hind sight it was probably a blessing in disguise as that decent off Molls Gap is a bit of a savage one particularly with so many on the road.

Rolled into Killarney and set about signing off. All the folks out having a pint in the sunshine I was dead jealous could've murdered a pint or 10.

So not really a quick report after all but there ya go.

Fantastic day out on the bike and an event I would definitely do again although I'll be staying both nights next time.

Just a note on all the issues I read about before hand.

Cycling clubs - yes they were going fast but they were clear with their shouts and generally stuck to the opposite side of the road. probably an issue in it's own right.

Newbie/nervous cyclists - loads of them but generally easy to pass a few passing on the left and others boxing me in and sitting on the wheel without looking to over take but I didn't really have any issues with either group.

Friendly chat - everyone I spoke to was in great form and having a great day. The only grumpy lad I came across was on a tandem and shouting at lads to hurry up etc presumably so he wouldn't have to stop? Maybe he had a point.

Climbs - Before I begin I'm a god awful climber. They are not double digit % The climbs are grand as others have said slow and steady and you'll get there. I only saw 3 lads walking on Molls Gap but I'd say that was more to do with the mileage in the legs than the climb itself. So for anyone considering this and thinks they haven't done enough training particularly on hills you'll honestly be grand. There really isn't any major climbing.

Marshalls/locals/organisers/Gardai - Fantastic people. There's something about Kerry people that they instantly make you feel welcome and part of something bigger. The lad that shared his umbrella with me as I was walking back from registration he was playing a gig in tatlers and walked me up to my hotel out of his way was an absolute gentleman. As always great to see the kids out on the road with banners for Mam/Dad/Granny/Grandad.

Food - Endless amounts of brack/sandwiches/biscuits/bananas/tea&coffee. You will not go hungry on this sportive

After party - I can't comment but getting into the car and heading for home I couldn't help but feel I was missing out. Next year

To all involved from the Marshalls/locals/gardai/organisers/volunteers/cyclists(I burned the ears off of) a big thank you and thanks for a great day in The Kingdom.

Roll on 2016.

Enough said.

Did the RoK today for the second time. Rolled out of Killorglin at 8:15 into the stiffest headwind I've cycled in for a while a bit of drizzle thrown in for good measure.

My biggest and only complaint though was the sheer numbers and to be honest I think the cap should be lower. The drag from Killorglin was low 20kmh instead of high 20km thanks to large bunches of much slower riders. There were two crashes on this section which resulted in the ambulance taking the injured away. I also witnessed two other accidents including one man fall in front of me a few miles from Sneem. I came close on more than one occasion to being wiped out by perhaps inexperienced riders lacking the necessary discipline.


Everyone has a right to apply and partake and I fully respect that, but in my opinion I think the numbers today were too high to the extent that it made for difficult riding and at times gave rise to safety issue.

I've already decided not to partake again unless a lower cap is applied.

Officer Giggles wrote: »

Seen this fella too, hopefully it was nothing serious

That was me. No idea what happened tbh, long flat Road, not going too fast, and all of a sudden I'm on ground in agony..

Right wrist proper ****ed, already operated on, left shoulder also broken, but clean so in sling (so one finger typing)

Emergency services and response teams amazing. Civil defence,. Johns ambulance folks brilliant!

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

That was me. No idea what happened tbh, long flat Road, not going too fast, and all of a sudden I'm on ground in agony..

Right wrist proper ****ed, already operated on, left shoulder also broken, but clean so in sling (so one finger typing)

Emergency services and response teams amazing. Civil defence,. Johns ambulance folks brilliant!

Sorry to hear that man. I'll be honest I let out an "Oh no" when I saw it was a boarsie that went down. Hopefully you're on the mend quickly and are on some strong drugs to ease the pain.

Take care.

Oh god not this argument again...

Amprodude wrote: »

I did it in 5 hrs 30. Am I a pain to listen to?

Not at all, well done.
Hope you had a great day.
One of the good things about starting and finishing early, is that you have more time to celebrate.

Today was my first time on a bike since 2013, I was a bit worried that I could be absolutley fecked by the time I got to Cahersiveen but luckily I was grand. Would have done it an hour quicker but was doing it with a buddy so got delayed waiting for him etc at times :pac:

Was frustrated at times with riders not staying left and I spent good chunks of the cycle boxed in, definitley felt like their were too many cyclists on the road.

Organisation was great, riders were friendly, support was great and the volunteers etc were superb as always. I'm not a fan of the the cycle finishing in the car park, was just so mobbed and was kind hard to relax. They could do with some type of marquee to give cyclists a bit of shade from being out in the sun all day.

Razzledazzle76 wrote: »

Wow! What a super day... As usual... A mind-blowing effort from everybody involved. One thing that has left a sour taste in my mouth however... Saw on 2 or 3 occasions people discarding wrappers and rubbish. Very disappointing to see. On the descent from coomakista I saw a 'Blaney Valley CC' rider on a lapierre blatently throwing away a wrapper. I just happened to be in his firing line. tbh this is a serious bug-bear of mine. I informed him that this was not the Tour de France and people make a serious effort In Kerry to 'keep it clean'...
He just looked straight through me!
Just mind-blowing ignorance. Phew... Rant over!
Apart from that. What a day....

You have pretty much named and shamed him there and rightly so. I saw one youghal club rider with a specialised bike and carbon wheels overtaking with two more of his club mates around a bend with a continuous white line on the way from sneem into kenmare, he barely missed an oncoming car at speed that was approaching and he swerved back inside the white line causing some other riders to slow down suddenly and almost caused a huge accident. It's people like this that give the ROK a bad name.

Another great day out. However the organisers will have to look at the numbers again as 11000 is too many.

Couldn't get over the amount of cyclists hogging the middle of the road forcing me to take them on the inside- which I hate doing.

Hats off to Committee and volunteers....

4th ROK and really enjoyed again. Even though the numbers were higher it all seemed less busy than previous years. The food stations were so well run and Caherciveen was a quick in and out even though there were thousands of people there. Very impressive organization. Really also liked the marshalling coming down Molls Gap as they really did slow it down a lot so felt much safer than previous years.

Highlight was ice cream and coffee at Annie's in Sneem and the finish line. Loved drummers on the climbs and toward the end and the DJ coming up Molls gap really helped.

Low point was the strong head winds. It was hard going for first half of the day which was very obvious on the garmin as it was my slowest time around but did not mind that.

Looking forward to #5!