The Wicklow 200 (2009) Thread

decrrrrrr

Wicklow 200 completed – job done, with a ride time of 8.58 minutes.. longest spin I’d ever done prior to that was 130km. Absolutely delighted with myself.

Just found my own pace yesterday and worked my way around it.

Big difference between MapmyRide and the Garmin with the climbing...!! Have to agree with what Lumen said. Mine was up around 2800 as well.

The course was as I expected. Bumpy around the lake. The climb into Hollywood caught me unawares (I thought the famous sign from the Hollywood Hills in LA was going to appear at some stage ). Got onto a nice group that took me to SM. SM was as tough, as I expected it to be and the windy conditions did not help. The desent was scary with the wind. SE was tough but was comfortable going up it. I was with two boards guys (didn’t catch their names) on this and the chat made it an easier climb. Emty passed us on the climb and I even got to see how he takes his famous pictures.

Way too many highlights from the day for me to put on paper.

Roll on next year....!!!!!!!!!

Nietzschean

lukester wrote: »

Is that right? Mapmyride only had it at 1800, I'd be more than happy to claim an extra 1000 metres :pac:

my garmin had it at 2962 for the day(including getting to/from home), bikeroutetoaster's estimate was something around the same, you sure you had the right route into mmr?

scammer101

RobFowl wrote: »

Generally best to go for the natural flavour. It tastes like slightly salty water but is the least vile of the lot.

The lemon with some Mi Wadi is good.From experince its good on 100 k spins.Over that the carb kick with caffeine can really help.I swear by the lemon diorlyte&miwadi for recovery.Hope this helps.Welldone:)

ROK ON

tunney wrote: »

Guards were ignored and general safety standards ignored as well. Its an event on open roads and some courtesy to other road users would have helped the cycle cause. (That being said all the boardsies I saw were very well behaved )

On the topic of road etiquette, can someone explain to me what to do in the following situation.

I tried as much as possible to keep well left. Several times y'day (and on Sean Kelly for that matter) I was overtaken at speed by a large group of (mostly organised club cyclists). In several cases the last cyclist in the club paceline pulled in directly in front of my wheel (ie almost touching distance), forcing me to brake/shout warning etc.

Maybe this is done in races, I wouldn't know. But I would have thought that when overtaking, you pull in a few meters ahead of the cyclist been overtaken, how is now behind you. Just like a sensible car driver would do.

This happened so many times, I got to thinking that it most be normal - ie is this what you guys do in racin (as a form of tactics/intimidation). It seems, to my untrained eye, a pretty stupid and dangerous way to overtake someone.

ROK ON

decrrrrrr wrote: »

Emty passed us on the climb and I even got to see how he takes his famous pictures.

You must have been near me, as I saw Emty (& Barrabus) pass (and shout words of encouragement thanks guys.). Then he tore up the road taking photos. What gear were you wearing/what bike were you on?

LDB

scammer101 wrote: »

Hi Raam, the guy by Powerscourt could have been one of our group.Bit of road rash,bit of embarrassment but when on to finish sub 8h of saddle time.50+ and charging hard.Hope this sounds like the same one and not another rider who ahd misfortunate.

I saw the aftermath of a crash by Powercourt but doubt it was your fella. Looked like the cyclist went into a car. Car was quite damaged. Hope they are all ok.

ROK ON

LDB wrote: »

I saw the aftermath of a crash by Powercourt but doubt it was your fella. Looked like the cyclist went into a car. Car was quite damaged. Hope they are all ok.

Looked poor alright. Cyclists were walking up that hill as I descended.
Crash at bottom of SM, looked nasty. Girl on the ground. Attended by ambulance crew.

lukester

Nietzschean wrote: »

my garmin had it at 2962 for the day(including getting to/from home), bikeroutetoaster's estimate was something around the same, you sure you had the right route into mmr?

It was the route posted on the Wicklow 200 site, and it looks spot on. I'd have thought a Garmin would be more accurate anyway, but am surprised at the level of discrepancy.

Having said that MMR can be very flaky at times, I'd have more faith in bikeroutetoaster.

Raam

ROK ON wrote: »

On the topic of road etiquette, can someone explain to me what to do in the following situation.

I tried as much as possible to keep well left. Several times y'day (and on Sean Kelly for that matter) I was overtaken at speed by a large group of (mostly organised club cyclists). In several cases the last cyclist in the club paceline pulled in directly in front of my wheel (ie almost touching distance), forcing me to brake/shout warning etc.

That's a bit annoying alright. Just protect your front wheel and ride out far enough so that you have room to move to the left in case it happens.

barrabus

first off serious thanks to emty and john of audax fame for stopping with my punctures. major thanks to emty in particular.

i enjoyed the day, i took it handy up slieve maan but pushed relatively hard from glenmalure over se elliot and pretty much as far as eniskerry where i eased off again.

Having done a few sportives (and some of these a number of times) including the croi loch corrib (charity event), the ring of kerry (charity event) and the sean kelly tour of waterford (in aid of fighting blindness). I think the wicklow 200 easily comes at the bottom of the list in terms of quality of organisation. Some things have got better down the years; the provision of sufficient toilets at stops is an improvement on 5 years ago (when the stop in rathdrum included a toilet like the old foggy dew with out the benefit of running water or toilet paper), the signage and marshalling have also improved and are as good as necessary.

However the food stops and in particular the first one on the 200 was a complete shambles. The space allocated was completely inadequate. there was one tap for how many riders? the queue to get food took how long?
What exactly was the point of a going to the trouble of bar coded control cards when there were no check in points at the stops and you spent half an hour or so queuing for food.
This event has been run for a long time so i think the vets (who afaik own coffers are the only beneficiaries of the event) shouldnt be taken by surprise by the number of people at the stops. I think the vets are more concerned with depriving those who arent officially entered from getting a freebie sandwich than they are with giving those that have paid with any sort of good service or value for money.

In light of the fact they are taking in a mininum of 60,000 (based on 1500 participants) they should really up their game. I would rather if the money spent on bar coded control cards and numbers was spent on supplying people with decent quantities of food in a timely manner.

Ryaner

My Garmin has 2228.2M of climbing.

@Rok on. I had the same thing happen to me quite a few times. Pretty disconcerting when a very large group half over takes you and then starts pushing left all around.

Raam

Ryaner wrote: »

My Garmin has 2228.2M of climbing.

@Rok on. I had the same thing happen to me quite a few times. Pretty disconcerting when a very large group half over takes you and then starts pushing left all around.

Also, ride assertively. If you hear a group approaching, look around and make sure they notice you properly. The guy in last place might not always know you are there if the leaders haven't called it.

Anyway, you'll get used to this sort of thing and it won't bother you after a while.

kenmc

my garmin says
+2,132.4 / -1,999.3

scammer101

ROK ON wrote: »

On the topic of road etiquette, can someone explain to me what to do in the following situation.

I tried as much as possible to keep well left. Several times y'day (and on Sean Kelly for that matter) I was overtaken at speed by a large group of (mostly organised club cyclists). In several cases the last cyclist in the club paceline pulled in directly in front of my wheel (ie almost touching distance), forcing me to brake/shout warning etc.

Maybe this is done in races, I wouldn't know. But I would have thought that when overtaking, you pull in a few meters ahead of the cyclist been overtaken, how is now behind you. Just like a sensible car driver would do.

This happened so many times, I got to thinking that it most be normal - ie is this what you guys do in racin (as a form of tactics/intimidation). It seems, to my untrained eye, a pretty stupid and dangerous way to overtake someone.

Good point,they did this to us a few times. Pulling in and forcing a slow down.Pi**ed me off!

godihatethehils

Great day yesterday, tough but great. It wasn't helped by the foodstops but I think that's been covered (at length) already. As for the checkin I dunno why they don't use ankle timing chips like they have in the triathlons, that way there'd be no queueing at the start - it just starts when you cross the line and at the end of the day you get a full read out of how long you took and how long you spent at each foodstop.

Still though, I thought it was a great day. Thanks as usual to the boardsies for the great company. The polar tells me I burnt off 6000 calories and I made trojan effort to replace every one of them in the pub last night. Today every bit of me hurts

Can't wait for next year

sy

lukester wrote: »

About 10k before Slieve Maan (and the hill before it), a water car stopped at the top of a small hill, a very small hill, and some poor geezer gasped "Is this the top of Slieve Maan? I heard there's a water stop there?"

Brilliant! Last year I thought "the hill before it" was Slieve Maan:o but better prepared this year as tonto was riding shotgun

oflahero

Lumen wrote: »

people were riding all over the place (not directed at you, obviously).

Well, maybe on the 12% gradients, I was... ;-)

Lumen wrote: »

If someone is riding alone 3m from the kerb, I'm going to undertake in preference to going against the traffic.

Quite right. I just meant the lads who'd appear almost in a puff of gutter dust to my left in a space where I'd thought no human could've fitted, let alone with a bike.

Who was it mentioned one of the lads in a Rathdrum-Roundwood peloton helping one of the coughing old lads up the rolling hills? Was great to see. I think I got a picture. Restored faith in human nature and all o'that.

DirkVoodoo

barrabus wrote: »

In light of the fact they are taking in a mininum of 60,000 (based on 1500 participants) they should really up there game. I would rather if the money spent on bar coded control cards and numbers was spent on supplying people with decent quantities of food in a timely manner.

Yeah the food stops were the only disappointment for me. I would gladly have traded in my blue Lance-style wristband at the end for a few bars.

I was told there were none left at the stop in Donard, which was fine as emty and godihatethehills both offered some, but I had plenty of home brought food. It certainly doesn't compare with the Sean Kelly in terms of food stops.

Raam

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

I would gladly have traded in my blue Lance-style wristband at the end for a few bars.

How many of us are wearing this today? Just me? Shít.
<-- Massive fred

rflynnr

A most enjoyable and interesting day, not least for the boardsies I got to have extended conversations with (frankgrimes, dirk, niceonetom, sy, the claw amongst others). I found some elements of it tougher than I'd expected: although I sailed up Sally Gap as if lifted from on high, Slieve Maan and Shay Elliott proved surprisingly tough. I say surprising because I'd done both in succession twice in the previous months and found them doable. Tough, but doable. Nor was it down to the fact they came after 120kms, at which point I was -all things considered - feeling fairly fresh. I think part of it was that I'd never approached either from the west side before and thus found it difficult to judge my progress. But it also made me appreciate the significance of power to weight ratios more than ever: midway up SM, DirkVoodoo pulled beside me, affable as ever, but I literally couldn't speak. Unoffended, (a gentleman) he eased away and I didn't seem him again till the top. Something similar happened with The Claw on SE although there I was able to maintain parity with him until the last third of the climb when he too eased off. Both gents are significantly slimmer than myself and it's given me new incentive to lose the pounds which took up residence around my waist some years back.

Beyond that, the other revelation of the day was the impact of energy gels: I've used them in triathlons before but have always suspected that I didn't really need them. However, despite following a fairly regimented calorie intake yesterday, I could feel the early warnings signs of a bonk somewhere around Roundwood. For some reason I resisted taking the gel until Enniskerry but the effect was astonishing: within minutes, limbs which had been leaden weights suddenly felt like steel. I legged it out of Enniskerry and felt like I could have sprinted the final 20k. The effect was shortlived though: the 8k ride home after the finish (more than an hour after taking the gels) was not pleasant.

That aside two other things about the day struck me:

- how much of Wicklow remains uncharted territory for me. There are so many fantastic landscapes within a confined area.

- the ample evidence of a substantial Irish cycling culture which often seems invisible outside these events. Even if the abilities of the various participants were mixed there was nonetheless a fantastic sense of a shared community. I particularly loved riding with 10-15 person groups even if we never got into paceline mode if only because I felt much safer than I normally would on the roads: even boy racers calm down when confronted with these kind of groups.

Finally, it was terrific to meet everyone again: even within the cycling community (to which I have a very limited exposure) it strikes me that there is something quite unique about boards in the unfailing support and enthusiasm it engenders from all who participate on and offline. I certainly wouldn't have contemplated taking part yesterday were it not for the existence of this forum.

tunney

ROK ON wrote: »

On the topic of road etiquette, can someone explain to me what to do in the following situation.

I tried as much as possible to keep well left. Several times y'day (and on Sean Kelly for that matter) I was overtaken at speed by a large group of (mostly organised club cyclists). In several cases the last cyclist in the club paceline pulled in directly in front of my wheel (ie almost touching distance), forcing me to brake/shout warning etc.

Maybe this is done in races, I wouldn't know. But I would have thought that when overtaking, you pull in a few meters ahead of the cyclist been overtaken, how is now behind you. Just like a sensible car driver would do.

This happened so many times, I got to thinking that it most be normal - ie is this what you guys do in racin (as a form of tactics/intimidation). It seems, to my untrained eye, a pretty stupid and dangerous way to overtake someone.

I'd have said that its more a case of them being very comfortable with close distances between wheels and not realised that less experienced cyclists aren't used to it.

tunney

Saw alot of muppets on tri bikes alright. One particular fool descending on the bars in a group. Felt like kicking him off to savign time.

Raam

tunney wrote: »

Saw alot of muppets on tri bikes alright. One particular fool descending on the bars in a group. Felt like kicking him off to savign time.

Imagine having those bars plow right into your back in a crash. Ouch.

Vélo

Raam wrote: »

How many of us are wearing this today? Just me? Shít.
<-- Massive fred

Yep....just you!

RobFowl

Aquinas73 wrote: »

Yep....just you!

Me too

irishmotorist

I remembered going up Shay Elliott and I was in my zone - slow/average to be honest. Then, I looked to my right and there was this guy who I'd guess was at least 60 just sauntering up it like he was on the flat. I'll be a happy man if I can do half of that when I'm at that age!

Also, now I know what it's like to cycle into work into a manky headwind the day after doing 200km!

rflynnr

I cycled home wearing my medal. By the time I got to Clanbrassil Street, I begun to wonder if such a public display wasn't a bit naff. Slipped it into my back pocket but as I turned onto the street where I live in Phibsboro, I put it back on, all nonchalant like. Knocked on my front door and my two kids pointed at the medal, screaming "Daddy won the race!".

Felt like a king.

Vélo

rflynnr wrote: »

I cycled home wearing my medal. By the time I got to Clanbrassil Street, I begun to wonder if such a public display wasn't a bit naff. Slipped it into my back pocket but as I turned onto the street where I live in Phibsboro, I put it back on, all nonchalant like. Knocked on my front door and my two kids pointed at the medal, screaming "Daddy won the race!".

Felt like a king.

Nice 1

Limestone1

Raam wrote: »

How many of us are wearing this today? Just me? Shít.

Don't feel bad - my 4 year old is wearing it too !

blorg

ROK ON wrote: »

I was overtaken at speed by a large group of (mostly organised club cyclists). In several cases the last cyclist in the club paceline pulled in directly in front of my wheel (ie almost touching distance), forcing me to brake/shout warning etc.

scammer101 wrote: »

Good point,they did this to us a few times. Pulling in and forcing a slow down.Pi**ed me off!

If they were overtaking at speed I'm not sure how it forced you to slow down, as they were going faster than you.

I can only imagine it was what they are used to- in racing or general group riding you do ride _very_ close together and so it might not have been appreciated that there would be cyclists doing the event that were not used to this, e.g. your view of close and their view of close might have diverged somewhat.

Generally in a good group you don't have to use your brakes much, you adjust speed to cope with the pace by just easing off on the pedalling, and keep your wheel slightly off the person in front so that if they do stop suddenly you slide past them rather than into them.

ROK ON wrote: »

is this what you guys do in racin (as a form of tactics/intimidation).

No, generally in racing any sort of intimidation or anything that would impinge on safety is frowned upon. You call potholes, not try to send your rivals into them