The Wicklow 200 (2009) Thread

FrankGrimes

Poggio? I like it...no idea what it means but I like it.

I hated it last year though - caught a few mouthfuls of exhaust from a car slowly filtering through the traffic and that didn't mix too well with the lung I was in the process of coughing up at the time.

Well, if I make it that far I'll be well happy with myself and will gladly go up it in 1 furlong intervals if I have to!

Chips Lovell

FrankGrimes wrote: »

Poggio? I like it...no idea what it means but I like it.

It's the final climb in Milan - Sanremo.

lafors

I've been trying to get that bloody map onto my phone for he past few hours.
I tried mapsource for my garmin XT, then nokia maps, eh no, then Sportstracker, but that seems to be a 1 way sync....phone to web not the other way around.

Anyway then I realised I was being a plonker as there's no way in hell my phone will go for that length of time with GPS tracking on.
So are any of you going to be using a map/tracker i.e. GPS?

I've also paid up the entry fee already to encourage me to train more. I'm intending on doing the course in parts soon, so I'll know what to expect on the day.

One more thing, a question for you all, what will you expect your avg pace to be? On the flat sections, and overall? Just wondering on what I should be aiming at.

Limestone1

kenmc wrote: »

They've done it now!
here it is!

It's only 187Km ....They'll have to change the name ...

kenmc

Last year (my first time) I did it in 9h24 including stops (don't have a cycling-only time). That works out at avg of 20.9km/h
Hoping to do it around an hour faster (inc stops) this year all going well.

re gps, last year had a forerunner 305. this year an edge 705.

edit: calculated 'down' time - 51mins
moving speed avg of 23km/h

blorg

I'll be using a Garmin 705 which will do the full length. The 305 will do it if you turn it off at the food stops. You can always get battery backup chargers and charge your phone/the GPS on the bike, I have a couple of these. The cheaper one runs on AAs and was a fiver from Maplin.

As to pace, I did slightly over 25km/h average last year (cycling pace), would hope to pick that up a bit this year (unless I do it on the fixie.) I think that speed is a bit above the average.

@Limestone1- it is always a bit below 200km, we are cheated! If you wanted to add in a bit you could take in Lugalla, the Gap and Glencree on the way back

Limestone1

A detour up and back down the wicklow gap should cover it

niceonetom

here it is in bikeroutetoaster....

This route has a few advantages, most importantly it has 700m more climbing on it while actually following exactly the same roads for exactly the same distance.

Point being, if you like to keep track of how much climbing you do, bikeroute toaster is far more complimentary to the ego.

w200 2100m accent according to mapmyride.
w200 2830m accent according to bikeroutetoeaster.

zzzzzzzz

niceonetom wrote: »

here it is in bikeroutetoaster....

This route has a few advantages, most importantly it has 700m more climbing on it while actually following exactly the same roads for exactly the same distance.

Point being, if you like to keep track of how much climbing you do, bikeroute toaster is far more complimentary to the ego.

w200 2100m accent according to mapmyride.
w200 2830m accent according to bikeroutetoeaster.

actually - speaking of inaccuracies on that site - I put a route in to it this morning and it showed up as 78k. I cycled it and I ended up with c. 90k on the clock.

I'm 99.9% sure I didn't deviate from the route and I didn't turn around or anything like that...

scammer101

ROK ON wrote: »

Nope.
heading from Phoenix Pk to Kilbride, around by the lakes and onto Donard.
Home via Laragh.
150km in total (God help me).

I have the rosary out for you.Doing the half marathon week after and getting lots of' are you mad cycling 150 km the week before'.Going to back out. Knowing my lousy sense of direction, I'll probably pass you in wicklow!!!:eek:

kincsem

There is a error on the Wicklow 100 route on Mapmyride linked from the Wicklow 200 website.

The km markers go 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 8, 11. The route backtracks towards Dublin for about a km on the outward journey before resuming in the Enniskerry direction. In fact, between km 10 and 11 the route goes cross-country. This is just beyond Stepaside village on the Enniskerry Road. The error was probably caused by disabling the "auto follow roads" setting. This will not be a problem to cyclists familiar with the route, but might be to people who do not know the area and have loaded the route into their GPS. I looked at the rest of the route. It seems alright, but the distance between km 80 and 81 looks short on the map.

I emailed a copy of this to admin > wicklow200.ie

thedudeinthehat

blorg wrote: »

I'll be using a Garmin 705 which will do the full length. The 305 will do it if you turn it off at the food stops. You can always get battery backup chargers and charge your phone/the GPS on the bike, I have a couple of these. The cheaper one runs on AAs and was a fiver from Maplin.

As to pace, I did slightly over 25km/h average last year (cycling pace), would hope to pick that up a bit this year (unless I do it on the fixie.) I think that speed is a bit above the average.

@Limestone1- it is always a bit below 200km, we are cheated! If you wanted to add in a bit you could take in Lugalla, the Gap and Glencree on the way back

Quick question, where did you pick up the Garmin 705? In Ireland. How is the mapping software? How do you find it when on the road? cheers

Ryaner

thedudeinthehat wrote: »

Quick question, where did you pick up the Garmin 705? In Ireland. How is the mapping software? How do you find it when on the road? cheers

handtec.co.uk had the cheapest price around when I got mine. Someone from boards recommended them. Their customer support is useless. The did answer the phone but told me the unit was shipping the next day yet it arrived the next day. Never replied to any emails.

As for the garmin, it is a nice little device. Mine did have a tendancy to lock up or reset itself but only at the end of rides or when I my setting it up on my desk. Menu+Lap does a soft reset and also saves the last ride as soon as it reboots so no lost data. Map guideness is alright. Adding points for Google Maps is dangerous though. I did this on my last trip to Wicklow and missed a turn leaving me on a 20% hill.

I've yet to get the virtual partner working too. I tried to use it one day but strayed slightly of course so the garmin jumped the other ride 60k ahead leaving it useless. It would also be nice if they gave an option on the device to save previously cycled journeys as courses but nothing is perfect.

kenmc

Ryaner wrote: »

It would also be nice if they gave an option on the device to save previously cycled journeys as courses but nothing is perfect.

Pretty sure you can. Don't have mine to hand, but I could have sworn you can make a course from a history.

Raam

kenmc wrote: »

Pretty sure you can. Don't have mine to hand, but I could have sworn you can make a course from a history.

You certainly can, quite a handy feature.

Ryaner

Will have to check that out again. Last time I looked it was only listing the one course I had previously loaded on.

Raam

Ryaner wrote: »

Will have to check that out again. Last time I looked it was only listing the one course I had previously loaded on.

when you select a route from your history, there should be an option to create a new course from it. Or else you go into courses and select create course from history. I don't have it in front of me so can't verify which it is.

Ryaner

Course -> Create New and it lists the history. Can't believe I missed that.
Thanks

Home:Ballyhoura

I'm hoping to do the Wicklow 200 this year and I have already got a bit of encouragement from people on here:

blorg wrote: »

it's a spoetive, you would be well up for it ii reckon

FrankGrimes wrote: »

Well done fella!

Feels good breaking the 100km barrier eh?

Your stats there are very strong - 30km/h is really good solo for that distance and I'm sure the more knowledgeable folk than me will tell you that a cadence of 90 is good. Add in a resting heart rate in the 40s and you'll probably be flying around the Wicklow 200 in no time!

Anyway, I'm basically looking for other peoples advice on what I should do!! Maybe ye will be able to persuade me to sign up as a bit of motivation! Maybe just the 100 for me, I don't know!

Take this into consideration:

Home:Ballyhoura wrote: »

Do you really think so? I hadn't even considered even thinking about doing the Wicklow 200! Now that you say it, I really would love to complete it...what do you think? Is it a proper race (like race speeds) or more of a leisure cycle? What would be the average "average speeds" be, that is to complete it in a respectable time in comparison to the other competitors? I presume it is a great experience...do many teenagers do it? Any help would be great as I know absolutely nothing about it! Thanks in advance

***Probably should post this in the Wicklow 200 thread!***

Anyone else want to share their average speeds for the event over the years?

lafors wrote: »

One more thing, a question for you all, what will you expect your avg pace to be? On the flat sections, and overall? Just wondering on what I should be aiming at.

kenmc wrote: »

That works out at avg of 20.9km/h

edit: calculated 'down' time - 51mins
moving speed avg of 23km/h

blorg wrote: »

As to pace, I did slightly over 25km/h average last year (cycling pace), would hope to pick that up a bit this year (unless I do it on the fixie.) I think that speed is a bit above the average

alfalad

I wouldn't worry to much about the stats at this stage or really at all cause it is a sportive not a race! Given the stats below you'll be leading the pack, if I'm doing then you'll have no worries! So get the credit card and just hit some hills as that will be the key, getting over them in one piece and learning how to tackle them without wearing yourself out is what will keep you fresh!

FrankGrimes

Hi Ballyhoura - seems you already have a couple of 100km spins under your belt. I'm in a broadly similar situation as you - few 100kms under the belt and looking to do a few sportives this summer, so I'm no expert, but here are my thoughts for what it's worth.

The Wicklow 100 route is not all that difficult (steep climb for a few km outside of Enniskerry being the main climb, with some shorter ones here and there and much rolling terrain throughout). Completing the Wicklow 100 doesn't sound like it would be that much of a challenge for you unless you were to focus on achieving a particular time for it.

I'm much the same but have made my mind up to try to complete the Wicklow 200 - I'd get a great sense of achievement from doing it by hook or by crook, far more than achieving a target time for the 100km and it gives me something to work on to keep pushing towards.

On my homeward part of my 115km spin yesterday, I was thinking that the Wicklow 200 is going to be another kettle of fish entirely - doing 200km vs. 100km will be at least 2.5 times harder and throw in the 3 major climbs and bumpy sections along the way, and I think it'll be more like 3 or 4 times harder.

It's tough getting the head around that - for me even the discomfort of being in the saddle for that long (even if the roads were flat) is daunting, but I believe I will find a way to do it. I won't care less how long it takes me or how many breaks I need - I just care about completing it and I can worry about time next year.

When you look at the 200 route, without over analysing it, 20km/h seems what I should be aiming for. That's 10 hours in the saddle. I expect it to be hell but I expect the cold beer at the end to be heaven.

Do It!

Vélo

I have entered but I'm not too sure about the ww200 myself. I'm really only getting to commute at the moment. I did go for a 40km spin on Friday and had no problem with it at all (which I didn't expect to). Anyway you'll see the spin below that I did. It's the only hill I know of near me. If I was to do this twice a week before work and still commuted 3 days a week, which is a 40km round trip what extra would I need to do to complete the WW200 or should I just stick with the WW100 and leave the 200 until next year?

http://www.mapmyride.com/edit_route?r=936524547684

I know the Hill of Tara isn't exactly a big hill but if I was to go up and down a few times it would help but how much would I have to go up and down?

rottenhat

Home:Ballyhoura wrote: »

Anyway, I'm basically looking for other peoples advice on what I should do!! Maybe ye will be able to persuade me to sign up as a bit of motivation! Maybe just the 100 for me, I don't know!

The 100 is a pretty dull ride in comparison with the 200, avoiding all the major climbs. Don't you race? I would think you'd have no trouble finishing the 200 in a decent time if you keep putting the miles in between now and June.

Greyspoke

Anyone who has ridden 100kms reasonably comfortably will, given the occasion of the day, decent rest and nutrition in the days beforehand, be able to manage the W200.
You might be feeling very weary on the long run back from Rathdrum but you'll be on the road home and you WILL make it.
Last year my brother rode it with me and he hadn't previously ridden more than 90kms in one go and he managed it remarkably well.
Don't be intimidated by the sound of 200kms - look at it in three sections broken up by the checkpoints at Donard and Rathdrum.

Ryder

Would agree with greyspoke. My main sport is rowing and i would do less than 5 100k cycles per year. Managed the 200 last year pretty easily. Think if youre generally fit and can do 100k in one go you will have no problem with the 200

niceonetom

The Wicklow 100 is for fat people on hybrids. There, I said it.

Raam

niceonetom wrote: »

The Wicklow 100 is for fat people on hybrids. There, I said it.

Well then call me Fatty cos I may yet be doing the 100 if the old man agrees to do it.

kenmc

just break his computer, and say nothing as you turn right instead of left after enniskerry Once he's over half way around he has to finish it out !

Gavin

Number card and stuff arrived this morning.


Number 9 ! Oh Yeah !

Caroline_ie

Gavin wrote: »

Number 9 ! Oh Yeah !

Did you register on the 1st day?