Saturday Spin 7th Feb

barrabus

Bit of a cold, bit tired, big time in need of bike ride..

10 am at the Luas Bridge .. any takers?

Chips Lovell

I'm out. Got a wedding to go to.

ROK ON

Maybe in, but would prefer say 9.30.

Caroline_ie

10 is good ... I like 10.

blorg

I'd love to, but I have to go cycling in the Sierra Nevada for a week. Mu-wa-ha-ha.

niceonetom

I'm in.

Joe Bastardi says wrap up warm:



RealFeel® 5*C


breezy too:

AstraMonti

I am in! I would prefer 9, but whatever suits most people

barrabus

blorg wrote: »

I'd love to, but I have to go cycling in the Sierra Nevada for a week. Mu-wa-ha-ha.

As you said to me when the tables were turned
" Ha, enjoy that Don't get all el tonto with the smugness mind... "

http://www-srv-4.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055452204

LDB

Going north County this weekend.
weather a bit suspect for the hills me thinks.

barrabus

LDB wrote: »

weather a bit suspect for the hills me thinks.

What does his Blorgness say to this after his lunch time spin?

Caroline_ie

.... Just noticed the thread title ... we're in March now, aren't we?

AstraMonti

Caroline_ie wrote: »

.... Just noticed the thread title ... we're in March now, aren't we?

LOL! True

barrabus

Caroline_ie wrote: »

.... Just noticed the thread title ... we're in March now, aren't we?

the opposite of thanks to you :-)

NeilMcEoigheann

think i should make it. i'm screwed for sleep so its a if i get up type thing.only if its 10 though.

Húrin

sorry I can't make this one. My time machine is busted atm.

ROK ON

Am heading on an early spin, so I wont see you guys at 10.
Enjoy.

scottreynolds

Couldn't make the boards spin so went out and honestly that wind it horrible. I lost all motivation after about 20 minutes into the wind at about 15km/h a real kill joy.

Tried out some sunglasses for the first time today. Nothing special just a cheap pair of Madison from cycleways. Road with the yellow lens on and it made the day look really nice - I took them off for a break and suddenly everything seemed cold and looked so... I'll definitely bear wearing them on days like this again . now to find my rose colored glasses to watch some pro racing ..........

AstraMonti

Someone really spitted on me today.. we headed to enniskerry with Tom and Caroline and the bike was behaving strangely.. it was doing all sorts of clanks, clinks, dings etc etc and it was slipping gears. Anyway we managed to reach enniskerry and by the time we started the uphill my chain broke. Tom saved the day with his chain tool and after a lot of trouble we managed to get it back in one piece. (Cheers Tom, i owe you a pint at least!)
Since we didn't trust the chain, i headed back home. Near Stepaside i got a puncture on the rear tyre.. i didn't had any puncture so far.. and it had to be today and the rear one! :mad: Anyway.. i change the tyre and continue my way. After 500m, chain broke down again.. but in two parts.. I gave up! I walked/freewheeled to Joe Daly where i left the bike for a chain and a service..

I hope the guys had more luck!

barrabus

I was delayed and not feeling great so i headed out on my own up past the hell fire across the feather beds and on to glencree. The cross wind on the feather beds was very nasty , when i got to glencree i initially decided to go to sally gap but i met rok_on decending and he said it was very windy higher up so i backed off and went for coffee with him in glencree instead. not a day for cycling up high..

kenmc

i woke up drunk. took the bike out of the shed. that was hard. put it back in again. went back to bed.

zzzzzzzz

Went down the N11 as far as ashford then turned up towards Roundwood and on to laragh then back up over the sally gap. Never been up from that side before.

Came back down through glencree - descent was a bit hairy alright with the crosswinds in parts so really took it easy.

@Astra monti - sounds like a nightmare!

ROK ON

Made it as far as Kippure, (well 2.5k up the road to Kippure). Cross winds were dreadful and lost balance twice. Would loved to have made it to the top, but got more than half way I reckon.
The climb is not that challenging (and I am not a good climber).
Good to meet Barabus, needed a bit of company at that stage.
Met a guy (another cyclist) outside Jonnie Foxes as I was having a banana, - he wanted to chat, so I stayed a bit too long and got cold - really slowed me down.

Anayway, Pinetree road was tough with the cross wind. Up past Lough Bray was very tough with the wind.
Otherwise enjoyable - 96km. Probably should have spent a little bit more time in the park to get to the 100k.

Raam

LDB and myself did a short spin around Malahide and Portmarnock. On the way home she almost got hit twice in the space of 2 minutes by cars over taking on bends and cutting across when they see cars coming the other way. The second one was VERY close. I was convinced she was going under the wheel.

Met that black and white dog up Edmondstown Road again except he had a huge St. Bernard with him this time. There was an older guy who was a bit ahead of me and he got off his bike and found a massive stick just in case. Between us we inched away from them (bikes between the dogs and us) and eventually the owner called them in. Surprised those dogs haven't been killed by any cars to be honest, they were running all around us trying to get in behind the bikes.

Those winds though were pretty scary alright. Although typically it looks like a beautiful afternoon for it now. Was almost blown off going up Lough Bray but my left pedal released thankfully. What got me up to the Sally Gap was thinking that "it'll be great coming down the other side with the wind behind me" but there was no wind down around Ballinstoe Woods! Did just over 70km which is the most I've done this year (and ever really). Looking forward to doing some more next week.

Very slow getting up the hills - or maybe it was just me - my average speed overall was 17.7km/hr.

The pics below though don't really show how windy it was up there - the signpost at the Sally Gap was shaking!

Caroline_ie

Just back. 102.5km for me. Avg speed 20kph ...

The wind was very bad up there, I got blown away to the right side of the road and fell on the grass ( missed the ditch ). My bike weighs nothing against the win ... quite scary.
I think someone stole kippure ... was gone, Whoever did this, give it back! (unless sthat was the fog ... )

Now I am waiting for the water to heat up ...

Astra ... today was not your day, it was a good thing to head back I guess.

I guess the gods of cycling weren't with us today.

ROK ON

Caroline_ie wrote: »

I think someone stole kippure ... was gone, Whoever did this, give it back! (unless sthat was the fog ... )


I guess the gods of cycling weren't with us today.

It was me - I stole it. Made it up most of the way.
Horrific winds - blown all over the place. Then met a wall of cloud and decided not to head any further. I have just checked google maps and I made it to final kink in the road before the mast (where the river is on the map).
Trouble was, I didnt have the bottle to head further with the wind, and I could see any further at that stage (even thogh the mast was probably only about 1k further up the road)

Well done on the century, I think anyone out on high ground today deserves a 1.5 multiplier to the century a month thing:)

scottreynolds

ROK ON wrote: »

Well done on the century, I think anyone out on high ground today deserves a 1.5 multiplier to the century a month thing:)

Damn, looks like there was no snow. Guess you all didn't get the full Wicklow winter experience . That wind wasn't nice down here on the North Side I can't imagine how bad it was up there.

niceonetom

@AstraMonti - wow, bummer. At least you made the right decision about whether to trust the chain or not. It's a lot easier to walk home from Stepaside than it is from Kilbride. It's a pity we couldn't get a better fix on that chain. I may have to start a mini-tool thread...

ROK ON wrote: »

Made it as far as Kippure, (well 2.5k up the road to Kippure). Cross winds were dreadful and lost balance twice. Would loved to have made it to the top, but got more than half way I reckon.
The climb is not that challenging (and I am not a good climber).

Climb it all the way to the top before you pass judgement, otherwise you're just begging Kippure to punish your impudence when you do actually try to get all the way up. I only know one person who would say Kippure is "not that challenging" and he wears sandals and his descriptions of climbs are not to be trusted under any circumstances...

We made it to the gates at the bottom and thought better of it - too windy, and no view from the top to reward you anyway. Still haven't got up there this year. Have to remedy that.

ROK ON wrote: »

96km. Probably should have spent a little bit more time in the park to get to the 100k.

That's what I did. Had to throw in a lap of the park to get up to the magic number. So, no century for you today. Unlucky. :P

AstraMonti

Caroline_ie wrote: »

The wind was very bad up there, I got blown away to the right side of the road and fell on the grass ( missed the ditch ). My bike weighs nothing against the win ... quite scary.

Ouch! At least you fell on the grass!

Oh..! And the thanks for the cola gelly

ROK ON

[quote=niceonetom;59321069

Climb it all the way to the top before you pass judgement, otherwise you're just begging Kippure to punish your impudence when you do actually try to get all the way up.

That's what I did. Had to throw in a lap of the park to get up to the magic number. So, no century for you today. Unlucky. :P[/quote]

Oops, thats me told. I'll get my coat

Lumen

80km @ 25kph for me today on Thunderblorg 8, out on the flatlands to Trim and back.

Working my way towards the century, one bleak, windy, painful slog at a time.

I also managed to win a race out around Dunboyne. I think I had a couple of hours headstart on the rest though.

FrankGrimes

I was feeling good after the Boards.ie football team televised match extravaganza (RTE are doing a show on Boards.ie some Thursday evening and this match will feature) so I decided to head up the hills....think the wind actually motivated me to give it a shot and see how I'd get on.

Went up the Ballycullen road and beyond the Hell Fire Club then down into Glencree where I decided to give the Sally Gap a shot. To my amazement, I made it. Literally at a snails pace but I've never managed to do Firhouse-Sally Gap in one go so for me that was some achievement even without the wind that was seriously wild.

At one point I was on a straight stretch with about a 2% downward gradient and the wind was so strong into my face that I was in the granny ring just keeping the bike moving. But mostly it was crosswinds that were swirling like crazy...one of the few times my 100kg of ballast has been an advantage on a bike .

Descending was the most nervous part for me - I was sitting on the brakes most of the time as at speed it was so much harder to react to the gust of winds and keep out of the ditches.

Ended up doing a 70km route - went over Lugalla and back up through Enniskerry. Time was ridiculously slow but I'm chuffed with getting that under my belt today as the wind made it like climbing most of the time and I'm at the stage where I just want to get up the hills in one go at any pace before building on from there to do it at a decent speed.

Met some very friendly cyclists along the way - seeing other people descending towards me as I was struggling up the hills helped motivate me as it was my only way of knowing it was possible to get to the top without being sucked up by a tornado!

scottreynolds

FrankGrimes wrote: »

I was feeling good after the Boards.ie football team televised match extravaganza (RTE are doing a show on Boards.ie some Thursday evening and this match will feature) so I decided to head up the hills....think the wind actually motivated me to give it a shot and see how I'd get on.

Went up the Ballycullen road and beyond the Hell Fire Club then down into Glencree where I decided to give the Sally Gap a shot. To my amazement, I made it. Literally at a snails pace but I've never managed to do Firhouse-Sally Gap in one go so for me that was some achievement even without the wind that was seriously wild.

At one point I was on a straight stretch with about a 2% downward gradient and the wind was so strong into my face that I was in the granny ring just keeping the bike moving. But mostly it was crosswinds that were swirling like crazy...one of the few times my 100kg of ballast has been an advantage on a bike .

Descending was the most nervous part for me - I was sitting on the brakes most of the time as at speed it was so much harder to react to the gust of winds and keep out of the ditches.

Ended up doing a 70km route - went over Lugalla and back up through Enniskerry. Time was ridiculously slow but I'm chuffed with getting that under my belt today as the wind made it like climbing most of the time and I'm at the stage where I just want to get up the hills in one go at any pace before building on from there to do it at a decent speed.

Met some very friendly cyclists along the way - seeing other people descending towards me as I was struggling up the hills helped motivate me as it was my only way of knowing it was possible to get to the top without being sucked up by a tornado!

top stuff - well done. Thats fantastic.

TinyExplosions

kenmc wrote: »

i woke up drunk. took the bike out of the shed. that was hard. put it back in again. went back to bed.

+1 for me too.... stupid Friday drinking

Raam

TinyExplosions wrote: »

+1 for me too.... stupid Friday drinking

Glad I didn't go out so! Although I have just popped open a Chateauneuf du pape.

TinyExplosions

Raam wrote: »

Glad I didn't go out so! Although I have just popped open a Chateauneuf du pape.

Yeah, unintentional drunkenness, but very drunk nonetheless!

Sounds a good choice for a Saturday wine sir -I'm jealous

Raam

TinyExplosions wrote: »

Yeah, unintentional drunkenness, but very drunk nonetheless!

Sounds a good choice for a Saturday wine sir -I'm jealous

It's all for me too. Expect the content of posts to descend pretty rapidly over the next hour.

E@gle.

anyone racing tomorrow in newbridge, 40 km winds and heavy rain gonna be fun

blorg

Just a quick 25km for Emty and myself today, the hard work starts tomorrow.

Raam

blorg wrote: »

Just a quick 25km for Emty and myself today, the hard work starts tomorrow.

What's on the itinerary?

blorg

Raam wrote: »

What's on the itinerary?

No idea but safe to assume it will include hills! Weather here is very nice, low 20s with clear skies.

Raam

blorg wrote: »

No idea but safe to assume it will include hills! Weather here is very nice, low 20s with clear skies.

Sounds good Will ya take some nice snaps for us?

FrankGrimes

@scottreynolds - thanks for the support....my effort is small beer in the grander scheme of things but it's an important step on the road to me hopefully completing the Wicklow 200 so I'm pleased with it. If I manage a few more decent runs like that, I'll feel comfortable joining one of the boards weekend spins soon enough and I know from before that those spins will be a great way to push on and hopefully take it up a notch.

@blorg - I just went out to colllect a well deserved Chinese takeway and the crazy wind has now addded fierce rain to its arsenal....which only made me even more jealous seeing those photos! Hope you and emty have a great time and I think your photos may have inspired me to take a camera along on future spins. The view down into the valley/lake going over Lugalla is never less than breathtaking even on a bad day like today so it deserves a few snaps.

Raam

FrankGrimes wrote: »

@scottreynolds - thanks for the support....my effort is small beer in the grander scheme of things but it's an important step on the road to me hopefully completing the Wicklow 200 so I'm pleased with it. If I manage a few more decent runs like that, I'll feel comfortable joining one of the boards weekend spins soon enough and I know from before that those spins will be a great way to push on and hopefully take it up a notch.

I reckon you will do just fine on the boards spins.

Hermy

blorg wrote: »

Great photos.
Where are the two lads?

Raam

Hermy wrote: »

Great photos.
Where are the two lads?

Is it Tenerife or Majorca? One of them I think.

blorg

Raam wrote: »

Is it Tenerife or Majorca? One of them I think.

Close, the Sierra Nevada in Andalucia. We are looking very fortunate with the weather, apparently it pissed rain here all last week and cleared up especially for our arrival.

Hermy

Nice one.
Enjoy yourselves.:)