Tour of Kildare and Sean Kelly Tour

StudentC

I've never ridden in any races / sportives / anything, but I'm all enthused by everybody's reports of the ROK at the weekend.

Having had a look at the calendar, I'm thinking of giving the Tour of Kildare 100km (9th August) a go, and if that goes well, the Sean Kelly 100km (30th August).

Would I be right in thinking that the SK will be harder (i.e. hillier) than the Tour of Kildare?
And would I also be right in believing the website of the SK tour that the 160km SK is really really hard?

Captain Havoc

I'm pretty new to this also, I started with a 100km up the Wicklow mts in April or May. I think if you feel OK after the Martin Earley then chance your arm at the 160 in the Seán Kelly. There's also the Tour de KK on the 1st of August which would be hilly enough but wouldn't kill you, it also has 100km and 160km.

Caroline_ie

The SKT 100 doesn't include any climbs, it's more ondulated.
The 160 is hard but nothing compared to the WW200 ( but harder than the ROK - very do-able as there are a good few organized stops - and, it's about challenging yourself. If it wasn't hard, what would be the point ... Go for it.

StudentC

Thanks Jerseyeire and Caroline_ie.

Will probably go for either the Tour of Kildare or the Tour of KK at the start of August, and then decide what I think about the Sean Kelly. Got intimidated by the website...

Sean Kelly tour website wrote: »

tough, tough.....not for the fainthearted.......suitable only for very experienced and very fit full-time cyclists.......test the strength, perseverance and stamina of the riders....gruelling.....suffering....back-breaking.....suffer.

Caroline_ie

It's very simple - the road is the same for a a long while, you can do the 160 and skip Seskin hill as it is a loop of only a few Km, once you reach a certain stop, there is a split, left for the 160, and straight to finish the 100. You can make a choice depending on how strong you feel. There is also a way to skip the Climb to Mahon falls, but that's a permanent feature on the wimp list ( I did that last year, and I had to go back a month later and climb Mahon falls from both sides to make up for it ... )

penexpers

Tour of Kildare is no walk in the park either and certainly nothing like the ROK - last year the main bunch set off at a pretty quick pace and there weren't many stragglers left behind.

penexpers

Caroline_ie wrote: »

There is also a way to skip the Climb to Mahon falls, but that's a permanent feature on the wimp list ( I did that last year, and I had to go back a month later and climb Mahon falls from both sides to make up for it ... )

Did blorg miss that climb too?

Caroline_ie

penexpers wrote: »

Did blorg miss that climb too?

i am not sure which one he missed ... i thought he had gone up seskin twice ... or that was someone else.

DeepBlue

Mapped out what I think is the route for the Sean Kelly 160km here.

The blurb from the organisers makes it sound pretty daunting:

The Kelly Comeragh Challenge is the tough, tough part of the tour and not for the fainthearted. Almost 160 km (100 miles) in length, it includes two Category One climbs (Seskin Hill and Mahon Falls) and is suitable only for very experienced and very fit full-time cyclists.

The route also seems to have the three steep climbs in the latter half of the course :eek:.

According to mapmyride the steepest it gets is 7%. Is that pretty much the case?

Ryaner

penexpers wrote: »

Tour of Kildare is no walk in the park either and certainly nothing like the ROK - last year the main bunch set off at a pretty quick pace and there weren't many stragglers left behind.

What kind of speed we talking? Been suggested to do this however I don't fancy 100km on my own.

penexpers

I think the main bunch set off at about 35km/h.

niceonetom

DeepBlue wrote: »

According to mapmyride the steepest it gets is 7%. Is that pretty much the case?

No. Mapmyride smooths gradients out quite a lot for long routes. If you want to get a more accurate read on a climb plot it and it alone - the shorter the route the more accurate the gradients will be.

Seskin feels like it might hit about 15% or more (guess) after a sharp blind turn and that can be very daunting but it's a short enough climb so the gradient is over soon enough. It's scary, but over quite quickly. No problem.

Mahon Falls is not as steep at all, but is a lot longer with a bit of a ramp up to the top for the last 100m or so. Just pace yourself. No problem.

I think a lot of that pain and suffering stuff on the SK site is there to massage the egos of eejits like me cyclists who want the difficultly of what they do proclaimed loudly and regularly, and who imagine themselves to be emulating painmonsters like Kelly. We're not. We're all wimps really, but all this talk of "gruelling, back-breaking" climbs makes it easier for us to pretend that we're not all just freds. It's really only as hard as you are prepared to push yourself. With the right gearing and a bit of training these routes are well within most people's reach, and the satisfaction of exceeding your expectations of yourself cannot be overstated.

Sign up. Sportives are great. That goes for all you lurkers too.

The tax man

August is looking like a jam packed month of sportives.:)

Zorba

Caroline_ie wrote: »

it's about challenging yourself. If it wasn't hard, what would be the point ... Go for it.

I was thinking of just doing the 100k but after reading this i'm thinking feck it i'll go for the 160

kensutz

Looking forward to doing the Tour De Kilkenny and Sean Kelly Tour. Should be my first 2 sportives

Caroline_ie

Zorba wrote: »

I was thinking of just doing the 100k but after reading this i'm thinking feck it i'll go for the 160

That's the spirit!!!

trek climber

Am thinking of doing the Tour of Kildare in August, where does it start from, what is the entry fee, what is the route, will there be many taking part ?

Thanks..

Trojan

What's the wiki link for the Cycling calendar? We could do a public Google calendar with them all in there so folks can subscribe. Reminders of entry deadlines would rock.

penexpers

trek climber wrote: »

Am thinking of doing the Tour of Kildare in August, where does it start from, what is the entry fee, what is the route, will there be many taking part ?

Thanks..

All info here

http://naascc.terapad.com/index.cfm?fa=contentGeneric.vfinhdiqigkuvzoi

Think there was about 250 or so last year.

The tax man

trek climber wrote: »

Am thinking of doing the Tour of Kildare in August, where does it start from, what is the entry fee, what is the route, will there be many taking part ?

Thanks..

Tour of Kildare info.

Prices €15 or €35 depending on route.