Gael force: euro nightmare....

thebouldwhacker

After a great summer of cycling, buying and general wearing of white and the marked improvement of my Euro rating its all come crashing down...

I'm doing Gael Force on Sat and have decided that I'm using my roadie. A few big decisions had to be made and the first was not to use clipless pedals/shoes but to put on a pair of cage pedals and use my running shoes all the way (parts of the road is bad apparently so dont wanta be getting on/off trying to run with cleats etc)

If that isnt bad enough I'm leaving my small pump behind and taking my full length which in the likely event of a flat I can pump to near full pressure, and yes you guessed it, I have mounted it on the frame.

To finish it all off I'll be wearing a back pack, and non cycling clothing! (though I will slip on a pair of black shorts for cycling)

You have all been so good to me now I feel I have let you down:( I'll be back on track for the Chain Reaction Conor Pass cycle I promise:D

bcmf

shame on you. Dont let the door slam on your way out.TSCHHH

fergalr

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

After a great summer of cycling, buying and general wearing of white and the marked improvement of my Euro rating its all come crashing down...

I'm doing Gael Force on Sat and have decided that I'm using my roadie. A few big decisions had to be made and the first was not to use clipless pedals/shoes but to put on a pair of cage pedals and use my running shoes all the way (parts of the road is bad apparently so dont wanta be getting on/off trying to run with cleats etc)

If that isnt bad enough I'm leaving my small pump behind and taking my full length which in the likely event of a flat I can pump to near full pressure, and yes you guessed it, I have mounted it on the frame.

To finish it all off I'll be wearing a back pack, and non cycling clothing! (though I will slip on a pair of black shorts for cycling)

You have all been so good to me now I feel I have let you down:( I'll be back on track for the Chain Reaction Conor Pass cycle I promise:D

I'd recommend wearing clipless pedals if you are used to them.
Ideally, mtb clip in pedals and shoes.

There's only one short section that's a little tricky to ride.
I've rode the whole thing on a tricross cyclocross bike - any road bike with strong wheels/tires should be ok, if you don't mind a hairy descent. If you are nervous on the road bike on rough terrain you could just walk the short tricky section.

Having done it two separate times, once with cycling shoes and once with runners I strongly recommend the cycling shoes. You can leave the cycling shoes with your bike at transition, so you just need to carry your runners for the crough patrick section.

If you were trying to win it, you might be worried about the time switching shoes, but even then I'd say if you normally cycle clipped in, thats the way to go.

TurloughT

I'm doing this too. Just back from a rainy run :rolleyes:

Oh what to wear... We're like leaving cert young ones going to their debs!

thebouldwhacker

Its all good, not in any victory seeking haze and I'll be cycling witha POB so the performance target will be low enough (so why not use my mtb ffs....the internal argument continues), my shoes aint used to the rough and tumble of mayo...

As for what to wear, my gaff is like a sports shop with everything pulled out, I'm going with full length leggings under running shorts (keep the modesty) which will be changed for cycling shorts for the two bike stages. on top a running sig with sleeveless wind breaker and my lightweight cycling wind & rain top in the bag along with all that is mandatory in the kit list.

Happy days, there is a certain amount of colour coordination between bike and gear though so some euro rules will be maintained, I do have standards, I'm not a runner with a bike or a tri guy ffs:rolleyes:

Jawgap

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

After a great summer of cycling, buying and general wearing of white and the marked improvement of my Euro rating its all come crashing down...

I'm doing Gael Force on Sat and have decided that I'm using my roadie. A few big decisions had to be made and the first was not to use clipless pedals/shoes but to put on a pair of cage pedals and use my running shoes all the way (parts of the road is bad apparently so dont wanta be getting on/off trying to run with cleats etc)

If that isnt bad enough I'm leaving my small pump behind and taking my full length which in the likely event of a flat I can pump to near full pressure, and yes you guessed it, I have mounted it on the frame.

To finish it all off I'll be wearing a back pack, and non cycling clothing! (though I will slip on a pair of black shorts for cycling)

You have all been so good to me now I feel I have let you down:( I'll be back on track for the Chain Reaction Conor Pass cycle I promise:D

Will there be pictures?!?!?!?!?

Timmah!

I'm doing it too TBW and have had similar discussion with myself.
I have decided to stick with the clipless, also did my last training jog last night wearing bibs and came out of it relatively chafe free so I think I'll stick with them.
Bit nervous now.

Poncherello

Am i missing something here, I dont understand why anyone would bother changing into cycle shorts for the cycle section, especially if you have a decent level of cycling experience/ability.

Timmah!

I would guess for the chamois and to ease the pain on the seating area....that's why I'm wearing bibs at least.

mloc123

But its only a total of 40k on the bike? Would easily get away without padding or go for a tri suit at a push.

thebouldwhacker

Well its only a 20 km run, I could do that bare foot at a push, when I ran cc i used prefer bare foot, the first time I did Croagh I did it bare foot, but it doesnt mean I'm going to... Why would you not use cycling shorts? Why buy them in the first place?

mloc123

For when you will be a couple of hours in the saddle... not a little over an hour.

All I'm saying is if was doing it and wanted to save time I would not bother with cycling shorts... just my opinion.

Poncherello

Im just saying its not worth the hassle of bringing the shorts along and changing for such a short cycle. You will feel every ounce of your backpack going up CP.

I'd rather bring a pillow along and deal with my sore bum by sitting on it in the pub that night !

thebouldwhacker

I know what ye are saying but I certainly have no issue wearing padded shorts over 40km of rough, pock marked mayo mountain roads esp when one sees commuters on relatively smooth city streets doing home/work spins wearing the same! They will keep my tenderness soft and supple and tbh is the reason why i purchase such items.

Also they weight only a few ounces and will be worn over leggings and swapped for running shorts, no more than 30/40 seconds to whip off, I'll be wearing cycling gloves too btw:eek::D