Gael Force Cycle West - who's doing it?

Trojan

http://www.gaelforcecyclewest.com/mountain_bike.html
http://www.gaelforcecyclewest.com/road_challenge.html

I'm doing the MTB route (as part of a team of 4). My dad is doing the road (also on a team).

tulachmhor

I've somewhat tentatively agreed to join Team Cranckaddicts to partake in the MTB event.
TBH I don't know what I'm letting myself in for,as I've not gone off-road in almost 2 years 'cos I regretfully sold my mountain bike last crimbo.
But,having put in serious mileage on the road over the last month or so,I'm not too perturbed by the challenge that lies ahead.
There'll be no clambering for winning positions,just a personal challenge and hopefully a bitta banter with the other competitors.
Roll on the weekend!

poskantor

I'm signed up for the road race in the duo category and judging from the entry list that was sent out the other day we've won already because we're the only duo team! Someone else please sign up for a bit of competition!:D

Trojan

poskantor wrote: »

I'm signed up for the road race in the duo category and judging from the entry list that was sent out the other day we've won already because we're the only duo team! Someone else please sign up for a bit of competition!:D

Think my dad's team win their category for same reason

I'll be wearing the boards jersey at some point (probably early Sat) so please come over and say hello!

JacksonHeightsOwn

i only heard about it through this thread, looks an easy enough course for a newb like me, annoyed i didnt see it earlier, ah well

peteg

Just after doing the mountain bike route, a bit of climbing, single track is short and could be tricky if it rains. its a fast down hill to end the lap. A section of the down hill is two way traffic so care may be needed. Did the lap in 80mins easy.

djfattony2000

What were the climbs like peteg?

Long fire roads or steep short ones?

peteg

djfattony2000 wrote: »

What were the climbs like peteg?

Long fire roads or steep short ones?

the climbs and the down hill are long fire roads.at the end of the second climb there is a section were you may have to carry your bike before you start down hill.if you are not racing and just want to complete the event its easy on the climbs and relax on the down hill. the single track may get sticky as the day goes on.

Enduro

I'll be there solo MTBing. See y'all there!

pbull69

Soloing mtb also!!!

peteg

Its six in the morning and the rain is coming down, should be a fun day.

Mr Freeze

How did this go lads?

What was the turn out like? Ye got the weather for it anyways.

I didn't do it, I was thinking of doing the mountain bike one with a team of 4, but the lads had no interest in it after Gaelforce.

peteg

i think most people were happy with the set-up.28 teams signed in for the event.just did 2 laps myself (in the dark) the section after the forest got a bit sticky but was still ok.
well done to the organisers and all the guys out on the trail.

Trojan

Hey folks,

I had a fantastic weekend - cheers to the several boardsies who came over to chat when they saw the jersey. I remember chatting to poskantor (though I couldn't remember your boards name). I met Enduro as he sprinted past me on the 'Stira' carrying his bike. That guy is on a different planet to most the rest of us in terms of fitness. Shock as it'll be to you all, he won the men's solo, putting in about 25% more laps than our team of 4 managed.

We did better than we expected though, we were definitely there just to complete it rather than compete. We came 3rd in our class (but I think there were 4 teams ). We would have been 2nd if my teammate had bothered to do his final lap (can't say I blame him though, I probably would have made the decision not to go myself). But it wasn't really about what position we were in - it was all about enjoying ourselves and maybe challenging ourselves individually, and we did both.

The MTB course was interesting. The first climb was slow and steady gradient, but a real killer for a heavy guy like me (doing it a few more times might help that problem). Then a very short downhill, which was fun. Into the forest singletrack, which was a little bit technical for a beginner (I'd guess it was a piece of cake for experienced MTBers). After the forest, the bog track was fairly cut up and a tough slog. A couple of times I decided to run it rather than cycle, my time was similar in both cases. After that, another short downhill on the forestry tracks, turning into a flat section, then another climb that got harder as it went on. That brought us up to the 'Stira', the portage section where we had to carry the bikes up a good climb, a boggy hill with a lot of rock sections forming a rough stairs. I'd say the fast guys climbed it in 5-7 minutes, my slowest was 13 mins and fastest was around 9.

After the Stira, for me it was time to put on the jacket (was just jersey to that point due to the heat of climbing so often), then into the first technical downhill. Again maybe simple for the experienced folks, it was a fast downhill on hard packed clay with bumps every metre or so, from the water coming off the cliff to the right. I was very wary of the huge boulders on the left of the track, every 5 metres or so. You could get serious speed on this section, but you could also taco a wheel, break a frame or smash your face in fairly easily

At the end of that, we were back onto forestry track, which lasted all the way home. There were some really fast sections and a couple of small climbs just enough to be annoying, but it was mostly downhill or flat.

I did 4 laps, as did one of my teammates. Another did 3 and the last did 5. My fastest was 1hr 19, which I'm quite happy with. Average HR on that lap was 167, I red-lined it the whole way around - completely unsustainable, HR under 160 for only 13 minutes (the final descent). My worst lap was 1h 43, I had a puncture on the bog section. Luckily it was a slow flat so I was able to just pump it up every 6 or 7 minutes rather than change it out. I don't have the time on my other laps, but I'd say in and around 1hr 30 or so.

I have a Trek 4300 hardtail (with a lot of upgrades, rear mech is the only original component and needs changing badly). V-brakes were ok, but I do need to upgrade to disc breaks. Maybe I would have been better suited with wider tyres, I was on 1.9 Hutchinson Chameleons, which were fantastic for the forestry track sections. For lighting, the Light & Motion ARC was the business. Incredibly good light, was in it's element on the fast downhills and in the forest. I noticed a lot of folks with fairly low output lights, the difference is just unbelievable.

From an organisation standpoint, Killary did a fantastic job. Of course there were some teething problems as there always are the first time an event is run. I'll give them some feedback and suggestions, particularly regards road vs mtb rules (especially lighting), and having a lot more charging stations available (they had just enough, barely, but it did cause some stress). The timing system might need to be reviewed, even simply telling competitors to stop on the mat and put both feet down to ensure both ankle tags are counted - that would be better than risking not having a lap counted. But that said, overall the event was very well organised so well done to them. They're considering running it in June next year afaik.

All the organisers and participants were really friendly and there was a great atmosphere in the campsite. We were able to help out a couple of people with mechanicals, and karma being, we got some help when we had a broken chain (note to self - buy a few QuickLinks). The communal tent was good (though maybe a heater in there at night might be an idea), and the free tea/coffee was much appreciated after coming in from a cold night lap. We were blessed with the weather on Saturday, it was beautiful blue clear skies all day, and we only had a couple of hours of very light drizzle around 7am Sunday before clearing up. It doesn't get any better than that in Mayo. I hope someone got some good pics, particularly on the trail. I might go up there again sometime and take some pictures of the trail.

My dad was in the road bike competition, the golden oldies team (4 of them with a combined age of 214 including a 40 yr old!). For those of you in the road race, you passed by our house with the big banner and flags outside, I heard from a few people that seeing the banner spurred them on

All in all, great people, a great weekend, we'll be back to it next year!

peteg

any of you guys going to Scotland for relentless 24hr mtb or have you been there before, what is it like

mervifwdc

Fair play to all the competitors! I was just taking a photographs and I'm knackered! Most riders were great, giving a smile or a thumbs up when they saw us, even through they were knackered.

There are tons of pictures on my site here: http://www.mervcolton.com

Sneaky_Russian

Did Relentless last year and heading back this year.

The course is much different than Gaelforce. I think the lap last year was 17km
Averaging between 45 -55mins per lap over the course of the race.

Long steady fireroads, some technical climbing, and some great flowy decents on the world cup XC course.

The course was mostly man made, trail center type stuff so it's pretty weather proof. Much like the Ballinstoe loop, except a fireroads weren't as steep and the decents were a bit more technical.

Have said that, it's totally changed this year and, according to the organisers, even better.

I'd recommend it.

Trojan

mervifwdc wrote: »

Fair play to all the competitors! I was just taking a photographs and I'm knackered! Most riders were great, giving a smile or a thumbs up when they saw us, even through they were knackered.

There are tons of pictures on my site here: http://www.mervcolton.com

Cheers, there's some great photos on there. Here's the boards jersey in action courtesy. You all really don't want to see the close-ups! (Merv, reckon you could 'shop my belly to be a bit smaller?



Great pictures you got there, apologies for being one of the cyclists who didn't wave. In my defense I was half dead almost every time I saw you

(OT: How big are the jpg versions for sale for a fiver?)

peteg

thanks for that sneaky russian if you have any tips for 24hr mtb please pass it on to a greatfull beginer

mervifwdc

Hi,

The small jpg are 800 pixels on the long side, which is a little bigger than the one you have, but that's after I crop into the large image. it's like I blow up the one you see there, then take an 800 pixel image out of the middle of it.

On some of the shots, I think it's cool to see the backgrounds as the views were spectacular, and on others it's good to crop right in to the shots of the beams of enjoyment that were on everyones faces :-)

Merv.

Enduro

Good meeting everyone out there! Nice report there Trojan. Absolutely agreed that the organisation was excellent. Its always good to put a few more faces on Boards names. It looked like there was potential for a good session in the bar on Sunday evening, but I would probably have collapsed if I stayed any longer!

Nice photos Merv, well done.

Biker68

Did this out of pure curiosity. A novice to mountain biking I loved this event and will be doing it next year.Deen to France and Italy this year mountain biking. Wasn't sure how to approch it but did it for the fun.. A good course with a bit of everything especially the night riding wich was so surreal.

The event gave me a benchmark for next year. Well done to the organisers for all the hard work put in for others peoples enjoyment. 10/10

Anyone interested in getting together for some mountain biking home or abroad drop me an e-mail pat.mc.mahon@hotmail.com

Biker68

Hi Trojan,

Pat here 2 tents up...Thanks for feeding me some pasta.. for passing me out more than once..

Had a good time on the course and hope to do it next year..Drop me a line if your looking to meet up for some mountain bike spins in the dub mountains..

cheers

pat

ps be careful posting copyright photos

Trojan wrote: »

Cheers, there's some great photos on there. Here's the boards jersey in action courtesy. You all really don't want to see the close-ups! (Merv, reckon you could 'shop my belly to be a bit smaller?



Great pictures you got there, apologies for being one of the cyclists who didn't wave. In my defense I was half dead almost every time I saw you

(OT: How big are the jpg versions for sale for a fiver?)