The Wicklow Way

mockler007

anyone on here that has done the wicklow way info would be much apri,
is it sign posted or is it the normal irish way of guess, or will gps save the day, i read it would take 10hrs to complete,,???? which is possible as i did the same distance end to end on the royal canal in the same time ish

Lumen

Here

Drapper

tbh its a very challenging spin, i've not seen many elite racers do under 9hrs and those guys are trucking along. 10 hours is about 16kmph without a stop, on an mtb thats good on that terrain..... Some hard climbs and decents and you really need to have a good set of climbing leggs! I did about 65/70km of it the June bank holiday weekend on an HT and it was hard! the best way is to do it over 2 days. Buy the OSI map for the area, the WW is marked on them and study them, and set a midway point that is achievable. Park up in Marlay and get a pickup at the end and maybe a rest near Glendalough .....

Gavin

mockler007 wrote: »

anyone on here that has done the wicklow way info would be much apri,
is it sign posted or is it the normal irish way of guess, or will gps save the day, i read it would take 10hrs to complete,,???? which is possible as i did the same distance end to end on the royal canal in the same time ish

The terrain varies slightly from the grand canal.

Drapper

Gavin wrote: »

The terrain varies slightly from the grand canal.

only slightly Gav!

Lumen

mockler007 wrote: »

i read it would take 10hrs to complete

Melanie Spath did it in 8:55 (for comparison purposes she also completed the Boards Kippure TT in 0:11:35, 11 seconds ahead of Blorg). Melanie is not normal.

If I was to attempt such a crazy feat as cycling the Wicklow Way, I wouldn't be worrying too much about the time, more about finishing in daylight with all limbs unbroken.

Drapper

Lumen wrote: »

Melanie Spath did it in 8:55 (for comparison purposes she also completed the Boards Kippure TT in 0:11:35, 11 seconds ahead of Blorg). Melanie is not normal.

If I was to attempt such a crazy feat as cycling the Wicklow Way, I wouldn't be worrying too much about the time, more about finishing in daylight with all limbs unbroken.

Mel is a fantastic mtbr! top notch lass too! she did it the Sat before last I think in windy conditions and the support of Ryan Sherlock (another elite mtbr) her b/f. She would be be over on www.madmtb.com if you have any questions for her! she said it was hard!

NeilMcEoigheann

It is very nice to do, you would be able to do it within daylight hours of a day during the summer months, also wet weather will effect the cyclability on some of the way in the more upland parts. between the shoulder of douce there is a long section of raised boardwalk, imaging northshore without the drop offs and only raised a foot of the ground, its fine and you can speed along it but word of advice if you do feel yourself drifting off try to get as far from the boards as you can. a just take a spill in the bog otherwise there is a good chance your frontwheel will make contact with one of the perpendicular wooden sleepers and you will make contact with your stem...
bring a map, watch out for walkers, and watchout for the drains cut across the track in the dublin end of the way, have fun and bring enough food and water,

petethedrummer

My new cycling hero:

Simona1986 wrote: »

Did it two years ago carrying tents and the works, didn't really have a clue what we were getting ourselves into, 6 of us went - all on sub €300 mountain-bikes. We weren't out to break any records - we got pissed on vodka every night. Camped 3 nights and cycled through 3-days of torrential rain. We survived only on koka noodles.

mockler007

yeh the royal canal is level. did it in 10 hours, with one stop at a pub 40miles from dub for a pint bottle and a double decker, i should of brought food hehe. i was averegin 17mph but 3 miles was bog
the grand canal was hard with grass over the bars, bog, gates, the gates melted my head as i was in a zone, its all in the head. i heard about mel, the machine i would be doing this in spring in a day for charity, started training a few weeks back,, i will be doing it on a kona dawg delux

anyone want to join me for a childrens charity

Enduro

It took me and 3 other very fit adventure racers about 12 hours to do it (The original record which Ryan and Mel broke), with a few leisurely pit stops along the way. If you're not very bike fit and you're going to do it in spring then I'd suggest you split it and do it in 2 days.

mockler007

well i am fit, and headstrong, did the royal canal in 10 hours, cant be that unfit??? and that was in july so ive been doing over 25hrs of cycling a week, going to start tackiling uphills in jan:rolleyes:

Enduro

Do you know what the Wicklow way is like? It's all about your hillclimbing ability. You'd want to be doing that now. As the others have been hinting, cycling along a flat canal isn't particularly relevant to cycling something like the WW.

big mce

I have a Dawg Deluxe and I would't want to do the WW on it, its a heavy fecker, great on the downs but hard work on the ups. Perhaps look at something lighter.

When are you thinking of doing it, might be interested in joining ya,

Cheers.

niceonetom

mockler007 wrote: »

well i am fit, and headstrong, did the royal canal in 10 hours, cant be that unfit??? and that was in july so ive been doing over 25hrs of cycling a week, going to start tackiling uphills in jan:rolleyes:

And there I was thinking you had no idea what you're talking about...

Morgan

mockler007 wrote: »

going to start tackiling uphills in jan:rolleyes:

What are you waiting for?

Lumen

Morgan wrote: »

What are you waiting for?

January, du-uh.

Morgan

Lumen wrote: »

January, du-uh.

You're ruining the thread for everyone.

Idleater

Morgan wrote: »

You're ruining the thread for everyone.

this needs a poll.

ryan_sherlock

mockler007 wrote: »

well i am fit, and headstrong, did the royal canal in 10 hours, cant be that unfit??? and that was in july so ive been doing over 25hrs of cycling a week, going to start tackiling uphills in jan:rolleyes:

25 hours of cycling a week! Jeez, thats more then me on my long weeks!

penexpers

ryan_sherlock wrote: »

25 hours of cycling a week! Jeez, thats more then me on my long weeks!

Aw. I thought you cycled 25 hours in a day!

mockler007

Enduro wrote: »

Do you know what the Wicklow way is like? It's all about your hillclimbing ability. You'd want to be doing that now. As the others have been hinting, cycling along a flat canal isn't particularly relevant to cycling something like the WW.

no need to be smartish, i walked parts of it being from tallaght my parents always brought me up the mountains, ive climbed alot of mountains in ireland, please read my posts, i never said it was the exact same, whatever gave you that idea,,???? but the canal was hard in its own way, bog and lots of it, overgrown thorn bushes that i cycled through even with cuts, crap loads of nettles and it aint tar like in dublin. plus a poster said he did it with no training vodka and koka noodles over a weekend, it aint everest mate: ppl said i couldnt do a canal and i didnt train at all for that, did it on a pint bottle of bulmers and a double decker , althogh a sambo would have went down well rolleyes:

mockler007

i work weekends and cycle 4 hours a day and a few hours over the weekend, if im doing 5 hours lets say from jan to may, thats 5months of putting climbing power in my legs, i could walk the wicklow way now as we speak, even 60 year olds could,,,, like hello are we missing something here? not looking to set a record, just to do it in a day;)

mockler007

put your money where you mouth is lads, cause i love spending someone elses money cmon hehehe;)

ryan_sherlock

mockler007 wrote: »

i work weekends and cycle 4 hours a day and a few hours over the weekend, if im doing 5 hours lets say from jan to may, thats 5months of putting climbing power in my legs, i could walk the wicklow way now as we speak, even 60 year olds could,,,, like hello are we missing something here? not looking to set a record, just to do it in a day;)

I really can't get over how much you cycle - 25 hours per week, in Ireland without climbing anything - that in itself is impressive. And as another person asked, why wait until January to start climbing - if you are riding 25 hours a weeks (and not sick all the time) you are well fit to go into the hills now. What is the reasoning behind January?

25 hours a week, unless you either are training for a grand tour, or just love to cycle a lot of hours is way way too much to make you faster (if that is what you want).

niceonetom

Mr Sherlock clearly fears for his record. Don't listen to him mockler! Train more hours. Hills make you go slower, but, if you want to get faster, you'll have to train at high speed, therefore you should avoid those slowy hills as much as possible. I know you're planning on having a go on them in January but I seriously doubt that's a good idea. I think you'd be better avoiding them altogether until your attempt on the wicklow way - then you'll be able to bring the fearsome speed from the flat into play and crush these so called "elite" riders. Easy peasy.

Enduro

mockler007 wrote: »

no need to be smartish, i walked parts of it being from tallaght my parents always brought me up the mountains, ive climbed alot of mountains in ireland, please read my posts, i never said it was the exact same, whatever gave you that idea,,???? but the canal was hard in its own way, bog and lots of it, overgrown thorn bushes that i cycled through even with cuts, crap loads of nettles and it aint tar like in dublin. plus a poster said he did it with no training vodka and koka noodles over a weekend, it aint everest mate: ppl said i couldnt do a canal and i didnt train at all for that, did it on a pint bottle of bulmers and a double decker , althogh a sambo would have went down well rolleyes:

It's not smartish, its experience. I've cycled about half the lenght each of the grand and royal canals (an out and back loop from Dublin), and I've cycled the wiclow way. Feel free to ignore the adivce, but there are 2 people here who've done what you're planning to do (I've also run it in one day, as it happens), and the other one is an elite level cyclist who is an expert in training for these types of things.

The canals are an absolute piece of cake in comparison to the WW. The fact that you found them hard lead me to believe that you need to start getting some MTB practice in ASAP. 9 years after starting MTBing I'm still improving my skills. It's like skiing that way... always more to learn to make you faster. Unless you're extemely talented/lucky, you'll benift hugely from specific training for what you're trying to do.

I reckon you'll manage it no problem in a day if you want. But it's likely to be (a) slower and (b) less enjoyable with your current approach.

petethedrummer

Sounds like you'll need a second bottle of bulmers and maybe a bag of crisps for this one.

Lumen

petethedrummer wrote: »

Sounds like you'll need a second bottle of bulmers and maybe a bag of crisps for this one.

Or Guinness and Scampi Fries, a heavenly combination. And no, Mr Barman, Bacon Fries are not an adequate substitute.

DirkVoodoo

Lumen wrote: »

Or Guinness and Scampi Fries, a heavenly combination. And no, Mr Barman, Bacon Fries are not an adequate substitute.

I love scampi fries...why can't they make the bag bigger? One is never enough and I can't bring myself to buy a second.

abcdggs

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

I love scampi fries...why can't they make the bag bigger, one is never enough but I can't bring myself to buy a second.

It's because of the health warning, secondary smell inhilation. Those things reek!

mockler007

ryan_sherlock wrote: »

I really can't get over how much you cycle - 25 hours per week, in Ireland without climbing anything - that in itself is impressive. And as another person asked, why wait until January to start climbing - if you are riding 25 hours a weeks (and not sick all the time) you are well fit to go into the hills now. What is the reasoning behind January?

25 hours a week, unless you either are training for a grand tour, or just love to cycle a lot of hours is way way too much to make you faster (if that is what you want).

thanks man, i hear you did the ww you machine, me cycling the royal canal was hard cause i was 37 waist and grossly unfit, climbing over fecking gates evry 9 mins at some parts and not eating proper food made it hard, and to do it in 10 hours was good for a fat guys standards, since july i have been doing alot more that gave me the push to get me to do somthing alot harder, i asked myself what i could do if i worked hard at it its now october and lost 4 inches of my waist and built up alot more speed and leg power, average 22mph but traffic has alot to do with it. love the look i get of lads on mopeds @ 30mph when i belt past them on the dawgs ignitors

I work for 2 days and take the bike out during the week around howth summit, do the purple walk, but its getting easy like ages ago, i live beside the park so i go there alot and i cycle on the weekends, i cycle to everywhere really, i just love being on my bike, was a lazy fcuk before and im really making up for it, sometimes i do more than 25, i go out at 12 and home by 730pm.

Why i have choosen january is that i want to build up the muscles slowly and then new years get really into burning uphills, like i mean just focus fully then, its like a stage 2 in my mind. the this how far you come, no stopping me now sorta thing its in my mind as a bigger challenge then,,,, you would'nt want a warm beer now would yeh?

dont worry i am taking on advice, and do know what the ww is like, my first post wasnt very clear, this post should clear up alot

Idleater

mockler007 wrote: »

i was 37 waist and grossly unfit, ... lost 4 inches of my waist and built up alot more speed and leg power...

Fair play to you. Keep that up, and I'd say you would easily do the WW. If I were planning it, I'd go for doing it over 2 days and perhaps enjoy it more.

blorg

If you want to climb well you need to continue with the weight loss as a priority and that will largely mean diet. Leg power is only half the equation. Ryan like all good climbers is a skinny beanpole. On the flat weight barely matters.

There is absolutely no good reason to leave climbing until January. If you are training for something in particular be as specific as possible. To be honest for something of any magnitude the idea of "burning up the hills" is completely the wrong approach. You can power over a short bump. If you are doing a day-long hard ride you need to pace yourself and get over the hills relatively slowly. It may seem counter-intuitive but you really need to hold yourself back at the start of a hill, go far easier than you think you are capable of. Let the pain come to you, (and it will I can assure you) if you seek it actively you will burn yourself out early.

Of course you will only learn this for yourself by going out and riding up hills rather than imagining in your head what is the best strategy for dealing with them.

Also as you seem to realise you will need a better nutrition strategy for the actual cycle and keep eating at regular intervals to avoid the dreaded bonk.

mockler007

blorg wrote: »

If you want to climb well you need to continue with the weight loss as a priority and that will largely mean diet. Leg power is only half the equation. Ryan like all good climbers is a skinny beanpole. On the flat weight barely matters.

There is absolutely no good reason to leave climbing until January. If you are training for something in particular be as specific as possible. To be honest for something of any magnitude the idea of "burning up the hills" is completely the wrong approach. You can power over a short bump. If you are doing a day-long hard ride you need to pace yourself and get over the hills relatively slowly. It may seem counter-intuitive but you really need to hold yourself back at the start of a hill, go far easier than you think you are capable of. Let the pain come to you, (and it will I can assure you) if you seek it actively you will burn yourself out early.

Of course you will only learn this for yourself by going out and riding up hills rather than imagining in your head what is the best strategy for dealing with them.

Also as you seem to realise you will need a better nutrition strategy for the actual cycle and keep eating at regular intervals to avoid the dreaded bonk.

cheers blorg, i got the bonk at enfield, my mind kept me going though. i dont plan on ripping up the hills, pacing myself, i learnd alot from the royal canal, taking everyones advice on except those who talk to me like im stupid. its a good mental push to hear posters say goway yeh good thing sorta thing, jan was also because the year begins with the clubs, want to join mad ahead of some of them instead of joing and holding them up, aldoe i was right on drappers rear wheel a few weeks ago lol

blorg

MAD do a lot of beginner stuff now, the sooner you start the better and the sooner your skills and fitness will improve. Honestly there is no good reason to leave anything until January. I hold them up myself whenever I go out with them albeit due to lack of skill rather than fitness in my case. They are good lads.

Drapper

mockler007 wrote: »

i was right on drappers rear wheel a few weeks ago lol

yup, I'm slow ;-)

mockler007

i was with the cycle inn team with the nut mick jordan when i was in my teens, so skills i have and ive no fear for anything, getting back to my level of fitness is my goal, but your right i will start going out with mad, only if there are lots of drappers lol;):D:D:D

double black

You can real Mel's account of her own achievement of completing the 130 km Wicklow Way in one day here:

http://melaniespath.blogspot.com

Well done.

Drapper

Hey Mockler for a man who cycles 25 + hours a week, you sure spend allot of time around here ;-)

unless your cycling and threading?

touché....

mockler007

Drapper wrote: »

Hey Mockler for a man who cycles 25 + hours a week, you sure spend allot of time around here ;-)

unless your cycling and threading?

touché....

was out early for 3:50 hours dis morning, came home did a few things aound the house, had some food, played dumper trucks in the jax and went out for another 1hr30. im afraid of the dark martin. haha
you going to the spook?

Morgan

mockler007 wrote: »

jan was also because the year begins with the clubs, want to join mad ahead of some of them instead of joing and holding them up

The year with MAD really started with our beginners series last month. We're hoping to get these guys out every weekend up to the end of the year so they have a good bit of fitness for next year.

Raam

Morgan wrote: »

The year with MAD really started with our beginners series last month. We're hoping to get these guys out every weekend up to the end of the year so they have a good bit of fitness for next year.

Morgan, are you guys planning on running any more sessions for newcomers?

Morgan

We won't be running any more "beginners series" this year. However, there are easier spins every weekend for the next while.