Lumpy 200km 23/1/2010

Arranmoreelw

As most of you are aware the above event is running next month on the 23rd January. It is the same route with exception of info control's
Entry's close two weeks prior to the event on the 9th Jan
Starting in Bray /Glencree/Tinahely/Dunlavin/Wicklow/Bray
Lights are required as is plenty of extra food and clothing
Both front and rear lighting is mandatory
Cycling Ireland licience/Audax Irlande/Auk /or you may buy a one day licience [€10] is required
Entry fee is €5
Please forward two stamped addressed envelope's to me with entry fee
Detail's of contact are on Sorrento Audax Ireland web site or PM me

rottenhat

I'm in for this one again (surprise, surprise).

A couple of things to bear in mind if you're thinking of doing it:

even though it's in January, this is not an easy 200 - it goes over Sally Gap, Shay Elliott, and Slieve Maan en route to Tinahely and the easy side of Wicklow Gap on the way back and there's a few other noticeable drags along the way.

you will need proper lights - in November the last 40-50k was in full darkness, mostly along unlit roads. Although riders usually group up after dark, it's not really fair to rely on other people to shepherd you.

My write up of the last go round.

Anyway, I'm not trying to put anyone off, and I hope to see plenty of you out there next month. It's a good, challenging ride, and it'll give you a good idea of what to expect if you're planning any of the longer rides later in the year.

penexpers

Can this count towards an SR?

rottenhat

penexpers wrote: »

Can this count towards an SR?

Fair question - it's not BRM as it wasn't on the calendar that went to ACP, so you can't use it as a qualifier for an SR medal from ACP.

But as far as Audax Ireland goes, yes, it can.

blorg

I should be on for this one if there are no disasters. If weather is like at present though, presume it won't be going ahead? Have 700x37c on order... but have you seen Sally Gap?

niceonetom

Acronyms!

FYI I'm aiming to be ready for this ASAP.

penexpers

niceonetom wrote: »

Acronyms!

FYI I'm aiming to be ready for this ASAP.

OMG TBH

rottenhat

blorg wrote: »

If weather is like at present though, presume it won't be going ahead? Have 700x37c on order... but have you seen Sally Gap?

It's up to each rider to make that decision for themselves. I'm sure Arranmoreelw will be happy enough to peel himself out of bed at 7:55 and walk across the road in his dressing gown to distribute the brevet cards no matter how much ice there is on the mountains.

interested

rottenhat wrote: »

you will need proper lights - in November the last 40-50k was in full darkness, mostly along unlit roads. Although riders usually group up after dark, it's not really fair to rely on other people to shepherd you.

Entirely agree and want to thank those involved again for literally showing the way. Now in the spirit of the season (and recession) it might be cool for those in the know to post a list of reasonably priced and suitable light solutions....

or provide a link to a previous posting Ive no doubt missed ...

niceonetom

interested wrote: »

Entirely agree and want to thank those involved again for literally showing the way. Now in the spirit of the season (and recession) it might be cool for those in the know to post a list of reasonably priced and suitable light solutions....

or provide a link to a previous posting Ive no doubt missed ...

I hope you've got all evening...

Here's the summary: buy a fenix TK11

blorg

interested wrote: »

Entirely agree and want to thank those involved again for literally showing the way. Now in the spirit of the season (and recession) it might be cool for those in the know to post a list of reasonably priced and suitable light solutions....

or provide a link to a previous posting Ive no doubt missed ...

I think a TK11 is ideal for this sort of thing, order from www.thephotonshop.co.uk

LastGasp

Me and my TK11 will be there.

interested

blorg wrote: »

I think a TK11 is ideal for this sort of thing, order from www.thephotonshop.co.uk

Tom, Blog - appreciate the conciseness

The tax man

Hope there's a big thaw on the cards sometime soon....

Sally Gap according to RTE news.

LastGasp

The tax man wrote: »

Hope there's a big thaw on the cards sometime soon....

Sally Gap according to RTE news.

Wow ! that's something else !
Long range up to 15th on Accuweather.com doesn't look much better.

The tax man

I won't be taking part anyway. Due another torture fest at the physio for my sins.;)

LastGasp

@ Arranmoreelw, Any update on whether this event will be able to go ahead ? At the moment the Sally Gap road is still under a lot of snow down almost to Glencree, and below that it's covered in gravel etc. I can't see it thawing enough in the next week.

Lumen

No news then?

rottenhat

My routesheet arrived on Tuesday so I guess it's going ahead and we'll see how far we get. If I have to turn back before Sally Gap, so be it - certainly if the road proves to be more or less passable over Slieve Maan, the rest of the route should be okay.

rottenhat

well, that was a bit of a shambles, although I suppose given the circumstances it could easily have been a disaster so a shambles probably qualifies as a minor victory. five showed up at the Centra to be greeted by a distinctly non-lycra clad Arranmoreelw who hinted delicately that we might care to avoid the mountains today by distributing the routesheet to an entirely different ride before handing our fivers back and retreating to the comfort of a warm bed. I award this ten out of ten for good sense, but I will be subtracting several points on his quarterly assessment since if I'd known he was going to do this yesterday I could have spent another two hours in bed and headed off with Blorg et al instead. We settled on doing a bastardised version of the old Clash 200. This went more or less okay until Ballinaclash where a combination of black ice and freezing fog recommended a change of plans. From Aughrim we headed to Arklow - jealously guarding their 15 hours of freedom, the two family men pressed on to Courttown while Andreas.Voigt, Marc (no known username) and I rolled back up through Wicklow town. We lost Andreas in Wicklow where his 3rd, 4th and 5th punctures of the day meant some extensive roadside surgery on a disintegrating tyre, and I lost Marc somewhere outside Newcastle for...well...let's just say that if I had had a camera today I would now have everything I need for an educational slide show on common errors in preparation for an audax, and I thought I might enjoy waiting for him more if I did it from the vantage point of the driver's seat of my van with a cup of coffee in my hand rather than on the side of the coast road. Still, there was some pleasant riding in the sunshine, and as I say, nobody lost an eye.

poochiem

eh...did Mockler win then?

Lumen

rottenhat wrote: »

shambles

Did you actually do 200km? I can't quite work it out.

rottenhat

Lumen wrote: »

Did you actually do 200km? I can't quite work it out.

Good God no, just under 130km for me. I imagine Last Gasp and Noel (no known username) would be pushing it up to 160-170km, depending on how far south they went.

niceonetom

rottenhat wrote: »

.... an educational slide show on common errors in preparation for an audax.

Seeing as I plan to give one of these a go at some stage (honestly, I do) and that the every-man-for-himself ethos of audax still lives, I'd quite like you to present this slideshow. It might prevent me sitting in a ditch in the rain trying to mend a chain with my teeth and a twig.

Teach us.

rottenhat

niceonetom wrote: »

Seeing as I plan to give one of these a go at some stage (honestly, I do) and that the every-man-for-himself ethos of audax still lives, I'd quite like you to present this slideshow. It might prevent me sitting in a ditch in the rain trying to mend a chain with my teeth and a twig.

Teach us.

We prefer to think of it as the virtue of self-reliance but phrase it how you will. I might skip the slide show but you can expect some kind of article up on my website in the not too distant future about basic preparation. Of course the fact that you've even considered the possibility of your chain breaking means you're already asking the right questions. Having to fix it with your teeth and a twig just means you didn't bother to answer them.

blorg

rottenhat wrote: »

Having to fix it with your teeth and a twig just means you didn't bother to answer them.

Indeed, zipties are the obvious answer. To this and everything else.

rottenhat

blorg wrote: »

Indeed, zipties are the obvious answer. To this and everything else.

I award Blorg half-points for this - you should always have zipties in your bag. Maybe some gaffer tape too.

Lumen

rottenhat wrote: »

Having to fix [a broken chain] with your teeth and a twig just means you didn't bother to answer them.

Calling a taxi would be top of my list. I'm not sure I'm cut out for audax, but I do love reading about it.

I particuarly love the style in which the organiser distributed orders and then went home. Douglas Haig would be proud.

Mosiki

rottenhat wrote: »

I award Blorg half-points for this - you should always have zipties in your bag. Maybe some gaffer tape too.

What about rivets and pliers? (:cool:Need to get myself some rivets)

ROK ON

Rottenhat. Fair play to you. The more I read about this Audax stuff the more I realise how absolutely unappealing you make it sound. Someday, when I am bored with life and have taken lots of drugs I will endevour to do one if these things.

For some reason an Audax 200km ride, sounds infinitely tougher than an other type of 200km.

rottenhat

ROK ON wrote: »

Rottenhat. Fair play to you. The more I read about this Audax stuff the more I realise how absolutely unappealing you make it sound. Someday, when I am bored with life and have taken lots of drugs I will endevour to do one if these things.

I swear to God, most of these rides are a walk in the park as long as you have a bit of common sense. I mean, I defy anyone to get through a rainy 300 without facing a few long, dark moments of the soul, but most of the time it's just good, clean fun.

Mosiki wrote: »

What about rivets and pliers? (:cool:Need to get myself some rivets)

What's wrong with a chain tool, people? And stick a couple of masterlinks in your patch kit while you're about it.

Raam

Bring a spare chain!

rottenhat

Raam wrote: »

Bring a spare chain!

(Buries face in hands, stumps off to have a stiff gin)

Raam

rottenhat wrote: »

(Buries face in hands, stumps off to have a stiff gin)

hmm, let's have another go...

Spare bike in the team car that follows you?

niceonetom

ROK ON wrote: »

For some reason an Audax 200km ride, sounds infinitely tougher than an other type of 200km.

That's true. A growing suspicion that you're either on the wrong road, or on the right road but going in the wrong direction makes turning the pedals much, much harder.

blorg

ROK ON wrote: »

Rottenhat. Fair play to you. The more I read about this Audax stuff the more I realise how absolutely unappealing you make it sound. ... For some reason an Audax 200km ride, sounds infinitely tougher than an other type of 200km.

To be honest it's not unlike a sportive, just with the big entry fee removed (for things you don't need anyway.) And generally (especially for a 200 in these conditions) smaller. With what you are not paying on the entry fee you can treat yourself to a very nice breakfast, lunch, etc.

It's the way forward I reckon.

We had a nice spin today, similar sort of distance, Wicklow Gap is clear and utterly fine as is Bohernabreena, why everyone else wanted to continue on the N81 I don't know. Hope I will see rottenhat on the Orwell spin tomorrow.

blorg

niceonetom wrote: »

That's true. A growing suspicion that you're either on the wrong road, or on the right road but going in the wrong direction makes turning the pedals much, much harder.

GPS

rottenhat

blorg wrote: »

Hope I will see rottenhat on the Orwell spin tomorrow.

Depends on how much booze I pour down my gullet in the next two hours but weather forecast says yes.

LastGasp

Rottenhat makes things sound a bit worse than they were – maybe. As we headed towards Rathdrum he was making “maybe we’ll turn back in Rathdrum” noises, and I was saying “ah no it’ll be grand when the sun warms things up a bit”. On we went for a while until Andreas decided to admire some of the local architecture, while cycling unwittingly across a patch of Black Ice. Down he went, luckily at low speed, down came Rottenhat too as a result, but had a nice soft landing on Andreas. No major damage to bodies or bikes, we walked carefully to the top of that particular hill, and all agreed that heading back to the Sunny South East by the nearest available main road might be the safest option !
When we got to the far side of Arklow I went ahead a bit to check out a local farmers field, while the others waited for Marc, but by the time I went back looking for them 60% of the field was winging its way back to Dublin. Noel and myself headed on Southwards and ended up in Courtown Harbour, before doing an about turn and following the coast roads back to Arklow. Noel had been bonking for a while at this stage so we stopped off in the filling station in Arklow to grab sandwiches, chocolate, coffee etc and felt better after that. We continued up along the Coast through Brittas Bay, Blainroe, Wicklow, Rathnew, Newcastle, Greystones and back to Bray, total 175kms, 7 hours, average 24.6kmh.
Noel had cycled out from Mount Merrion, and was determined to cycle back again, so he would have been the only one to hit the 200 mark today.
Thanks for the company, see you all next time !