Dates announced for Maracycle 2011. 25 and 26 June 2011

jeffwode

Dates announced for Maracycle 2011. http://bit.ly/eQY4CZ

Anyone planning on doing it? Any tips for a first-timer? It's Dublin - Belfast - Dublin this year.

granda

ye me and a couple of mates are gonna do its and trasining starts now as long as the snow stays away

feck sake lads

jeffwode wrote: »

Dates announced for Maracycle 2011. http://bit.ly/eQY4CZ

Anyone planning on doing it? Any tips for a first-timer? It's Dublin - Belfast - Dublin this year.

yes get yourself well into shape a 100 miles on a bike is a long way don't be fooled.as soon as this weather breaks get the miles in ,it will make the challange so much easer honest.
and on the day get into a group that you know you can stay with;)

07Lapierre

feck sake lads wrote: »

yes get yourself well into shape a 100 miles on a bike is a long way don't be fooled.as soon as this weather breaks get the miles in ,it will make the challange so much easer honest.
and on the day get into a group that you know you can stay with;)

Its 200 miles!...you've to cycle back you know!

daragh_

07Lapierre wrote: »

Its 200 miles!...you've to cycle back you know!

Is it not all downhill on the way back?

jeffwode

feck sake lads wrote: »

yes get yourself well into shape a 100 miles on a bike is a long way don't be fooled.as soon as this weather breaks get the miles in ,it will make the challange so much easer honest.
and on the day get into a group that you know you can stay with;)

I'd love to find a decent group. It would make it a lot easier. Would that be possible on the day, do you think? I'm not in a club so it's just going to be me and my regular cycling buddy. Would it be bad form to tag onto a group on the day?

feck sake lads

07Lapierre wrote: »

Its 200 miles!...you've to cycle back you know!

yes i did know that just didn't want to give the lad a heart attack:D:D

07Lapierre

daragh_ wrote: »

Is it not all downhill on the way back?

Is that what they told ya?.

RobFowl

I quite fancy the thought of doing this.
Every year before I was always either doing exams or working.
Would be nice to cross this off the to do list.

feck sake lads

jeffwode wrote: »

I'd love to find a decent group. It would make it a lot easier. Would that be possible on the day, do you think? I'm not in a club so it's just going to be me and my regular cycling buddy. Would it be bad form to tag onto a group on the day?

you wont have any problem finding a good group ,but for god sake don't suck a wheel all the way do your share of the work .all you need to do is keep an eye on what speed the group are doing, and when you hit the front you just stay at that speed do not raise the pace.
if you do the training you will have a ball so don't be fooling yourself get it done properly and enjoy the craic;)

07Lapierre

jeffwode wrote: »

I'd love to find a decent group. It would make it a lot easier. Would that be possible on the day, do you think? I'm not in a club so it's just going to be me and my regular cycling buddy. Would it be bad form to tag onto a group on the day?

If you find a suitable group just ask if you can tag along. As long as you take your turn at the front and don't "wheel suck" at the back, you'll be fine.

Karagesh

I did it last year and really enjoyed it. It was the first running of the event for a few years so there were a few teething problems and the route was very hilly near Dublin.

The organiser took the various criticism on board (it was a few minor points that folks seemed to mention) and sent out a letter stating that it would be an easier route and that soup etc. would be available at stops.

I enjoyed the event and the craic was good. I was on my own, but fell in with a crowd and had a few pints with them down in DCU after. There is the usually carry on with a few clubs treating it like a race and quoting the rule book every five minutes, but a few my mates of mine are doing it with me and anyone is welcome to join.

fat bloke

What's the deal with sponsorship etc? Can you just pay a fee to participate, or do you have to raise a load of money?

CramCycle

Looks like a laugh, I'm in.

jeffwode

This is the 10 week training schedule they suggested last year. I have to say, I'll be aiming to have more miles on my legs than this.

http://bit.ly/gM6WoB

Karagesh

fat bloke wrote: »

What's the deal with sponsorship etc? Can you just pay a fee to participate, or do you have to raise a load of money?

You can raise money if you want and if you get €50 you get a jersey iirc. Your under no pressure to raise any funds.

granda

i should get my bike back from the bike shop on fri and next week i'll be out training

granda

will there be anyone from the drogheda area doing it this year that i could do a bit of training with

trek climber

fat bloke wrote: »

What's the deal with sponsorship etc? Can you just pay a fee to participate, or do you have to raise a load of money?

You have the option of raising money but you will still have to pay a fee to take part, if I remember correctly last year it was approximately 150 euro for the two days but that included overnight accomodation in Dublin and Belfast as well as dinner in Dublin on the Saturday night.
As a bit of a veteran of this event (this year will be my 12th year in a row to participate) my best advice is get plenty of mileage in the legs leading up to it. There are always lots of groups at varying speeds to suit for you to hop in on but as someone else has posted, dont wheel suck be prepared to take a pull at the front even if it is short. It will give others a break which will be appreciated. Make sure that you are there at the start in plenty of time as the bigger groups will always go out early and be prepared for changes in the weather over the two days.
Well worth doing but you need to have the training done to complete it comfortably.

feck sake lads

granda wrote: »

will there be anyone from the drogheda area doing it this year that i could do a bit of training with

the drogheda group get out sat and sunday from quay cycles.10on sat10.15 on sun.

bcmf

May be on for this. Was supposed to do this in my younger days but work got in the way.

The Davestator

Bumping this old tread because I started my training today!

are there any cycling groups going from Dunboyne or nearby?

Also, for anyone who has done it, whats the average speed, or are there a number of different speed groups.

I averaged 25/30 kph today - dont want to finish on my own!!

Tony Leonard

id hope at that speed over 110 miles you wont finish on your own .. or ill be behind you at least ha

CramCycle

Tony Leonard wrote: »

id hope at that speed over 110 miles you wont finish on your own .. or ill be behind you at least ha

Agreed, at that speed you should definitely be in the top half of the field by a good bit,

Tony Leonard

As a follow up just how is everyones training going for this? what kind of weekly mileage are people clocking up?

granda

training going well at about 110 miles a week divided into hill(30 miles all in) 30mile spin and up 60 ile spin once a week which will go up by 10 miles every 2 weeks so i should be well prepared on the day hopefully

Tony Leonard

Nice work Granda, have you ever done the cycle before?

granda

no first year

decrrrrrr

Tony Leonard wrote: »

As a follow up just how is everyones training going for this? what kind of weekly mileage are people clocking up?

hey Tony - you're not worried about doing this cycle are you?? I thought you Belcoo boys were made of tougher stuff :D

ONE DIP

:eek:First time doing anything like this , done 35 miles today and did not find it too easy took about 2hr 20 min , will every body be on proper racing bikes or like me a decent commuter bike , will it all be serious bikers from clubs or some people just aiming to finish for personal goals, any feed back or tips would be really really appreciated ...

granda

did 65 miles today and it was hard the last 10 miles,the only tip i can give you is lots of miles but not on consecutive days next week week try 2*20 and then maybe 35 or 40 again.as for the people doing it me and my mate are doing it for the personal goals with no specific time for finishing
good luck with the training and btw where are you based

ONE DIP

cheers granda , im based in balbriggan , maybe when i get a few miles under the belt i will give you a shout for a spin , theres two lads doing it with me so the morethe merrier i suppose,

feck sake lads

one of the countrys best cycling coaches lives in balbriggan or at least he did,but for the life of me i can't remember his name
so you will have to ask around the cycling lads in town to find out,
good hunting.

ONE DIP

Cheers feck sake , might need him alright ,

kennyb3

I'm tempted by this, but possibly only one way (will see).

So if doing it one way (I'd like to do dublin up to Belfast), what are the options on getting home? Hop on a train with the bike back?

I ll sit down and read the leaflets a bit more thoroughly later

Special Red

Did the Maracycle back in 1988, 89 and 90 as an early teenager. Can't make this year but for a young buck from the South to see the North up close during that period was eye opening to say the least. As for the cycle, once the training is done you'll be grand. Think we got up as far as around 65/70 miles on the big cycles at the weekend. Being so young I remember bonking out coming into Belfast the first time round and having to be fed Mars bars to get me going again. There was plenty of stops back then with the Order of Malta on hand to give rub-downs etc.
Great event, great memories. Like the time in 89 there was European elections on. Only know this because there was a load of Union Jack posters for the DUP etc in an area we ended up in around 10:00pm - the driver of our minibus got lost and we ended up on the Shankill road and the bus had a KK reg on it. A local guy stopped us and guided us back to where we were going, we followed his car that brought us back to our lodgings - in fairness to him that was a kind thing to do. Our driver was on the drink during the meal, was steamed by the time it was time to go back to bed. But sure we thought it was a great adventure

ONE DIP

Can really feel a big difference in the fitness over the last couple of weeks , is there any harm in doing more than the training plan they give you or just go with as much as you can handle , just dont wanna burn out before the cycle , just another thing i have just normal pedals on at the moment but is it worth getting the shoes with clips (cleats) just dont see how it makes it easier or improves tech,

Cheers

jeffwode

There's a new route this year, about 30km longer but cutting out the hills around The Naul, Drogheda town centre, and (I think) Newry Hill.

From the website:

Co-operation Ireland has agreed with all relevant authorities, changes to its annual Maracycle route between Dublin and Belfast and back to take place on Saturday 25 June and return on Sunday 26 June respectively.

Gone from last year’s difficult route is the now infamous ‘haul over the Naul’ and also the busy Drogheda town centre. The new route will see cyclists leave DCU through Finglas and onto McKee’s Avenue crossing the M50 and the back of the airport and then onto rural country roads after St Margarets. The rural route continues through north County Dublin and Meath taking in Garriston, Ardcath and Duleek before descending to the Boyne and bypassing Drogheda through Oldbridge.

After Drogheda, the Maracycle will bring cyclists through Dunleer and Dundalk crossing the border at Carrickastricken into south Armagh. The northern section of the route remains virtually unchanged with a small alteration in Banbridge. Once again Lislea, Camlough lake and along the towpath to Scarva will feature before skirting around Banbridge, through Moira and Lisburn and into Belfast through Lambeg and the Malone Road, finishing at Queens PE Centre Stranmillis on the banks of the river Lagan.

The 110 mile route between our two largest cities will simply be reversed for Sunday 26 June, a considerable challenge for experienced cyclists and first timers alike.

Route map here: http://www.cooperationireland.org/files/Updated-Maracycle-RouteMap.pdf

granda

@ one dip definitly get the clipless pedals makes a big difference ,i got some a couple of weeks ago and it alot easier as for training, me personnally am trying to get as much in as possible and not even going by the training plan.

ONE DIP

Thanx Granda , going out Sat for a big one so would like to have them for then , as for the training im a bit ahead of the schedule so happy days ,

granda

anyone from around drogheda doing it this year , i only ask as the guy who i was going to do it with has only gone and broken his leg so it would be nice to partner upwith someone for a bit of training and the cycle itself, and btw how is the training going for everyone

feck sake lads

why have you stopped training with us
the group is still going sat/sun watch this space for times.

granda

@fsl the last while i've been working every sat and sun so i'm only able to get out during the week and then mostly just evening but hopfully i'll get out tomorrow/today for a good long spin. i promise to get outwith the group the next time i'm off i always enjoyed it

feck sake lads

granda wrote: »

@fsl the last while i've been working every sat and sun so i'm only able to get out during the week and then mostly just evening but hopfully i'll get out tomorrow/today for a good long spin. i promise to get outwith the group the next time i'm off i always enjoyed it

good stuff i taught it was something i said:D:D

granda

dont worry anto i will be back as soon as i can just getting really p****d off at the moment at not being able to do enough training due to work and then this morning i nearly get blown off the bike so i just came home

feck sake lads

we are all in the same boat training has stopped this past three weeks( back problems) ,but if you cycle out to the job you will get fit pretty quick .
i cycled out that way for years in all kinds of weather great training.;)i done the maracycle twice years ago when it first started i think if i'm not mistaken the hardest part was lisbourn did i spell that right:D.
the trick is with all these sportives is to get into a good group not the fast lads or lassies just keep a nice comfortable pace going and you will enjoy it no end.
btw make sure you hit the town that night very important;)

granda

well fsl its no problem cycling to work its coming home at 1or2 in the morning i worry about as for the maracycle i reckon i'll be ok i would just like to be plenty fit so i can really enjoy it and not kill myself near the end or the homeward leg on sunday

gk73

Hi. I'm only found out last week that the maracycle is back. I had done it twice a good few years ago, so i've started back training to prepare for next year. Too all who are doing it this year THE VERY BEST OF LUCK.
Glenn.

brasshead

Doing the Dublin-Belfast leg of the maracycle for the first time this year. I'm a little concerned that I haven't put in the miles but average 65-70km on my Sunday morning spin. As I've trained throughout the winter I'm hoping that this will see me through

I'm wondering about food/snacks on the day. How much should I consider taking? As it's my first time doing this distance I'd appreciate any tips on this.

Cheers!

CramCycle

^^^ Nutri Grain elevenses bars, lots of them, when they heat up in your jersey pocket they taste like they aren't long from the oven