Easter Fleche - Team 24 Hour Audax

rottenhat

I am now taking entries for the Easter Fleche. The Fleche is a 24-hour team audax event - each team devises its own route, and rides to a common finishing point (which will be the Stephen Roche Monument in Dundrum again) over the Easter weekend. You can start at any time between noon on Thursday and 10am Saturday, with the honours going to the team that completes the longest distance. Full rules are on the Audax Ireland website (http://www.audaxireland.org/calendar-2/gazetteer/easter-fleche/)

If you're interested in entering, send me the names of the members of your team - minimum of 3 members, maximum of 5. By the 1st of April, send me your proposed start time and route which must be at least 360km measured by the minimum distance between the control points - this is to provide enough time to make any changes that may prove necessary. The entry fee will be €5 per individual and Cycling Ireland membership will be required.

This is a particularly favourable year for doing a Fleche as Easter is very late in the calendar, and it will be excellent night cycling experience for anyone planning on doing PBP later this year. Completing a Fleche is also one of the requirements for a Randonneur 5000 award.

Last year was the first year of the Fleche in Ireland - one team entered, managing 430km in bitterly cold conditions in mid-March. It would be great to see multiple teams on the road this year. If you have any questions, please get in touch.

ROK ON

Given that I am (1) suffering a midlife crisis (2) work commitments have prevented my main cycling goal this year - so having been searching for a goal to train for this pops up.

I would be very interested in entering a team. So desperately seeking other eejits to do thiswith.

Goal roughly is to start in Kerry and head East into cork and up the coast
Or
North to limerick, Midland and across the country.

Anyone else who wants to put together a team then let me know.

Thanks.
J.

CramCycle

I am up for putting together a team, even had ideas for a route put together last year. I would preferably be looking to break the 400km mark but am flexible. The two routes I was considering are:

Similar to ROK ONs second. Start in Dingle/Tralee/Kilorglin or Killarney, head north for Tarbert/Killimer, Then head North/North East towards Roscommon, on through up to Longford to the Longford/Cavan hills, nothing to much but just to make it interesting, they are all short but there a good few. Then East for Granard/Abbeylara and bog country, finally getting to a nice flat finish from Athboy on to Dundrum (very similar to the Dying Light). (approximately 400km)

The other route was starting in Galway City, heading for Roscommon, then Cavan, Monaghan and onto Belfast. Then to finish of a nice leisurely and flat roll down to Dublin along the east coast. Some lovely scenery along this route as you get the lovely Drumlins from Longford on through up to Monaghan. This is a bit longer and is hitting around the 450km mark.

The second route would be my preference but I am open to either, pending approval from the powers that be.

fat bloke

Sounds kinda cool. Anyone here done this kind of thing?

Can you start anywhere you like? Is that the craic?

How are start locations / checkpoints verified??

Do people generally ride 24 hours pretty much straight? Or do they grab 4 or 5 hours kip (or 2 or 3??) in a B&B somewhere?


OK, sorry, just reading the rules now which answers some questions, but - you can't stop anywhere for more than 2 hours, so that rules out sleeping somewhere - is that sort of the whole point then, that you'd all spend pretty much the 24 hours on the bikes.

-Is the finish supposed to be coordinated between the teams - like I know we finish at the same point, but are we to finish at the same point at the same time? Like is it Stephen Roche monument, 12 noon sunday??

One more question - how do people get around the practical difficulties associated with a point to point? -Transporting of gear and bikes and team to .... Dingle for example. Then you all cycle to Dundrum, fine. But cars and gear etc are still in Dingle. - Sorry if these are stoopid questions, but this is all new to me, and it sounds intriguing . For some reason I always thought the audax thing was like a relay race. As in a van drove alongside carrying the team of people and bikes with only one rider on the road at one time.

rottenhat

You can start anywhere you like as long as you finish at the Roche monument in Dundrum. You designate various locations along the way as control points - at each one you need to get some kind of proof of passage with date, time and location printed on it, usually a shop receipt or an ATM receipt though in days of yore, getting your card stamped at a Garda station was not uncommon. Controls on an audax are generally 60-90km apart so you don't need to be stopping all the time. The rules state that you can't stop for any more than two hours in one location - in practice I have no idea how I would enforce that - and the spirit of the event is that you should be riding straight through but if you can get some shuteye in en route, more power to you.

Here's the thread from last year's fleche - there's a long writeup from me towards the end of the thread. I thought it was great but I think it was few weeks before the rest of the team were willing to talk to me again.

mvt

Think most of your questions are answered in the club website.
With regards to your last one either someone else drives the vehicles or maybe like last year,we took the train to the start point.
I was lucky enough to be part of a team in which someone else took care of these issues,would like to think if I was mad enough to enter another one I would be more hands on

rottenhat

fat bloke wrote: »

-Is the finish supposed to be coordinated between the teams - like I know we finish at the same point, but are we to finish at the same point at the same time? Like is it Stephen Roche monument, 12 noon sunday??

It would be nice if we could manage it but it's not essential - in France I think part of the tradition was that people would carry camping gear and camp for the weekend at the end of the ride before riding (or taking the train) home on Easter Monday. I would expect the team I'm on to start riding early on Good Friday to finish early on Saturday morning but we can try to co-ordinate things so that we can all meet up at the end and have a couple of celebratory pints if there are a few teams up for it.

One more question - how do people get around the practical difficulties associated with a point to point? -Transporting of gear and bikes and team to .... Dingle for example. Then you all cycle to Dundrum, fine. But cars and gear etc are still in Dingle. - Sorry if these are stoopid questions, but this is all new to me, and it sounds intriguing . For some reason I always thought the audax thing was like a relay race. As in a van drove alongside carrying the team of people and bikes with only one rider on the road at one time.

Last year our team took the train to Cork and started from there to get around that problem - this year we'll probably go with a loop starting and ending in Dublin. If you wanted to join ROK ON's team you would probably take a train or bus to Kenmare and cycle to wherever you were starting from (I'm sure he'd cook you a lovely breakfast before you headed off - I believe he's pretty handy in the kitchen).

Audax is quite different from ultra-marathon race style events - support is verboten, it's all about the challenge of going it alone, carrying only what will fit on your bike, and there's no race aspect to it, just whether you can do the distance within the time limit. Sounds like you have something more like the Race Around Ireland in mind - teams on the RAI usually ride in relay and support vehicles are mandatory.

fat bloke

Ok. Think I'm getting it.

When you say people carry their own gear on their bikes, & go camping and stuff, do they use sort of touring bikes then, and panniers & saddlebags etc?

Or are road bikes common?

mvt

The classic Audax bike would be a steel frame with dropped bars.The fit of the bike would be a lot looser then your classic race bike.
But really,whatever type of bike you feel will comfortably get you round the distance will do.Best to have panniers and good lights.What you carry is really up to you.
You see all types at events........usually passing me on my carbon frame

CramCycle

fat bloke wrote: »

When you say people carry their own gear on their bikes, & go camping and stuff, do they use sort of touring bikes then, and panniers & saddlebags etc?

Or are road bikes common?

Road bikes are common enough, since its 24 hours, you should be able to carry nearly all you need in a large saddle bag. Or a road bike with panniers. All the events I have done have been on a road bike with a saddlebag and every time i get back I think I could have carried alot less and got away with it.

rottenhat

You rarely see panniers on audax, although I can think of one Irish veteran who hauls them for anything over 200km - almost everyone uses a road bike with a decent-sized saddlebag. On these events you're always trying to find the perfect balance between carrying as little as possible and having everything that you actually need - I think I carry more than most people and my bag usually tips the scales at 4-5kg between tools, spare clothes and food.

ROK ON

The w/e of the fleche, it has been pointed out, is actually the weekend of my 10th wedding aniversary. I will not be looking for a team after all.

Walks away with tail firmly between legs.

Hopefully maybe target the Borlin 300 which is on shortly afterwards instead.

Sorry for wasting folks time.

rottenhat

The Borlin 300 is an excellent ride, highly recommended. I'm sure Kevin's 400 and 600 will be well up to scratch too - I'll certainly be travelling down to find out.

CramCycle

ROK ON wrote: »

The w/e of the fleche, it has been pointed out, is actually the weekend of my 10th wedding aniversary. I will not be looking for a team after all.

Walks away with tail firmly between legs.

Hopefully maybe target the Borlin 300 which is on shortly afterwards instead.

Sorry for wasting folks time.

Sorry to hear that, I hope she appreciates what your giving up for her :P

I'll be heading down for either the 300 or the 600 hopefully, depending on work and other such things.

rottenhat

If you can only make one, it has to be the 600 surely - double the miles, double the value.

neris

Id be happy to join up/create a team if theres anyone from dublin or counites around planing on doing this. Furtherst ive done is a 200 so need to loose the xmas booze but I see there is a few audaxs before easter to practice at

CramCycle

neris wrote: »

Id be happy to join up/create a team if theres anyone from dublin or counites around planing on doing this. Furtherst ive done is a 200 so need to loose the xmas booze but I see there is a few audaxs before easter to practice at

Want to join up with me, I'm looking at hitting between 400 and 450km depending on the final chosen route.

neris

Id be up for that Cram. What kind of route/direction were you thinking of heading?

CramCycle

CramCycle wrote: »

Galway City, heading for Roscommon, then Cavan, Monaghan and onto Belfast. Then to finish of a nice leisurely and flat roll down to Dublin along the east coast. Some lovely scenery along this route as you get the lovely Drumlins from Longford on through up to Monaghan. This is a bit longer and is hitting around the 450km mark.

neris wrote: »

Id be up for that Cram. What kind of route/direction were you thinking of heading?

That would be my first choice but if it helps get more people interested, we could work on a loop route from Dundrum, maybe head straight from Dundrum, Naas, Banagher, Galway, then on for Roscommon, Longford, Granard, Athboy onto Pheonix Park and back to Dundrum. Also works out at about 450km, adding in controls slightly out of the straight line to make it more interesting.

I am open to suggestions of areas to pass through or even different routes. The first route we can get a train/bus over to Galway and I think it has nicer scenery but like I said, whatever gets more people interested. I have a few ideas so if anyone has any they want to float about.

barrabus

mvt wrote: »

would like to think if I was mad enough to enter another one I would be more hands on

Does that count as an expression of interest?

rottenhat

It's not not an expression of interest.

CramCycle

Slightly off topic but Audax Ireland are beginning their club spins tomorrow morning, heading off from Spar on Upper Baggot st at about 8am. RottenHat is leading the charge and is expecting approximately 120 to 130km distance for the day up through Phoenix Park, onto Dunboyne, Enfield, Clane and back home. Reasonably flat and might make a nice introduction for anyone interested in getting involved in Audax events later in the year.

As far as I know there will be a spin every weekend that there is not an Audax event on in the country (and presumably the roads are safe for it). The spins will be Audax pace (15 to 30km/hr) and there will be a no man left behind attitude, unless like many, my company is irritating to him and he wants to leave

It's a bit late notice but if you were planning a Saturday spin and wanted an early and light introduction to Audax please pop down.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Stick me down provisonally Cram, hitting 120km in my weekend rides so should be in good shape for it when it comes around.

CramCycle

Emmaline Tart Ammunition wrote: »

Stick me down provisonally Cram, hitting 120km in my weekend rides so should be in good shape for it when it comes around.

Well thats yourself, Neris, myself and possibly FatBloke with an interest in forming a team. If you guys are still up for it, we could meet up for a coffee and a spin (presuming your all in or about Dublin) in the next few weeks, discuss routes, pros/cons and the general plan for the ride. Room for more if anyone else is lurking around? Sound like a plan?

neris

should be around on saturdays for a spin. want to try do the audaux end of feb if in shape so practice for that if you lads are around.

CramCycle

Are any of the guys who expressed interest in doing this with me heading down for the Ardattin on Sunday. Just realised I had let this slip onto the backburner and the date is getting closer fast?

I'm still between two routes, the first Is starting in Dundrum and doing a beeline for Galway, then turning back for Roscommon, Longford, Athboy. Relatively straight and very little options in the way of getting lost. 440 km.

The second is a culmination of all the capitals of Ireland, starting in Cork, heading north, north west for Galway before taking an immediate right for Athlone, onto Athboy before finally hitting Pheonix Park and then Dundrum. Tops out at 415km approx

Whoever is interested, we can take a vote or you can suggest other routes that might be more suitable.

rottenhat

I have to say I was a little disappointed that I wound up with only one entry for the Fleche again this year - it will be twenty-seven years before Easter falls so late in the year again and it could be a tougher prospect for the next couple of years. At one point it did look like there would be three teams but on the day the only team setting out was To Hell Or Connaught, a slightly revamped version of last year's Team No Particular Place To Go with LastGasp, Andreas.Voigt and myself being joined by John O'Sullivan and Cadex.

I wasn't able to sell the lads on attempting 500km and they haggled me down to a 452km loop running from Dublin to Galway and back - when I put it into Bikeroutetoaster I was pleased but very surprised to see that it had only as much climbing as the Ardattin 200. The biggest "hill" would come right at the end, with the climb out of Ballymore Eustace to the N81.

Conditions were more or less ideal on the day - a light tailwind on the way out of Dublin was forecast to switch to a westerly in the evening and threatened rain never materialised. We left from O'Connell Bridge at 7am, heading out through Phoenix Park towards Dunboyne and onto the R156 to Mullingar for the first control. The route largely followed R and N roads which isn't always the most interesting, but being able to bowl along at 30km/h on decent roads, the team working a good rhythm, for hours on end has its own satisfactions. Things remained uneventful as we crossed the Shannon just above Lough Ree and turned southwest to Roscommon. I didn't fancy taking the N63 all the way to Galway, so I had routed us south from Ballygar on back roads to join the R339 around Castleblakeney. After a few minor deviations we hit the R339 but something didn't feel right with my saddle. I got off to see if it had slipped in the clamp but everything looked okay. I got back on and managed another couple of hundred yards down the road before feeling a distinct snap.

My guess is that I had been riding with one rail broken for a while, and that was the second one joining it - evidently a 5kg saddlebag clamped to your saddle rails is not what the designers expect. The saddle more or less disintegrated as we examined it but after a couple of goes we managed to get the seatpost clamp to hold it together around the breaks, strap my saddlebag to the handlebars and push on. This meant it was jammed all the way forward and I couldn't get any power on climbs. Nor could I get out of the saddle because with all that weight hanging from the bars, any twitch on them made the bike sway violently. By the time we had covered the last 30km to Galway into the gathering headwind, my quads were threatening cramp. We spotted a bike shop on the way in - it was closed but the staff were still moving around inside so Andreas stood at the door making imploring gestures until they opened up. That was as far as the luck ran though - no Brooks to be had, so I settled for a cheap BBB model. They even took a fiver off the price so if you're ever in Galway, be sure to stop into Nigel's Cycle Store while you're there.

We tracked down John, who had gone on ahead while we ate in Roscommon, and went to an Italian restaurant on Shop Street for dinner. It was just after five, and we had done 226km in a little over ten hours, leaving fourteen hours to do the same again. No problem. Stuffed with pasta, desserts and espresso, we didn't get back on the road until nearly seven, rolling out along the bay to Oranmore and on to Athenry and Ballinasloe. We found a petrol station still open there, with a toilet, and used the opportunity to stock up on supplies and change into reflective gear for the long journey through the night. John again pushed on while we faffed around.

By now my arse was seriously hurting me (the new saddle felt like an iron bar) and my right knee was making threatening noises - little twinges every time I applied pressure - so I concentrated on spinning as gently as possible and begging the lads to hold the pace down. We made Tullamore after twelve and caught up with John in a Supermacs, a mere ten minutes before they were due to close - more good luck. At that point I was confident that we would have no trouble making Blessington by 5am for our 22 hour control, and we kept working the up and over steadily to Kildare where we even had to stop and kill some time. The roads from Kildare to Blessington were dreadful - my fault for not researching the route so close to home - and the little rollers around Ballymore Eustace seemed to have grown considerably since the last time I had been there so making the N81 was a blessed relief, not least to my sorely bruised buttocks. We cooled our heels for a few minutes in Blessington waiting for the witching hour of five am, then pushed on home.

The sky was beginning to lighten as we crested the Embankment and the sight of the entire city lit up below us flashed between the trees as we descended into Tallaght - a beautiful moment to cap a great ride. We had enough time in hand to have a cup of tea in LastGasp's kitchen while waiting for 7am to roll around, and I could already taste it as we trundled through Ballinteer when our host hit a rock and blew out his front tyre. Fortunately in the intervening twelve months since the last Fleche he has learned how to use a CO2 canister and we were quickly back rolling. Cadex and I mustered the energy for a sprint finish - as so often I went too early in spite of my familiarity with the parcours and he took the prize.

One cup of tea later and we dribbled down the hill to the Stephen Roche monument in Dundrum where emty was waiting with camera in hand to document the moment. And that was another Fleche done and dusted.

It was damn good day on the bike all told - my only disappointment is that we didn't aim higher. With the conditions we had, another 50k would have been easily achievable. Still, you have to leave something on the table for next year.

Chips Lovell

rottenhat wrote: »

I have to say I was a little disappointed that I wound up with only one entry for the Fleche again this year

rottenhat wrote: »

attempting 500km

I see where you're going wrong.

velo.2010

Fair fcuks to yee lads. Thats some going. You guys, I believe, are all Schleck-like whippets. (According to el Tonto below)

Re. roads in Kildare. Yes, they are poor especially that heavy road out of Naas towards Blessington.

Edit: Fixed my description of body-type for these Audax riders!

Chips Lovell

LOL, Rottenhat and Cadex are fecking whippets

rottenhat

We also sing.

Cadex

Eh? I don't think you could call that singing - except John he quietly sang away with a beautiful voice when he thought no one was listening.....

Big thanks to my friends on my first 24hr event. Well done to Rottenhat, Andreas, LastGasp and John - that was some trip. Everyone did their stint and kept us going. Fair play, there was always a good bit of craic, a story or some terrible bits of singing keeping the spirits up. Thanks chaps, I couldn't have been on a better team. Well done to all.

Diary entry.
The Fleche - 22 April 2011.
I was invited to join in a team for the Easter Fleche - as far as you can go in 24hrs. To anyone not involved in Audax, it's as mad as it sounds, of course to Audax people it's 'just another day in the saddle', I suppose....! The team name was 'To Hell or to Connacht' recalling Cromwell's famous words, though hopefully it was not going to be anything like that for us.

With the bike ready and bag packed with extra sambos, creamed rice and on Eddie's advice, a change of shorts, base layer and socks, I headed to bed about 11 with the alarm set for 05:45. As usual, the sleep wasn't great and I got up before the alarm. Given that we were going to be going for 24hr hours and all, I decided to get a bit of extra breakfast. On top of my cereal, I had some leftovers of pasta and sauce, though it was a bit early for that sort of thing I thought it might help keep the hunger at bay. I left about 06:40 to join the lads, Rottenhat, Andreas, LastGasp and John at O'Connell bridge. To start off the recording of our locations and time, we bought stuff in the little shop, took some team photos and headed off at about 7:10, down the quays and into the Phoenix Park. As we were going to be going 24 hours, I switched off my Garmin so the initial routefinding and stats were LastGasp and John's (the battery life is supposed to be 15hrs). I planned to switch mine back on at Galway (and hope it wouldn't keep trying to send me back to the start.....!). The route brought us out through Dunboyne and we were over the Boyne about 9.00 on the Mullingar Rd. Mullingar was to be the first stop (control) at 82k, a place I hadn't been in 30 years and the last time was because of a girl I went out with at the time. Anyway, we stopped outside the town at a garage about 10:20, had a quick cuppa and filled the bottles. At this stage, the weather was rather lovely, warm but not roasting and with a nice tailwind blowing us along. In fact, we were cruising around 30k for quite a lot of the time with some variation but overall a nice high average was easily kept up. We crossed the Shannon into Connacht at Lanesborough, paused for a quick photo on the bridge looking into Loch Ri about 12:15. After that we had some minor roads including a bit where we couldn't be sure of a turn so went up and down a bit of both routes until the Garmin was happy. With the change in direction (to SW), also came a change in the wind and we had some headwind as we headed toward Galway. We stopped again in Roscommon (151km, control) and had a bit of a break at a shop in the town about 13:00. I managed to get behind a woman with a big pile pf groceries and a need for a chat though thankfully was rescued by another assistant just before the crowd got ugly. We had our sambos outside on the footpath and enjoyed the sun for a bit. After that we headed into Galway and about 35k from the city, (about 15:00) Rottenhat heard a bad crack from under his saddle which when he checked a second time turned out to be broken rails on his saddle! His saddle bag was suspended on a carrier that attached to the rails and they'd given way. This looked like we were in real trouble. The clamp was loosened and the two sections of rails were pushed into the clamp to hold it together but this was not going to last and changed his riding position, the effect of which was to put extra strain on him. The bag was attached to his handle-bars and we headed into Galway, hoping to find a bike shop. Just as we entered the outskirts, we came across 'Nigel's Bike Shop' which although closed still had some staff around and when we told them what happenned, they agreed to open up and Rottenhat bought a replacement, planning on buying a Brooks when we returned home. After that we headed into Eyre Square in Galway (about 17:15, 229km, control) and after taking some pics, headed down Shop St. where we found an Italian Restaurant with seating outside. We ordered grub and took turns to get changed into the replacement gear that Eddie had recommended. The food arived and was really very good I'd have to say. After that, I put on my Garmin and we headed out of Galway at about 7pm. The route took us out by Oranmore and I stopped to take a couple of pics of Galway Bay before rejoining the others. The route brought us roughly parallel to the M6 as we headed east with the sun setting behind us on our way to Ballinasloe (292km, control). As it got darker, it felt a bit like it took longer to cover the same distance and Ballinasloe was a welcome sight at about 21:45. We stopped at a garage that was just closing and managed to get some coffee etc. John headed a little before the rest of us. Heading back east meant we re-crossed the bogs and at one point had to stop for one of the bog trains crossing (about 23:15). It was well dark now and we were glad that the stops were closer together on the way back. We stopped in Tullamore (348k, control) and although we'd been relying on a 24hr gartage, it turned out to be closed and we managed to find a SuperMacs that was just closing. Yet again we were lucky with our timing and got our warm drinks and grub sorted out. After this we had to head to Portarington (short stop for comfort and stretches of various tired legs), Monasterevin (near my mother's birthplace) and on to Kildare where another short stop for stretches etc. was had. As for me, I didn't want to eat (I felt a bit naucious) and didn't want to get cold. An old dog came up looking for scraps as we sat across from a pub from which could clearly be heard the happy sound of a different kind of addict. We got going again up the road that is now pretty unused since the motorway came in and it was rather lovely for a good bit before it became the worsty road in Ireland as we headed towards Brownstown, full of potholes. As we headed on over the Curragh, we passed a cattle grid which indicated that the next bit of road 'might feature livestock' and it certainly did with sheep and lambs walking and sleeping all over the place. Between them and the potholes it was like playing asteroids as we weaved to avoid everything at about 3 in the morning. The N81 was a welcome break for a change and we landed into Blessington (424km, control) a little before 05:00. We took a break (we couldn't arrive too early) and I gave the rice pudding a go. Despite my earlier nauciousness, this went in easily and seemed to settle well (good thing to remember for next time). We headed off now quite confident we would be OK for time and would be 'homolugated' properly. If you asked I would have said I was homolugated or a word like that hours ago, but I was hoping I could get a cream that would help it....We had a pretty handy cycle up the N81 into Tallaght with the sun rising. As we got to the top of the Embankment, we could see the lights of the city below us. It was very tempting to add that to the photos but I fancied a bit of a burn down the hill instead and enjoyed the speed for a bit. We turned through Oldbawn and into Ballyboden, Rathfarnham and then Dundrum. As we neared, we realised we would arrive a little early and headed towards LastGasp's house first. As we did, a pedestrian as if he knew what we had done stood at the side of the road and gave us applause. Two seconds later a weary LastGasp hit a rock and got a puncture - roughly 2km from the finish/ his house!
We stopped and sorted it, finally arriving at his house about 06:20. As we neared the house, Rottenhat kicked off a sprint - the madser! Anyway, we shared the honours arriving together. We had a cuppa there before heading down to the finish at about 06:55. We met Empty down at the monument and took some pics for the record. In the end the route completed was 452k (http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=231980). After that we headed off Empty, Rottenhat, Andreas and I toward the city/ Northside and LastGasp (up the road) and John was picked up. We left Empty down at the Luas Bridge, Rottenhat around Baggot St. and myself and Andreas went via the East Link, him heading to Clontarf and me up to Artane. I arrived at 07:45, almost exactly 25 hours after leaving it. I put the bike away and had a tiny bath before heading to bed for a bit. I was up again at 11:35 as I couldn't sleep. I have to say it was a fantastic experience, helped in no small way by the fact that we had a great team, fantastic conditions, 'handy' route a tail wind almost all of both directions (how mad is that?). It may yet be a unique experience but not at all a bad one, it was great.

Photos at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/102633860226158971688/Fleche24hEaster2011#

Stats: (more or less)
I reckon I had just shy of 490k in the end, taking about 10k to get to Town from Home. My total elapsed was from 06:40 - 07:44

Galway to Dundrum and then Artane (home for me)
Time: 09:51
Distance:240.99 (about 20k of which Dundrum to Artane)
Gain: 1,263 m
Moving: 9:49
Avg Speed: 24.5
Max 51.2
Heart Rate- Max: 149, Ave:110
Cadence - Max: 116, Ave: 77
Cal: 7177

The outward journey to Galway
Time: 10:17:25
Distance:234.2
Gain: 1,253 m
Moving: 9:14:34
Avg Speed: 22.8
Avg Moving 25.3
Max 64.2

Planet X

Well done Cadex and lads. Superb ride and a well written report.

RobFowl

Cadex I'm not sure if I'm impressed or just plain scared
Well done to the lot of ye.....

bcmf

Mad in an epic sorta way. fair play lads.

thebouldwhacker

What can one say to all that but well done.
I was thinking about ye over the weekend and wondering how it would go. Perfect weather for it too. I would love to do this but I just don't think I could stay awake! I know I'd fall asleep and wake up with my collar bone in a cast.

Very impressive cycle, ultimate Audax riders, top quality cyclists one and all!!!