SLIABH BLOOM CHALLENGE

bonzie1

Hi. Carlow Cycling Club are holding the Sliabh Bloom Challenge on Sunday 1st of May. 100/160k Take your pick. Sign on from 8am start 9am from the Holy Angles Centre Carlow. There will be tea stops and food at the finish. Also showers an a plunge pool to relax those legs. Cheers.

macadam

bonzie1 wrote: »

Hi. Carlow Cycling Club are holding the Sliabh Bloom Challenge on Sunday 1st of May. 100/160k Take your pick. Sign on from 8am start 9am from the Holy Angles Centre Carlow. There will be tea stops and food at the finish. Also showers an a plunge pool to relax those legs. Cheers.

Can you post up the Route

bonzie1

macadam wrote: »

Can you post up the Route

Hi mac, Im going to try thanks.

macadam

bonzie1 wrote: »

Hi mac, Im going to try thanks.

Think there are a few of us heading down from Drogheda..

godihatedehills

would also be interested in the route

bonzie1

godihatedehills wrote: »

would also be interested in the route

HI Hope this helps. CRCCSliabhBloom
http://ridewithgps.com/trips/218594

53x11

Hi all, the route of the CRCC Sliabh Bloom Challenge, leaves the "Holy Angles" centre (situated on the Athy roundabout, not the club usual event start at Eire Og GAA) and heads for Abbeyleix, then to Mountrath where the first tea stop takes place, with catering provided by the "Holy Angles" day centre staff. The Sportive is in aid of the day care facility which provides care for special need children. From Mountrath the ride than takes in a loop of the Sliabh Bloom mountains covering the notorious Wolftrap and "The Cuts" climbs, (which feature in the "Rás" on many occasions) and back to Mountrath for the second tea stop. The shorter 100Km avoids doing the SB loop. The return ride then goes via Portlaoise and takes in the "Windygap" climb leaving Stradbally, and then it's full steam for Carlow. The event can be roughly broken into three 50Km's; CW to mountrath, the SB loop, Mountrath to CW.
Sign-on: 8:00 – 9:00 €10 min, but it's open to your generosity please
Roll-out: 9:00
Refreshments: 2x en-route / Finish
Showers / Hot tub
The link above gives you the route/terrain
Enjoy!......

DirkVoodoo

This is on sunday, right? I think I might give it a go!

53x11

Yep, on Sunday next.... weather forecast (long range) looks like it'll be a good weekend, so should be a great days cycling... do spread the word....

AstraMonti

I 'll probably be there. Have cycled once up there and it was really really nice so I look forward to doing this route.

bonzie1

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

This is on sunday, right? I think I might give it a go!

Hi Dirk, Yeah Sunday 1may, See ya there. Hows your shoulder after Kilkenny, Did u get your bike fixed up.

bonzie1

AstraMonti wrote: »

I 'll probably be there. Have cycled once up there and it was really really nice so I look forward to doing this route.

Hi Astra. Its a goodie, Looking forward to a great day. You'll be well looked after:)

DirkVoodoo

bonzie1 wrote: »

Hi Dirk, Yeah Sunday 1may, See ya there. Hows your shoulder after Kilkenny, Did u get your bike fixed up.

Yo! Yes, all fixed up and raring to go. Hopefully I will stay up on this one.

The tax man

Hmmm....Looks a very tempting route.

michael196

bonzie1 wrote: »

HI Hope this helps. CRCCSliabhBloom
http://ridewithgps.com/trips/218594

isnt that website much better than map my ride ???


the ''preferred'' routing website

michael196

will be there .....

AstraMonti

I ll be there as well, if anyone needs a lift let me know, I can carry two more bikes.

door handles

Hi,just want to know where the holy angels centre is in carlow?

AstraMonti

door handles wrote: »

Hi,just want to know where the holy angels centre is in carlow?

It says on a post above that it's situated on the Athy roundabout, but I 've no clue where that is either

Esroh

Boys
Have not had the opportunity of coming off the Motorway as I would be coming from the west.
But if coming from Dub take exit 4 Carlow North and when you get into Carlow take the N80 signed for Portlaoise. Passed Gaa Grounds and the Athy Rd is next thats your Roundabout;)

Haldir

Completed the 160km route today with several Naas CC club members. As usual, Carlow RCC organised an excellent well run event over a challenging route. Fast pace to first food stop and then the wind made it 'interesting' over The Wolftrap and Cut climbs and on to second food stop. Nice pacy run in back to Carlow once over Stradbally. Well done Allen and all at Carlow RCC for a very hard but enjoyable days cycling and all for a very good cause.

AstraMonti

Really enjoyed the suffering today. I was going really really well up until 110k or so, then my body just shut it self for the next 15-20 and came back to normal for the last 30.

I met a loads of people and I can honestly say that it was the first sportive that it didn't see anyone doing something stupid, in the majority of the others (probably because they are overpopulated) you have some tool around. Really good fun and loved the climbs, especially the second one, went up on it on the big ring.

28.2 km/h avg speed, I am happy! Thanks to the taxman, El tonto, godihatehills and a bunch of other really sounds guys for the company.

Thanks to the organizers as well, the route was well marked (although I managed to get lost in Portlaoise and ended making circles around to find the way out) and the food stops had plenty of everything. Thank you!

And Fiona I hope you are well after your crash!

Super Freak

Completed the 160km route today with several Naas CC club members.

Have to say.....some of the Naas CC members were very aggressive to my wife on the road today. She dropped me off and was heading back to Portlaoise. She was passing the group and was leaving plenty of room. She was waiting for the next gap on the road to pass the next group. Some of the Naas guys passed either side of the car and some of the guys slapped/banged on the roof of the car :mad:

Everyone else was very helpfull apparently, and in particular she mentioned the guys from Carlow CC were "Absolute Sweethearts" and helped the traffic to pass.

thekidd147

Super Freak wrote: »

Have to say.....some of the Naas CC members were very aggressive to my wife on the road today. She dropped me off and was heading back to Portlaoise. She was passing the group and was leaving plenty of room. She was waiting for the next gap on the road to pass the next group. Some of the Naas guys passed either side of the car and some of the guys slapped/banged on the roof of the car :mad:

QUOTE]

There were a dozen Naas CC members present on the tour and it is a bit unfair to tar everyone with the same brush on a public forum, we do not go around banging the roofs of cars and if an incident did occurr it will be seriously looked at.

sy

thekidd147 wrote: »

Super Freak wrote: »

Have to say.....some of the Naas CC members were very aggressive to my wife on the road today.

He did say some members. I'm sure Super Freak's wife is quite tuned in to allowing room for groups of cyclists etc seeing as her other half was partaking. Sounds like a little over excitement on their behalf but should consider how frightening this can be for the driver.

Looks like it was a great day for all and well done, wish I was there. Next year hopefully as it is a beautiful part of the country.

PS AstraMonti glad there was no "tool" around LOL

michael196

thekidd147 wrote: »

Super Freak wrote: »

Have to say.....some of the Naas CC members were very aggressive to my wife on the road today. She dropped me off and was heading back to Portlaoise. She was passing the group and was leaving plenty of room. She was waiting for the next gap on the road to pass the next group. Some of the Naas guys passed either side of the car and some of the guys slapped/banged on the roof of the car :mad:

QUOTE]

Fair enuf point to highllight the behaviour of the cyclists , and perhaps the club should now follow up and provide feed back , at a minimum, to the club members, in order to demonstrate how behaviours on the road can quickly become publicised, especially important when the bahaviour can be attributed to a club.

michael196

the first 45 kilometers was completed in 1 hour 22, with the section from abbyleix to mountrath particularily fast.

that was near a4 race speed. .


did u see the guy on the left, that the sportive overtook, with the blue top and black shorts, and the size of the leg muscesl on him !!!!

michael196

one suggested improvement for next year !!!



put the second food stop back into mountrath, the circuit around the hill was tough and having to go onto ballyfin on empty tanks , was very tough. No garages or villages evident to stop for a refuel while waiting for ballyfin.

Sr. Assumpta

AstraMonti wrote: »

Really enjoyed the suffering today.

I have to agree with you AstraMonti, the suffering was bizarrely enjoyable. [any practitioners of S&M reading this will now be rubbing their hands together in glee at the prospect of their numbers rising.....]

Despite my monumental high-speed face-plant on the descent from The Cut, I had a great day. I was lucky to be cycling with a fantastic group, which briefly also included AstraMonti. After my fall they dusted me down, straightened my handlebars and had me back on the road before I realised I'd just eaten some of the Slieve Blooms. We got around with a 30.3kmph avg, probably aided by me skipping a few turns at the front.

This morning I look like the victim of botched plastic surgery.

Super Freak

There were a dozen Naas CC members present on the tour and it is a bit unfair to tar everyone with the same brush on a public forum, we do not go around banging the roofs of cars and if an incident did occurr it will be seriously looked at.

Glad to hear it will be looked into. As said here by Sy she is clued in as I am a cyclist and she is a cyclist herself. If anything she was probably being super cautious an only overtaking when absolutely safe to do so which was not to the liking of some participants.

She overtook my group in a safe and courteous manner.