Ras Dhun na nGall

nomadic

Anyone here doing this?

Better get the sun cream ready, looks like a cracker of a weekend.

DirkVoodoo

Yup!

ednwireland

i'm helping out (prob wont see any racing)

128 starters registered so far (full list here )

http://www.fourmasterscycling.com/contents/en-us/d55.html

though i did notice this entry "Michael snakeinmy Trousers Hanley" from orwell

hope you have the climbing legs installed

TinyExplosions

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Yup!

Michael snakeinmy Trousers Hanley ?

Diarmuid

I'm in.

zzzzzzzz

ednwireland wrote: »

i'm helping out (prob wont see any racing)

128 starters registered so far (full list here )

http://www.fourmasterscycling.com/contents/en-us/d55.html

though i did notice this entry "Michael snakeinmy Trousers Hanley" from orwell

hope you have the climbing legs installed

Can we trust you to ensure his full name is on the GC sheet?

DirkVoodoo

TinyExplosions wrote: »

Michael snakeinmy Trousers Hanley ?

Clerical error. My first name is actually Mike.

nomadic

Have 1 or 2 of the stage routes changed over the last few weeks?

I remember seeing different route maps at some stage, still loads of bloody hills though!

ednwireland

there was a change to the final stage (think it was made longer) the website matches the route guide i have (see my sig)

still finishes on glengesh

Chips Lovell

ednwireland wrote: »

though i did notice this entry "Michael snakeinmy Trousers Hanley" from orwell

This is what happens when you give your credit card to someone and ask them to register you.

ednwireland

el tonto wrote: »

This is what happens when you give your credit card to someone and ask them to register you.

you'll know better next time then !

tawfeeredux

I'm in too (thanks to Diarmuid for the heads up ). Not sure whether to be excited or terrified.

morana

Did it years ago...Was in a break with Eugene Moriarty, Sully and a lad by the name of Hudson from the north who was quite good, about 10 of us. they were all juniors. I think I was the only senior in the break. they just kept attacking up every climb.... remember we went up on the bus with shane Baker and we had great crack!! those were the days!

shaungil

Anto you should join Swords it's full of all the ould lads talking about the black and white days!!!

good luck to all racing at the weekend.

morana

shaungil wrote: »

Anto you should join Swords it's full of all the ould lads talking about the black and white days!!!

good luck to all racing at the weekend.

thats all I have memories!!!

jiffybag

morana wrote: »

Did it years ago...Was in a break with Eugene Moriarty, Sully and a lad by the name of Hudson from the north who was quite good, about 10 of us. they were all juniors. I think I was the only senior in the break. they just kept attacking up every climb.... remember we went up on the bus with shane Baker and we had great crack!! those were the days!

'Hudson' probably was Hutton . Mark Hutton from belfast , fantastic talent , won the junior rr champs in Stamullen many years ago . Went to France to race and that was the end of that....

morana

jiffybag wrote: »

'Hudson' probably was Hutton . Mark Hutton from belfast , fantastic talent , won the junior rr champs in Stamullen many years ago . Went to France to race and that was the end of that....

yeah thats the lad...very good. I remember him going to France and then nothing more.

ednwireland

TinyExplosions wrote: »

Michael snakeinmy Trousers Hanley ?

fraid for decency its been taken out

137 entries as of today

jamescon

We are thinking of organising a Leisure ride on the Saturday evening of Rás Dhun na nGall 2011. This Tour would cover part of the now famous Stage 4 of Rás Dhun na nGall, which includes Glengesh. maybe you have cyclists travel with you to do support during the race who would like to ride this event.
The distance will be app 36 miles, and the pace will be controlled until the foot of Glengesh. Re-grouping at the top of the climb we will then turn right on the back of Glengesh and travel down the route of the Saturday morning Time Trail stage. starts at 6.30pm

ednwireland

Hope you all enjoyed that specially blown in sea mist tonight

Diarmuid

Any GC list?

ednwireland

they are having website problems

check facebook
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Four-Masters-Cycling-Club/184055498309818

First stage of ras finished tight one two leaders broke free at the first Kom and where able to make a gap of one minute rider numbers where 57 john Murray and 55 damien shaw with john doing most of the dog work and was fitting that he took the stage great ride john

nomadic

Ahh bollox they were down the road, there goes my KOM points!

homer simpson

Took a wee trip to watch this with my Cousin, who is into cycling member of north pole club, for something different. As a relative cycling newbie a enjoyed it decent atmosphere at the KOTM climb in Doochery. anyways here some photos, enjoy .

ednwireland

Can we use your photos on the four masters site? im just out of shot in a vis vest on the last one

nomadic

Curran deserved that, he was attacking all day.

levitronix

love the 4th pic down ... all the dounuts in the road nice !!!

ednwireland

Pishing rain today brave men racing in this today

Explosive_Cornflake

Any updates on this?
How was the GC at the end of yesterday?

Explosive_Cornflake

I heard through the grape vine LSW's Damien Shaw has one the overall.
Not bad a for a lad only racing about 14 months I'd say.

ednwireland

yep1 damian shaw 6h 22 42
2nd john mccormac lucan @ 1 12
3rd darragh zaidan cyclelogical @ 2 07

he won the mountains as well

the team prize went to slane

epic day fair play to all the riders

feckin typical sun breakin through now



shame phillip deignan had to go home as the medical control guys arrived at his house and couldt do the prize giving

nomadic

Cracking race, great weekend. There was no hiding in this one and the strongest riders got what they deserved. Congrats to tawfeeredux on a cracking second place.

Today was miserable but I didn't really mind the rain once I got soaked through. The decents were hairy but there didn't seem to be any major crashes which was good. Glengesh was something else at the end after 95km of racing.

They should change there names to four seasons cycling club. Fog, sun, wind and a monsoon.

ryan_sherlock

Explosive_Cornflake wrote: »

I heard through the grape vine LSW's Damien Shaw has one the overall.
Not bad a for a lad only racing about 14 months I'd say.

I said it to him when he rode the East Midlands Classic with me for the Senior Irish National Team, he is WAY to strong to be riding anything but A1 races.

Still, he had to do the riding. Sounded like a great race - I have gotten the updates from Mel. I have done a couple of Four Masters races, and they were all excellent. Love racing in Donegal...

ednwireland

final GC sheet

http://www.fourmasterscycling.com/contents/en-us/Ras%20Dhun%20na%20nGall.pdf

reports and photos
stage 1

stage2

stage 3

stage 3 vid going through glenties

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06VKstW1k1o

100Suns

Another great result for tawfeeredux. And Damien and Darragh. Upgrades all round I presume (hope)

pprendeville

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8XsvgUrEqA

Looks tough especially last km.

nomadic

pprendeville wrote: »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8XsvgUrEqA

Looks tough especially last km.

That was the TT side. I was hoping the side we went up on the last stage would be similar but it was way harder.

pprendeville

nomadic wrote: »

That was the TT side. I was hoping the side we went up on the last stage would be similar but it was way harder.

how long is that TT route? anyone got a link to it on a gps site?

ednwireland

pprendeville wrote: »

how long is that TT route? anyone got a link to it on a gps site?

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/31752258

dunnangall

Just back from a spin up Ardaghy, Glengesh and the Nick which is tough going on an ordinary day, how did them lads and lassies get up Glengesh at the end of 3 days racing. Respect and well done to all.

ednwireland

stage 4 race report and photos
http://www.cyclingulster.com/index.php?thenewsid=4844&newstable=news

tawfeeredux

ednwireland wrote: »

Yesterday was f**ckin mental! Mite do a report later, but just thought i'd comment on this photo now. I'd attacked the bunch & caught a trio of riders before Ardara. Coming down that steep hill into the village flat out, i was concentrating so hard on holding the bike together that i didn't see where the lead car had gone & took the wrong turn. Realised my mistake as there were cars backed up on the main street & i heard people shouting. Somehow managed to brake, unclip, & turn the bike 180 degrees in one manoeuvre. I'd love to see that move again myself. Even as I tried to get going again from a sliding backwards start in 53 X 12 on a greasy road & half in a panic because the time i'd worked hard to build up was being lost, i still was impressed enough with myself to think, "jesus, that was class!"

Roadrat

tawfeeredux wrote: »

Yesterday was f**ckin mental! Mite do a report later, but just thought i'd comment on this photo now. I'd attacked the bunch & caught a trio of riders before Ardara. Coming down that steep hill into the village flat out, i was concentrating so hard on holding the bike together that i didn't see where the lead car had gone & took the wrong turn. Realised my mistake as there were cars backed up on the main street & i heard people shouting. Somehow managed to brake, unclip, & turn the bike 180 degrees in one manoeuvre. I'd love to see that move again myself. Even as I tried to get going again from a sliding backwards start in 53 X 12 on a greasy road & half in a panic because the time i'd worked hard to build up was being lost, i still was impressed enough with myself to think, "jesus, that was class!"

Fair play.That must be one of the most honest posts I've read in a long time. Good for you and well done.

tawfeeredux

The Flaming Lips were in Kilmainham this weekend. And i missed them. Also missed the Cat Laughs, Bloom, Rory Gallagher festival, & a hundred other things that I could have done over the June bank holiday instead of what i ended up doing - the Festival of Freakin Ridiculous Suffering that was the Ras Dhun na nGall.

Stage 1: Shortest non-TT stage at 50 something km. Damian Shaw & a clubmate went clear over the first KOM. In my 1st stage race & first time racing directly against A2s, confidence wasn't very high, so i was plodding along in mid-bunch for the first half of stage at least. Route brought us over a really bad section of road at one point - water bottles falling out all over the road. My speed/cadence sensor came loose from the seat stay & rattled around in the spokes for a couple of kms before disintegrating & leaving me without stats or race data for the weekend.

Gradually started moving up the field & followed a South Dublin rider up the road for a bit. Diarmuid & a few others joined us & I thought we had a good chance of staying way. At this stage I didn't know that the 2 Mullingar lads were still away. There was another Mullingar lad in the break with us & I thought he was Shaw, so thought this break could be really strong. Bunch came back to us though. Was still at the head of the bunch coming to a KOM sign so decided to go for it, got pipped on the line by 2 guys including Nomadic, neither of us realising til later that we were not 2nd & 3rd over the KOM at all. Stayed towards the front for the rest of the race & finished well at the finish - never thought i'd say it, but got boxed in during the sprint, but was still passing guys coming up to the line. Was happy enough at the end with something like a top 15 finish & what i thought was no time lost to anyone.

Stage 2: hill TT. Finished 3rd by a fraction of a second. Very happy with my time, but not with my prep. Was late leaving the hotel in Donegal town & had to drive like a lunatic up the road to the start area. Got there 10 mins before my allotted start time & got a decent warmup considering, but given that I'd been focusing on this stage for weeks, & had brought the turbo with me specifically to get a good half hour warmup beforehand, i was really annoyed with myself. Headed over to Ardara after to sign on for the afternoon's stage, and heard from nomadic that Shaw had a bigger gap than I'd thought as he'd stayed away the day before. I was in 3rd on GC with the same time as Adair from Cycling Ulster.

Stage 3: 85km. Wanted at least to maintain my position on GC, but struggled at times. In the initial stages, guys were attacking & the yellow jersey was pulling them back on his own with what looked like no effort. Figured the best thing to do was sit in until the last 5km & have a go then. Legs & brain weren't communicating though & for some reason I found myself at the front maybe around half way through the stage, putting the hammer down & lining out the group, but i'm not sure what I was trying to achieve. The yellow jersey was directly behind me telling me I was going well, i was stringing them out, keep it going, etc. like a bored driving instructor commenting on a learner driver's progress. I paid for it though when he took over - nearly lost his wheel in a cross wind as he bridged to a break up the road. For the first time in my life I was dreading the hills, really struggled every time we came to a KOH. From there to the last few kms, it was just a matter of hanging in.

With 5kms to go, i remembered my original plan for the day & tried edging up closer to the front again. With about a km to go, I was in the front 10, but boxed in. I then saw the stupidest manouevre i've yet seen in a race & it was me doing it. A lad from Galway was directly in front of me (both of us on the left side of the road), and i tried going up on his inside without shouting a warning into a gap that didn't exist. As i came alongside him, I got bumped, lost control & went in the verge which dropped away from the road at that point. I dunno how it happened, but one second I'm bracing myself for impact with a gate post, next second i'm back on the road in the same position i'd been before. Must have got a lucky bounce in the verge. Apologies due to anyone i very nearly took out. Still had time before the finish to find a gap & move to the outside from where i tried an attack up the last drag before the finish line. Died about half way up & rolled in with the bunch, 30th according to the results. Maintained GC position in 3rd, but one of the 3 guys who finished ahead of the bunch (Clarke from Cycling Ulster) had jumped into 2nd replacing his clubmate who lost time on the stage.

Stage 4: 97km finishing on top of Glengesh. Based on how the legs felt during stage 3, i was seriously worried about this one the night before. As it turned out, the legs were almost fine, but the conditions were something else. Started in a downpour & didn't get any better all day. it was freezing cold too. Couldn't even talk properly at the start I was shivering so much. Couldn't get my hands into my jersey pocket to get food. Couldn't change gears without forming my hands into a fist and punching the lever. Was grateful for the hills this time as it gave an opportunity to get out of saddle & move the arms a bit to get the blood moving. Shaw attacked (in the yellow jersey:rolleyes:) on an exposed section of road & i decided to go after him. At last I started to warm up. A few of us eventually pulled him back coming into Glenties.

After maybe 50km, i decided to go myself. Surprised myself at how good the legs felt. Again, didn't realise there were breaks up the road. Caught the three lads in edwireland's photo & despite the wrong turn, dropped them soon after. The terrain really suited me on this stretch, up & down continually, so i kept it in the big ring & hammered up the drags. Got a time check of 30 seconds back to bunch which meant i was up to 2nd on GC. Kept going & got a time check of 1:30 which meant i was leader on the road. Came up to another group of riders who I hadn't realised were away & worked with them for a while. At one stage we were 2:30 up on the bunch. I think that's when the yellow jersey decided our fun was over for the day & started reeling us back in along with a few others. I was leading the break with about 15-20km to go & looked around to see Shaw behind me chatting to one of the guys in the break. I just had to laugh.

A group of about 9-10 of us stayed together up to the foot of Glengesh with no sign of the lad in 2nd on GC. I attacked about half way up, hoping to get the stage, but got reeled back in as we hit the stupidly steep section. My peripheral vision was going all blurred at this stage, and i went up the first hairpin on the inside of the bend. For 2 turns of the pedals I went nowhere. The back wheel just skidded on the wet road. Got going again, & Adair & Shaw passed me. At this stage, i didn't care, i just wanted not to collapse & finish this thing. 3rd on the stage & up to 2nd overall. sat on the lorry at the top, shivering uncontrollably until someone gave me a postman's jacket. Headed back down the hill back to Ardara, into the back of the car, & lay there whimpering trying to get the wet stuff off.

Took a while, but i recovered enough to head over to the hotel for the presentations. Picked up a couple of prizes for the 2 3rd place finishes & the 2nd overall. Delighted in the end, lots of lessons learned about stage racing, but really looking forward to a nice one day race in warm sunshine some time soon:).

Congrats to nomadic & Diarmuid on great performances over the weekend, also to clubmate Padraig, who struggled himself at times, but was great with the support & encouragement all weekend. I think a new category of A+++ needs to be started for guys like Shaw, he's an incredible athlete.

Thanks to the race organisers too for putting on a fantastic race, to the marshals & Gardai for keeping us safe, and to the community of Ardara who really got behind us at all times over the weekend. The thought of going back doesn't appeal right at this moment, but give me a few months & maybe i'll have forgotten enough to want to have another go.

jamescon

Great report, you left and all the riders left donegal better riders, its was me give you the jacket, and someone else my gillet. But well done to everone what doesnt kill you make you stronger lol.....

Diarmuid

Great ride tawfeeredux. It's hard to convey how tough some of the stages are in the Ras Dhun na nGall. The road is constantly going up or down. Add in the pace and the weather and you have a recipe for a rough weekend.

ednwireland

tawfeeredux wrote: »

Route brought us over a really bad section of road at one point - water bottles falling out all over the road. My speed/cadence sensor came loose from the seat stay & rattled around in the spokes for a couple of kms before disintegrating & leaving me without stats or race data for the weekend.

haha thats a proper welcome to donegal road (the money to fix it was cut in 08) you obviously didnt feel it on sunday (twice), one of my regular rides i really hate that road.
great report, it was tough driving and signing the whole damn thing esp. sunday, i was so cold by the time the broomwagon came through had to try and warm myself up never mind you guys riding it.

my first time working on it as well

nomadic

tawfeeredux wrote: »

I was leading the break with about 15-20km to go & looked around to see Shaw behind me chatting to one of the guys in the break. I just had to laugh.

I was in between the break and the bunch when Shaw arrived up behind me just at the last KOM. We got over that then he cycles beside me for a while chatting away. He soon dropped me and went on his way after you lot.

tawfeeredux

jamescon wrote: »

Great report, you left and all the riders left donegal better riders, its was me give you the jacket, and someone else my gillet. But well done to everone what doesnt kill you make you stronger lol.....

Thanks for the jacket jamescon, it was a life saver. Sorry about all the snot & drool i left on it:D.

ednwireland wrote: »

haha thats a proper welcome to donegal road (the money to fix it was cut in 08) you obviously didnt feel it on sunday (twice)

Believe me, we felt it every time! Well done on a great race btw.

nomadic wrote: »

We got over that then he cycles beside me for a while chatting away. He soon dropped me and went on his way after you lot.

He did the same after we pulled him back from his solo break earlier in the day, just sidled up to the motorbike guy ahead of us & started chatting. Dunno if it's a game face he puts on or what but it's tough to cope with. On the last stretch, after Ardara before we got to Glengesh, i ripped up one of the drags on the main road as hard as i could & then looked round to see did it have any effect on him. He was grimacing very slightly i think, but hard to tell.