Orwell/IRC/Lucan/Tiernans/UCD League - Sally Gap 16/06/11

oflahero

Wordsworthian weather for all those who turned out tonight for a visit to the pain cave, a lap around the red lane course and straight up the Sally Gap after Manor Kilbride. Lovely pin-sharp clear views all around Kippure with sweeping cloaks of rainshowers providing dramatic contrast in the distance. All very easy to appreciate, that is, if you are not trying to puke a lung up while sweat runs maddeningly around your eyeballs in 34x23 with a kilometer to go.

Semi-limit took it fairly handy, unfortunately, and were duly punished when semi/scratch caught us at the hairpin bridge by the Church of Ireland before any real climbing had even begun. That was a shame, as I was hoping we could at least hold them off until the evil bridge-of-death chicane just before the slope kicks. No such luck. They got us on the horrible gravelly section that really blasted the group apart (and caused not a few punctures). Thereafter, I tried to vainly hang out the back of a scratchy group of about ten, finally giving up after the dig after the Kippure Adventure Centre. A group of three or four of us carried on and got a decent rhythm going for the final slopes. Made it in second of that group, after managing to appreciate the Frank Billings Appreciation Society graffiti on the final section ("Frank! Jump! 53x12!" - ya what the whatnow?!). For all that, turns out some dirty sandbagging triathlete in Limit had snaffled first place. Should be a law against them. Thereafter, it was just a steady trickle of finishers puddling over the line. Great evening for it. More of this say I.

Diarmuid

Tough race for sure. Congrats to the limit rider who won it, and let me be the first to welcome you to semi-scratch
A LCRC lad pipped me on the line for 5th, the decision went to jury. The usual suspects ahead of me, tawfeeredux was one

AstraMonti

Another nice evening! Got to love racing really. But I paid my rookie mistakes.

Was in the limit group, went way too hard at the start attacking the whole universe (it was fun though) with kenmc but he got dropped, then two lads caught me before the first left turn and off we went but my lungs were screaming, I had officially overdone it but we were going quite fast. At the top of the hill (where it usually ends) got dropped and I also dropped my chain by doing something uber retarded.

Anyway, after around 45s (yeah we were quite ahead!) the limit group caught me as I was putting my chain on but I knew it was over and I had lost my momentum and the legs weren't working very well. The bit with the loose chippings was scary, my front wheel slipped but we weren't going that fast anyway. After a couple of minutes the lead car of the scratch group has passed and I knew that things were officially over, and we had a nice spin up sally gap with kenmc . Excellent fun though, more hill finishes please! Well done to the lad from the limit group who won it, he was going very very well, he deserves the upgrade :P

Chips Lovell

I didn't come last. In a race like tonight's, that's an achievement for me.

levitronix

Was it a UCD ringer who won from the limit group

Chips Lovell

No, he's an Orwell ringer.

doozerie

That was tough. Here I am watching highlights of today's Tour de Suisse as they go up a nasty climb (max gradient of 15%) and telling my legs "See how it's done? See! Look at me! ...how could you look at me, look away!". Stupid legs. And for some bizarre reason I put in a few digs on the front within the first few miles, when I should really have been taking is easy. Stupid brain.

The gravel section worked well for me. My time spent mountain biking all those years ago stood to me as I felt comfortable enough even as the bike slid around a bit - still, it doesn't take much for things to suddenly go pear shaped and luck always plays a part in getting through bad sections like that and thankfully my luck held. I found myself able to move up in the bunch as some people ahead of me slowed up presumably for safety. When we hit smooth road again we'd already been caught by Semi-Scratch and the pace increased, making things very uncomfortable for me. My legs, which had been threatening to blow up completely for a while finally gave up on me shortly after the Kippure Adventure Centre. The wheels ahead crept away from me and I was resigned to limping my way to the finish but thankfully I was able to hang on to a group of 3 guys that rolled past. I see-sawed on and off the back for a while, and the group of 4 of us grew to 5 and shrunk again as the metres slowly clocked up. I eventually limped over the line on the wheel of one of the guys from the group, another Semi-Limit rider, think the other guys in the group had gone up the road just before that.

Felt bad for one of the guys in that small group, driving away at the front for a while and when he started to fade the rest of us went around him to the sound of him saying "Jaysus lads, you could have said something rather than just sitting on my wheel". Fair point, if I'd had the energy to fuel my voicebox, I'd have thanked him for the tow. Mind you I think he want past us again a few minutes later. That climb just went on and on and on...

kenmc

I would like to put my name down now to marshall this next year.
went off with astra and Steve and a couple of others but really didn't think i was even going to make it to the turn for sally, couldn't breathe, could taste blood in my mouth, everything was broken. settled into a good rhythm after the bridge and recovered a bit, picked up astra and turned for the gap. glad to get through the gravel before getting chewed up and spat out by the swarm. happy just to finish; that was my first time up the mountains this year!

doozerie

Oh, and as for the LCRC rider with the badly worn shorts, worn to the point of being practically transparent at the back, those images are burnt into my brain. I may never sleep soundly again. On the plus side, it gave me great motivation to get ahead of you. But my eyes. MY EYES!

oflahero

doozerie wrote: »

Felt bad for one of the guys in that small group, driving away at the front for a while and when he started to fade the rest of us went around him to the sound of him saying "Jaysus lads, you could have said something rather than just sitting on my wheel".

That Lucan lad? Not at all, he subsequently sat on my wheel for half of the rest of the climb, only to come around and stay ten metres ahead of me all the way to the line. He got paid back! Fair play to him, thought I could sprint around him in the final fifty metres, but he upped his pace enough to stay ahead.

oflahero

doozerie wrote: »

Oh, and as for the LCRC rider with the badly worn shorts, worn to the point of being practically transparent at the back, those images are burnt into my brain. I may never sleep soundly again. On the plus side, it gave me great motivation to get ahead of you. But my eyes. MY EYES!

tawfeeredux

Congrats to the Orwell lad who won tonight. Frank almost got him on the line, but fair play to him, he held on. Semi-scratch at least for him next week! Finished 3rd myself. Took a while to shake Diarmuid & co. off my wheel :rolleyes:. Felt sorry for the other Orwell rider who was still in the top 3 coming to the very last stretch, but looked like he tied up completely with the end in sight. Great race, we should have this as a circuit every second week methinks!

doozerie

oflahero wrote: »

That Lucan lad? Not at all, he subsequently sat on my wheel for half of the rest of the climb, only to come around and stay ten metres ahead of me all the way to the line. He got paid back! Fair play to him, thought I could sprint around him in the final fifty metres, but he upped his pace enough to stay ahead.

Ah, you were in that same group? Thanks to you too then for the tow. I had to dig really deep to hang on to wheels in the group - my mind toyed with the idea of just climbing off the bike and lying in a ditch but I'd still have had to get up the climb as it was on my route home. All I contributed to that group was lots of wheezing and tortured facial expressions.

pprendeville

AstraMonti wrote: »

Another nice evening! Got to love racing really. But I paid my rookie mistakes.

Was in the limit group, went way too hard at the start attacking the whole universe (it was fun though) with kenmc but he got dropped, then two lads caught me before the first left turn and off we went but my lungs were screaming, I had officially overdone it but we were going quite fast. At the top of the hill (where it usually ends) got dropped and I also dropped my chain by doing something uber retarded.

Anyway, after around 45s (yeah we were quite ahead!) the limit group caught me as I was putting my chain on but I knew it was over and I had lost my momentum and the legs weren't working very well. The bit with the loose chippings was scary, my front wheel slipped but we weren't going that fast anyway. After a couple of minutes the lead car of the scratch group has passed and I knew that things were officially over, and we had a nice spin up sally gap with kenmc . Excellent fun though, more hill finishes please! Well done to the lad from the limit group who won it, he was going very very well, he deserves the upgrade :P

did you move up to the big ring to get the chain back on or manually fix it? first option is much better.

joker77

Abandonment for me...

I'd had very little sleep since last week - 4 hours after getting home from last week's race my missus went into labour, so our first child (a boy) was born last Friday evening. Fairly worn out, but needed to get out to try to keep up some kind of fitness.

I did a few turns at the front (Semi-Limit), but knew the end was in sight early on, quads just started to burn. Shut Up Legs! worked for a while, but once the climbing started, I started going backwards pretty quickly, knew it was over. I went back down the hill with a few knowing faces smiling at me, was glad to get back to the car and home to see the young fella again!

Well done to all who finished, especially those who were out after the Wigala 200 last Sunday

pprendeville

doozerie wrote: »

That was tough. Here I am watching highlights of today's Tour de Suisse as they go up a nasty climb (max gradient of 15%) and telling my legs "See how it's done? See! Look at me! ...how could you look at me, look away!". Stupid legs. And for some bizarre reason I put in a few digs on the front within the first few miles, when I should really have been taking is easy. Stupid brain.

The gravel section worked well for me. My time spent mountain biking all those years ago stood to me as I felt comfortable enough even as the bike slid around a bit - still, it doesn't take much for things to suddenly go pear shaped and luck always plays a part in getting through bad sections like that and thankfully my luck held. I found myself able to move up in the bunch as some people ahead of me slowed up presumably for safety. When we hit smooth road again we'd already been caught by Semi-Scratch and the pace increased, making things very uncomfortable for me. My legs, which had been threatening to blow up completely for a while finally gave up on me shortly after the Kippure Adventure Centre. The wheels ahead crept away from me and I was resigned to limping my way to the finish but thankfully I was able to hang on to a group of 3 guys that rolled past. I see-sawed on and off the back for a while, and the group of 4 of us grew to 5 and shrunk again as the metres slowly clocked up. I eventually limped over the line on the wheel of one of the guys from the group, another Semi-Limit rider, think the other guys in the group had gone up the road just before that.

Felt bad for one of the guys in that small group, driving away at the front for a while and when he started to fade the rest of us went around him to the sound of him saying "Jaysus lads, you could have said something rather than just sitting on my wheel". Fair point, if I'd had the energy to fuel my voicebox, I'd have thanked him for the tow. Mind you I think he want past us again a few minutes later. That climb just went on and on and on...

you sound like you're related to a certain Jens Voigt. Haltet die Klappe, Beine.

when's this being raced again. i'm sure top of the climb would be a great spot for best facial contortion of the year on camera. please do let me know.

kenmc

pprendeville wrote: »

did you move up to the big ring to get the chain back on or manually fix it? first option is much better.

Actually I think he got lost and didn't know if we should go straight or right at the usual finish, so he waited for us

AstraMonti

Ah nah, I knew the course and the lads were just infront of me. I just did something extra stupid and managed to throw my chain out of the big ring and the rear der got mangled, so I had to get off and fix it and then waited a couple of more seconds for you guys to arrive, no point in killing my self at that point, I wasn't going to get back anyway.

fat bloke

That gravel section was right dodgy. Wouldn't fancy doing that again in a hurry. Literally.

Diarmuid

tawfeeredux wrote: »

Took a while to shake Diarmuid & co. off my wheel :rolleyes:.

We didn't want to drag yourself and Frank up to our Sally Gap specialist

buffalo

Started with semi-scratch, did a few turns on the front up until about Manor Kilbride. From what I could see, group had already been whittled down to about 20 riders by then, with some surprising absences (maybe someone will correct me on that one, might've just been a large gap).

Caught semi-limit at about gravel section. Everyone slowed up, so no mishaps that I saw, though one or two people slowed to a near stop in the middle of the bunch. Red car coming the opposite way didn't help by beeping and ploughing on like there was nobody there. Took the left bend pretty wide myself, coming around nearly onto the grass.

Nearly lost the bunch when a combine harvester-type thingy forced everyone to single out, and I was a bit back. Little dig was necessary to get back on, and I began to feel a little knock. Shoved a banana into me at the back of the bunch, but was still hanging on a few minutes later when stomach cramp started. doh!

Bunch got away from me then, determined effort for about 2min (but it felt like 20!) to get back on, but no luck. Kept pushing up the climb, passing lone riders, crossing the line probably a couple of minutes after the bunch.

Congrats to the winner, and well done to anyone who crossed that finish line - that last couple of kilometres are disheartening when you're riding with no chance of a win.

doozerie

pprendeville wrote:

you sound like you're related to a certain Jens Voigt. Haltet die Klappe, Beine.

I wish! Amongst the many differences between us is the fact this his legs actually listen to him. I could give him a run for his money in a gurning competition though, I reckon.

AstraMonti

niceonetom's photo on facebook from yesterday's race is class!

Caroline_ie

AstraMonti wrote: »

niceonetom's photo on facebook from yesterday's race is class!

he looked pissed off lol

oflahero

Slight hijack of own thread, but pleasantly surprised to hear a mini-feature on the club league earlier today on Morning Ireland. Can you spot your own voice? No mistaking Dave McLoughlin anyway. Podcast page here, it's the 17th June 7am-8am link.

Freaky, not only do I get my braying southside tones in, but a guy who works in the room next to me also gets interviewed for the bit about walking. Dun dun DUNNNN!!

Diarmuid

No mistaking the voice of the guy having his midlife crisis anyway!

Caroline_ie

oflahero wrote: »

Slight hijack of own thread, but pleasantly surprised to hear a mini-feature on the club league earlier today on Morning Ireland. Can you spot your own voice? No mistaking Dave McLoughlin anyway. Podcast page here, it's the 17th June 7am-8am link.

Freaky, not only do I get my braying southside tones in, but a guy who works in the room next to me also gets interviewed for the bit about walking. Dun dun DUNNNN!!

I was there ... and Pat O'B, Peter G.

velo.2010

Oflahero in his 'mid thirties'. I feel a little bit younger today.;)

Typical RTE and Morning Ireland not letting a proper Dub on their shows, perhaps they were confused that someone with such a background could deliver a concise, lively and authoritative view on cycling in a highly verbose manner. Or perhaps I just bored the hind legs off him!:rolleyes:

buffalo

I only realised looking at the photos that some of the scratch riders were in the lead bunch. Don't know why it didn't click with Frank and Diarmuid being up the top.

kenmc, didn't realise it was yourself I was talking to before the race. I have yet to reposition my front mudguard.

AstraMonti

buffalo wrote: »

kenmc, didn't realise it was yourself I was talking to before the race. I have yet to reposition my front mudguard.

Ah so you were the guy who had the mudguard the wrong way! Man I am still laughing with that

capnsantini

Is there a link somewhere to some photos?

Chips Lovell

capnsantini wrote: »

Is there a link somewhere to some photos?

Make friends with Amy from Lucan on Facebook and you'll see them there.

oflahero

el tonto wrote: »

Make friends with Amy from Lucan on Facebook and you'll see them there.

Even better, her photos are public by default. Some super stuff there.

kenmc

oflahero wrote: »

Even better, her photos are public by default. Some super stuff there.

You sure? my wife couldn't see the picture of me dying when I sent her the link...

AstraMonti

kenmc wrote: »

You sure? my wife couldn't see the picture of me dying when I sent her the link...

You need to have a friend that is a friend of her.. (friendception!)

lalorm

Found that rather tough once we got to the gravel section.
Here's a video of the stage for your pleasure.:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjCu0AlEuFE

DirkVoodoo

Sweet video...although it is odd seeing myself from that angle.

Chips Lovell

lalorm wrote: »

Found that rather tough once we got to the gravel section.
Here's a video of the stage for your pleasure.:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjCu0AlEuFE

That's awesome. No mistaking my fat ass.

I was talking to you on the way back to Brittas afterwards. I noticed the camera on the bike.

mc2000

great video - I was doing some 2man mountain TT-ing with you at the end bit on the way up to the gap itself [in the grey top/black leggings - [before i get given out to, my orwell jersey was on underneath, I swear!! ] - I like the 'every man for himself' bit, that gravelly bit was a bloody nightmare :eek: didn't have much nerve at all there and eased off / got shelled, not really wanting a decorative layer of gravelly road rash along my legs :pac:

lalorm

mc2000 wrote: »

great video - I was doing some 2man mountain TT-ing with you at the end bit on the way up to the gap itself [in the grey top/black leggings - [before i get given out to, my orwell jersey was on underneath, I swear!! ] - I like the 'every man for himself' bit, that gravelly bit was a bloody nightmare :eek: didn't have much nerve at all there and eased off / got shelled, not really wanting a decorative layer of gravelly road rash along my legs :pac:

Yeah I can relate to the road rash. Still have some myself from a few weeks back. I was on that road only a week or so before and there was no gravel. I couldn't stay with you after the bridge. Had to ease up at that point and drag myself up to the top. Good training.

DirkVoodoo

Will you be breaking out the camera every week? Maybe I could strike up a sponsorship deal to earn some extra 'party' money.

lalorm

el tonto wrote: »

That's awesome. No mistaking my fat ass.

I was talking to you on the way back to Brittas afterwards. I noticed the camera on the bike.

That's right. Yeah it's a great little cam. Just waiting on a new bracket so I can place it on top of the stem since the cables on the front of the bike are a bit annoying.

lalorm

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Will you be breaking out the camera every week? Maybe I could strike up a sponsorship deal to earn some extra 'party' money.

lol. Maybe not every week, but from time to time.

doozerie

lalorm wrote:

Yeah it's a great little cam.

What is the camera, as a matter of interest?

Chips Lovell

Looks like a GoPro

lalorm

el tonto wrote: »

Looks like a GoPro

Yep, GoPro HD.