Last week before Ring of Kerry 2011 cycle & whos taking part thread

irishmotorist

I forgot to mention that I saw my typical anecdotal person in jeans doing it and then, a short while later, I saw a dude on a BMX with a official number plate on it. I'm not sure if there's a back story to it, but that's gotta hurt!!!

macadam

Spotted a guy on a red giant road bike smoking while cycling up Coomachiste.

devotional1993

610 no stops-afraid to lock up tbh..
Amazing to see a few oul geezers on mtbs with runners on ahead of me at 70miles when im averaging over 17mph ..Think there is a lot of people who live on the course and do a bit of it only.
Fantastic event and will be back..

thehamo

irishmotorist wrote: »

I forgot to mention that I saw my typical anecdotal person in jeans doing it and then, a short while later, I saw a dude on a BMX with a official number plate on it. I'm not sure if there's a back story to it, but that's gotta hurt!!!

Saw that bloke on the bmx. Finished a short while after me. His words were something along the lines of thank funk that's over!

chakattack

irishmotorist wrote: »

I saw a few near misses, particularly on the Molls Gap descent where people (who, in club jerseys, should know better) descending around corners on the wrong side of the road and having to get out of an oncoming cars way ASAP.

It depends on your perception of risk and near miss - I was descending as fast as I could (in a club jersey) and this meant passing on the outside through corners but only when I could see a clear gap and no on coming traffic or a safe distance to an oncoming car before tucking back into the left. Always cautious not to startle anyway by swinging in right in front of them too as I know some of the shakier cyclists find this unnerving.

I'm sure some guys thought this was reckless but if you're used to descending and cycling in numbers it's fine.

Saw someone do it on a fixie - kudos

karlmyson

Superb day, wonderful conditions and great as always to see huge crowds out. Did it in 5:32 cycle time, taking 5 minutes from last year's time. Total stops were 1:30. This year was the better achievement tho, as there were two of us only (6 last year). Nobody seemed to be riding our pace, so we just motored on all day. Luckily we didn't blow and managed to keep a push on all the way to the line. Met ROK_ON and saw another few boardies jerseys too. I rode in ESB CC gear, my compadre in Tour de Munster kit.

irishmotorist

chakattack wrote: »

It depends on your perception of risk and near miss...

What I'm referring to is people approaching a blind corner (e.g. shortly after the Molls Gap descent starts) and having to evade a suddenly oncoming car. I saw 2 instances of somebody nearly ending up in the windscreen of an oncoming car because of their own recklessness. I can understand being a good descender in the midst of all these "irregular cyclists" and wanting to have a good fast descent yourself, but Jesus - at least consider some golden rules!

Arequipa

Hey! Really enjoyed Ring of Kerry. Think I clocked 174kms & 6hours 10-15mins on the bike, but I did stop in Cahirciveen & Kenmare for a good feed of bananas, brack, sandwiches & tea: I thought the event was fab; really well organised, marshalled & a great atmosphere!
Rode with a cousin of mine & his mate; lost them for half the cycle & cycled with Dungarvan, Burren & Wicklow clubs:

At one point I cycled in a train/ group of club cyclists: was brill; felt like we were rocketing along!
Oh yea gr8 weather & beautiful scenery too!
Next time I'll remember the suntan lotion:have a few burn/tan lines!!

Arequipa

oicherider

Fantastic day!!

Averaged 21kph - taking into account that I nearly died after 4 miles 10 weeks ago I reckon i didnt do too bad!! (My 1st ROK in 14 years!)

I spotted that lad on the BMX outside Cahersiveen.. He had to be off his head!!.. And as regards the aul lads on the MTBs.. I was talking to one of them the last time i done it (14 years ago) and he was for real - complete with hip replacements!!.. It really took the wind out of my sails at the time!

Lads im back on the bike and wont miss it for the world next year!!

Molls Gap nearly killed me but it made crossing the line all the sweeter in the finish!!

Great day and delighted that i managed it - See ye all next year!!

2 Wheels Good

Great day out, 1st rok. Only saw 1 boardsie. 8 hrs on the bike, took our time at the stops to soak up the atmosphere. Surprised to find it an easy day, credit to the new bike me thinks. Credit to my friend who did 30k "training" Tuesday, legend!
Saw a guy in jeans near the start and the bmxer further along, some credit to both!
Also the family just before Sneem that set up an unofficial stop were great, makes the day what it is!
Credit to the organisers, brilliantly run. Thanks too to Blarney CC for the tow in to Kenmare

Timmyboy

2 Wheels Good wrote: »

Also the family just before Sneem that set up an unofficial stop were great, makes the day what it is!
Credit to the organisers, brilliantly run.

Yes indeed.
Thanks to that family with the house on the(left hand) side of the road on the way into Sneem. I'd a good finish because of them. Much obliged to ye!

And also to all of the organizers, from registration and sign-in all the way through it was essentially seamless. Great stuff lads. My appreciation to ye!

Until I recognized I had sunburn on my legs!:(

daymobrew

2 Wheels Good wrote: »

Also the family just before Sneem that set up an unofficial stop were great, makes the day what it is!

4 years ago that place was a middle aged woman and her mother dispensing water from their well - it was the nicest water. They've obviously expanded, though I didn't stop this time.

irishmotorist wrote: »

What I'm referring to is people approaching a blind corner (e.g. shortly after the Molls Gap descent starts) and having to evade a suddenly oncoming car.

While this has the potential to result in a serious injury, throughout the day I saw cyclists on the wrong side of the road while a car was oncoming.

ROK ON

One of the things that I regret is that by starting & finishing in Kenmare as I do, you miss the craic at Molls Gap later in the day - it seemed that Molls Gap had more of a finishline atmosphere than Killarney.
Next year I will finish on the Gap I think.

That family outside Sneem with the water stop plus the unofficial stops elsewhere (glenbeigh, Waterville, black shop, Sneem) epitomise the Ring for me.

All the food and water is donated. It really is fantastic the effort that goes in.

I saw the bmx guy outside Caherciveen at say 945.

Pretty sure I saw him after 5pm when I was driving away.
Terribly long time to be on that tiny bike. Must have been part of the gig for his charity collection.

Regarding crossing White line - for most of the first half I was in a group of about 30 to Caherciveen. The group had to cross the centre l e to pass individuals and slower groups.

In fairness the road is straight and those at the head of group called that we were moving out/moving in. Car on etc.

I saw far less craziness this year.
I was in small groups from Caherdaniel to Kenmare and so no reckless behaviour.

The only danger was the guy in the large yellow NI reg bus determined to force his way up Coomakiste thru hundred of cyclists.

Eventually I along with a Chain Gang guy cycled in front of him to prevent him clipping around us. There were cars descending that had right of way, yet this fat red faced amadan felt he could drive in the middle of the road and try to push cyclists into the ditch.

For one morning a year buses should be banned on the route until say 2pm - like a rolling road closure. It cannot be much fun for the tourists on the bus either.

2 Wheels Good

One bad thing I saw, while we were having breakfast at the b&b, a guy we were chatting to left just before us. Next thing he was back in. While he was putting on his shoes someone took his bike from the door of the b&b. They had cctv so fingers crossed he got it back!

Morrisseeee

I think there should be a seperate thread, the things I witnessed on the ROK
Yep, heard guys saying they saw the 'BMX guy' near Kenmare, hardcore :cool:
Did anyone see an old woman (tourist I think) trying to cross the road (to take photos) on a descent before Waterville. She was inching her way accross the road and cyclists doing amazing maneuvers to avoid her, she was determined to get accross tho :eek:
That accident near Templenoe looked bad, the car had a dent in the front, cyclist panned out on the ground (helmet in bits).

G2ECE

Cycled with my Cycle 4 Sick Children buddies, went over Molls Gap together, amazing experience! 6hrs 42mins rolling. lots of stops!

Had one bad experience in Waterville, we stopped at Peters Place for a coffee, but because of the water stop a couple of hundred metres away, there were lots of bottles discarded to the side of the road, this infuriated him and he took it out on us. Called us "Dirty Filthy Bastards" he then threw a bottle at a passer by that told him to relax that it was a charity event. Then he ejected all of my buddies from the coffe shop and verbally abused his own staff member, who to be fair was a lovely girl, i felt really sorry for her. I cant believe the way he reacted, If he had used his noggin, he could have made a small fortune on teas and coffee as the queue for tea/coffee at caherciveen was huge. Waterville is a beautiful place but that guy in Peters Place let the community down.

Sorry if that turned into a bit of a rant!!!
I really enjoyed my Maiden ROK other than that. The Flesk caravan park was top notch too!!!

Cant wait for next year.

Signal_ rabbit

G2ECE wrote: »

Cycled with my Cycle 4 Sick Children buddies, went over Molls Gap together, amazing experience! 6hrs 42mins rolling. lots of stops!

Had one bad experience in Waterville, we stopped at Peters Place for a coffee, but because of the water stop a couple of hundred metres away, there were lots of bottles discarded to the side of the road, this infuriated him and he took it out on us. Called us "Dirty Filthy Bastards" he then threw a bottle at a passer by that told him to relax that it was a charity event. Then he ejected all of my buddies from the coffe shop and verbally abused his own staff member, who to be fair was a lovely girl, i felt really sorry for her. I cant believe the way he reacted, If he had used his noggin, he could have made a small fortune on teas and coffee as the queue for tea/coffee at caherciveen was huge. Waterville is a beautiful place but that guy in Peters Place let the community down.

Sorry if that turned into a bit of a rant!!!
I really enjoyed my Maiden ROK other than that. The Flesk caravan park was top notch too!!!

Cant wait for next year.

It would appear you aren't the only one as people have posted on his facebook page

G2ECE

Signal_ rabbit wrote: »

It would appear you aren't the only one as people have posted on his facebook page

I posted a comment on that page last night myself, and afaik most, if not all the other negative comments are from guys that were in our group. The guy totally had a meltdown! not very nice at all. we continued on up the road until we found this place http://www.wavecrestcamping.com/ where we had the opposite experience, the lady there could not have done any more to make us feel welcome, A real lady who knows how to run a business. I'm actually going to bring my family down there in the next few weeks for a camping weekend.

oflahero

macadam wrote: »

Spotted a guy on a red giant road bike smoking while cycling up Coomachiste.

Probably Italian. Are you sure the bike was red?

Signal_ rabbit wrote: »

It would appear you aren't the only one as people have posted on his facebook page

His riposte to Graham Tuohy's comment makes him look like Jack Nicholson at his typewriter in The Shining.

G2ECE

oflahero wrote: »

His riposte to Graham Tuohy's comment makes him look like Jack Nicholson at his typewriter in The Shining.

Thats me he is replying to. It would seem he hasnt the intelligence to put up a decent argument either!

madrabui

It was a great day. It seemed to be even better organised than last year. A big thanks to all the official and unofficial stops.

Also saw the accident at Templenoe. Yer man must be made out of steel. He left a big dent in the car. I hope he's alright.

Also, I had a mini-meltdown over a not very nice encounter with a motorist last year, and I saw him at Torc waterfall. I was very tempted to slow down and see if he was going to try and get cyclists off the road that day!

daymobrew

daymobrew wrote: »

That's me on the left of the frame. Were you photographing me or the car?
I will upload some photos in the next few days, though no identifiable people in them.

I was stopped there waiting to be let go ahead by the Garda, so I decided to take photos. When I saw a Boards jersey I tried to take a quick one of that but I missed most of ya!

ROK ON, I saw that bus too, was crazy. At one point a motorbike marshall went ahead and tried to direct them on the wrong side of the road, except that once the motorbike went ahead a few cyclists crossed over to the wrong side of the road without looking back. Also, at some point a few guys were drafting right behind the bus too which I thought was even crazier.

macadam

@ ROK ON, that bus was owned by Chambers bus company from NI, shortly after that passed I seen the guy with the Cigarette, cycling and puffing away.
Also on the journey from Kenmare to Moll's gap there was a local gent on an old bike with a gallon can on the rear rack, every cyclist that passed him he would shout KEEEEP OUT, I called back to him in jest KEEP UP.
What a fun day.

Arequipa

I found the buses and random ( often Uk or NI reg cars) a pain, particularly on the decent from Molls Gap & just before Killarney: I had to grip the brakes hard just to stop ploughing into them.

Maybe they could divert/stop all traffic on the R of K for some of the day: would make it much more relaxed!

There was a really annoying German Reg Bus earlier in the day: was a bit mad, some club cyclists were overtaking him on the inside & outside & slower cyclists were trying to avoid the carnage!
At one point a guy in front of me slammed his brakes I had to do the same, couldn't get out of clips and fell over, against a guy on a Harley Davidson; thankfully he held me upright & just smiled!!

Arequipa

bikenut

The plastic bottles and banana skins thrown into this person's garden was madness - I think once you pick up a plastic bottle and get back on the bike you have to be thinking hmm where am I going to get rid of this - maybe I should just drink it now or pour it into my bidon and leave the bottle in the black sack next to the table? It was fairly unlikely to have rubbish bins every few hundred metres.

I think the organisers should have had a lot more black plastic bags and rubbish facilities in general everywhere- Sneem was covered with litter by 18:00 (yes we were slow) and absolutely nowhere for anyone to put anything.

MichealD

One of the marshalls giving out water on the waterstop on the Mount Leinster Challenge was telling me thats why they stopped using 500ml bottles of water but instead filled bidons from the 5l kegs of water for each rider individually. Spent a few hours picking up bottles from the mountainside in previous years. That said its easier do with 300 riders rather than 3000!

lescol

bikenut wrote: »

The plastic bottles and banana skins thrown into this person's garden was madness - I think once you pick up a plastic bottle and get back on the bike you have to be thinking hmm where am I going to get rid of this - maybe I should just drink it now or pour it into my bidon and leave the bottle in the black sack next to the table? It was fairly unlikely to have rubbish bins every few hundred metres.

I think the organisers should have had a lot more black plastic bags and rubbish facilities in general everywhere- Sneem was covered with litter by 18:00 (yes we were slow) and absolutely nowhere for anyone to put anything.

A little further up the road two lads threw bottles over the wall, they received a rollicking from riders following. Two puce faces when I passed them, hopefully through embarrassment.

There were black plastic bags in Sneem, a marshal was giving out about the dirty feckers not using them, as he said he was there to hand out drinks and bananas not to pick up the rubbish.

It doesn't take much effort to put rubbish in bags and gel/bar wrappers in the back pocket until the next stop.

I remember passing a guy cycling wearing crocs, he received a "fair play t'ye" as each rider passed.

I'm always puzzled by those who partake and carry huge panniers and back packs, what's in them? And those who manage to cycle the whole thing in a huge flapping fluorescent rain jacket or "Be safe Be seen" vest

longshank

G2ECE wrote: »

Cycled with my Cycle 4 Sick Children buddies, went over Molls Gap together, amazing experience! 6hrs 42mins rolling. lots of stops!

Had one bad experience in Waterville, we stopped at Peters Place for a coffee, but because of the water stop a couple of hundred metres away, there were lots of bottles discarded to the side of the road, this infuriated him and he took it out on us. Called us "Dirty Filthy Bastards" he then threw a bottle at a passer by that told him to relax that it was a charity event. Then he ejected all of my buddies from the coffe shop and verbally abused his own staff member, who to be fair was a lovely girl, i felt really sorry for her. I cant believe the way he reacted, If he had used his noggin, he could have made a small fortune on teas and coffee as the queue for tea/coffee at caherciveen was huge. Waterville is a beautiful place but that guy in Peters Place let the community down.

Sorry if that turned into a bit of a rant!!!
I really enjoyed my Maiden ROK other than that. The Flesk caravan park was top notch too!!!

Cant wait for next year.

stopped there last year while out for a sunday spin with a few other cyclists, guy gave us the most unwelcome feeling and we moved on fairly quickly, he obviously just doesn't like cyclists/people making ROK his idea of hell !!!! why open a cafe if you are that type of person?

G2ECE

longshank wrote: »

stopped there last year while out for a sunday spin with a few other cyclists, guy gave us the most unwelcome feeling and we moved on fairly quickly, he obviously just doesn't like cyclists/people making ROK his idea of hell !!!! why open a cafe if you are that type of person?

The way he spoke to the young girl behind the counter was disgraceful.
I have to say that it was a blip in what was otherwise the best day I've ever spent on the bike. Well done Kerry! (and Mother Nature)

Timmyboy

longshank wrote: »

why open a cafe if you are that type of person?

Perhaps he's not actually that type of person.

Like how many of us actually are in the perfect careers for our type of person? What's the chances of having either the self awareness or ability to find ones right position in this life?

He'd probably be better of as something else but this is what he's at.