Top 10 Irish sportives 2012??

LCD

On the Tour of Louth, it's usually held mid June, weekend before the Wicklow 200.

I will metnion it to the organisers about starting vs finishing times.

G rock

check_six wrote: »

I hung on with them till the finish, so, G rock, if there was a tired and very confused looking fellow in the group with you at the end, that was me!

not only was it my first sportive, but also my first time riding in a group, so believe me, i was too tired and confused myself to notice anyone else that was looking tired and confused!!

johnam

daragh_ wrote: »

How is it a Race? It's promoted as timed Leisure Sportive.

It's not a race for everyone.... They ask you how long you plan on taking (roughly) and of course those who plan on doing it in 3hours or whatever, have to race just to finish in that time, but for every one else, it is Leisure.... i.e. it took me 6hrs 45 mins last year, including 4 stops at food stations of approx 20 minutes average, aiming for 5.15 this year, the people who were not racing were cycling along having a chat, definate leisure cycling

daragh_

johnam wrote: »

It's not a race for everyone.... They ask you how long you plan on taking (roughly) and of course those who plan on doing it in 3hours or whatever, have to race just to finish in that time, but for every one else, it is Leisure.... i.e. it took me 6hrs 45 mins last year, including 4 stops at food stations of approx 20 minutes average, aiming for 5.15 this year, the people who were not racing were cycling along having a chat, definate leisure cycling

I did it as well. I hate to be pedantic but most people on here wouldn't describe it as a race. It's a timed sportive. Just because some people do it fast and they publish the times doesn't change the fact that it's a leisure event.

Best of luck with your 5.15 time.

seamus

It's probably "not a race" in the same way that the Dublin marathon is "not a fun run". That is, you will have a small core of animals who are hammering for home with the aim of beating the rest of the field, but 99% of the people taking part are doing it either to beat a personal goal or just for the fun of it.

Blazing Bikers

The Trip to Tipp is one worth thinking about (I'm not Biased!!)
18th & 19th August this year (www.bikerschallenge.com)

Between the two of us I think we took part in nearly every Sportif last year and enjoyed them all.

First time I myself did the ROK and loved it!!

Took Part in the 4 Cities Cycle with NCBI, great few days!

Starting to plan my summer already around all the different events!!!

michael196

LCD wrote: »

On the Tour of Louth, it's usually held mid June, weekend before the Wicklow 200.

I will metnion it to the organisers about starting vs finishing times.

I had never considered the tour of louth, but after reading the above, I think I will participate this year .

el tel

LCD wrote: »

Tour of Louth by Cuchulainn CC. Voted best sportive in 2010. Platnium, gold & silver finishing medals.

Yes I ride for Cuchulainn so biased

Can you find out if any of the photos of the finishers in the 2010 and 2011 events were hosted online?

gallybander

Don most of them, best kept secret last year was The Trip To TIPP, really enjoyed it.

slow

The Carrick Wheelers Challenge was exceptionally well organised last year. None of the club's riders are permitted to ride in it, so it's all hands on deck with over 40 marshalls out on the course.

Make sure that you have low gears as it's HILLY. The fastest rider went around in 5 hours 30 minutes. But the views are worth it and the strade bianche through Curraghmore Estate is a unique experience. And with Leslie and Tara O' Donnell looking after the catering, you won't go hungry.

LCD

The Tour of Louth is indeed a week before the Wicklow 200, on Sunday June 3rd.

Ghosty669

The Orwell Randonnee is on the 5th of May this year in case anyone is looking for a warmup for the Wicklow 200.

royrogers

The first sportive of the year was on in New Ross last weekend, is there any lined up for Feb/Mar around the south east?

joxerjohn

The Kare Tour de Foothills (TFD) starting from Naas is on Sunday April 15th. Still a bit away bit a good one to aim for . It's a good 100 km event around the Blessington Lakes, up into the Glen of Imaal and back to Naas via Dunlavin. It is well organised and well attended 200+ riders last year. 25 euro on line registration is now open.

mikerd4

Would it not be a good idea to have a sticky with the dates of the listed sportives on it?

G rock

mikerd4 wrote: »

Would it not be a good idea to have a sticky with the dates of the listed sportives on it?

Or from some clever fella to do up a google calendar where we could add in dates etc.

I'd do it but am technologically challenged to say the least.

Do CI have a proper up to date calendar with sportives only?

ednwireland

G rock wrote: »

Or from some clever fella to do up a google calendar where we could add in dates etc.

I'd do it but am technologically challenged to say the least.

Do CI have a proper up to date calendar with sportives only?

its not hard to find

http://cyclingireland.ie/Home/Leisure/Calendar.aspx

Captain Havoc

mikerd4 wrote: »

Would it not be a good idea to have a sticky with the dates of the listed sportives on it?

Or what if some moderator realising that the question of sportives comes up frequently decided to put a spreadsheet (because not everyone can edit a calendar) in the Charter and FAQ sticky so organisers and people in clubs could enter the details of their events? If only there was a moderator like this.

LCD

Cuchulainn CC AGM last night & updates for Tour of Louth. Feedback from last year's event means there should be hot food at finish & entry fee will be lower than 2011.
Hoping to keep the route the exact same, however JJB was used as the HQ, changing rooms, etc. but it has closed so a new HQ may mean slight changes.

harringtonp

byebye wrote: »

Does anyone rate etape hibernia?

It is well worth doing as its very different from normal sportives. Its not a race but a number of factors give it a bit of a race feel

- Its a timed event with chip and participants times are published for all to see

- As roads are closed and "food stops" are stalls on the side of the road (with not much in the way of food), it encourages cyclists to either not stop at all or else take short refuel stops. In other tours such as the Tour de Burren the food stops have great variety and stock and cyclists are encouraged (sometimes strongly) to take a break.

- Being a shorter distance (at 134km) than the An Post tours and been later in the season, many cyclists are not too overwhelmed by the distance. Hence the tendency to do it with no or short stops.

Certainly if you managed to start up near the front there is a race feel. Last year there must have been a front group of almost 200 that only fragmented when the route headed inland after Ballyryan (south of fanore)
Many who did it the first year did it again last year with the intent of improving their time.

check_six

harringtonp wrote: »

- As roads are closed and "food stops" are stalls on the side of the road (with not much in the way of food), it encourages cyclists to either not stop at all or else take short refuel stops.

On the Etape Hibernia I stopped to grab water and flapjacks at two or three stops (maybe there was only three), but it appears I didn't bring the bike to a complete stop for too long at any of them.

The difference between the 'rolling' time on my bike computer and the 'total' time on the chip - 4 minutes :eek:

Big difference with the Orwell Randonee, they had some kind of clubhouse place open before you met the Shay Elliot climb which had soup and sandwiches and cake and all sorts of other goodies. My 'rolling' time and 'total' time diverged dramatically at that stage. Although some of my uphill efforts may have dropped off to the point that the bike computer got bored and stopped counting along the way too...!

el tel

LCD wrote: »

Cuchulainn CC AGM last night & updates for Tour of Louth. Feedback from last year's event means there should be hot food at finish & entry fee will be lower than 2011.
Hoping to keep the route the exact same, however JJB was used as the HQ, changing rooms, etc. but it has closed so a new HQ may mean slight changes.

Can you find out if any of the photos of the finishers in the 2010 and 2011 events were hosted online?

banger01

youghal cc v challenge is a nice one to do in august before the kelly

JEMBA

just to let everyone know .The 3 Peaks challenge hosted by SERC is now taking place on Apr 1st and not on Apr 8th as listed in Cycling Ireland's calendar (due to the fact that the Gorey-3-Day takes place that weekend.Cheers

dermur

More sportives than you can shake a stick at...

http://www.onyourbike.ie/page.aspx?idarticle=142