IRC/Lucan/Orwell/UCD/Tiernans club league - 12/04/12

oflahero

Lovely evening for racing in Brittas last night. Only 2 laps (lap and a half?) given the light constraints. First time in semi-scratch, was impressed by the high pace and decent organisation around the course (41kph average). We broke apart a bit after the drag back to the main road, and didn't quite get the clockwork movement back. Scratch conseqently caught us just after the Red Lane on lap 2. Reasonably civilised sprint from the front at the end (which I didn't contest.) Excellent stuff.

Any other excitement from anyone else? Would be particularly interested in hearing the views of Mr. Grieves of this parish on his 'limit' experience...

Idleater

I enjoyed the semi limit outing. It was awfully civilised altogether. It was my first club race as I marshalled the opener so I just wanted to see what the group was like.
Apart from some attempting to take the first left nothing eventful happened. I tried to get a few up and overs running smoothly with a few usher chaps but quite a few Orwell kept lining it out when they got to the front :rolleyes:
I left them to it and cycled in.
There was a crash just coming up to the finish so I stopped to help. I think everyone was okay, I cycled home with the LCRC guy involved.

fat bloke

I was there too and I suppose you could say I kinda of enjoyed it. Nothing like a race to sharpen the pangs of winter training laziness. I was mad late leaving the gaff in Ballycullen to get there. I know from experience that it's 35 minutes at your ease and I left at 25 to 7 so I had to frickin peg it up to Brittas. It was a good warm-up if nothing else. I went off in semi-limit but sort of lost interest on the 2nd lap and just mooched around at the back. Unfortunately so did mostly everyone else. There was a bit of up and over going on on from the start until the first left turn and then it's as if everyone en masse thought "jack that" and there wasn't any more working together. Maybe lads thought that we were sure to catch limit either way and wanted to keep their powder dry. Good enough for us then that we never caught them, it'll teach us to work in the next time around!

There was a crash at the end as well, just out of sight of the finish line. Not sure who it was but someone was down and looked hurt, hope he's ok. But considering limit had crossed the line and the race was over, if it was lads sprinting that caused the crash.... :rolleyes:

What were you riding/wearing idleater?

Lumen

Idleater wrote: »

There was a crash just coming up to the finish so I stopped to help. I think everyone was okay, I cycled home with the LCRC guy involved.

I drove past the two of you on the way home. I know it was him because I could see his bloodied right arse cheek through the massive hole in his shorts. :pac:

doozerie

I was in Semi-Limit too, and yeah it wasn't an example of how group cooperation should work. Mind you, I can't talk, as I didn't feel in any shape to contribute so lingered at the back quite a lot. When the group threatened to break up at times I moved further up and found it a bit hairier in the middle of the bunch than I remember some of last year's races being. Seemed to be quite a few people taking risks to squeeze in when there wasn't really room, presumably as they were worried they'd get spat out the back if they didn't.

First lap was odd - I think it was Lumen that rolled off the front, not looking as if he was pushing hard yet opening up a gap that persisted for a while. There was a bit of work to close the gap, and in my only "contribution" to the race I tried to chip in with that but instead found myself rolling past everyone on one of the drags. I can only assume that people just eased off 'cos it certainly was not due to greater strength on my part. I got to the bridge with a now smaller gap to Lumen but only one guy came through - an Usher guy who said something that I only later realised was "We've got a gap, let's work together", or similar. But the efforts came to nothing and the group all came together very quickly again. Pity, it was a wasted opportunity to get something going.

doozerie

I rode to the race with buffalo, and we were running a bit late. It was as much as I could do to hang onto his wheel on the way out. I hit a higher max heart rate during the scramble to get there than during the race itself! Having towed me there, getting us there just in the nick of time, he discovered that his was the first group off. I felt guilty, just a little, then I was fine again. :P

I even managed to get a sneaky tow from him on the way home too. I won't tell him though, that's just between me and the Internet.

Lumen

fat bloke wrote: »

Maybe lads thought that we were sure to catch limit either way and wanted to keep their powder dry.

We started lap 1 with a 4 minute gap, and as we came back on to the main road for lap 2 a marshall told us the gap was down to 50 seconds.

So I guess we all thought the catch would come. I did, certainly.

That'll learn us :pac:

QueensGael

Any update on the gentleman from Usher who crashed near the end?

dave_o_brien

Semi-limit too, first lap was, well, it was fine. Up towards the front, it seemed ok, but it was definitely a little ropey in the middle of the bunch. But the effort to catch limit seemed modest, and nobody seemed too bothered about doing things like following (Lumen) or even following the wheel in front. One or two shocking examples of people not being comfortable with bikes near them, and one guy who nearly cycled into me from the outside on the right hand at the bottom of Red Lane meant that it wasn't without the need for concentration! The second lap was pretty dull though, so I went to the front before the bridge and picked up the pace after the left hander, not really expecting to make a gap, but just to lift the pace. When I looked around, I had pulled away a little, which was not my plan because I'm not fit enough for a solo attack! I was joined by an Usher rider who got over to me, said "we have a bit of a gap", did one turn and then went back to the bunch. Odd... Anyway, then Mr. Wheelworx past me, and I waited for the bunch and killed myself to tuck in at the back. Didn't see the crash, but stopped at it to make sure the Usher rider was ok, but I think he might have hurt his arm pretty badly, unfortunately. Rolled in then when the number of amateur paramedics was far, far greater than the number of professionals. They are there for a reason, I thought, let them do their job.

Good fun, but now I must return to the cave known as my thesis, and will probably not be seen again until June.

See you all, it was a pleasure to know you!

MadHatter

Was in semi-limit as well last night. Decent workout but too short really, would have preferred a third lap. Disappointed with the lack of organisation in the group trying to reel in the limit group, anytime someone tried to push on the group just lined out, nobody coming through to help. So agree it serves us right.

Was there 2 crashes on the final hill then? I was one of the first semi-limits up the hill and saw the Usher guy in the middle of the road - didn't look great, hope he's okay. Was there another behind?

Lusk Doyle

FYP

AstraMonti

Was in Semi-limit as well and I thought the group was way too big and that caused a lot of time to have 4-5 people abreast pulling immediately in when a car was coming. Especially in the corners things were sketchy. Was in front for 3-4 times and that was my contribution to catch the limit group :rolleyes:. Was good fun nonetheless, pace was a lot more civilized than the opener in batterstown.

Edit: Thanks very much Idleater for the valve remover

CramCycle

First ever race for me and enjoyed the semi limit pace. I started out at the back and made my way up to the front as the rotations continued. Have to say I felt very uneasy as I came to the back with people randomly jamming on brakes out of the blue and was happy that I was in a position to pull off to avoid collisions.

I tried to listen to evrything I had been told about not pushing yourself to much but I pushed forward half way through the first lap and procedeed to "Schleck" my chain. Wasn't expected and I lost my rhythm and got shot out the back. Caught up again and dropped my chain a further 3 times so done the second lap in the middle ring. Wasn't last and was only a minute or two behind the main group as I could see the ambulance about 150metres ahead of me at all times.

Came accross the accident with a guy on the ground just 50metres from the end so I stopped for a few minutes. They thought it was a collarbone but were not comfortable moving his neck so they were waiting on a back up ambulance as far as I could tell, he seemed in good spirits though and no one seemed overly concerned that it was anything more serious.

Only recognised one boardsie at the very start but all in all a good day out, will be spending Saturday getting the bike into more race worthy condition. I also now have a new jersey to add to my collection (STCC), I was the guy on the steel bike if anyone noticed it, average spepd for the first lap was just over 41kmph dropping to about 35kmph on the second, must double check Garmin though.

kenmc

SS for me, as Ofla said a fairly high pace, we worked well on the first lap. I didn't get a very good warmup in, so started to struggle coming up to the finish line the first time, and had to ride hard to get back into the group on the descent. Managed to get a second wind a bit and finished somewhere mid-field of the combined S/SS finish group. Lovely evening for a cycle, considering the forecast and the weather we had had during the day. Apparently there was hailstones in Naas around the same time, so we got lucky!
edit: Savage finish from Mr Grieves on his first ever "race" (bearing in mind he came 26th in the National Hill climbs last year in his first ever "event"). Disappointed with his lack of celebration as he crossed the line though, plenty to work on there anyway.

kenmc

CramCycle wrote: »

Only recognised one boardsie at the very start but all in all a good day out, will be spending Saturday getting the bike into more race worthy condition removing my mudguards.

Fixed that for ya.

Idleater

fat bloke wrote: »

What were you riding/wearing idleater?

I've the white Orca (with some green accents) as opposed to the several club colour black / blue and the recent additional white / red and matt black. They're almost as common as canyons now :-)

CramCycle

doozerie wrote: »

First lap was odd - I think it was Lumen that rolled off the front, not looking as if he was pushing hard yet opening up a gap that persisted for a while. There was a bit of work to close the gap, and in my only "contribution" to the race I tried to chip in with that but instead found myself rolling past everyone on one of the drags.

That was Lumen up ahead, I was the Tiernans guy who steamed past to help close the gap when it went single file, started to catch him and then lost all my energy when someone tried to give me a break and got spat out the back as my chain slipped.

I did get to make a witty remark as I got to the front of "You looked a bit lonely up here" to which he replied "thats how he liked it".

CramCycle

kenmc wrote: »

Fixed that for ya.

LOL, I removed mine at the start line after getting splashed in the face on the way up to Brittas, no place for gentlemen in this racing malarky :eek:

lennymc

can someone explain the scratch/semi/limit please? im confused.

kenmc

lennymc wrote: »

can someone explain the scratch/semi/limit please? im confused.

4 groups based nominally on speed.
Limit slowest
semi-limit
semi-scratch
scratch fastest

Dowee

Is there a route map anywhere? I'm hoping to do a few of these over the summer for the first time.

Lumen

Dowee wrote: »

Is there a route map anywhere? I'm hoping to do a few of these over the summer for the first time.

Brittas Club League
http://app.strava.com/segments/1221399

Chips Lovell

http://app.strava.com/segments/1221399

This is the lap. The races start from Brittas and go down on the N81 before hitting the lap.

EDIT: Lord Lumen beat me to it.

buffalo

doozerie wrote: »

I rode to the race with buffalo, and we were running a bit late. It was as much as I could do to hang onto his wheel on the way out. I hit a higher max heart rate during the scramble to get there than during the race itself! Having towed me there, getting us there just in the nick of time, he discovered that his was the first group off. I felt guilty, just a little, then I was fine again. :P

I even managed to get a sneaky tow from him on the way home too. I won't tell him though, that's just between me and the Internet.

Fastest race I've done this year. As doozerie said, we were running late, so powered up embankment to arrive in the nick of time to sign on and relieve my bladder, only to find SS were off first. Quickly got on the road, start was called, and the two rows in front of me didn't move. So had to get around them, and then on.
Was planning to recover a bit first, but found myself in the up and over rhythm so went with it. Made a little dig first time up to the finish line - there was a tall, young-looking Lucan lad up there for a bit, but he didn't seem to want to push much harder. Drifted back to the bunch, recover a bit. I actually thought it was a DMS - had missed the vital info at the race start. As someone else said above, we stopped working well before getting back on the N81, people were putting digs off the front. It was then I learned that Scratch were chasing us. Followed wheels then until about a km from the finish line. I always underestimate how far that drag goes for before the line - got a small gap with three others, but it was too early and we were swamped by the bunch about 300m before the line. Didn't have anything in the tank to contest the sprint.
Rolled home to Drumcondra after, legs were dead by the time I got in. Thanks to doozerie for the cereal bar, probably would've bonked on the way home without it. Consider your tow paid for!

It was the fastest race of the year so far for me. I was happy with how I went, especially considering the ride out. Legs are still a bit fatigued today, will be putting them up when I get home*. Feel like the form is improving steadily, looking forward to next week already!

For those of you who were racing for the first time last night, if you found it tough going, you were not alone! But if you were able for the pace, or nearly able, then you're well able for open racing!


*the pub. kenmc keeps recommending this 'beer' substance for recovery.

buffalo

Lumen wrote: »

Brittas Club League
http://app.strava.com/segments/1221399

I love how that leaderboard confirms how fast last night's race was.

doozerie

CramCycle wrote:

I was the Tiernans guy who steamed past to help close the gap when it went single file

I thought I recognised you alright. I recall, on one of the laps about 2 km from the finish, seeing you steaming past on the outside of the group. I remember thinking "Jaysus, g'wan CramCycle!", A couple of minutes later I saw you going speedily backwards on the inside of the bunch and I thought "Jaysus, c'mon CramCycle!". I thought you'd gone out in a blaze of ball-busting glory but I now realise it was actually a blaze of Schleck-emulating shame

doozerie

buffalo wrote:

Thanks to doozerie for the cereal bar, probably would've bonked on the way home without it. Consider your tow paid for!

Those bars are great. I'm contemplating using them for bribery at future races - 1 bar for being gifted a 3rd placing, 2 bars for a 2nd placing, etc. There is a niche in the cycling market for a barter system based entirely around sickly sugar-filled bars!

kenmc

buffalo wrote: »

kenmc keeps recommending this 'beer' substance for recovery.

I have to admit to being a big fan. It's also very useful as a precovery aid too! I only wish that more people were up for precovering as well, might make it a bit easier to keep up.

Lumen

FWIW I've just created a fresh segment called Brittas Club League (Race start to beginning of second lap).

kenmc

How the fcuk am I in second?

doozerie

kenmc wrote:

How the fcuk am I in second?

Did you feed Strava some of your beer? :eek:

Chips Lovell

And how did Oflahero do it three minutes slower if he was in SS with you?

kenmc

Vladimir Kurtains wrote: »

And how did Oflahero do it three minutes slower if he was in SS with you?

That's what I mean! Pat and I and Ofla were all in the same group, and there's no way in hell I got over that finish line 4 seconds behind Pat, I was paddy last!

buffalo

kenmc wrote: »

That's what I mean! Pat and I and Ofla were all in the same group, and there's no way in hell I got over that finish line 4 seconds behind Pat, I was paddy last!

It's not the finish finish, just the end of the first lap. I'm not even on the leaderboard, wah, wah, wah.

doozerie

My ride from last night doesn't show on that segment at all, but a previous ride does where I started my Garmin several miles earlier. I suspect the start point on Lumen's segment is a little earlier (i.e. further back the road) than that of some. I hit my Garmin's start button last night about 10 metres or more down the road from the start line, for example.

kenmc

buffalo wrote: »

It's not the finish finish, just the end of the first lap. I'm not even on the leaderboard, wah, wah, wah.

yeah I know. I wasn't paddy last over the finish finish.

Mr. Grieves

oflahero wrote: »

Any other excitement from anyone else? Would be particularly interested in hearing the views of Mr. Grieves of this parish on his 'limit' experience...

Enjoyable first race in Limit Was very glad it didn't rain (I was on Gatorskins!). I was nervous about riding in a group at race speed, but it was fine, there were no incidents in our group. Didn't feel like we were ding 38 km/hr.

There wasn't much of an organised effort to work together to stay away. I just tried to stay near the front of the bunch in the second lap with a few others who were taking turns at the front. The pace upped a bit after the bridge on the second lap. A few guys made successive attempts (was that UCD guy from semi-limit? The first time I saw him was 500m from the line), and I just tried to stay with them. I had no idea where the finish was. I was in second when I saw the flag, so I went for it. I guess I'll be in Semi-Limit next week...

moggs1972

I was joined by an Usher rider who got over to me, said "we have a bit of a gap", did one turn and then went back to the bunch. Odd...

thats because i was fooked!:o

buffalo

kenmc wrote: »

yeah I know. I wasn't paddy last over the finish finish.

I think I needed a more sarcastic smiley in there to make the jibe stick.

dave_o_brien

moggs1972 wrote: »

I was joined by an Usher rider who got over to me, said "we have a bit of a gap", did one turn and then went back to the bunch. Odd...

thats because i was fooked!:o

Ha, yeah, it was a tough enough stretch! Once you were over, I caught my breath on your wheel and tried to give you a wheel till you had done the same, unfortunately that didn't work out! Next time, and maybe we should leave it for another few hundred metres, yeah?

moggs1972

dave_o_brien wrote: »

Ha, yeah, it was a tough enough stretch! Once you were over, I caught my breath on your wheel and tried to give you a wheel till you had done the same, unfortunately that didn't work out! Next time, and maybe we should leave it for another few hundred metres, yeah?

agreed, next time lets do a final k burst, i might have the legs for that. cheers

doozerie

Mr. Grieves wrote: »

A few guys made successive attempts (was that UCD guy from semi-limit? The first time I saw him was 500m from the line), and I just tried to stay with them.

No, there was a UCD guy in Limit too.

capnsantini

Lumen wrote: »

FWIW I've just created a fresh segment called Brittas Club League (Race start to beginning of second lap).

Whoo Hoo! KOM! Good thing you made that segment up or I could be accused of making segments specifically to suit my KOM tally.

If you find me mysteriously driving the pace over the first 3/4 of a lap next time we're there you'll know what I'm up to......

Lusk Doyle

capnsantini wrote: »

Whoo Hoo! KOM! Good thing you made that segment up or I could be accused of making segments specifically to suit my KOM tally.

If you find me mysteriously driving the pace over the first 3/4 of a lap next time we're there you'll know what I'm up to......

As king, you don't have to explain your actions. It's one of the perks!

lalorm

Wasn't feeling great on Thursday after not getting on the bike the day before. Still tried to do a bit at the front from time to time but as mentioned earlier in this thread there wasn't a real effort to keep the up and overs going.
This Thursday we should give it a better go if it's a handicap race. If we have a group that size again and everyone just doing a couple of seconds on the front and then ease off a bit to let the next guy come through, we should be able to stay away.

fat bloke

I'd say the numbers that are turning up, there'll a lot more of the DMS set ups. If they ran a handicap with up to 200 riders on the road.... I don't think it's manageable, it's just far too dangerous.

joker77

Only getting round to reading this now, gas how many boardies are now in this league with the arrival of CramCycle and Mr.Grieves. Well done lads as well, some start to it.

I went off in Semi-Scratch, we were fairly motoring and very well organised, a large amount of riders doing good work - that's probably the most efficient up'n'overs I've been involved in - nobody drilling it when the hit the front, just nice and steady rolling through, was great stuff.

I slipped my chain just coming onto the bridge on the first lap, again took too long to get it back on, so was stuck in limbo land - there was no way I was catching SS on my own the way they were working, and the dread of Scratch burning me made me keep the pace up to try hang on when they did catch me. Was keeping it up around 40/41kms/hr up to Kilbride, got caught after the village, and jumped straight into the line to start working. The Scratch group wasn't working together until we hit the main road, from then on though it was fairly hot, and caught Semi Scratch just at the turn off the main road. Was hairy enough moving up the right, but managed it, still felt I had some legs but didn't get to contest the sprint as I was slightly boxed in by 2 riders coming up the hill, wouldn't have been safe to move around the both of them. Happy with the evening though, hanging on to Scratch felt good, but a bit of perspective considering I'd a weekend off and most of them had ridden down in Kerry.

Mr. Grieves

Does anyone have a Google maps link for the location of sign-on for this week? I'm planning on riding out from the southside (no access to car this week). What's the N3 like to cycle on or can somebody recommend a better route?

AstraMonti

I can give you a lift no problem Mr. Grieves, I will be driving there from south side as well.

Mr. Grieves

Brilliant, thanks! I'll send you a PM.

buffalo

Mr. Grieves wrote: »

Does anyone have a Google maps link for the location of sign-on for this week? I'm planning on riding out from the southside (no access to car this week). What's the N3 like to cycle on or can somebody recommend a better route?

Sign-on is approximately here - http://g.co/maps/er9fx And I normally cycle out along the N3, no bother.