Mt Leinster Challenge

The tax man

Bike ready,gear ready.All I need now is the knees to play ball tomorrow and I'll be a happy camper.:)

macadam

ROK ON wrote: »

Suspicious lack of backbone by some folk.

Just sayin.

Would a family bereavement be a valid enough excuse ??
Enjoy your spin..

andy69

All done! That was one tough day! Well done to organisers, very well set up, plenty of marshals etc. And the food stop....the stuff of legends! ;-)
And not a drop of rain all day....and a tailwind up mt Leinster...both times.wow!

086Jazzy

Well done to everybody, especially the organisers. fantastic day. leg's a bit sore thanks to Corabut but the fantastic food stops made up for any pain encountered.

g0g

Just in the door. Great day out and so glad the rain held off! Food was AMAZING at the food stop and a well organised event I must say - nice hat too, right colour for Poznan!:) Sadly my friends bailed and did 100km instead, but after the food stop I joined a big group for 10-15km which helped a lot! Very glad the second trip up Mt Leinster took a different route so I got to try out another climb around there. Absolutely loved the descent both times - first time to test out a descent on the road bike. Banjaxed now must sleep!

Thanks to all organisers!

Strava Link

The tax man

Thanks to SCC for putting on another superb event. Odd day in the saddle for me, after joining up with Astramonti and Emty for a while and feeling quite good, the legs started to scream enough after 30k. Spent the next 70k holding off the onset of cramps in every part of me from the waist down. Thank god for that tailwind up to the nine stones but after a bone chilling decent every direction towards the food stop seemed to have a headwind.
After a nice hot coffee and some sambos I hit the road back to base and again grateful of the favourable wind.

seamus

Nice day for it alright, I was feckin roasting at the top of Mount Leinster in the fog, was very close.

It's quite a long aul trip around before you even get to the climbing

I was suffering quite a bit after the first loop. It was a real drag back to Kilteal, my legs were sore and tired even though I had plenty of energy. A couple of times I seriously considered just going back to base after the stop and doing the 100, but then I know I'd be kicking myself. Second loop was painful, very slow climbing, legs were aching all the way. The joy when I got picked up by a group just outside Kilteal and I got a stupidly fast tow home.
I've a couple of weeks now with party weekends, so I should be well rested for the WW200.

Food stop was epic. Words cannot express my joy at receiving a proper brew of tar in a real mug. I was tempted to just stay there drinking tea for the rest of the day. The spread was fantastic too.

Marshalling was very good, only two gripes:
- There was no marshall in Bagnelstown at the T-junction. I was near the lead of a group of about 40 so there was nearly a pile up trying to get everyone to stop for traffic
- The right turn from the descent off the Corrobut (nine stones?) was ridiculously slippy. They had mentioned that it was easy to miss the turn, but if anyone had taken it at any kind of speed, they would have hit the deck. A marshall a little further up the descent would have solved that.

Met a few who recognised the boards jersey, but apart from sy who had a quick chat as he blasted past me up mount Leinster, I didn't catch anyone's names. So guy in Blanch gear and guy who has just moved to ballinastoe - good to meet you

Strava (holy crap I bleedin hammered that descent the second time )

seamus

Oh and fair play to the guy in blue bianchi jersey. Spinning up the climbs like they weren't even there. Epic riding today.

Leroy42

Great day. Well organised, good carparking, good atmosphere at the start, great food, loads of marshalls, tough course but loads of encouragement.

Well done to all involved in orgainsing and well done for the pacesetting for the long distance to the 1st climb, savage pace.

Fair old trip up and down from Dublin but defo worth it.

Even the weather played its part (although it a bit depressing that we are thankful for that sort of weather in mid May!)

gimmeaminute

seamus wrote: »

Oh and fair play to the guy in blue bianchi jersey. Spinning up the climbs like they weren't even there. Epic riding today.

I'm taking a screenshot of that and sending it to my mother.

Thanks to all at SCC, great day.

AstraMonti

Really enjoyable day out and great organization from the club. The food stop was amazing, I overstuffed my face with sandwiches, sausages (what a brilliant idea!) and cup cakes and had a proper cup of tea. I took it very handy all day as legs were quite tired from Thursday's racing but after the food stop I found a different pair of legs and flew up (or want to think I did) the second climb. I hit 98km/h the first time going down, but for some reason my garmin says max 98 though it only says I reached 65 in the graph, but I was going at least 75 for a while and saw 80 too, checked it twice. Time for a new garmin me thinks :pac:

g0g

AstraMonti wrote: »

I hit 98km/h the first time going down

:eek::eek::eek:
You must have balls of steel or a death wish!! I almost got to 80 despite it being slightly wet, the surface not being great and my glasses a bit misted up...and thought that was fast. I cannot imagine adding nearly another 20km/h to that!

Consey

seamus wrote: »

Nice day for it alright, I was feckin roasting at the top of Mount Leinster in the fog, was very close.

It's quite a long aul trip around before you even get to the climbing

I was suffering quite a bit after the first loop. It was a real drag back to Kilteal, my legs were sore and tired even though I had plenty of energy. A couple of times I seriously considered just going back to base after the stop and doing the 100, but then I know I'd be kicking myself. Second loop was painful, very slow climbing, legs were aching all the way. The joy when I got picked up by a group just outside Kilteal and I got a stupidly fast tow home.
I've a couple of weeks now with party weekends, so I should be well rested for the WW200.

Food stop was epic. Words cannot express my joy at receiving a proper brew of tar in a real mug. I was tempted to just stay there drinking tea for the rest of the day. The spread was fantastic too.

Marshalling was very good, only two gripes:
- There was no marshall in Bagnelstown at the T-junction. I was near the lead of a group of about 40 so there was nearly a pile up trying to get everyone to stop for traffic
- The right turn from the descent off the Corrobut (nine stones?) was ridiculously slippy. They had mentioned that it was easy to miss the turn, but if anyone had taken it at any kind of speed, they would have hit the deck. A marshall a little further up the descent would have solved that.

Met a few who recognised the boards jersey, but apart from sy who had a quick chat as he blasted past me up mount Leinster, I didn't catch anyone's names. So guy in Blanch gear and guy who has just moved to ballinastoe - good to meet you

Strava (holy crap I bleedin hammered that descent the second time )

Seamus, Guy in Blanch Wheelies gear was me ! Good to meet you too, over the 60km or so prelude to the first ascent to the Corrabutt Gap !

Last I saw of you was I think on the sharp turn right on the killer gradient just after the turn of the main road. Then you disappeared into the clouds ahead of me !!! Impressive turn of pace up that hill. Completed the second climb in company of another Boards.ie and another chap and we more or less stayed together (being towed along by Waterford Cycling Club) for the run back home.

Must echo all the plaudits on the organisation of the event. Very friendly club and nice set up at Starlights GAA club at Enniscorthy. Ideal for the numbers involved.

Plaudits too for keeping the numbers at 300 visitors - thereby keeping queues manageable. Other higher profile sportives (particularly those with a lot of hills in a county just to the North of Wexford/Carlow) should take note ! Must be tempting to go for the extra cash - but this event achieves the balance brilliantly.

The food stop was indeed legendary. Have never seen the likes. Tables groaning with food and good tea etc. All homemade and delicious and just what doctor ordered.

Does make it difficult to motivate yourself to go out and get back on the bike though - woulda been nice to sit there munching for an hour and then just cruise back into Enniscorthy.

Well done Slaney Cycle Club and all those who took part. Here's to next year.

sy

First time for me and first Sporive in over 2 years. Very enjoyable and well organised. Climbs were steeper than I expected and was undergeared, needed a 27 (and a new engine!) Nice to meet seamus for first time (like the helmet) but didnt meet up wih any other boardsies. That descent off Mt Leinster was fast and special kudos to leroy42 on your stats on Strava.... Impressive. I rode in the front group to base of climb were you the guy in blue or the guy who rode on his own 20m in front of us!!

Leroy42

sy wrote: »

First time for me and first Sporive in over 2 years. Very enjoyable and well organised. Climbs were steeper than I expected and was undergeared, needed a 27 (and a new engine!) Nice to meet seamus for first time (like the helmet) but didnt meet up wih any other boardsies. That descent off Mt Leinster was fast and special kudos to leroy42 on your stats on Strava.... Impressive. I rode in the front group to base of climb were you the guy in blue or the guy who rode on his own 20m in front of us!!

A positive mention on Boards..almost makes all the pain worth it!
I was wearing the Liberty Seguros light blue top, it was a DSS (or something similar) guy off the front. 1st time riding down there so wasn't sure what to expect on the climb so happy to have kept it going.
Found the 'flat' section between the climbs really difficult, but the descent was great.
Looking at Strava it seems it was a day for fast times

King Kelly

Photos from Ciaran Fallon now up here

http://cfphoto.photoshelter.com/gallery/Slaney-CC-Mount-Leinster-Sportif/G0000rfdHf05vX.c/

gimmeaminute

King Kelly wrote: »

Photos from Ciaran Fallon now up here

http://cfphoto.photoshelter.com/gallery/Slaney-CC-Mount-Leinster-Sportif/G0000rfdHf05vX.c/

Wow, that guy really doesn't seem to want my money.

Aquos76

gimmeaminute wrote: »

Wow, that guy really doesn't seem to want my money.

What do you mean? I've been on to that chap a few times and always found him very decent and easy to deal with.

Toblerone1978

Another great event by the Slaney CC boys. Saturday was a reminder to why this is one of my favourites on the cycling calendar - a great cycle, excellent organisation, food stop etc

Really like the hat they included in their goodie bag. And the rain that never came was very nice.

Although I did get a bit lazy and decided to do the 100km route; so this year I definitely didn't burn more calories that I took in

Thanks lads.

King Kelly

Another 200+ photos uploaded here! http://pix.ie/LiamR

gimmeaminute

Aquos76 wrote: »

What do you mean? I've been on to that chap a few times and always found him very decent and easy to deal with.

I am certainly not questioning his decency.

I registered, I created lightboxes, there was still no obvious option to pay to download the image. I am the unhappy combination of stupid, lazy and reluctant to deal with people. And you'd be surprised how often the internet caters for these traits.

Either way, he's not indecent, so no biggie.

Special Red

Folks, can you help me with this please. Not totally off topic here I hope. I'm planning on trying out Mt Leinster this weekend. I'm coming from Enniscorthy so I'll go up through Bunclody, then Myshell, then head due south towards the mountain. I've never been in that part of the country so is it pretty straight forward to get there? On Strava it's referred to as "Mount Leinster full climb (via Currabut Gap). Is it well signposted?
Will I just turn around and head back down or can I continue on and then get back to E/corthy from there.
Any help will be much appreciated, thanks!

seamus

It would be relatively straightforward once you've left Myshall. You can follow the signs for "Mount Leinster Heritage Drive", but you should also see markings painted on the road saying either "MLC" or "SCC" with directional arrows.

If you're riding from Enniscorthy, you will see lots of these painted on the road on the way to Bunclody, but don't follow them or you will end up taking the other route up the mountain, which is slightly longer and easier than the Corrabut gap.

Once you've hit the top of the Corrabut Gap (you'll know this, it's ridiculously steep), it drops into a very steep descent for about 400m, and then there's a sharp right turn. If you overshoot it, then you overshoot it, I wouldn't risk trying to turn it hard as it was very slippy last weekend.
Then it's a 1km drag or so up to the carpark, not very difficult. The descent on the far side is good craic, but it's a narrow road so try to keep left and watch out for cars coming up. There are also 3 cattle grids on the descent, but they're well marked both on the road and with signs.
At the end of the descent, there's a sharp left down the road. Stay on this road and you'll eventually land on the R702 to Kilteal. At that stage you're about 25km from Enniscorthy.

MichealD

As Seamus said once you get to Myshall the road is marked all the way over the mountain and back to Enniscorthy. When coming out of Kiltealy on way back to Enniscorthy the junction for the 140km/100km split is clearly marked. Make sure to go straight - the 100km - to get you back to Enniscorthy.

I think the map is stiil on the front of the Slaney CC website for download.

Special Red

seamus wrote: »

It would be relatively straightforward once you've left Myshall. You can follow the signs for "Mount Leinster Heritage Drive", but you should also see markings painted on the road saying either "MLC" or "SCC" with directional arrows.

If you're riding from Enniscorthy, you will see lots of these painted on the road on the way to Bunclody, but don't follow them or you will end up taking the other route up the mountain, which is slightly longer and easier than the Corrabut gap.

Once you've hit the top of the Corrabut Gap (you'll know this, it's ridiculously steep), it drops into a very steep descent for about 400m, and then there's a sharp right turn. If you overshoot it, then you overshoot it, I wouldn't risk trying to turn it hard as it was very slippy last weekend.
Then it's a 1km drag or so up to the carpark, not very difficult. The descent on the far side is good craic, but it's a narrow road so try to keep left and watch out for cars coming up. There are also 3 cattle grids on the descent, but they're well marked both on the road and with signs.
At the end of the descent, there's a sharp left down the road. Stay on this road and you'll eventually land on the R702 to Kilteal. At that stage you're about 25km from Enniscorthy.

Great stuff Seamus, looks like it's pretty straight forward, just have to get up it now

Special Red

MichealD wrote: »

As Seamus said once you get to Myshall the road is marked all the way over the mountain and back to Enniscorthy. When coming out of Kiltealy on way back to Enniscorthy the junction for the 140km/100km split is clearly marked. Make sure to go straight - the 100km - to get you back to Enniscorthy.

I think the map is stiil on the front of the Slaney CC website for download.

Cheers Michael D!

Special Red

seamus wrote: »

It would be relatively straightforward once you've left Myshall. You can follow the signs for "Mount Leinster Heritage Drive", but you should also see markings painted on the road saying either "MLC" or "SCC" with directional arrows.

If you're riding from Enniscorthy, you will see lots of these painted on the road on the way to Bunclody, but don't follow them or you will end up taking the other route up the mountain, which is slightly longer and easier than the Corrabut gap.

Once you've hit the top of the Corrabut Gap (you'll know this, it's ridiculously steep), it drops into a very steep descent for about 400m, and then there's a sharp right turn. If you overshoot it, then you overshoot it, I wouldn't risk trying to turn it hard as it was very slippy last weekend.
Then it's a 1km drag or so up to the carpark, not very difficult. The descent on the far side is good craic, but it's a narrow road so try to keep left and watch out for cars coming up. There are also 3 cattle grids on the descent, but they're well marked both on the road and with signs.
At the end of the descent, there's a sharp left down the road. Stay on this road and you'll eventually land on the R702 to Kilteal. At that stage you're about 25km from Enniscorthy.

Thanks again for all the help on this folks. Did the cycle mentioned above over the weekend. First of all the weather was fab; got to the base of the climb around 8 in the morning and with the easterly wind it meant there wasn't a breath of wind to speak of until I got to the top (first part). Lost buckets of sweat going up it. Great surface on the road too. Very quiet at that time of the morning too so no hassles there too. Great climb.

The first bit out of Myshell I thought this is the start of it. But no, not near it!! The main climb, the first part, is tough, pure grind. Nice rest-bite for the downhill onto the flat over the cattle grid then not bad at all up to the summit. As I said, no wind to speak of so I can only imagine what its like with the wind blowing.

Had a top 40 place on Strava, I'll take that as I didn't try too hard on the flat/5-10% parts of the climb near the end.

Gods country too, lovely views.

MichealD

Glad you enjoyed the spin. That first climb out of Myshall is a little brute! The right hand turn is so steep if you sit in the saddle you can go head over heels backwards! No idea what's the gradient but definitley 20%+ for a short section.

For your next trip lift your bike over the gate at the entrance to the mast and try that one. 4 or 5 Kms of pure 15%+ torture pleasure!