A one time commute from Meath to Tallaght for bike week. Good idea?

lisaj

Hi. Forgive my ignorance here as a first time poster on the cycling forum. I’ve just starting to increase the distance of my spins, generally in the evenings or with a group of just starting to get going type of leisurely cyclists. I’ve been a fair-weather cyclist for about 3 years now.
I have done a few spins of about 30k and a longer 60k, around my locality of Co. Meath.
I know that next week is bike week and there will be a big push for people to be getting out on their bikes, especially as a means of getting to and from work.
I particularly want to be ready to do the 100km loop of the Meath Heritage tour on 29th July.
I work in Tallaght, and for one of the days (whichever is the driest) I want to ditch the car and cycle in, I know its going to be a long cycle as I currently only average about 20-21km per hour on average. My bike is a Giant Avail 2.
On Google maps it is 45-47 km one way avoiding motorways.

I just wanted to get some opinions on this. Is it a crazy idea for a commute, considering I have to cycle it back again in the evening?

Does anyone else do this spin and can recommend a good route (From around Tara to Tallaght), i.e. should I cut across Clonee to Lucan, and I know that’s a fairly windy dangerous road or go a different way?

bitemybanger

I live in Navan and have cycled in to Rathimnes and home a few times. It's not bad at all, it's a bit more demanding on the return as its a slight incline from Dunshaughlin to Navan.
The route I use..
Navan
Dunshaughlin
Clonee(trough Bracetown over new bridge)
Lucan
Palmerstown
Kilmanham
Down the canal to Rathmines.
That route would suit heading toward Tallagh to some extent too.

lennymc

its a great idea. I have a 100km round trip commute (i dont do it every day). leave yourself lots of time and you will be fine. If the weather is nice then its actually a nice spin. Make sure to have a good lunch, and bring your clothes, lunch, and anything else in the day before in the car if possible.

best of luck!!

Beasty

If you can do a 60k spin, you can do 2 x 45k in a day - just make sure you take it easy on the way in, and don't worry too much if the legs are aching a bit when you set off back - hopefully a few km of light riding will sort them out

Make sure you're sensibly fuelled up in each direction, and go for it. You may surprise yourself

An alternative if you really are concerned about distance, is to drive part of the way and park-up. That way you can build confidence for the next time. Seriously - if you're prepared to do it once, why not make a habit of it? I know it's a long way, and the time it takes may encourage you to drive part of the way, but getting into a routine of cycling regularly will do you the world of good - you should find the Meath Heritage Tour a piece of cake if you've built up to it with regular commuting.

lisaj

Thanks guys. Feeling less nervous about it now!

bitemybanger: How do you find the Clonee-Lucan road, I know as a driver it is fairly windy with lots of bends?
I was thinking of going Lucan, Ballyowen road and left through Clondalkin or straight to Kingswood.

lennymc: yep, good idea about the clothes, will definitely be bringing everything in the day before. There is a shower in the building, so I'll be availing of that.

I know there is only a certain time window in the summer months when this can be done, especially if I've to leave my house around 6 AM.

bitemybanger

lisaj wrote: »

bitemybanger: How do you find the Clonee-Lucan road, I know as a driver it is fairly windy with lots of bends?
I was thinking of going Lucan, Ballyowen road and left through Clondalkin or straight to Kingswood.

It's a buzy road so if your not used to cycling back roads in traffic it can be a bit unnerving and as always you get the arrogant drivers who won't give you much room. it's no different than any other back road so cycle it as you would any other just be prepared for volume of traffic.
It's not too exposed so wind isn't too bad.
Whichever route you take it's not really a hard cycle and enjoyable too.

RobertFoster

On the Clonee-Lucan road, make sure you take up primary position when going over the rail and canal bridges. Some cars are willing to chance overtaking on the brow of these bridges, even though visibility and space is poor.

seamus

As lenny says, aim to not be carrying anything on the day - bring in whatever you need the day before and then you can bring it home again the day after the cycle. 45km with a bag on your back could be miserable.

Make sure you know how to fix a puncture at the side of the road and have the gear with you to do this. Nothing will kill your enjoyment of a cycle commute faster than having to change a puncture in the wet when you're already short on time.

Also, don't feel bad about aborting in bad weather. Days when it rains heavily during rush hour are actually in quite short supply, so it's likely this won't happen, but commuting any distance on a nice warm day with some sunshine is absolute bliss.

hardCopy

seamus wrote: »

Also, don't feel bad about aborting in bad weather. Days when it rains heavily during rush hour are actually in quite short supply, so it's likely this won't happen, but commuting any distance on a nice warm day with some sunshine is absolute bliss.

Especially on the way home!

lisaj

seamus wrote: »

Make sure you know how to fix a puncture at the side of the road and have the gear with you to do this. Nothing will kill your enjoyment of a cycle commute faster than having to change a puncture in the wet when you're already short on time.

It's the thought of the puncture that kills me. I've been very lucky and have yet to get one out on the road, I don't want to tempt fate though. I have all the stuff in my saddle bag and know how to do it in theory, mind you the only puncture that I've actually changed is on my childlike mountain bike about 5 years ago... and my car on the side of the M3...

I've cycled on some busy roads around Trim, Athboy, Kentstown so I'm used to that gush of wind from a car that only leaves about 1 foot of room.

victorcarrera

lisaj wrote: »

...
I was thinking of going Lucan, Ballyowen road and left through Clondalkin or straight to Kingswood...

I prefer Lucan/Kingswood and on to Tallaght bypass if that suits as it is mostly cycle lane, albeit puncture prone and it avoids the M50/N4 roundabout and some other very fast on/off ramps on the N4.

lisaj

victorcarrera wrote: »

I prefer Lucan/Kingswood and on to Tallaght bypass if that suits as it is mostly cycle lane, albeit puncture prone and it avoids the M50/N4 roundabout and some other very fast on/off ramps on the N4.

I will be avoiding all dual carriageway type roads. It'll be different to my usual M3,M50 route. I might do a dry run in the car this evening on the way home.

macnab

i was in the same position last year, so one sunny day (my day off) I hopped on the bike and cycled 45km to work. I had a cup of coffee and a bananna in the canteen. Then I hopped back on my bike and cycled home. I now commute to work twice a week most weeks and have the return trip down to less than 3 hours on a good day, 3 hours 20 minutes if the wind is against me both ways. Its a great way to get 180km of training done each week.

lisaj

Gingernuts31 wrote: »

Go for it OP. I plan to cycle from Borris-in-Ossory in Laois tomorrow to newbridge in kildare, which is a 70k one way or 140 round trip. Im only going to a nokia shop in newbridge then right back again. Reckon it will take me just over 6 hours cycling time. Most I've cycled before was 58k and that took me 2 hr 20 mins which im told is good going. Like you I only have a mountain bike. Good luck with it.

I'm on a road bike. My mountain bike from my teens weighs about 5 tonnes :rolleyes: I did 58k in 2hours 45 last week. I did 30k on Monday in 1hr 28, so I'll see how it goes!

t'bear

make sure you dont have to carry much stuff, a backpack is fine for shorter commutes, but its a great way to get miles in if you have a future training goal/objective. If not already mentioned, washing facilities are needed.

I use and abuse my employers showers (15 mins - ahh):D

lisaj

I've decided that tomorrow (Tuesday) is the day. I drove the route in the car this morning (and brought in a bag of tomorrow stuff).
I was keeping an eye out for dodgy road surfaces on the way, there's some loose chippings at Clonee, but only a short section and there's also a fair amount of cycle lanes from Lucan, what state they're in I'll soon find out!

t'bear

Fair play to you, let us know how you get on.

Shortly you will be cursing having to use the car due to weather etc:D

Squidgy Black

The weather's supposed to be decent tomorrow so best of luck.

Just remember to check that you've got a range of tools with you for any road side repairs (allen keys, tyre levers, hand pump, spanner if you don't have quick release wheels, spare tubes)

Don't hug the kerb either, that's where you tend to find a lot of loose gravel and glass etc, nightmare for punctures.

manwithaplan

You will be absolutely fine and you will be delighted with yourself when you get home. A warm happy glow will descend and you will begin to think about what else you might be capable of. Buy some ice cream today and get properly stuck into it when you get home tomorrow.

t'bear

manwithaplan wrote: »

You will be absolutely fine and you will be delighted with yourself when you get home. A warm happy glow will descend and you will begin to think about what else you might be capable of. Buy some ice cream today and get properly stuck into it when you get home tomorrow.

Ice cream waiting? Best incentive ever!

hardCopy

This thread has inspired me to cycle tomorrow. It's only 15K but I've been avoiding it because we've no showers. I got a "foam shower" by Muc-Off so gonna give it a go for the week that's in it.

meercat

good luck lisaj
waiting with anticipation for update

buffalo

You picked a great morning for it - how'd it go?

lisaj

Hey guys, It went really well, I made it in one piece anyway!

When my alarm went off at 5:20 I was thinking what have I let myself in for?! After my rice krispies and sorting out the dog I left at 6:10. There was some fog when I was almost at Dunshaughlin, I was wearing a high vis but my light was very dull, visibility was okay though. I stopped and text my dad to see if he would bring new batteries for my light on his way to work (as he's an early bird). He caught up with me at Bracetown (where no fog remained) and we sorted out my light.

The road I was dreading, the Clonee-Lucan road was actually fine. Some drivers getting a bit too close for comfort, but nothing that I wasn't used to.

I was a bit to slow to move off at the bridge at Lucan, there's a pretty bad surface there, one driver beeped and shaked his fist. Must have got out of the wrong side of the bed!

The hill I was dreading wasn't too bad as I knew it was fairly short.

The spin then all along that new road from Woodies to Kingwood was grand, cycle/bus lane to Adamstown, I stayed more in the bus lane than the cycle lane, lots of glass. Mind you at one set of lights I had a bit of an unattractive unclipping and almost fell in front of the gards, I should really learn to unclip my left foot instead of my right all the time.

From Adamstown/Grange/Corkagh?Kingswood there is a cycle lane/path off the road that wasn't too bad.
I took a left at Fettercairn to Cookstown then as opposed to going straight through Jobstown. There was another Cycle lane/Path on that road, a fair amount of glass again. I took a right at Cookstown and then down by the side of the hospital and then into work.

The shower was amazing!


According to Mapmyride I did 45.14km in 2.07.32. It appears that from about Ross Cross it was downhill the whole way to Lucan and then uphill to Tallaght. Not looking forward to that nice uphill trudge on the way home. The legs should be well warmed up though. I feel as weak as a kitten right now!

t'bear

Congrats, very well done. In no time you will be energised and ready for the day.

Respect!

lennymc

well done. The first time is allways the best. I love the look of amazement on my colleagues face when i tell them that i commuted in by bike from drogheda. You will be hooked now!!

Vélo

Nice one. Well done!

lisaj

I didn't realise I lived at the side of a mountain...!

Jawgap

Well done - and the best part is still to come - heading home with a (slight) tailwind.

would you do it again? In other words can you see yourself doing it more often?

Your mission now, should you choose to accept it, is to break 2 hours

Here's some links for checking real time weather in the vicinity so you can have an idea of what's happening before you set out for home....

http://weather.noaa.gov/weather/current/EIDW.html (times are in US Eastern, so add 5 hours to the EDT time)

http://www.nratraffic.ie/weather/default.asp?RegionId=0

lennymc

cheers for those lnks jawgap.

awec

lisaj wrote: »

I didn't realise I lived at the side of a mountain...!

You'll start to notice how hilly roads are now. You won't have noticed when you were driving and you may have thought that they are all fairly flat, but once you get out on the bike you start to realise the ups and downs!

At least that's one of the biggest things I noticed!

t'bear

awec wrote: »

You'll start to notice how hilly roads are now. You won't have noticed when you were driving and you may have thought that they are all fairly flat, but once you get out on the bike you start to realise the ups and downs!

At least that's one of the biggest things I noticed!

Absolutely, this was a revelation to me. So now SWMBO gets a running commentary as we drive over hills I have cycled over!! She tuts at me

QueensGael

Well done lisaj, glad to hear you enjoyed it

meercat

QueensGael wrote: »

Well done lisaj, glad to hear you enjoyed it

Madam perhaps ??????

meercat

Quick edit there

manwithaplan

Hold the congratulations. She mightn't have got home yet;)

t'bear

MIA? LisaJ, where are you??!!

lisaj

Haha, fret not, I made it home. The legs were a little sluggish starting off, the first part of the journey was all bike lanes and down hill and was grand. I started to feel a bit weary when I got passed Fairyhouse. A few proper looking cyclists passed me out like I was an old lady with bags of shopping hanging off the handlebars.

When I got through Dunshaughlin and just past Tara stud where the incline lessens and it starts to descend a group of 5 came up behind me and told me to tag on to their group. It definitely made the last run home a lot easier (or maybe that was because it was a nice flat/downhill).

When I got home I was so tired I had to force myself to eat my dinner and then slept like a baby!

Legs feel fine today, not much different to how they would feel after doing my normal evening spin.

manwithaplan

lisaj wrote: »

Legs feel fine today, not much different to how they would feel after doing my normal evening spin.

Well done you.

However, our survey says that you have not suffered enough. Do it again and this time we want to see vomit.

lisaj

Haha, manwithaplan, that sounds a little sadistic... I used to do that type of training for another sport with 5am starts and 10 sessions a week and VO2 max tests until I got sense!
The cycling was meant to be fun!
I did enjoy it though. I'm going to try to do it again a few more times during the summer. (Did I mention before that I'm a fair weather cyclist?!)

Lumen

lisaj wrote: »

Haha, manwithaplan, that sounds a little sadistic... I used to do that type of training for another sport with 5am starts and 10 sessions a week and VO2 max tests until I got sense!

Sounds like rowing. Rowers make good cyclists.

t'bear

Nicely done LisaJ, congrats. We were out that way last night but going the opposite direction, I suggested Hill of Tara (for the view!) but that suggestion was rejected!

lisaj

I know that there are loads of forums out there dedicated to that but I just have one or two questions, and you guys were helpful last week. (Thinking about cycling in again next week, had too much on this week to do it.)

I’m doing a 70k tomorrow. I know after about 35-40k I’m going to be starving. I think that there is a “refreshment stop” but I want to have something with me anyway.
I’m used to eating normal foods as opposed to fancy power bars and gels. My usual between session snacks would be bananas, peanut butter and jam sandwiches, fig rolls, nutrigrain elevenses and the like.
What would be the best to throw in my pocket? If I was going to try getting a power bar/gel, I was going to eat one this evening and then run around with the dog to make sure it doesn’t make me sick as I know the perils of eating/wearing something that you’re not used to…!

hardCopy

lisaj wrote: »

I know that there are loads of forums out there dedicated to that but I just have one or two questions, and you guys were helpful last week. (Thinking about cycling in again next week, had too much on this week to do it.)

I’m doing a 70k tomorrow. I know after about 35-40k I’m going to be starving. I think that there is a “refreshment stop” but I want to have something with me anyway.
I’m used to eating normal foods as opposed to fancy power bars and gels. My usual between session snacks would be bananas, peanut butter and jam sandwiches, fig rolls, nutrigrain elevenses and the like.
What would be the best to throw in my pocket? If I was going to try getting a power bar/gel, I was going to eat one this evening and then run around with the dog to make sure it doesn’t make me sick as I know the perils of eating/wearing something that you’re not used to…!

I'd stick with what you know, nothing wrong with sambos, bananas and fig rolls. Drink some lucozade sport to make sure your electrolyte levels are kept up. I only find I need the gels when running as I get a stitch otherwise, on the bike I can manage real food since there's less bouncing.

meercat

Agree
Stick to what you know

Good luck with the challenge and update when your done

macnab

High5 make good gels and energy drinks, Science In Sport products are good also. Banannas and fig rolls are good, as are jelly babies.

t'bear

Are you doing the High kings challenge? There will be a food stop halfway round on both routes. I am waiting for my knee to be nice to me after a little too much push yesterday, but I hope to be there.

lisaj

t'bear wrote: »

Are you doing the High kings challenge? There will be a food stop halfway round on both routes. I am waiting for my knee to be nice to me after a little too much push yesterday, but I hope to be there.

Yep. I believe there's a stop up at Maguire's on the Hill of Tara. I was in two minds of whether to do the 35 or the 70. Might as well do the 70 for the feeling of achievement! Think I might drive the car to Skryne though so not tagging on an extra 6k at the beginning and end!