IRC/Lucan/Orwell/Tiernans/UCD League - 19/7/12 Batterstown

dave_o_brien

25 mile TT, should be a bit of a sufferfest!

Is anyone planning on cycling out to it?

kenmc

not even planning on driving out!

dave_o_brien

kenmc wrote: »

not even planning on driving out!

Wuss...

buffalo

I'll be pedalling out from Drumcondra, assuming I manage to find a bottom bracket at lunch tomorrow. And manage to fit it after work. And then cycle out.

dave_o_brien

buffalo wrote: »

I'll be pedalling out from Drumcondra, assuming I manage to find a bottom bracket at lunch tomorrow. And manage to fit it after work. And then cycle out.

Ha, sounds like fun! If you manage to get that sorted, I could meet you at the Navan Road or somewhere for the spin out?

buffalo

dave_o_brien wrote: »

Ha, sounds like fun! If you manage to get that sorted, I could meet you at the Navan Road or somewhere for the spin out?

Possibly, but I won't really know what time I'll be ready for. I'm going to try give the BB a whack of a hammer now, and I'll post in the morning if it's successful. :pac: If not, then I'm almost certain to be late, and hoping that they'll be lax about sign-on given that it's a TT, and start and finish are the same spot.

buffalo

Looks like I'll be late. Do you know your way out to Batterstown Dave?

kenmc

dave_o_brien wrote: »

Wuss...

I prefer the term "realist".

dave_o_brien

buffalo wrote: »

Looks like I'll be late. Do you know your way out to Batterstown Dave?

Well, I do in a general sense, but I don't have access to the car today. Last time I cycled out to it, I did eventually find it, but got quite lost on the way. On the plus side, some lovely roads around there!

buffalo

dave_o_brien wrote: »

Well, I do in a general sense, but I don't have access to the car today. Last time I cycled out to it, I did eventually find it, but got quite lost on the way. On the plus side, some lovely roads around there!

http://goo.gl/maps/CEGv is usually my route out - very straight and simple!

Navan Road->N3, straight all the way. Take the sliproad when it's about to turn into the M3 (at the sign for Clonee), and just keep going straight. You'll be brought over the motorway, all you have to do is turn left at the second large roundabout (first one is by the train station). Then it's straight all the way to Batterstown.

manwithaplan

I have managed to get lost twice on the way to Batterstown, both when trying to neatly avoid the N3. Last night I took the safe option when heading out to the last race of the Leinster Three Day and went to play with the traffic on the big road. It's alright actually.

Just stick to the Navan Road/N3 until the junction for Clonee (you have to get off the road here because it becomes a motorway). Go through Clonee Village and take the first exit off the roundabout (signposted for Dunboyne). At the second roundabout (maybe 150 yards up the road), take the second exit (signposted Trim I think) and follow the road over the motorway and running parallel to it on the other side. Go straight through the first roundabout (think you're still following signs for Trim) and take the first exit at the second roundabout. This brings you back over the motorway and onto the R154 for Trim. Batterstown is 4 or 5 km up this road.

Took me about an hour and ten minutes from the city centre last night, getting a very wet me to Batterstown much too early. The race photographer took pity on me shivering outside the petrol station and let me into his nice warm car. Good things will happen to him.

Edit: What buffalo said - I talk too much!

dave_o_brien

buffalo wrote: »

http://goo.gl/maps/CEGv is usually my route out - very straight and simple!

Navan Road->N3, straight all the way. Take the sliproad when it's about to turn into the M3 (at the sign for Clonee), and just keep going straight. You'll be brought over the motorway, all you have to do is turn left at the second large roundabout (first one is by the train station). Then it's straight all the way to Batterstown.

Yep, that's probably the way I'll go alright. Last time I went a somewhat more scenic route and ended up in Ballintry...

buffalo

2010 top ten:

1 Paul Dolan Usher 0'56'53 S
2 Lloyd Berry Orwell 0'58'41 SS
3 Shane Baker Usher 1'00'28 S
4 Martin Caddow Orwell 1'01'03 S
5 Brian Reynolds Lucan 1'01'38 SS
6 Diarmuid Collins Orwell 1'01'58 SS
7 Rob Manning UCD 1'02'38 SS
8 Pat Conlon Orwell 1'02'43 S
9 John Sower Orwell 1'02'55 SS
10 Tom Blennerhesset Orwell 1'03'12 SS

Anyone got the 2011 results? I only have as far as R13, and 25m TT was R16.

Thread is here - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056333485

buffalo

dave_o_brien wrote: »

Yep, that's probably the way I'll go alright. Last time I went a somewhat more scenic route and ended up in Ballintry...

Just keep straight after Clonee - as mwap mentioned, there's two smaller roundabouts (those wee white bumps), stick with the straightest path through them, then left at the second large roundabout after you've gone over the motorway. If that fails, follow the bike racks!

buffalo

2011 Top Ten:

1 Ian Richardson UCD 0'55'03 SS
2 Paul Dolan Usher 0'56'11 S
3 Gavin Haberlin UCD 0'57'42 S
=3 Karl Donnelly Usher 0'57'42 S
5 John Caffrey Lucan 0'58'00 S
6 Lloyd Berry Orwell 0'58'20 SS
7 Dylan Rafter Orwell 0'59'26 S
8 Tom Blennerhesset Orwell 0'59'51 S
9 Brian Ahern Orwell 1'00'09 S
10 Daniel Whiting Orwell 1'00'27 S

I swear I'm doing work today...

daragh_

I'm going to have a stab at this tonight.

Picked up some Aero Bars last week and have been out on them most days since, but I still haven't got my position right, and they don't feel comfortable at all.

Would I better off leaving them at home?

DirkVoodoo

daragh_ wrote: »

I'm going to have a stab at this tonight.

Picked up some Aero Bars last week and have been out on them most days since, but I still haven't got my position right, and they don't feel comfortable at all.

Would I better off leaving them at home?

I would say "yes". If you aren't comfortable then you won't be spending the better part of an hour on them.

It takes a good bit of fiddling with position to make an ordinary road bike suitable for time trials, it's something I'd look at working on over the winter rather than the week before.

If you can ride comfortably on the drops, you will probably be more aerodynamic than riding uncomfortably on aerobars and sitting up and shifting around every few minutes.

dave_o_brien

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

I would say "yes". If you aren't comfortable then you won't be spending the better part of an hour on them.

It takes a good bit of fiddling with position to make an ordinary road bike suitable for time trials, it's something I'd look at working on over the winter rather than the week before.

If you can ride comfortably on the drops, you will probably be more aerodynamic than riding uncomfortably on aerobars and sitting up and shifting around every few minutes.

Nonsense. Do it. Especially if you're SL. If you're SL, then definitely do it.

daragh_

dave_o_brien wrote: »

Nonsense. Do it. Especially if you're SL. If you're SL, then definitely do it.

Don't worry. I can pretty much guarantee I'll be nodding at lots of people as they overtake me.

CramCycle

buffalo wrote: »

2011 Top Ten:

I was in college with 2 of the top 3, they are both better cyclists, and research so far indicates potentially better scientists.

Damn them :mad:

lalorm

Looking forward to the pain cave this evening. Close to 1 hour would be good but with that headwind on the way out I'm not sure.

Mr. Grieves

Perfect windless night for this in the end. Lots of people will have PB's I reckon. Don't know my time but I know I got a PB as I've never done a 25 mile TT!

Redmond101

First 25TT for me, actually first ever TT, was good fun made it in 72minutes which isn't gonna break any records but still not bad for first time.

Got passed 3-4 lads on TT bikes, aero helmets the full works, they were absolutly flying

buffalo

Mr. Grieves wrote: »

Perfect windless night for this in the end. Lots of people will have PB's I reckon. Don't know my time but I know I got a PB as I've never done a 25 mile TT!

Windless?! What TT were you doing, the one I was in had a headwind both directions, and the occasional crosswind!

Brutal for me. In hindsight, the aero bars may not have helped. As Dirk pointed out earlier, position takes time. I ended up with a sore back, and decreasing power in my legs. I also managed to bonk around the halfway mark.

Started off well - Lumen was after me, and I had a feeling he'd catch me, and put ten minutes into me after I targetted him for the 10m TT. So I probably started too hard out of the fear of humiliation.
Mr Grieves was before me, thought I was doing great and catching him about 15k in. Turns out it was the guy in front of him. I could see by the turnaround that Mr Grieves had already put some time into me, and that Lumen was bearing down on me. He passed me before the 30k mark, and not long after that, so did an Usher guy.

1h 6' 38" in the end. More than two minutes worse than last year. Disappointed, and sore.

kenmc

I cycled home from work at a nice leisurely pace, made dinner (yummy chicken satay and home made ice-cream) and a couple of beers. Oh and then watched some Breaking Bad.
Best thursday night I've had in a while

Redmond101

buffalo wrote: »

Mr. Grieves wrote: »

Perfect windless night for this in the end. Lots of people will have PB's I reckon. Don't know my time but I know I got a PB as I've never done a 25 mile TT!

Windless?! What TT were you doing, the one I was in had a headwind both directions, and the occasional crosswind!

Agree completely, on the way out I kept saying to myself I'll have a tail wind to push me in, not a chance turned at the roundabout and into a head wind again

Idleater

kenmc wrote: »

Best thursday night I've had in a while

Spent the evening down pub drinking ale. Couldn't agree more.

colm_gti

First ever TT, was tough but strangely enjoyable!

Didn't start out great, started under my own steam instead of starting with both feet clipped in and being held, was slow enough to get clipped in :rolleyes:

Thought I was going to explode 6km in, got caught by the Usher lad +1 minute after me and watched him increase his lead, caught a Lucan lad, got passed by a few ridiculously fast lads on TT bikes, got held up by a tool in a punto at the roundabout, moved to the middle of the lane and indicated to go round the roundabout, but they still insisted on overtaking me and stopping in front of me, damn public roads :rolleyes:

Managed to do it in 67 minutes and didn't feel like there was much left in the tank, pretty happy with that time, and it gives me a benchmark for next years 25 miler

Lumen

That was horrible, every last second of it.

doozerie

That was my first TT too, and it wasn't particularly gentle with me. It's left me feeling a little sore and a little cheap. I tried to measure my pace throughout but I'm not sure how successful I was - I didn't burn out, though I felt I might at times, but I also finished with some energy left. I also don't feel as tired now as I would after a regular club league race. I'm not sure I could have done much more though, in reality. A very pedestrian 1h12m39s for me.

So the Race of Truth has spoken, and it says I suck. Roll on the next Race of Lies, I like those better.

Mr. Grieves

No-one told me 25 miles was 40.23 km! I went home delighted with my 40.2 km/hr average speed, thinking I'd gotten under the hour, but, alas, I was wrong.

Lumen, you've finally been bumped up to SS I see.

lalorm

That was hard. Was hoping to get under the hour, and was taking it handy enough up to the first roundabout on the way out and then picked it up a little. Tried to keep an average of 37 on the way out thinking that the wind will help me bring up the average on the way back, but by the time I started back for home the wind had gone! Managed to bring my average up to 38 by the time I finished so ended up with 1:02:52. So still very happy. Paying for it now however, was sitting right at the front of the saddle in an aero possition and I'm in bits where the sun don't shine!!! TT bike next yeat

buffalo

ahaha! Not only was I bottom of Scratch, but bottom of Semi-scratch too! Does this mean I get demoted?

...please?

Lumen

buffalo wrote: »

ahaha! Not only was I bottom of Scratch, but bottom of Semi-scratch too!

I wouldn't take too much from one bad night. Lest you forget, you got 5th fastest overall (and 1st semi-scratch) in the interclub hillclimb a couple of weeks ago.

Impressive to see that Craig Arrigan (Jnr) got under the hour. At my current rate of progress I might just manage that before I'm 50.

AstraMonti

Post the times!

buffalo

AstraMonti wrote: »

Post the times!

http://orwellwheelers.org/images/docs/cl2012_r16.xls

Top ten:

1 Con Collis UCD 0'55'10 S
2 Shane Baker Usher 0'57'04 S
3 Padraig Doherty Lucan 0'58'43 S
4 Brian Quirke Usher 0'58'54 S
5 John Caffrey Lucan 0'59'16 S
6 Lloyd Berry Orwell 0'59'23 SS
7 Craig Arrigan Orwell 0'59'38 SL (Jnr)
8 Eric Downey Orwell 1'00'04 S
9 Sean Bracken Usher 1'00'09 SS
10 Liam Rowsome Orwell 1'00'16 SS

buffalo

dave_o_brien, did you make it out okay? How'd you get on in the TT?

daragh_

Took an interesting tour of the lesser known routes to Batterstown and ended up missing the sign on.

Watched a few people going off and decided to go around anyway and see how I got on.

Was very tense up to about 6k. After that I felt sick until 15k. Still sick but relieved at 20k, crampy and sick again at 30k. After that it was a long silent prayer for deliverance.

As hard as I tried I just couldn't go any faster. I sat in the drops for most of it but sat up now and then to stretch and smile ruefully at all the awesome guys passing me on even more awesome bikes.

I spent a large part of it trying not to look at my Garmin and failing. The rest of the time I distracted myself with plans for faking a mechanical.

When I stopped the clock at the end it said 1:12 but Strava says 1:14:03

Happy enough for my first time. Very glad I left the aero bars at home.

Also next time I'm driving. Was bloody sore coming home.

colm_gti

daragh_ wrote: »

Also next time I'm driving. Was bloody sore coming home.

I don't envy you guys cycling home, I felt like I was mashing the pedals with nothing left to give by the time I reached the finish!

The fast guys were amazing to watch, a few times I looked behind me and didn't see anyone, only to hear what sounded like an airplane overtaking me a few seconds later when another chap with all the TT gear passed me like I was standing still! Crouching tiger hidden cyclist :rolleyes:

colm_gti

buffalo wrote: »

http://orwellwheelers.org/images/docs/cl2012_r16.xls

1'07"39...40th out of 52...happy enough with that for my first 25 mile TT, at least I have something to aim for next year now! I may look into investing in a set of aero bars at least...

dave_o_brien

buffalo wrote: »

dave_o_brien, did you make it out okay? How'd you get on in the TT?

I did, without one wrong turn and all! But the TT was poor. I've had patchy training this season to say the least (finished my degree, so no training prio to it, followed by training frequently interrupted by alcohol in copious quantities) so have had wildly erratic performances, great one week, shocking the next.

This was a poor one. On the way out, settled into a handy enough rhythm of about 35kph, and was happy with it mostly, then about 5km after the turn, my right hip cramped quite badly, and I couldn't keep it above 25kph for about 8km or so. The cramp eased off, but I just couldn't get the power out I hoped for. Finished in 72mins, which I probably would have taken before the start, but I know that I have plenty of room to improve. Oh well, at least I can chalk this down as a decent training session. Now, where's my beer...

colm_gti

dave_o_brien wrote: »

Now, where's my beer...

At 11am?! I salute you, sir!

dave_o_brien

colm_gti wrote: »

At 11am?! I salute you, sir!

It's my birthday, I can do what I want.

kenmc

What sort of beer?

dave_o_brien

kenmc wrote: »

What sort of beer?

So far it's been one Franziskaner and two Coopers IPA. They're very nice, and reasonably cheap in Tesco. Had a lovely lunch with the gf too. Now I'm going to relax until dinner time, and probably have some wine with that, then maybe to the Magpie in Dalkey for a few nice beers this evening. All in all, it's been a good day so far.

kenmc

I think the magpie has some good irish beers, like howling gale and hooker.... maybe even metalman...
Enjoy!

dave_o_brien

kenmc wrote: »

I think the magpie has some good irish beers, like howling gale and hooker.... maybe even metalman...
Enjoy!

Oh, I will! I have a soft spot for the Knockmealdown Ale myself...

fat bloke

My first 25k TT as well. It's not bad craic at all as a way to spend an evening. I'd say I was a teensy bit conservative for most of it. When you don't know the route and haven't done it before and don't know really what to expect... y'know yourself. Plus I'd seen a few of the early lads coming home against me who had obviously completely blown their beans so I was determined to keep something in the tank for the last 10k ish and at least finish strongly. Ended up with a 1.04.28, which I was delighted with of course until I saw what everyone else's times were .

Oh, and I learned one thing for sure and certain. Don't wear a ladies skin suit (unless you are in fact a lady). -Turns out boys and girls aren't the same "down there". :pac::o

buffalo

btw, did anyone else observe some drafting? ON the way out (I was 42mins past), I saw coming back against me: an Usher drafting a Lucan, a Lucan drafting a Lucan, and a gang of three that were perhaps just overtaking each other around the same time. Not cool by the drafters anyway, not cool.

Redmond101

buffalo wrote: »

btw, did anyone else observe some drafting? ON the way out (I was 42mins past), I saw coming back against me: an Usher drafting a Lucan, a Lucan drafting a Lucan, and a gang of three that were perhaps just overtaking each other around the same time. Not cool by the drafters anyway, not cool.

Ye I saw 3 cases of drafting, 2 of which were very obvious drafting cases, the other more of a slow overtake.

colm_gti

buffalo wrote: »

btw, did anyone else observe some drafting? ON the way out (I was 42mins past), I saw coming back against me: an Usher drafting a Lucan, a Lucan drafting a Lucan, and a gang of three that were perhaps just overtaking each other around the same time. Not cool by the drafters anyway, not cool.

Yep definitely saw a Lucan lad drafting another Lucan lad, he spotted me looking at him and grinned back! Bit cheeky if you ask me!