Audax Ireland: MF1200

MF1200

Audax Ireland is pleased to announce the launch of the Míle Fáilte 1200. This is a 1,200 kilometre randonneé commencing June 21st 2014, over four days in the South of Ireland.
It will operate from two manned overnight hubs and otherwise use commercial/info controls.
Section One begins on Saturday at 6.00 am from the first hub in Midleton, Cork and loops back to it that night travelling through about 360 kilometres, mostly inland.
Section Two follows the coastline of south Cork westward to finish overnight after 350 Km in the second hub; a Killarney hostel.
Section Three takes riders 350 km further through the Ring of Kerry and Dingle peninsula back to their Killarney base.
Section Four returns cyclists the 140 km between hubs to Midleton and the finish. All together it covers much of the breathtaking scenery of the Cork/Kerry coastline as well as the rolling plains of the Golden Vale and Copper Coast.
The four days rack up almost 14 km of vertical climb (outstripping PBP with 9.4 and the longer LEL with its 11.5). It is roughly on par with the Mille Alba and Mille Cymru. MF1200 reaches a high of 400 metres but rarely goes over 250 and the climbs are memorable more for their number and scenery than for their gentle gradient.
Hub controls will provide overnight accommodation and a cooked breakfast. Through the days the course meanders through the quiet lanes of South Leinster and along established tourist trails of Munster taking in the most picturesque countryside between the small towns and villages of rural Ireland. As well as the standard route sheet and GPS files, riders will be provided with a list of hotels and cafes en route that provide convenient stops.

Entries to the MF1200 are limited to 80 and those interested are invited to register their interest by emailing their name and address to millefailte1200@gmail.com . There is no charge at this point. A detailed e-brochure is also available. Once the event website is populated and entry fees are established, it will open officially. This is expected to be after December when preference will be given to those already registered. Final payment will requested at this point and a Confirmed Rider List will be compiled and published.

We expect the entry fee to be less than €150 to include hostel accommodation on each night with a cooked breakfast. Hotel rooms (again with breakfast) will be optional at a supplementary cost thought to be in the region of €150. There will be route sheets, GPS files, bag drop between hubs and a commemorative medal for all, not to mention the legendary Irish welcome - Céad Míle Fáilte!

Event Brochure - Website and Social Media to follow

thebouldwhacker

I'm in.

Signal_ rabbit

me too, where's the email address

ford2600

Signal_ rabbit wrote: »

me too, where's the email address

I'm in too. Sent op pm about that

Alek

It seems I need to start training long distances NOW.

I'm in.

thebouldwhacker

Oh dear lord what have I done.......... Does this deserve a new bike?

Captain Havoc

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

Oh dear lord what have I done.......... Does this deserve a new bike?

If you've doubts as to whether or not you need a new bike, the answer is always yes.

thebouldwhacker

The maps are a bit hard to read but from what I am seeing the route plotted on day one from Mitchelstown to Lismore doesnt actually take in the Vee, it seems to stay East of it and uses a different road?

ford2600

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

The maps are a bit hard to read but from what I am seeing the route plotted on day one from Mitchelstown to Lismore doesnt actually take in the Vee, it seems to stay East of it and uses a different road?

Looks like, Mitchelsown-ballyporeen road with a turn of for red hill, Araglin, and then Lismore and onto Youghal via the Blackwater and presumably knockanore

ford2600

If you've done Bobby Power challenge looks like they are using some of those roads around Carricek and south Tipp. Nice and lumpy by the look of it

The Ging and I

Its a climb from Mitchellstown to Lismore and a nice road too.

Inquitus

For those who need to get a 200,300 and 400 in before the MF1200 in order to qualify, here's the available Audax in 2014 per the Draft Calendar.

thebouldwhacker

Does the Fleche count towards qualification? if not is the REK400 the only 400 one can use to qualify for June?

MF1200

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

Does the Fleche count towards qualification?

Indeed it would qualify - perfecto!

Inquitus

boards Easter Fleche team anyone!

NamelessPhil

A couple of us who did the 6 Megaliths were discussing the possibility.

Inquitus

NamelessPhil wrote: »

A couple of us who did the 6 Megaliths were discussing the possibility.

You're too fast for me NamelessPhil, I will be starting the boards.ie Fleche B Team

diomed

http://www.audaxireland.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Mile-Failte-Brochure.pdf

Master McGrath, Ireland’s favourite and thought to be the greatest dog ever, was born in Dungarvan in 1866, the runt in a pack of seven ..... So famous was he that he was summoned to appear before Queen Elizabeth and became the subject of painting, ballad and lore.

Queen Victoria?

cdaly_

Inquitus wrote: »

You're too fast for me NamelessPhil, I will be starting the boards.ie Fleche B Team

If we brought a couple of ropes she could tow us around...

I'd be in for a boards team.

CramCycle

cdaly_ wrote: »

If we brought a couple of ropes she could tow us around...

I am just going to sit in the trailer and provide motivational speeches on occasion

rflynnr

NamelessPhil wrote: »

A couple of us who did the 6 Megaliths were discussing the possibility.

Indeed we were and we're it not for a persistent chest infection I'd have put something up to that effect sooner. That said, Nameless Philip and I are looking for 2 people to do the Flèche with. We did the Six Megaliths 300 together at a rolling average speed of about 24.5km - 24.7km so we'd be looking for people comfortable with that kind of pace. Nameless Phil suggested that we might do training runs in the 100k range over the winter to to a) just keep the legs spinning and b) to establish speed compatibility. Given my chest I'm not positive when I could actually do the first training run (in the past these things have occasionally dragged on for months) but in the abstract is anyone up for teaming up with us?

Alek

I've done last two 200k with moving average approx. 26-27kmh, but I've never cycled anything longer than this. What kind of distance you're planning for the Fleche?

MF1200

diomed wrote: »

Queen Victoria?

Doh
Vicky / Betty ....That's what happens when we don't research our facts properly on Wikipedia. Apols to the Monarchy.
Already - an obvious improvement for next year.

NamelessPhil

Jesus lads, I'm not that fast!:o I might be relatively fast for audax but that's all!

The Easter Fleche has to be at least 360km in 24hours with a minimum of three finishers in any team. The rules are on the Audax Ireland website.

smacl

Alek wrote: »

I've done last two 200k with moving average approx. 26-27kmh, but I've never cycled anything longer than this. What kind of distance you're planning for the Fleche?

Probably worth considering average distance covered per hour in addition to rolling time. I'm a slow enough yoke on a bike, and allow 10 hours for a lumpy 200k, start to finish, which is usually plenty. I've yet to do a 300k let alone 360+k but I'd imagine my average speed would drop.

Alek

Probably worth considering average distance covered per hour in addition to rolling time

My total average speed (including planned stops, punctures and hitting the wall once ) was ~23kmh over 200km (9 hours).

Give or take, 400km in 20-22 hours seems possible to me. Time will tell ;-)

NamelessPhil

The 6 Megaliths took me from 05:30 to 22:30 door-to-door. That was 320km for the day in a time of 17 hours. I recently did a very flat 276km in 12:17.

ford2600

More Colligan than Dungarvan while your editing....
About 2km north of monument.
Most have been some dog, there's a sketch of him in local pub which is very old.

On the easter spin might do a munster one if there is enough interest

thebouldwhacker

NamelessPhil wrote: »

The 6 Megaliths took me from 05:30 to 22:30 door-to-door. That was 320km for the day in a time of 17 hours. I recently did a very flat 276km in 12:17.

Hmmm, seem to be making quite the name for yourself there...... Oh the irony.

detones

Inquitus wrote: »

For those who need to get a 200,300 and 400 in before the MF1200 in order to qualify, here's the available Audax in 2014 per the Draft Calendar.

Hey Inquitus any more info on the Angel of Mons 200? Can't find anything on it on the Audax Ireland site. Might attempt it or the Kings Mountain as my first Audux event.

Inquitus

detones wrote: »

Hey Inquitus any more info on the Angel of Mons 200? Can't find anything on it on the Audax Ireland site. Might attempt it or the Kings Mountain as my first Audux event.

Its one of Ronnie's routes, so if I had to guess it starts at Whitehall Church, the weather will be abysmal, and it will go in search of Tower, Megaliths or similar! There's also a fair chance the gps route will contain errors, so keep the route sheet handy!

detones

Inquitus wrote: »

Its one of Ronnie's routes, so if I had to guess it starts at Whitehall Church, the weather will be abysmal, and it will go in search of Tower, Megaliths or similar! There's also a fair chance the gps route will contain errors, so keep the route sheet handy!

Would it be possible to do one of these without a GPS? Just use an i-phone as back up if you get lost. Maybe there'll be a route map put up on the Audax Ireland website later on, for my first one i'd like a fairly flat route.

Inquitus

detones wrote: »

Would it be possible to do one of these without a GPS? Just use an i-phone as back up if you get lost. Maybe there'll be a route map put up on the Audax Ireland website later on, for my first one i'd like a fairly flat route.

Yes the route sheets slow you down a bit as you have to stop to read them, but they are accurate and well written. A GPS is a convenience, not a necessity.

LastGasp

Hi Folks,

Regarding the Fleche, if you're interested in entering a team please familiarise yourselves with the rules as they are a bit "fiddly". Remember it's a 24 hour event, so it needs to last for 24 hours - you can't finish early. If you travel "too fast" then you either need to do a long route, or spend a fair bit of time sitting in cafes passing the time. All routes have to finish in the same place, the idea being that the different teams meet up at the finish. This year the finish is Mullingar. Audax pace including stops is minimum 15kph, maximum 30kph, which translates to route distance of min 360kms, max 720kms (Good luck with that one !). You need to get a control (receipt or something) at 22hrs and 24hrs, and to travel at least 25kms in the last two hours, so timing to finish mid-morning (or later) when shops etc are open is a good idea. Rules are laid out here http://www.audaxireland.org/calendar/gazetteer/easter-fleche/ in more detail, but this was for 2013 so specific details are out of date.
Cheers, LG.

cdaly_

Inquitus wrote: »

Yes the route sheets slow you down a bit as you have to stop to read them, but they are accurate and well written. A GPS is a convenience, not a necessity.

It's also worth having a paper map with you. I've found it helpful in the past (I usually print the map my ride map suitably zoomed) and it will be particularly useful when your phone/gps runs out of change and won't take a charge from your backup battery...

MF1200

We have been working on our website at the MF1200 and will be updating it as plans fall into place. We have also been back in touch – we hope with everyone who has registered an interest and we have offered each a place. We also think we have acknowledged all who have entered. So let us know if you are still waiting to hear from us MilleFailte1200@gmail.com
The early response has been strong so the option of the hostel on the first night of the event is no longer available. This means the entry has increased to €180 for the limited remaining places.
If you haven’t been in touch already we will send an entry form in reply to an e-mail.

lennymc

A Friend of mine registered for this, but due to unforseen family circumstances, he will be unable to take part. He asked me to post up here to see if there was anyone willing to take his place. The cost is 180 euro and includes entry fee, the hotel stay in Midleton on the first night and the hostel in Killarney on the following 2 nights. If anyone is interested send me a PM and I will pass on your details.

Thanks,
Lenny

thebouldwhacker

So that's the Flèche out of the way. June is looming large, how we all doing?

mh_cork

I was down in Kerry over the weekend and took the chance to recce some of the route.

Drove from Mallow to Killarney - part of Day 4. Easy enough to navigate. Quiet road, surface mostly ok. No significant hills.

Cycled Slea Head - part of Day 3 (198k-240k). For those not from Ireland, take note that the road signs are in Irish, so dont look for villages marked on the map. The road follows the R559 EXCEPT for a slight detour @231k-233k. This is not obvious on the map unless you zoom in. At 231k, ignore sign for R559 and go straight ahead. Beautiful scenery, road surface was good, freshly tarmaced in places. A few significant drags at 6-8% and exposed, so likely to have a headwind.

Drove from Dingle to Killarney - part of Day 3 (240k-351k). The climb out of Dingle (Connor pass) is the biggest climb of the entire route. Its a long climb but its fairly consistent gradient all the way. The descent from it is on a very narrow road and deserves care. From the bottom of the hill to Tralee is a good road with no significant hills but is exposed to coastal winds.
Navigation through Tralee was simple enough but coming out of Tralee on Clash Road was confusing. Clash Road seems to end in a cul-de-sac and there could be a new road that may not be on Google maps. I managed to find the roundabout @291k. The next 20k was a surprise, a beautiful quiet road (just go towards the wind turbines!). The junction @ 311.8k is NOT sign-posted, so take a note. It takes you up a road with grass in the middle, but you will find the village of Knocknagoshal.
Some careful navigation needed to take the correct junctions is needed to get back onto the main road (N21), especially @314.9k. Once on the N21, follow it to the top of the hill. Next turn is @ 321.6, signposted Crag Cave. Dodgy descent here, no corners but road surface is lumpy. Into CastleIsland, out Killarney road. Turn off N21 @ 329.7, signposted Currow. Thru the village and next junction. The road for this section was poor and very narrow. At 336k, you come to a slight fork in the road, its not obvious which way, take the LEFT road.
The last 10k into Killarney have some tough gradients but thankfully not too long. Care needs to be taken on the navaigation here because if you go off track here it will be difficult to find a reference point to get back on track.

Looking forward and dreading this in equal measure! Hopefully the weather is good for it.

EDIT: I am from Cork, so I have cycled a lot of the route previously, especially Days 2 & 3. If anyone has any questions, I'll do my best to answer them.

gearoidkerry

Hi mh cork thanks for that info,there are 3of us doing the mf1200 and we were thinking of cycling some of the route but I can't find the maps or is there a route sheet made out yet?if you have a link to them that would be fantastic,I am going to try up loading to my garmin edge 500 as it would make it a little faster.thanks for your help regards gearoid

LastGasp

Hi Gearoid, Maps are on the Overview page of the MF1200 website http://mf1200.com/MFMain/index.php/description/overview
Cheers, LG

mh_cork

Yes, maps are on the site.
Day 1 is the hardest to navigate by far, lots of turns and constantly changing direction.

Day 2 is ok for navigation but note the cross river ferry @ 15k. I think ferry runs from 07.00 to 23.00. I think this day could be a real killer, there are few steep climbs but lots of little ones. Anyone who has done the WC200 or Rebel Tour would know how tough the roads are.

Day 3 is the easiest to navigate, RoK and Dingle peninsula. There is an interesting deviation @ 125km down to Rossbeigh beach. The road from Castlemaine (154km) to Dingle is spectacular but almost certainly there will be some type of headwind there.

Day 4 should be ok to navigate also, except for some tricky roads near the finish.

There are 6 of us signed up at the moment, less than 6 weeks to go now!

thebouldwhacker

gearoidkerry wrote: »

I am going to try up loading to my garmin edge 500 as it would make it a little faster.thanks for your help regards gearoid

If you are using the 500 be warned that it may crash using such large files. Perhaps breaking them into 100 km rides or the like may save your sanity. Either way don't try it out on day one of the event for the first time.

Mefistofelino

A bigger issue with the 500 is that the battery is unlikely to last a single day of the MF1200 (battery life is typically 12-15 hours but can be significantly less) so you'll need to recharge it a couple of times during the day. It would also be worth checking if it still navigates while being recharged from an external battery (PowerMonkey etc). IIRC, mine used to switch off when connected to external power. Not a problem when at a food stop but it means you mightn't be able to recharge "on the fly".

There's a lot to be said for a basic, wired bike computer and a route-sheet on long events like this.

thebouldwhacker

The 500 resets when being charged and will not operate while taking charge from a portable source or the mains. The 200 and the '10' series will.
My 500 will last 16 hours ride time turned to minimum power use and being switched on off at breaks.
I have bought an 810 for all these reasons and those above, I have a dynamo hub and so can charge it while riding. The 500 is a pain for 250km plus.

ford2600

Just a post after riding some of route over weekend.

A note to begin, this is my first year riding audax (Midelton audax was my maiden spin) so if your a seasoned rider with a lot of audax experience this post is not for you but the guy like me trying to do this mental cycle for first time. ( if you are that veteran please criticse away where I'm talking rubbish)

Saturday, I joined route in Carriagline and rode it from there to Fossa; Sunday I rode route from Fossa to Tralee and left out the the last 60km or so and just rode the 30km odd back to Fossa. Rode straight back home beyond Carriagline this morning.

All in 750km ish between 6.30am Saturday and 11am today.

The good bits first!
* The route is really stunning, would have cycled most of it before, but the beauty does lift the spirits when tired, Sheep's head and Slea Head in particular
* While there are some poor road surface in patches I found it fine in general. For this riding there is a lot to be said for 25/28mm though
* Loads of places for food on route, and Super Valu Dingle for the win! i would be mindful though when outside normal hours there may be long stretches between food stops
* Can't speak of the last bit from Tralee Fossa(which maybe tricky to navigate) but overall navigation is easy enough.
* The diversion of Ring in Rossbeigh is lovely(really nice view of Rossbeigh beach and Inch) Really step descent so be very careful if wet


What to watch out for?
* Peninsulas will be windy, but where you suffer one side you'll be aided the other. Expect it, be ready for it and it'll be fine
* It's not all downhill from Moll's Gap to Sneem!
* Lot of drags/ short ramps around the route
* With less sleep, lower speed, more clothes will be needed than for a normal 6-7hr spin. I cycled all day Saturday in bibs and ss jersey but had baselayer, jersey, leg warmers and jacket for about half of Sunday
* Expect to be tired a lot of the time; the audax, 1200 veteran I rode about 400km of route with ( he did the lot) answered "tired" every time I asked him how he was, yet on and one he rode.
* Dropping back average pace will probably mean a disproportionate reduction in average power output, keeping you stronger and fresher. Save time with shorter breaks rather than trying to catch time on bike.

Hope this helps it's all I can think of now, all the best and see ye on the road in 3 weeks.

BTW it is a physical impossibility, to drink 500ml of cream and get to top of Molls Gap within 45mins; if you get past the Brehon you've done better than me if your as stupid to try!

cdaly_

ford2600 wrote: »

* With less sleep, lower speed, more clothes will be needed than for a normal 6-7hr spin. I cycled all day Saturday in bibs and ss jersey but had baselayer, jersey, leg warmers and jacket for about half of Sunday

With less sleep and late hours, your metabolism inevitably slows down so your body will cool as well as the night cooling. Aim to have extra gloves and overshoes. Multiple layers of gloves and socks to keep the extremities warm but don't compress your feet or they'll get cold due to restricted blood circulation. Aim for a season colder for night riding (and possibly another season colder if it's wet). Overnight on the REK I wore baselayer, winter jacket, roubaix bibs, double socks, winter gloves...

* Expect to be tired a lot of the time; the audax, 1200 veteran I rode about 400km of route with ( he did the lot) answered "tired" every time I asked him how he was, yet on and one he rode.

Find your endurance pace. This may be around 80% of your pushing hard effort. It should be possible to sustain this pace for days. Use your gears, drop back to a nice low gear for the hills and spin. Don't try to keep up with the other lad/lass, you'll catch up later or your trying to keep up too high a pace. Learn how to take a 5 minute catnap.

* Dropping back average pace will probably mean a disproportionate reduction in average power output, keeping you stronger and fresher. Save time with shorter breaks rather than trying to catch time on bike.

Make up a timetable for yourself. Having identified your endurance pace, work out the times between towns, allowing for your pace slowing at night. Specify how long you will rest at each town (can be zero mins). Watch your time closely on rests, you will lose 10 min waiting for food at a cafe and another 5 thinking about what to order. Also, add a latest time to depart a town to stay within the time limit. This is your last gasp time. You want to be well ahead of this. For the REK I had a 20kph pace planned and made up a timetable with 20 and 18kph options. From that I could see where I was losing time on the 20 but I was still within time for the 18kph pace.


Above all, remember the Randonneur's mantra:

Never miss an opportunity to eat, sh*t or freewheel...

Mefistofelino

One week to go. I don't think I'll ever be ready enough for this.
Bike nearly fettled now but I think I'm going to spend the next 6 days faffing over what kit to bring - its not a saddlebag I need, its a service car!

Dromcarrig

Mefistofelino wrote: »

One week to go. I don't think I'll ever be ready enough for this.
Bike nearly fettled now but I think I'm going to spend the next 6 days faffing over what kit to bring - its not a saddlebag I need, its a service car!

You'll be fine! Two guys much older than you and with no KOMs to boast about rode it over June weekend and had no problems.

As for kit. Half of what you think you need. Which half is the question!! Seriously though you shouldn't anything more than you had on the Flèche.

ford2600

Just a quick post on this event.

I could rattle on about stunning scenery, beautiful weather, long days in saddle, the multitude of bike types, monster riders, very little sleep, nutrition etc etc but I won't.

This post is to thank and acknowledge the extraordinary group of organisers and volunteers who made this event so special.

I slept 3-4 hrs per night, they all slept less yet couldn't do enough for you. At the secret controls and sleeping controls they were taking bikes off us, filling bottles, fixing wheels, making tea etc.

Brilliant people doing something very hard and tiring on their own time for the love of sport. Audax Ireland and everyone associated with it, take a bow

thebouldwhacker

+1
However I would add a question, wtf were ye thinking at the end of day 3? Were ye trying to kill us with those walls? Over 1000km cycled and then we have to go mountain climbing too? Jez.
On a serious note I have never seen such support at an event with advice and real knowledge to a man and woman they were a credit to themselves.
Thanks