6th September: Cycle for SID Sportive, Laois.

Daithi BC

On Saturday 6th of September, Laois CTC and Laois Sports Partnership are hosting a sportive in aid of LSP's Sports Inclusion Disability (SID) programme. This programme provides sports and physical activities for over 400 people with disabilities. Mark Rohan, Irish World and Paralympic paracycling champion will be there on the day.

There are two routes: a 120km which climbs the Cut (http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/458605030), and a flat 60km (http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/489983660). Registration and sign-on for both starts at 9am in Portlaoise Leisure Centre (which can be found here: http://goo.gl/maps/lZ3S7).

The entry fee is €25 for Cycling Ireland members, and all funds raised go to the SID programme. Many local businesses have generously supported food stops and a meal at the end, so costs are being kept to a minimum while still providing a great day's cycling.

To register, please visit www.laoissports.ie, where full details for the event can be found.

Any questions, please post here and I'll do my best to ansrwer them.

Pieterblurb

Sounds great. Can the facilities at the Portlaoise Leisure Centre be used after the cycle for a shower?

Daithi BC

Pieterblurb wrote: »

Sounds great. Can the facilities at the Portlaoise Leisure Centre be used after the cycle for a shower?

Yes, there are showers available at the leisure centre afterwards. The finish is going to be at O'Loughlin's hotel on the main street in Portlaoise. There's a secure bike parking area at the back of this and a meal available in the hotel, and then it's 700m back to the leisure centre.

nilhg

I hope to make this, haven't been in the Blooms half enough this year, though personally 'd have preferred the route the other way round, every sportive seems to go up the Cut from the Clonaslee side.

Daithi BC

nilhg wrote: »

I hope to make this, haven't been in the Blooms half enough this year, though personally 'd have preferred the route the other way round, every sportive seems to go up the Cut from the Clonaslee side.

I have to say, I prefer the climb from the Mountrath side as well, but there are quite a few in the club that completely disagree. One reason we went for climbing the Clonaslee side is that the road surface on the descent into Clonaslee is pretty bumpy. You don't notice it climbing but you wouldn't want any loose fillings going down it.

nilhg

Daithi BC wrote: »

I have to say, I prefer the climb from the Mountrath side as well, but there are quite a few in the club that completely disagree. One reason we went for climbing the Clonaslee side is that the road surface on the descent into Clonaslee is pretty bumpy. You don't notice it climbing but you wouldn't want any loose fillings going down it.

A couple of us were up there a little while ago, (my first time this year) I thought that the road back down into Clonaslee had improved, there seemed to have been some surface dressing/pothole filling done, anyway I'll defer to the local experts, looking forward to this, hopefully I'll manage to make it.

Daithi BC

Forecast looking good for Saturday: http://www.yr.no/place/Ireland/Leinster/Portlaoise/long.html - Dry, 16 degrees and light breezes. Hope they're right!

Online registration is still available at http://www.laoissports.ie.

DUBintheSTICKS

I'm looking forward to this. Will only be my second time do cycle the Cut, I hope to see a big improvement on first attempt

nilhg

Very enjoyable day out, if you can call being flat to the boards all the way enjoyable....

When I say that the "neutralised" first 20km was done at almost 36km/hr you'll get an idea of the pace being set up front, I managed to stick in the lead group till the bottom of the Cut where I was unceremoniously spat out the back, caught up with some of the lads at the stop in Mountrath, but waited to spin home with two Kildare lads who arrived just as the others were leaving. The Abbeyleix-Port road into that head wind was a rough way to finish but as they say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.....

Well organised, well marshalled, plenty of grub, one for next year again I think.

RST

Very enjoyable spin. The start was indeed fast but I made the sensible decision to leave the front group to their own devices before the descent into stradbally.
Marshalling was top notch.
My only gripe was the food stop, I'm not a fan of outdoor stops. We were lucky that the weather was favorable.
Today was also probably the only time that I will have an olympic gold medal in my hand.
Will be back next year.

Daithi BC

RST wrote: »

My only gripe was the food stop, I'm not a fan of outdoor stops. We were lucky that the weather was favorable.

Fair comment. I think with the forecast we were confident that we'd be ok today, but we'll be reviewing the event next week, and that's something we're going to look at.

RST wrote: »

Today was also probably the only time that I will have an olympic gold medal in my hand.
Will be back next year.

Definitely the closest I'm ever going to get to an olympic medal. Couldn't believe how heavy it was!