Wicklow 200 2015

Don't Chute!

Just signed up for this today! My first sportive. Doing it with a mate of mine from Sweden. Nervous and excited at the same time! Now to start training...

Keep_Her_Lit

Erm ... just askin like ... will ye be wantin a medal for that?

07Lapierre

Good man OP! Nothin like giving your self a goal/motivation for next year. The WW200 has its issues but overall it's a great day out. Enjoy!

diomed

Thanks for the thread.
I signed up a few minutes ago, but I'll probably not do it.

simonrooneyzaga

does this sell out quickly usually? Wouldn't mind waiting til Jan / Feb before stumping up.

fillup

I signed up too

I'm aiming for the 200, it'll be the hardest cycle I've attempted by far. I did the RoK last year and that looks like a piece of piddle compared to this.

I'm off bike duties (bar the commute) at mo due to hamstring problems but it's nice to have something to aim for.

Now all I have to do is winter well, drop a stone and ride, ride, ride til June comes round

fillup

diomed wrote: »

Thanks for the thread.
I signed up a few minutes ago, but I'll probably not do it.

That's the spirit!

MugMugs

I'd be interested in knowing if this fills up quick. Not sure how fit I'd be for 200 with such elevation.

07Lapierre

It doesn't fill up quickly..

Darkglasses

Yeah, you'll be fine to wait for another couple of months. There's often a few entries sold on this forum too.

Jim Stynes

signed up there myself!

nilhg

MugMugs wrote: »

I'd be interested in knowing if this fills up quick. Not sure how fit I'd be for 200 with such elevation.

I entered on the 7th of April last year so I'd imagine plenty of time yet.
It's not a race, you'll have 13 or 14 hours to get round if you need to and it's not on for 6 and a bit months, plenty of time to prepare.

fillup wrote: »

I signed up too

I'm aiming for the 200, it'll be the hardest cycle I've attempted by far. I did the RoK last year and that looks like a piece of piddle compared to this.

I'm off bike duties (bar the commute) at mo due to hamstring problems but it's nice to have something to aim for.

Now all I have to do is winter well, drop a stone and ride, ride, ride til June comes round

Sure what else would you be doing?:) Apart from saying a few prayers that the weather is more like '13 than '14....

Eamonnator

simonrooneyzaga wrote: »

does this sell out quickly usually? Wouldn't mind waiting til Jan / Feb before stumping up.

It always fills up. There are ALWAYS people, on here looking for entries, in the weeks before the event. I would hazard a guess, that you will be alright, leaving it 'til January.

There will also be people, on here, giving out about the cost, the food, the water, the medal, the route, the amount of climbing, the marshalling, the behaviour of other cyclists, the behaviour of motorists, signage, the speed of other cyclists, the midges, the weather, the delays in signing on, the cost, the slowness of other riders , the food, did I mention the medal?, the potholes, the difficulty in accessing the website, and anything else, they can think of.
I forgot to mention the weather!
You have to listen to thunder!!.

bazermc

Eamonnator wrote: »

It always fills up. There are ALWAYS people, on here looking for entries, in the weeks before the event. I would hazard a guess, that you will be alright, leaving it 'til January.

There will also be people, on here, giving out about the cost, the food, the water, the medal, the route, the amount of climbing, the marshalling, the behaviour of other cyclists, the behaviour of motorists, signage, the speed of other cyclists, the midges, the weather, the delays in signing on, the cost, the slowness of other riders , the food, did I mention the medal?, the potholes, the difficulty in accessing the website, and anything else, they can think of.
I forgot to mention the weather!
You have to listen to thunder!!.

Jeeze don't mention that bloody medal ðŸ˜႒

zindicato

MugMugs wrote: »

I'd be interested in knowing if this fills up quick. Not sure how fit I'd be for 200 with such elevation.

ahhh just take your time enjoy the day really dont worry much about fast finishing times/average speeds tis a grand day out on the bike ...... whenn the weather permits it we had ****e weather the last time around...soaked all day nearly:D

fillup

I know I'm going to regret asking this but what's the deal with the medal?

Eamonnator

fillup wrote: »

I know I'm going to regret asking this but what's the deal with the medal?

Don't mention the war!!

I should also have said, that there will be people, who claim, that they can do the Wicklow 200 on the day before the event or the week before the event. Ignore them ,they're wrong. There will also be people, who will say, that it's OK to do the W200, without paying. They're also wrong.

Combined with all this, there will also be a crowd of lunatics, who will encourage you to do a "gentle spin" named "The Evil 200". Just ignore them, hopefully, they'll just go away.

Leroy42

Eamonnator wrote: »

Combined with all this, there will also be a crowd of lunatics, who will encourage you to do a "gentle spin" named "The Evil 200". Just ignore them, hopefully, they'll just go away.

On the Evil 200 the going away is the easy bit, its the getting back again is the problem!:D

Eamonnator

fillup wrote: »

I know I'm going to regret asking this but what's the deal with the medal?

In the past, there have been problems with people, not getting their due medal.

crosstownk

I signed up just now. My target last year was the WW100 but I've eyed up the WW200 for 2015.

I just hope the weather is better than 2014!!

fillup

i found the thread from 2013 about the WW200 -
or Where's me Medal as the Sultan's of Ping would have called it

LennoxR

Some myths about the Wicklow 200;

1. It's easy. Not true. It's a tough day in the saddle.

Not impossible or anything but always hard due to the climbs but mainly because of the length. But there are some people who'll tell you you can rock without training bla bla bla. No way. Prepare properly with several months of long hilly spins, ride sensibly on the day and you'll be fine. But do prepare.

2. The organisation is terrible. Not true.

There are several thousand people doing it and most of them arrive at the first food stop within an hour of each other. there's going to be queues. But on the whole the organisation, sing posting etc is very good.

3. "I did it in 4 hours moving time at an average of 50kph." LIES!

Lots of people will be claiming outlandish feats the day afterwards on the internet. Ignore them. Most of them are lying.

diomed

LennoxR wrote: »

3. "I did it in 4 hours moving time at an average of 50kph." LIES!

I did it in one hour on a unicycle carrying a bag of coal with no training.

MugMugs

diomed wrote: »

I did it in one hour on a unicycle carrying a bag of coal with no training.

Wicklow200 Website wrote:

Q Can I ride a recumbant? A penny-farthing? A unicycle?

A We’ve had them all (except a unicycle), so yes, you can ride more or less anything as long as it’s legal on public roads. The use of TRI_BARS is NOT allowed.

Remember that you are responsible for ensuring that your cycle is safe and suitable for the event. The Wicklow 200 is a serious challenge on any cycle, so only attempt it on a cycle that you are confident and safe on.

Lies make baby Jesus cry !

fillup

diomed wrote: »

I did it in one hour on a unicycle carrying a bag of coal with no training.

Yes but did you get a medal for it?

diomed

I did it in one hour on a unicycle backwards playing the bagpipes carrying a bag of coal with no training. :pac:

Kav0777

diomed wrote: »

I did it in one hour on a unicycle backwards playing the bagpipes carrying a bag of coal with no training. :pac:

Pah, that's nothing, I used to dream of carrying a bag of coal, I left on a Sunday morning at 6 am hauling a cart of coal and brickets, carrying an anvil on my head, and no saddle, with a handful of cold gravel in my pocket for lunch, and got back at 8pm the evening before....

MugMugs

Had a look at it and going to steer for the 100 for kicks and giggles. Plan on being very active this year with my club but can't find anybody to do the 200 with me. My friends are all lazy Bastards.

Leroy42

MugMugs wrote: »

Had a look at it and going to steer for the 100 for kicks and giggles. Plan on being very active this year with my club but can't find anybody to do the 200 with me. My friends are all lazy Bastards.

Do the 200. There will be 2000+ people doing it so you are bound to meet up with a few. And sure you've got boardsies on here to meet up with.

MugMugs wrote: »

My friends are all lazy Bastards.

They are not your friends, they are just holding you back. Time to ditch them and move on

dragratchet

weather last year was someting else, though it added to the day imo. the tailwind up the wicklow gap alone was worth the suffering.

lissard

I did it this year by myself and like all sportives you get talking to all sorts of people along the way. Having said that I don't think I'd fancy doing 8+ hours on my own again - it would be nice to have a friend to share the suffering with. Please God it won't be as wet next year - getting pissed on for hours on end wasn't much fun.

Matt Bianco

Does anyone know definitively how many opted for the 200km last year?

I heard from one of the marshalls after the 100/200 split that a lot had opted for the shorter distance because of the conditions so would be interested in finding out.

bazermc

MugMugs wrote: »

Lies make baby Jesus cry !

Take that Lisa's beliefs

Leroy42

Matt Bianco wrote: »

Does anyone know definitively how many opted for the 200km last year?

I heard from one of the marshalls after the 100/200 split that a lot had opted for the shorter distance because of the conditions so would be interested in finding out.

No, they were just doing the 300 instead!

dragratchet

Matt Bianco wrote: »

Does anyone know definitively how many opted for the 200km last year?

I heard from one of the marshalls after the 100/200 split that a lot had opted for the shorter distance because of the conditions so would be interested in finding out.

From this Irish Times Article

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/record-turnout-for-wicklow-cycling-events-1.1824972

'By about 4pm 1,371 cyclists had completed the cycle - just 146 of whom had done the 200 kilometre version. “I think the downpour may have put some people off” said Ms O’Mara. “People were able to decide at the last minute. If it was raining in the hills when they got to Laragh they could simply turn left” she said'

4pm would have seen quite a few cyclists completing the 200 so by the articles reckon, it wasnt that many..

easygoing39

dragratchet wrote: »

weather last year was someting else, though it added to the day imo. the tailwind up the wicklow gap alone was worth the suffering.

If you thought last year was bad,you would have hated the 2011 200,now that was a hard day,people had to abandon with hypothermia. Not to mention the riders who crashed into the river at high speed!!

Eamonnator

easygoing39 wrote: »

If you thought last year was bad,you would have hated the 2011 200,now that was a hard day,people had to abandon with hypothermia. Not to mention the riders who crashed into the river at high speed!!

I punctured that day,after the Sally Gap. My hands were so cold, it took me about twenty minutes to get the tyre back onto the rim.
And there's the story from that year about the two guys, who did the W200 on a tandem. One of them became so cold, he quit just before the Shay Elliot. The other one finished on the tandem by himself.

Ole Rodrigo

2011 was a grim year indeed.

Don't Chute!

Jaysus! What am i getting myself into?

Alek

Jaysus! What am i getting myself into?

Calm down, its not a cyclocross race.

:pac:

route66

All the stats for 2014 are here: http://www.wicklow200.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014times.pdf

Based on this, I did some crunching on the numbers when the PDF was posted up:

fillup

So 10 hrs at 19.59km/h and I'm over the line

easy peasy, what could possibly go wrong

Carawaystick

fillup wrote: »

So 10 hrs at 19.59km/h and I'm over the line

easy peasy, what could possibly go wrong

If the line is just over 4 km from the finish, yeah yer grand

fillup

Carawaystick wrote: »

If the line is just over 4 km from the finish, yeah yer grand

durrrrrrrrrrr - yeah the auld mental maths went a bit mental there.
Good Spot (as we used to say to our mutt when he gave us the paw)

smacl

fillup wrote: »

So 10 hrs at 19.59km/h and I'm over the line

easy peasy, what could possibly go wrong

First time I did it it was more like 11 hours and my brother in law took 12! It was pretty epic, and surprisingly quite a bit more fun than subsequent years.


(* to be fair, it was 2011, I was on a 13kg hybrid, he was on a hard tail MTB )

godtabh

What were the invalid entries? Those who didn't get medals?

I think I will do this this year. Might not have a lot of time to train for it but sure we'll see.

oconnpad

ror_74 wrote: »

2011 was a grim year indeed.

I still have the mental scars from the 100 that year, started early around 6:20am and rain started not long after that and then 4 hours of hell ensued

i also remember it was 105km and those extra 5km were just killer.

Plan on doing the 200 next year though

davidsatelle100

Signed up just to motivate myself for the year ahead

My first sportive I assume you can choose the 100/200 on the day?

oconnpad

davidsatelle100 wrote: »

Signed up just to motivate myself for the year ahead

My first sportive I assume you can choose the 100/200 on the day?

Yeah you can choose on the day, you'll have up to laragh to decide and the split is there

Ole Rodrigo

oconnpad wrote: »

I still have the mental scars from the 100 that year, started early around 6:20am and rain started not long after that and then 4 hours of hell ensued

i also remember it was 105km and those extra 5km were just killer.

Plan on doing the 200 next year though

I remember joining up with different groups and everyone was complaining of hell on earth, and passing the ambulance with those chaps who crashed into the river.

But made it home in time for tea.

Some pics:

Statler

route66 wrote: »

All the stats for 2014 are here: http://www.wicklow200.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014times.pdf

Based on this, I did some crunching on the numbers when the PDF was posted up:

That indicates an almost 50/50 split between people doing the 100 and 200, certainly didn't seem like that on the day, and the Irish Times article linked earlier said very few had completed the 200 by 4pm, I presume the numbers on that list are for people who started the 200, i.e. said they would do the 200 route but then took the "feck this" option at Laragh.