Giants Causeway Coast Sportive!

Arequipa

Hi! I did this sportive on Saturday. I covered the 182km route..
I was commuting to work all week & was quite tired from work but i enjoyed the day..
The rain @ the start wasa bit depressibg, but it did brighten up in the late morning & early avo!
The foodstops & organisation, signage & marshalling were all very good..
I enjoyed the foodstop in the orange hall with the flags etc.. Interesting & very different..
I got x2 punctures & was given a tube + a tyre from the Chain Reaction mechanics...
Its funny.. I dont remember a section in the middle.. Lovely scenery & good crack, but the final section over Torr Head was absolutely killer..i started to bonk & couldnt get up the hills..
It was the first time o have ever had to walk with my bike.. I was just empty..!!
Lots of guys in a similar situ as me..
I got to the finish & got a Chain Reaction goodie bag & delich chicken pasta!

Great day but never collapsed on a climb like that before..


Anyone else do this sportive?

Oh yea, i thought the organisers & locals in Ballycastle were really friendly!

A

gambeta_fc

Arequipa wrote: »

Anyone else do this sportive?

Yeah, did the 180K route too. Made a late decision to sign up and glad I did, great event. Wet morning but with the rolling start there was no standing around in the rain, was grand once you got going and brightened up nicely as the day went on.

Must have been a bit spaced out at the food stops as I didn't realise I was in an Orange Hall! I skipped the first one though unless it was that one? They know how to lay on a food stop though, third one in particular was a great spread, managed to put enough caramel slices in the bank there to get me over Torr Head. Seen a few walking alright including one poor fella doubled over with cramps with the top in sight although he was still somehow managing a smile, some man!

Arequipa

Hi! Well if u got over Torr Head after 160km without stopping or walking, you're a strong man!
As i said.. That was the first time on a climb i have had to stop & walk the bike..didnt feel good about that tbh!

Keimps

Torr was a beast. I did the 126km / 80m tour together with my wife and we enjoyed it very much. When we arrived at the decision without thinking we chose for the challenge of Torr Head. Little did we know that it was THAT steep! I saw it was around 5km climbing and that the top was at about 300m high, so I figured it couldn't be that bad. But then you started climbing these insanely steeps parts to then go down again to start all over again!

Tough it was very hard we were happy we chose to do it and we actually managed to do so without stopping or walking, I was very proud of my wife! Didn't see a lot of women on the Torr Head.

Btw guys, is there someone here who did the 80M/126KM version and has uploaded it to Strava? We were unable to capture our ride so I am looking for that nice person who can export their GPX so we can manually upload it! Would be very much appreciated.

Charlie69

Did this last year and although I've just returned from a trip to the alps, Torr Head after 160km is still the toughest climb I've done. Made it up without walking though, sorry Arequipa

wilhelm roentgen

I did the 180km ride last year with some friends from Cork,I loved the event and the route was fantastic. It's always great to cycle somewhere new. Torr head is incredibly difficult especially as it comes so late into the event and is a real test, the only thing I've done worst than that is Hardknott and Wrynose on the Fred Whitton. I got up Torr head, but Hardknott beat me and I had to walk some of it

talkabout

Keimps wrote: »

Torr was a beast. I did the 126km / 80m tour together with my wife and we enjoyed it very much. When we arrived at the decision without thinking we chose for the challenge of Torr Head. Little did we know that it was THAT steep! I saw it was around 5km climbing and that the top was at about 300m high, so I figured it couldn't be that bad. But then you started climbing these insanely steeps parts to then go down again to start all over again!

Tough it was very hard we were happy we chose to do it and we actually managed to do so without stopping or walking, I was very proud of my wife! Didn't see a lot of women on the Torr Head.

Btw guys, is there someone here who did the 80M/126KM version and has uploaded it to Strava? We were unable to capture our ride so I am looking for that nice person who can export their GPX so we can manually upload it! Would be very much appreciated.

I have it on strava, did the 126km route. Pm me and i'll email you the file.