24 Hour cycle

a_shed

I've taken the notion of trying to see how far I can cycle in 24 hours.
I've previously done a few 15 hour cycles which have been fully in daylight hours.
Riding on dark country roads at 3am does not appeal to me, purely for the safety aspect.
I know in the UK race circuits (Silverstone, Brands Hatch etc) are sometimes used for this kind of thing.

Is anyone aware of anything similar in Ireland or can anyone offer any advice?

Cee-Jay-Cee

I don't really understand why you would do something that involves cycling at night on unlit roads when the idea of same doesn't really appeal to you because of safety concerns?

a_shed

Think you've misunderstood, the safety aspect relates to traffic. I am looking for a circuit or loop which would be traffic-free.

HivemindXX

You could always do loops of some well lit city road, possibly only for the dark portion of the 24 hours. I'm not sure how feasible it is to find a long loop that doesn't have too many traffic lights.

You could also use an unlit but wide national road in the country. You could use the old Cork road between Cahir and Mitchelstown as an example I happen to know, it has a hard shoulder and very little traffic because of the adjacent motorway.

OleRodrigo

There are several events on the Audax Ireland calendar which involve at least 24 hours riding, including the Easter Fleche.

Most definitely will involve rural unlit roads during the early hours. With proper lights and Hi Viz that's not a problem.

There's a 600 km this weekend, which has a 40 hour time limit.

magicbastarder

i doubt they'd lend you the track for that time period, but mondello do open up on weeknights during the winter for an hour or two, to cyclists.

Grassey

a_shed wrote:

Think you've misunderstood, the safety aspect relates to traffic. I am looking for a circuit or loop which would be traffic-free.

Sallygap, Wicklow gap, blessington loop would be pretty quiet at 3am

seamus

Grassey wrote: »

Sallygap, Wicklow gap, blessington loop would be pretty quiet at 3am

I'd be inclined to avoid the gaps in the middle of the night. You never know what you'll find up there.

If you can stand having to stop at traffic lights, then a wide loop around Dublin - north-south along the coast, out to tallaght, then north again and back to the coast - would give you the longest route with street lighting you can find.

About 120km by my reckoning; you don't have to continually do the same loop for 24 hours, but aim to start it when the light is fading and you should be finished by the time the light is creeping back in.

Inquitus

You could lose your sanity cycling round Corkagh Park for 24 hours

11m gain on the back straight, 1.1 km a lap, say 2min30secs, would get you 576 laps in 24 hours at that pace, which is 6336m of climbing, another 9 hours and you'd have Everested the back straight

OleRodrigo

Also, 600 Km in 24 hours would be among the top times for that distance and type of event, so would be a good benchmark on whats possible under different (supported?) conditions.

nilhg

Having done once what the OP is thinking of, it wouldn't be the dark country roads at 3AM that worry me (though to be fair we had a group, and a follow car) but the lads exiting various establishments between 11pm and 3am, the behavior can be a little unpredictable......

cdaly_

OleRodrigo wrote: »

There are several events on the Audax Ireland calendar which involve at least 24 hours riding, including the Easter Fleche.

Most definitely will involve rural unlit roads during the early hours. With proper lights and Hi Viz that's not a problem.

There's a 600 km this weekend, which has a 40 hour time limit.

This. Come visit at http://audaxireland.org/ and we'll get you riding non-stop for days at a stretch...

DanDublin1982

Inquitus wrote: »

You could lose your sanity cycling round Corkagh Park for 24 hours

11m gain on the back straight, 1.1 km a lap, say 2min30secs, would get you 576 laps in 24 hours at that pace, which is 6336m of climbing, another 9 hours and you'd have Everested the back straight

Plug the earphones in and it wouldn't be all that bad.

OleRodrigo

Or, across the pond, the Mersey Roads 24 hour :

https://www.ultracycling.com/calendar/mersey-roads-24-2017/


Would be good to see something similar here...

LpPepper

There's a fully lit loop of road at Adamstown in Dublin. There's a bus lane which is basically unused for most of the it too. A lot of clubs use the circuit for training during the winter months

seamus

Inquitus wrote: »

You could lose your sanity cycling round Corkagh Park for 24 hours

11m gain on the back straight, 1.1 km a lap, say 2min30secs, would get you 576 laps in 24 hours at that pace, which is 6336m of climbing, another 9 hours and you'd have Everested the back straight

The small loop would be easier to keep focus because you only have to turn one way, and basically no change in elevation. But that's only 0.7km, so by your calculations works out at 900 laps in 24 hours.

Fncking hell, you'd be in a different dimension by the end of that.

Inquitus

seamus wrote: »

The small loop would be easier to keep focus because you only have to turn one way, and basically no change in elevation. But that's only 0.7km, so by your calculations works out at 900 laps in 24 hours.

Fncking hell, you'd be in a different dimension by the end of that.

Aye but you'd miss out on the opportunity to Everest the most ridiculous climb ever I can only imagine what it would be like see the lap counter counting down from 1000 to 0 going round that loop for 36 hours lol!

Esroh

The Ambulance road at one of the Race Courses would be a possibility. They race on Limerick RCs one. Used to race in Ballinrobe a few years back.
1.5km to maybe 2km depending on the track. Most would be pretty flat. But Punchestown , Limerick, Gowran would have a bit of undulation in a circuit.

moonshadow

Buy lights and do malin to mizen

ford2600

OleRodrigo wrote: »

Also, 600 Km in 24 hours would be among the top times for that distance and type of event, so would be a good benchmark on whats possible under different (supported?) conditions.

24 Hours Men

513.65 Miles

20-Jul-13

Ultan Coyle

820km or thereabouts or 34km/h including stops. Some lads are just awesome. Paul ODonoghue has a good distance to I believe

Night riding on the right roads is some of the most pleasant cycling you can do.

If looking to avoid pond life, mid week might be best.

Solo unsupported 24hrs is a long time on your own. I like long solo rides and have done a lot of 200-300 plus solo which is fine. I did The Brown Stuff 400 solo last July. 440km with 5000m climbing, after 20hrs on road I had enough of it.

The Merseyside rides looks good.

Give me the dark over some endless suburban loop

CantGetNoSleep

nilhg wrote: »

Having done once what the OP is thinking of, it wouldn't be the dark country roads at 3AM that worry me (though to be fair we had a group, and a follow car) but the lads exiting various establishments between 11pm and 3am, the behavior can be a little unpredictable......

After a big dinner yeah?