Great Western Motorway Cycle

davef1000 · 25-06-2017 3:45pm #1

https://www.iregister.ie/v2/events/great-western-motorway-cycle/

September 10th.

Anyone doing this? Looks like great fun. If it's a dry day it should be nice and fast. Is anyone familiar with the area? I tried without much success to find elevation maps for the route. Can't imagine there will be much in the way of hills though...

Sorry if this has been posted already. I couldn't find anything on the first few pages, and search yielded nothing.

theGIANT · 25-06-2017 4:14pm

davef1000 wrote: »

https://www.iregister.ie/v2/events/great-western-motorway-cycle/

September 10th.

Anyone doing this? Looks like great fun. If it's a dry day it should be nice and fast. Is anyone familiar with the area? I tried without much success to find elevation maps for the route. Can't imagine there will be much in the way of hills though...

Sorry if this has been posted already. I couldn't find anything on the first few pages, and search yielded nothing.

I live right next to this motorway. And looking forward to this. This will be flat enough route. maybe a few hills coming into athenry 4/5% for a 1km at most. Nothing severe. There will be a lot of shelter from the wind because the motorway is below the normal lye of the land to stop noise pollution etc . might post a few pics later. It should be very fast the surface is so smooth. Hard not to take the bike on it for a few practice runs

P_1 · 25-06-2017 6:40pm

That looks very tempting indeed. Throw in a weekend on the razz in Galway and it only makes it seem better

theGIANT · 26-06-2017 12:05pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx5WBQX94w8&t=157s
This is about 10km of it.Gives you an idea of the terraine. This video was done a year ago. The motorway is pretty much finished now

DanDublin1982 · 26-06-2017 6:58pm

Really like the look of this. Think I'll do it as can't make the Dublin bike ride this year.

Yarisbob · 04-07-2017 12:08pm

This is a unique opportunity to ride on a newly surfaced piece of road with no traffic - whats not to like about that ?

This will attract quite a number of professional a4seholes however who will be on €20k TT bikes but if you just let them off on their merry way to discuss average speeds, power output, and Strava then it will be a nice pleasant day on the bike !

Borderfox · 04-07-2017 12:30pm

No tt bikes or tri bars allowed

Yarisbob · 04-07-2017 1:06pm

Excellent !!

Now all we need is the weather !!

Gorteen · 04-07-2017 7:52pm

€32 or €40 to cycle on a road for one day, built by public funds and therefore paid for taxpayers like me .....and you and many other cyclists???? Doesn't sound right to me!!! :mad:

Seeing that the road is not open to motorised vehicles that day, why not just have it as a voluntary contribution?

plodder · 05-07-2017 8:05am

Gorteen wrote: »

€32 or €40 to cycle on a road for one day, built by public funds and therefore paid for taxpayers like me .....and you and many other cyclists???? Doesn't sound right to me!!! :mad:

Seeing that the road is not open to motorised vehicles that day, why not just have it as a voluntary contribution?

It wasn't built for cyclists though and presumably there are costs involved in organising it. I've had my issues with charity events in the past, but this one looks genuine to me. Like the sound of it, and might give it a go.

davef1000 · 05-07-2017 9:22pm

Gorteen wrote: »

€32 or €40 to cycle on a road for one day, built by public funds and therefore paid for taxpayers like me .....and you and many other cyclists???? Doesn't sound right to me!!! :mad:

Seeing that the road is not open to motorised vehicles that day, why not just have it as a voluntary contribution?

Jaysus. Some people just love to complain.

flazio · 24-08-2017 6:53pm

Hope this hasn't been mentioned already but there's going to be an organised Motorway cycle on the M17/M18 just as its finished construction and just before it opens to traffic.
It's on Sunday 10th of September.
Details here.
https://www.iregister.ie/v2/events/great-western-motorway-cycle/

Borderfox · 24-08-2017 7:00pm

Pieta House 100km on same day

P_1 · 24-08-2017 8:11pm

Borderfox wrote: »

Pieta House 100km on same day

There's a lot on that same weekend.

Off the top of my head there's this, the Rebel Tour, the Boyne Valley, the Pietas and a stage of the Wild Atlantic Way series.

Talk about being spoiled for choice!

Boscoirl · 26-08-2017 9:16pm

Planning to do this, Looks like fun

Doing the Shannon Airport charity cycle the day before
https://sirius.eventmaster.ie/event/W9Qh65i0j

magicbastarder · 26-08-2017 9:44pm

do you at least get to cycle down the runway?

Boscoirl · 27-08-2017 11:54am

magicbastarder wrote: »

do you at least get to cycle down the runway?

Unfortunately I don't think so, that would be cool though

joeKel73 · 05-09-2017 2:14pm

Details for the cycle...
http://www.directroutegorttotuam.ie/media/27129/great_western_cycle_cyclist_handbook.pdf

rivermansteve · 06-09-2017 10:01am

Anyone doing this cycle? Should be very very fast.

P_1 · 06-09-2017 7:27pm

Looking forward to this. Should be nice and quick indeed

joeKel73 · 07-09-2017 8:01am

Looking forward to it.

Unfortunately the weather's not looking great for Sunday!

theGIANT · 08-09-2017 11:09am

P_1 wrote: »

Looking forward to this. Should be nice and quick indeed

Have done it solo. Found myself going 4kph faster than my usual average. So Smooth!

davef1000 · 10-09-2017 1:55pm

Well, that was miserable. I should've stayed in bed.

Boscoirl · 10-09-2017 2:34pm

davef1000 wrote: »

Well, that was miserable. I should've stayed in bed.

Got up to go to the bathroom at about 6.30ish this morning. Took a look outside, and when I saw the wind I turned my alarm off and Went back to bed.

P_1 · 10-09-2017 2:44pm

That was grim indeed. I've definitely earned the pint I'm currently enjoying after that.

joeKel73 · 10-09-2017 3:52pm

Turned into a bit of a slog alright.

Was it just me or did the wind change direction enough to hit us both directions?

P_1 · 10-09-2017 4:08pm

J o e wrote: »

Turn into a but of a slog alright.

Was it just me or did the wind change direction enough to hit us both directions?

It definitely did. Was expecting it to become more of a crosswind on the way back but parts of it definitely had a gale in the face. Now the less said about the crosswind blighted cycle from Tuam back to Galway the better...

davef1000 · 10-09-2017 4:10pm

P_1 wrote: »

It definitely did. Was expecting it to become more of a crosswind on the way back but parts of it definitely had a gale in the face. Now the less said about the crosswind blighted cycle from Tuam back to Galway the better...

I particularly enjoyed the hailstone-like rain being driven into the side of my face.

jamesd · 10-09-2017 4:13pm

Made it one of the toughest 100kms that I've ever done, hate the wind.

P_1 · 10-09-2017 4:26pm

davef1000 wrote: »

I particularly enjoyed the hailstone-like rain being driven into the side of my face.

Ah yes that was an, ahem, experience. Honestly felt that was tougher that the Orwell Randonee

_Puma_ · 10-09-2017 6:47pm

Will chalk that one down as an experience.

equivariant · 10-09-2017 7:09pm

was worth doing for the novelty of closed roads and perfect tarmac. On the other hand, it was a boring enough route compared with any of the classic routes available in the west.

The first group looked to be racing pretty hard when I met them coming back from the turnaround - I guess there was the prize of having your name immortalised on Strava forever

- not too many permanent KOMs available

dastardly00 · 10-09-2017 7:16pm

Fair play to everyone who did it considering the shocking weather conditions

Notoldorwise · 10-09-2017 10:25pm

Tough day but really glad to have completed it. Linked up with 3 lads from Portumna CC and a lad from Dolmen CC. Sound bunch to cycle with. High point of the cycling this year. Very different cycling on a motorway. Every climb is a slow hard slog but the downhill is long. Was surprised to see several cyclists get punctures as there was no debris on the road, apart from slugs......

jamesd · 11-09-2017 5:36am

Notoldorwise wrote: »

Tough day but really glad to have completed it. Linked up with 3 lads from Portumna CC and a lad from Dolmen CC. Sound bunch to cycle with. High point of the cycling this year. Very different cycling on a motorway. Every climb is a slow hard slog but the downhill is long. Was surprised to see several cyclists get punctures as there was no debris on the road, apart from slugs......

Nice to have you cycling with us yesterday

davef1000 · 11-09-2017 10:31am

Anyone know how many participants there were yesterday? I'm guessing somebody made a lot of money.

Johnnio13 · 11-09-2017 10:56am

2500 apparently had signed up. Cash was for the Lions clubs in Tuam and Gort. So worthy cause.

delynet · 11-09-2017 1:08pm

equivariant wrote: »

was worth doing for the novelty of closed roads and perfect tarmac. On the other hand, it was a boring enough route compared with any of the classic routes available in the west.

The first group looked to be racing pretty hard when I met them coming back from the turnaround - I guess there was the prize of having your name immortalised on Strava forever - not too many permanent KOMs available

I was in that first group. Just wanted to get out of the weather ASAP

Eamonnator · 11-09-2017 2:12pm

delynet wrote: »

I was in that first group. Just wanted to get out of the weather ASAP

What was your ave speed?

delynet · 11-09-2017 4:21pm

36.1kph

https://www.strava.com/activities/1177259232

joeKel73 · 11-09-2017 4:24pm

:eek:

Eamonnator · 11-09-2017 4:53pm

delynet wrote: »

36.1kph

https://www.strava.com/activities/1177259232

Well done.
I see you were 2nd fastest.
Were you in the same group as the fastest?

delynet · 11-09-2017 4:59pm

Eamonnator wrote: »

Well done.
I see you were 2nd fastest.
Were you in the same group as the fastest?

Yes, some very strong lads. They dropped me with around 4km to go, I was struggling a bit near the end as I did the Tour de Bens cycle in Clifden the day before.

Great Western Motorway Cycle

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