Tell us about your cycle today part III

Luxman

reminded on yesterdays spin that I sweat, a lot! Galloped around Meath for 90mins,

magicbastarder

i usually bring a bottle with some cheapo decathlon isotonic stuff dissolved in it, but i do miss having just plain water to spray my glasses down occasionally when they get sweaty.

Daroxtar

Good day out pedalling up and down Mount Leinster. I did the climb from Bunclody up to the mast, then went down to Myshal and back up the Corrabut Gap. Turned across by 9 Stones and headed for Borris for some absolutely delicious carrot cake and coffee and finally back up to 9 Stones through Tomduff and back down to Bunclody again. Not a sinner around, I don't think ten cars passed me for the day.

The weather was lovely until I started climbing up to the mast. Heavy mist all the way, visibility was only about 50 yards. It was a bit of a blessing tbh. I did the climb once before and staring up at that absolute wall was soul destroying. Today I just stared at the front wheel and kept pedalling until I hit the gate. It's not a pleasant descent either.

First time up Corrabut Gap today, that last 500m is a right kicker!

It's really lovely cycling country down there. I think the shape of the mountain and the way the roads are exposed most of the way up really give you long views you don't get many other places. I'm sure I wouldn't be praising it if the weather was harsh but on a day like today it was gorgeous.

All done for 70km with 1800m climbing.

https://www.strava.com/activities/6985743169

A bit of a battle to get out these days with a newborn in the house, but snuck out yesterday evening at 6.45pm and got 60k in before it got dark.

Stunning evening with light(ish) winds for the first time in ages and there was still some light in the sky when I got home at 8.40pm. I seemed to be the only man in Cork not cutting his lawn.

Bought new carbon aero wheels and they felt fantastic on the fast, rolling sections. The hub sounds like a swarm of bees.

It'll be a while before I get out for a long endurance ride so I went at a steady tempo pace and enjoyed every second. 60km on the button at 32.2kph with 650m climbing.

magicbastarder

saw an 84 reg bronze alfasud - in seemingly quite good nick - out near balrath earlier. can't be too many of them left on the road.

Nigzcurran

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118932624#Comment_118932624

You my friend are an absolute animal!

68 lost souls

We seemingly got lucky with the weather on our spin today, managed to miss all the rain. Ucd out to round wood vía Enniskerry and overa leap with a lap of the reservoir and back via the sugar loaf

94km with 1200m climbing, was very tempted to do a lap of the big block to break 100 but was under time pressure. 3:50 moving time

Daroxtar

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118937125#Comment_118937125

Only in the same way as sea horses and caterpillars😂 but thank you

fat bloke

Did Sa Calobra today. Was on the road early from Pollença so I had the road to myself.

I see our Imogen Cotter has the all time (women) Strava record!

mr spuckler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118942930#Comment_118942930

Where are you staying out of interest? We're most likely heading back in September and trying to decide whether to go back to Port de Pollensa or stay elsewhere this time.

fat bloke

We're in Porto (Puerto?) Pollença in an Airbnb apartment(o) :)

It's a great base but if I was coming again I'd quite like to try Sóller maybe or somewhere else along the coast there. Just for a change. We've only ever stayed here in P. Pollença.

If you're here just for cycling it kinda doesn't matter cos you've all day on the bikes and you can get to everywhere, but we're mixing a bikes and family holiday so you need to be out early and back at a reasonable hour, which limits the outer extremities of your spin-reach. Like this is day 9 and today was my first time down to Calobra. That was a 4 hour spin, no hanging about, no stop, on the road for 7.30am (not a sinner about!) and back for 11.30 for a day of family non-cycling fun :).

Actually, if I was staying in this region again I'd definitely go Pollença over Port de Pollença, it's absolutely gorgeous in the town, I'd never bothered going in there before. Absolutely stunning place.

smacl

Enjoying this mornings on and off road spin until a puncture about 5k into the Wicklow way showed that the Lezyne Road Drive pump is about as useful as a fart in a hurricane. Grand little yoke if you're looking for a tool to remove valve cores but apparently incapable of putting even the teeniest breath of air in a tyre tube. Instructions suggest it works as press fit as well as screw fit when reversed, for this poor fool, both ways seemed as useless as each other. 36k cycled with 911m climbed and a further 10k pushing the bike home. :(

Anyone with recommendations for a reliable mini-pump do please say. Will revert to the Top peak mini-morph for now which does the job well but is bulky.

Wildly Boaring

I have a Fabric one.

Worked fine the 3 or 4 times I've needed.

mr spuckler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118943440#Comment_118943440

Thanks for that! Yeah I've stayed there for both family & cycling holidays before so know well how it works. Enjoy the rest of your trip!

smacl

Starting to get out in the evenings again, Sally gap via Cruagh and back yesterday, Cruagh, Foxes, Glencree and back via Stocking lane this evening. No great distance but a decent dose of hills. Cracking weather starting out on both days but getting a bit bitter coming back. Fair play to those doing it in shorts and short sleeves, must be getting a bit wimpy in my old age but would not fancy it at all. Loads of cyclists out in and around the Featherbeds, Summer is coming!

68 lost souls

First time on some decent gravel, not long left till I tackle a huge one so need to get the practice in. Cruagh lane through Masseys and up around the hellfire club 17km and 500m climbing 50% in the dark

Gerry

got out for nice lunchtime spin today. I'm hooked on the idea of finishing this sort of spin with a tailwind, so given the current easterly, figured out a new route with one of the lads from the local club. managed to keep to decent wide main roads with plenty of room for passing, and then onto boreens and backroads. 27k at 32kmh.

its been a good week. first one in a very long time where I look like hitting my pre covid target of 150k a week, without any long spins https://strava.app.link/fSq2h1TVppb

smacl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118958530#Comment_118958530

Very regular lunchtime run for me, I usually take the river run through Masseys though not a fan of it in the dark in the past. Must give it a go again. Some great and (for me at least) challenging small side paths on the Hellfire. What's the huge one you have coming up?

68 lost souls

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118959357#Comment_118959357

That steep section on the hellfire you do, I think the segments are fence climb 1 and 2, they are very tough to stay on the bike. I walked most of it, partly might be helped by knobbly tyres but would you regularly cycle those bits?

Big one is riding part of the GB Divide route from Bristol to Manchester through Wales. Fingers crossed it all works out, there's a support vehicle if it all goes wrong, the plan is for that to be done in about 2 days at the start of May

smacl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118959567#Comment_118959567

I regularly attempt the fence climb sections but have yet to complete without putting a foot down. There is a particularly steep protruding rock bit on the top half that to date has either forced me to stall or left me in the gorse. I'm currently running 34/34 as my lowest gear with 38c Gravel King slicks on my CX bike. I'm also on flat pedals which makes having a go at it far less nerve wracking, though still have a few lingering extra kilos from Christmas that are not making life any easier. So much easier to re-start on a steep gravel section in flats for my inevitable stalls.

All the best with the GB Divide, sound like a serious challenge!

mr spuckler

Lovely solo spin up NCD this morning, beautiful morning although the strong wind was a bit of a pain at times! I'm loving exploring up that way properly for the first time - when I turned left after Naul I had a few kms in lovely countryside with not a single car on the road 😃

85km with 612m of climbing. Slightly undershot the 3 1/2 hours target of my training plan but I'm good with that!

https://www.strava.com/activities/7021866528

Luxman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118961656#Comment_118961656

I know that bit of road very well, west from the top of Snowtown, lucky you had a tailwind on that bit :-)

Plastik

https://ibb.co/SsHd4LC

Once upon a time a Wahoo lived here.

Here ends the story of my spin.

Luxman

Did you recover it? When I got my 530 it had a feature to locate it if it got disconnected from the bike, thought it was a weird feature to have, but now I understand why. On my own spin today it was a test drive for a new lid (Oakley) and I know it was windy out but I thought I felt it lift off my head slightly as I descended. Straps have now been tightened. It doesn't appear to have the same number of vents on the rear hence the lift off

Plastik

Funnily enough I did, first thing this morning. Luckily just on the side of the trail because needle in the haystack stuff otherwise. I don't think wahoo have that find my functionality on the Bolt series, not on the gen1 Bolt anyway.

I was going to ask why you weren't using the tether and then remembered you have to buy it separately for about 15 quid.

smacl

Lovely afternoon out there today, took a meandering route through the l-roads around Enniskerry to Laragh including a few gravel tracks and less used roads on the verge of becoming gravel tracks. Lumpy enough with 1.6k climbed over 103k but all at a leisurely 18.7kph so easy enough going. Very handy route for a breezy day, avoiding the crosswinds of the military road and all the traffic. Must try to incorporate some of the Devil's Glen next time out that way.

Pinch Flat

Delighted to be getting back to regular sportives so did the yellow furze one near navan today. 100km of tough rolling country with head winds from every direction you turned. For some reason I decided to cycle there and back, which sounded like a great idea at the time, so clocked up just shy of 200km for my troubles today.

MangleBadger

I must start looking at the wind forecast before planning a ride. Lovely spin from Delgany down to Rathdrum. Return via Glendale and along the coast was an absolute slog

68 lost souls

I did a shortened Weevil ride with. 100km with 2500m of climbing. Had to change route in Glencullen when one of the paths was now behind a big gate and then took a wrong turn at the masts in 3 rock but made my way home. A lot of road but some serious climbs, single track and gravel sections.

Ended up cycling in the backyard ultra race briefly on the way through, there were three runners still going after 23 hours.