Tell us about your new improved government regulations compliant cycle part II

magicbastarder · 23-03-2017 05:29PM

bit of drama on griffith avenue on the way home. coming westbound, about 200m from the top of philipsburgh avenue, heard some sirens, so slowed down and pulled in a little, and a northern reg car came past at full bore on the wrong side of the road, through the red light, clipped a car turning off griffith avenue onto philipsburgh avenue, spun backwards and slammed hard into a tree, straight back on the accelerator and drove off, with an unmarked garda car in pursuit. thankfully the woman in the other car just looked a bit shook, and given it was rush hour, thankfully no pedestrians or cyclists were caught up in it.

anyway, if you're on griffith avenue, watch out for glass at the junction. there's plenty of it.

secman · 23-03-2017 10:05PM

Night spin from Kilnamanagh down to Lucan, and back up

2 loops of Kilnamanagh and 2 loops of Lucan village gets me 38.5 km Avg 25.2 kph. Nice evening for it, and managed to meet an old acquaintance, Jimmy Stagg, on the second loop , I noticed his bike shop was still open , nipped in for a chat. He built my old steel frame, the Raparee with the Dura ace groupset back in April 1992, 25 years ago next month. Was telling him it's still on the go in wexford at the weekends.

mr spuckler · 24-03-2017 03:15PM

just back from a simple 20km over howth this afternoon in beautiful weather. hadn't been out on the road bike at all since early october and been sick recently so was really just stretching the legs and opening up the lungs a bit. what a day for it

magicbastarder · 24-03-2017 04:09PM

you were well rested so, you probably blitzed up it.

Alanstrainor · 24-03-2017 04:15PM

Gorgeous weather for my commute in this morning. Absolutely flew it, was tipping along at close to 40km/h for a large section of it, had a breeze to my back to help me from Baldoyle to Fairview! Looking forward to the spin home now.

In other news, I've ordered a new single speed freewheel for my daily singlespeed. Had been running 48t-16t, now should have an easier time of it with a 17t in the rear (well slightly easier at least!).

mcgratheoin · 24-03-2017 04:26PM

Few days late with the "today" part of the spin. Did a ~40k MTB spin in Morocco last weekend. Started with 7.5km ascent at 8% and finished off with over 30k mostly downhill through little Berber villages and incredible mountain scenery. I wouldn't be the most experienced on a mountain bike and came a cropper in one of the corners - major road rash on left knee, thigh, hip and elbow. Given that most of the trail was wall on one side and drop on the other side I'm probably lucky enough not to have broken anything or to have gone over the edge.

Really enjoyable trip though - we had summited Toubkal the previous day so the legs felt very heavy on the climb but I'd definitely recommend it to anyone heading to Marrakech - easily doable via a day trip from there as well.

Matt.ie · 24-03-2017 08:37PM

First time cycling today. Bought a Giant defy 5

Only cycled for 1 hour an me ass is killing me.

robyntmorton · 24-03-2017 08:40PM

Welcome to the club. First bit of advice: Get a decent pair of padded shorts, and another bike. Not that there's anything wrong with the Giant, but you always need another bike.

magicbastarder · 24-03-2017 08:53PM

Matt.ie wrote: »

First time cycling today. Bought a Giant defy 5

Only cycled for 1 hour an me ass is killing me.

heh, i can remember the first time i got back on the bike in about 5 years, about 3 years ago. did 13k (probably gunned it a little too much) and felt like death warmed up for half an hour.

Matt.ie · 24-03-2017 11:39PM

Copper_pipe wrote:

127 matched at 1000 on the winner.

Lol. ... did about 16k today on the road. Jeese. ...my nerves. ...but twas lovely with the sun shining an wind blowing on my face.

I had a spin on my turbo trainer which is also new . This will be very handy as I am training for a charity cycle.

Chuchote · 25-03-2017 09:54AM

Matt.ie wrote: »

First time cycling today. Bought a Giant defy 5

Only cycled for 1 hour an me ass is killing me.

Bring it back to the shop (or to a shop where staff are competitive cyclists) and get them to set the saddle and handlebars at the right height and set-back for you.

Edit: when I say 'it', I mean the bike, not your ass.

Matt.ie · 25-03-2017 02:37PM

It was a competitive cycler who sold me the bike. He spent time adjusting the saddle and height to suit me. I am new to cycling. Haven't cycled in over 30 years or more so some pain is expected to begin with.

magicbastarder · 25-03-2017 03:14PM

beautiful day out there, should have worn shorts. roads were very busy in a few spots - howth road between st annes park and sutton cross was a near car park, as was kinsealy heading back inbound.

i will admit to having let out an intemperate and profane yell at a motorist on howth hill though. going up howth (village side) was not helped by the rush job i did indexing my gears after changing cables a few days back.

Rob987 · 25-03-2017 04:24PM

Did nice 59km spin. Sandyford, Rathfarnham, Sally Gap, Manor Kilbride, Ballinascorney then home. Just under 1,000m of climbing. Super day for it ðŸ˜Ž

Chuchote · 25-03-2017 04:47PM

Matt.ie wrote: »

It was a competitive cycler who sold me the bike. He spent time adjusting the saddle and height to suit me. I am new to cycling. Haven't cycled in over 30 years or more so some pain is expected to begin with.

Hmm. Ok. One tip, if you've just come back to cycling: try to cycle in as easy a gear as possible and keep your legs going relaxedly around, rather than pushing the bike and then freewheeling, then pushing, then freewheeling. A lot less effort to do it the first way.

smacl · 25-03-2017 05:11PM

Had planned on a slightly longer one today, thinking of maybe 120k with 2k of climbing, ended up with 117k and 1.9k of climbing which suggests I should pay a tiny bit more attention to my Garmin. Also hit a max speed of 69.8kph coming off the Sally gap, so a bit of a day of almost but not quite. Route was Ballyboden, Sally Gap, Manor Kilbride, Blessington, St Kevins Way, Wicklow Gap, Laragh, Sally gap, so lumpy enough but given the stonkingly good weather no hardship at all. Bumped into Coastwatch at the Hippy Café for a pleasant chat, and said hi again to him as he sped past me going up Glenmacnass, giving me a decent opportunity to congratulate myself for not entering the boards hill climb challenge. Didn't pass anyone going up any hills today, though going down was a different story. Gravity loves a trier!

Don't Chute! · 25-03-2017 08:21PM

Wow, what a day! 100 kms with 1400m of climbing. Greystones up the Long Hill to Roundwood Laragh up the Wickow Gap up Turlough Hill and back the same way. The weather was absolutely glorious on the Gap my garmin said it was 23 degrees!! First short sleeve spin this year and I can even feel on my face I've gotten a colour! Oddly saw very few cyclists out, thought there would be hoards of them!

https://www.strava.com/activities/914115679

magicbastarder · 25-03-2017 08:35PM

Don't Chute! wrote: »

Oddly saw very few cyclists out, thought there would be hoards of them!

i was cycling around howth and malahide, and the roads were black with cyclists.

Don't Chute! · 25-03-2017 08:54PM

Also had a crazy amount of really close passes today. Way more than usual.

Mercian Pro · 25-03-2017 08:56PM

Weepsie wrote: »

They were all tackling stocking lane

....and the Wicklow Gap 😅

secman · 26-03-2017 12:05AM

A flatfish course for me today

.up to ballyedmund, ballycanew, Gorey, inch, Castletown, Ballymoney, courtown and back to Ballygarrett , killenagh and home.

63 km Avg 24.2 kph. Seem to be struggling with Avg at the moment for some reason. ?
Stiff enough breeze down here today and temp never got above 13 degrees.

magicbastarder · 26-03-2017 11:20AM

Lovely morning for it. 47km around NCD, 25k average. Quite a few out on the roads.

secman · 26-03-2017 12:38PM

Feeling a bit leggy today so went out with a local leisure group, in first 20 km sorted a sheep in distress, she was in lamb and couldnt get up off her back. Probably would have died according to the locals, stopped for photos and a 20 min coffee break, certainly different

. Managed to do just under 45 km , Avg 22.5 kmph . Still have a strong north easterly down here keeping temp to about 12 or 13 degrees . Lovely morning otherwise , all you can see in the sky are criss crossing of jet trails.

LollipopJimmy · 26-03-2017 12:41PM

50kms of stomach cramps... dominos and beer last night sapped some of my enjoyment today. I do apologise to anybody who may have been behind me on the north strand and howth head today

smacl · 26-03-2017 01:05PM

Weepsie wrote: »

I imagine Glendalough was heaving.

Wicklow gap was ok, but Glendalough was choca-bloc and I caught the tail end of some pretty aggressive road rage behind me as I headed to Laragh. As a walking venue best avoided these days at weekends, unless of course you cycle to get there

velo.2010 · 26-03-2017 01:15PM

Avoid the Straffan road in Maynooth for the moment. Very dodgy with the road works. Don't know why they just couldn't re-surface the road and leave as it is. The new layout does nothing for cyclists - puts them in more danger IMO - and looks a pain for car users too.

There is something about a stiff breeze that I find harder than a really windy day. Constant and no let up.

Miklos · 26-03-2017 02:13PM

Raced the Kilmessan GP in A4, really enjoyed it. Lumpy enough circuit and a tough uphill finish line. Quite a lot of crashes though.

Daroxtar · 26-03-2017 03:28PM

Lovely day out there. Went off up the hills with a good buddy for the first time in a while and felt every last inch of it by the time I was finished. Legs were ripped to bits coming around the lake after Valleymount and into a stiff headwind from Blessington back to base. I'm just getting back to myself after a dirty aul dose two weeks ago so that's my excuse. Hopefully I'll be right for the Orwell Randonee.

Plenty of the aforementioned close passes. I used some sign language every now and then. Seemed to work with the next car coming if the close pass was part of a convoy

Despite the sunshine it definitely was not summer. The breeze up on Turlough Hill was absolutely Baltic.
104km with 1500m climbing in 4:26
Bohernabreena -Cunard -Sally Gap -Laragh -Wicklow Gap -Turlough Hill -Valleymount -Blessington -Tallaght
https://www.strava.com/activities/915203291

davef1000 · 26-03-2017 03:30PM

81k approx with the club today, including 660m climbing. Cycled Ladies Brae in Sligo for the first time and managed to do it without stopping on the way up. I don't have average speeds because the garmin went a bit loopy, which is annoying because it's the farthest I've gone in a long while.

Unknown Soldier · 26-03-2017 03:46PM

davef1000 wrote: »

81k approx with the club today, including 660m climbing. Cycled Ladies Brae in Sligo for the first time and managed to do it without stopping on the way up. I don't have average speeds because the garmin went a bit loopy, which is annoying because it's the farthest I've gone in a long while.

Do you delete the old rides from it? Or was the GPS wonky?

While I'm here. 112km yesterday with 750m odd climbing, but it wasn't a climbing day. They be a coming!
As Daroxter mentioned above, might be sunny out, but it is still freezing in places!

One has a climbing bike out of hibernation now, so looking forward to the weeks ahead.

https://www.strava.com/activities/913951732

Tell us about your new improved government regulations compliant cycle part II

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