The Reservoir Dog Sportive 2021

Thanks Keep_Her_Lit.

I did the 125 km sportive back in 2019. If you have 4,300 km in your legs so far this year (well done!), then you are going to have no issues at all with the route. You have the strength and conditioning for the distance and climbing.

I have only ridden about 700 km so far this year and I'm doing the 125 km route!

@Corker1 i don’t suppose you have a garmin route?? I can’t seem to get the strava one to upload!

I'm more bothered by wheel slippage - everyone grinding up probably won't throw up too much (at least if they're at my pace up!).

So here’s my event "report", of sorts. 

I was paid up for "The Dog" and was really looking forward to it but unfortunately picked up an injury a few days ago which has put me off the bike for a while. So I decided I would head out to the course this morning anyway and offer a few words of encouragement to the riders as they battled their way up that savage ramp on the approach to Cunard Road Upper, identified as The Wall on the course map. 

I spotted a couple of Boardsies and issued the required salutation. I took a couple of snaps on my phone, not very good, but here they are anyway. Fair play to everyone who hauled themselves over that kicker!

I also got a warm greeting from one KenMc of this parish, who was in fine form as he horsed his way up that hill! Good on ya, Ken! No photo of Ken, unfortunately, cos I was standing there thinking "Is that KenMc?", "That looks like KenMc" and Ken is looking at me and I’m looking at Ken, etc. 

As some of the last riders in the group came through, I witnessed an unfortunate incident. Two chaps were riding together and there was a bit of weaving going on, on account of the brutal gradient. Wheels touched and one of the riders fell over very heavily, landing on his hip. Coincidentally, the course ambulance happened to be travelling up the road behind them at the time, so professional assistance was on hand immediately. The fallen rider was in a lot of pain, so I hope his injury isn’t serious and that he makes a speedy recovery.

I winced as the ambulance driver got under way again, as the poor clutch was not enjoying that gradient one little bit. But no sooner had he got moving, than he had to stop again because of an oncoming car. The car driver seemed to have significant difficulty creating enough room for the ambulance to pass and there was a whole load more clutch slipping before the ambulance got moving again (I think I may also have heard a few words of "encouragement" from the ambulance driver to the car driver!). 

As I walked up the hill back towards my car (which was parked safely off the course on Cunard Road Upper), I was treated to the exquisite scent of burnt clutch. Then when I crested the next brow in the road, there was the ambulance pulled over to the side with a hape of shmoke bellowing out from under it. The smoke had cleared by the time I walked up to it and a course car was in attendance. Not a great start to the day for the ambulance crew or that poor rider. I hope all worked out OK.

And hopefully I’ll be joining KenMc and the Boardsies for the 2022 edition of the Reservoir Dog! Meanwhile, I look forward to reading a few proper reports from those who participated today.

Short note to say thanks to all involved in putting this great event on. This is a favorite of mine because it’s just about good cycling. On some level I enjoyed my 125km of torture, and am enjoying a beer now. Well done and thanks again for a great day.

Excuses at the start: Busted my coccyx a little over a month ago and have only done 3 spins since then. Also went on holidays and was forced to eat a heap of food and drink buckets of Guinness. To say I was undercooked and overweight was putting it mildly and I suffered like the proverbial Dog. The headwind going up Cunard and right the way over to the Sally gap crossroads must have added about 500m extra to the climbing. I was pushing 250w and struggling to get above 25kmh on the downhill before the crossroads!!!

Made it around in 5.36 , solo for the first half then along with 2 other gents from the tea stop. Despite the pain it remains my favorite spin of the year and I'll be back next year for my 6th.

Also, met and had a lovely chat with Lissard from this parish both before and after the spin. Chapeau

You are forgiven!

It was a great day out, I tried to pace myself throughout but still half blew-up with about 5k to go. I got it into my head that we were going up over harristown and the head dropped. Once I realised it was straight on past humpreystown and tulfarris I dug in and managed to do it in 5:15 24km/h

I have done plenty of cycling in wicklow but more around the west like glenmalure the wicklow gap etc, never up on those roads before but just kept grinding it out until I got home.

My descending is dreadful, I need to work on it in a big way.

It was a very well run event, marshaling, signage, food all top notch. Well done to the club.

Thanks to those, including weepsie, I chatted to along the way. I was there as a lone ranger so the few words helped to break it up.

29kph!! Blinkin' 'eck, that is some pace over that course! I thought in training that 5hrs would be a tough nut to crack and I had it in the back of my mind as a "maybe, if I'm lucky, target". So the top dogs came home in less than 4h20m. Kudos! Plenty of the early riders who came up Cunard looked very comfortable alright and were moving at an impressive pace.

What was the lead out like from the start to Blessington? Were you able to get cracking or was the pace heavily controlled?

Thanks! Just checked there it was 4hrs 16 mins. If it’s any consolation pretty much everybody in the small lead group was suffering by the end.

lead out car was spot on, nice decent pace right up to maybe 40kish. Mid 30s till the bottom of the first climb.

the wind on Cunard was a nitemare, I made it up in good time but was looking and feeling far from comfortable!!