Wicklow 200 - 13th June 2010

niceonetom · 13-10-2009 11:26AM

tunney wrote: »

If W200 is your goal and 7 months is a little long to try and focus on one event, I'd throw a series of lesser goals in for the short to medium term to help maintain motivation and focus.

Deffo. The Orwell randonné was my first proper organised event - I think that was in the spring some time and was ~120km (I think). I only had the roadbike a month at that stage, but it was an ideal introduction to the whole thing - basically the first and last 60km of the WW200.

bbosco · 13-10-2009 12:34PM

tunney wrote: »

With 7 months to prepare no one should even be thinking of doing the W200.

If you started to prepare I'd expected everyone to have done a similar ride to the W200 4-5 times By March.

First time I did the W200 the longest spin I'd ever done was no more than 70kms and I'd say I'd barely done 500kms in the preceding 6 months. Don't get me wrong, I'm not recommending that as a good approach. I was in a shocking state at the end. Shivering even though it was a pleasantly warm evening. Had to be driven home, put to bed and slept for 14 hours.

thebouldwhacker · 13-10-2009 12:54PM

I'm liking this thread, as with many here I need something to aim for, whats the first big cycle of 2010? surly there's one before the w200?

My ones for 2010 include:

W200
West cork 200
ROK 200
Kilkenny 200 (it rocked last year)
Conor Pass

Any other recommendations?

Lumen · 13-10-2009 01:24PM

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

Any other recommendations?

Without any question the most fun I had this year was on the Tour of Louth sportive.

100km hammerfest beats 200km snorefest any day.

Greyspoke · 13-10-2009 01:29PM

Esroh wrote: »

Is the real problem with W200 not that its been run by the Vet Assoc.
These are hardened Knights of the Road who would ride 200km on a 500ml Water bottle and a Banana. This is what they always did
You can see them thinking the rest of us should HTFU and do it on a few mars bars and a sambo.
The SK and all the other Newbie Sportives are only pandering to the spoilt Celtic Kittens who want their hands held after riding a few Charity rides where they were fed cake.;)

Love it!
Seriously though, I know shocking queues build up at Donard and I hope the organisers do their utmost to address the issues but if you're bothered by it that much then start early and beat the rush. I was at the Clonmel stop on the SK Tour this year and within a short space of time there was a long queue for food stretching well out into the car park. It seems to be a growing problem with the increasing popularity of these events, particularly at the first stops- on the W200 there never seems to be the same pressure at Rathdrum because the field is that much more spread out.
I think the popularity of the W200 has a lot to do with the fact that it's by far the longest running event of its kind in this country (and probably the UK too). It is to cyclists what the Dublin Marathon is to runners and to continue the comparison, the marathon costs more and you don't get any food stops along the way.

Lumen · 13-10-2009 01:43PM

Greyspoke wrote: »

Seriously though, I know shocking queues build up at Donard and I hope the organisers do their utmost to address the issues but if you're bothered by it that much then start early and beat the rush.

Boardsies don't do early starts.

There is a grouchy school of thought that sportives are a completely pointless activity, since you may as well just grab a bunch of mates and cycle 200km or whatever on your chosen route, eat at nice relaxed places (e.g. the cafe at Laragh) and avoid the risk of death-by-Fred.

In fact the WW200 route is marked out on the road, so you don't even need a plan or a map.

The organisation of the WW200 doesn't do much to counter this argument. If the food stops are overcrowded and the sangwiches are crap, then what is the point?

DirkVoodoo · 13-10-2009 01:56PM

Lumen wrote: »

The organisation of the WW200 doesn't do much to counter this argument. If the food stops are overcrowded and the sangwiches are crap, then what is the point?

Clearly it's the blue wristband.

I enjoyed the W200 cycle, don't get me wrong. Shay Elliot and Slieve Maan were fantastic climbs and nervous descents and after not completing it the year before, there was a certain amount of demon banishment that was done when I got the certificate.

ROK ON · 13-10-2009 02:43PM

I sort of agree with Tunney on this one in that seven months for one event is excessive.

This time last year I weighed a hell of a lot and couldn't get up hills. I started training of WW200 in Dec. Now I needed to drop weight. By april I was bored to tears with wicklow.
I had 3 weeks of the bike in early may due to a crash and it was exactly what I needed.

Intermediate goals are pretty important.

Next year I plan on doing
Mick Byrne
MT Leinster
WW200

All as preparation for The Raid Pyreneean in early july.

(thanks to blorg/barrabus) for inspiring on this one.

Chips Lovell · 13-10-2009 03:15PM

I don't have a problem with the W200. Have done it two years running now and always enjoyed it. Sure there were big queues this year at the first food stop, but I ended up queuing at the Sean Kelly this year as well.

Anyway, I pick events for the route, not for the cake.

tunney wrote: »

Thinking back to my first W200, perspective definitely lost, or at least screwed up.

God Tunney, stop being reasonable. It's frightening me.

sy · 13-10-2009 03:25PM

el tonto wrote: »

.....
Anyway, I pick events for the route, not for the cake

Quote of the day!

sy · 13-10-2009 03:26PM

ROK ON wrote: »

All as preparation for The Raid Pyreneean in early july.

Any details on this ROK ON?

Greyspoke · 13-10-2009 03:32PM

Lumen wrote: »

Boardsies don't do early starts.

There is a grouchy school of thought that sportives are a completely pointless activity, since you may as well just grab a bunch of mates and cycle 200km or whatever on your chosen route, eat at nice relaxed places (e.g. the cafe at Laragh) and avoid the risk of death-by-Fred.

In fact the WW200 route is marked out on the road, so you don't even need a plan or a map.

The organisation of the WW200 doesn't do much to counter this argument. If the food stops are overcrowded and the sangwiches are crap, then what is the point?

The point is that you can say that you did the W200 and not merely that you rode the W200 route on some other day of your choosing. After all, it's really just a huge celebration of cycling - several thousand people out riding the same pre-determined route on the same day. Who cares about the food, just carry or organise your own.

And I agree, this is getting like Christmas with the hype and discussion starting earlier each year - lets forget it for a few months (but is it really only seven months away?!)

rottenhat · 13-10-2009 03:33PM

el tonto wrote: »

Anyway, I pick events for the route, not for the cake.

Well, this is part of the problem, is it not? Without wanting to be too Dublin-centric about it, I think a lot of us are very familiar with the roads the Wicklow 200 follows - the routes I've seen (2007 and 2009 only) have been quite obvious. Whereas the Mick Byrne took me over a lot of roads I hadn't travelled before (and had better weather, which is probably a bigger factor than I'd like to admit).

petethedrummer · 13-10-2009 03:38PM

el tonto wrote: »

I don't have a problem with the W200. Have done it two years running now and always enjoyed it. Sure there were big queues this year at the first food stop, but I ended up queuing at the Sean Kelly this year as well.

They ran out of sandwiches on the last stop of the Ring of Kerry too.

I'm not a fan of the 2 big sportives I did this year, ROK and WW200. Too much time doding other cyclists and they were too bloody long. 100kms with 100 participants is much nicer. I'll do the Sean Kelly next year, but only to say that I've done it. Probably won't bother with the other 2.

thebouldwhacker · 13-10-2009 03:50PM

The point of sportives, as far as I'm concerned, is the same for any event be it a marathon, a car rally, a music festival its for the enjoyment, the people you meet, the challenge etc. You can race others, beat your pb or just do it to do it:) its like entering astro leagues or what not....

That's the main difference I see with these events and tri's for example is its all competition in tri's (that and the swim and run:D) everyone is out to compete, not so in the W200 and def not in the ROK!

If you don't like the Q's for food why not cycle faster and get there before the crowd? to do that you'll have to be bike fit, ie start training now:p

tunney · 13-10-2009 03:59PM

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

The point of sportives, as far as I'm concerned, is the same for any event be it a marathon, a car rally, a music festival its for the enjoyment, the people you meet, the challenge etc. You can race others, beat your pb or just do it to do it:) its like entering astro leagues or what not....

That's the main difference I see with these events and tri's for example is its all competition in tri's (that and the swim and run:D) everyone is out to compete, not so in the W200 and def not in the ROK!

If you don't like the Q's for food why not cycle faster and get there before the crowd? to do that you'll have to be bike fit, ie start training now:p

Maybe if you tried bike RACING it may also be about competition?

thebouldwhacker · 13-10-2009 04:01PM

That's my point, racing is great, if your into racing but if you want to be involved in cycling events without the race element that's where these events fit in.

tunney · 13-10-2009 04:04PM

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

That's my point, racing is great, if your into racing but if you want to be involved in cycling events without the race element that's where these events fit in.

But then you talk about "racing others", "beating pbs"???? ***Confused***

Lumen · 13-10-2009 04:06PM

tunney wrote: »

But then you talk about "racing others", "beating pbs"???? ***Confused***

It's about beating people who aren't competing with you.

Chips Lovell · 13-10-2009 04:07PM

rottenhat wrote: »

Well, this is part of the problem, is it not? Without wanting to be too Dublin-centric about it, I think a lot of us are very familiar with the roads the Wicklow 200 follows - the routes I've seen (2007 and 2009 only) have been quite obvious. Whereas the Mick Byrne took me over a lot of roads I hadn't travelled before (and had better weather, which is probably a bigger factor than I'd like to admit).

Good point, but at least they do change it up every year or two unlike the Sean Kelly and ROK. Didn't the Mick Byrne spend a lot of time on back roads and could there be an issue in throwing a few thousand cyclists over such narrow roads?

petethedrummer wrote: »

They ran out of sandwiches on the last stop of the Ring of Kerry too.

I'm not a fan of the 2 big sportives I did this year, ROK and WW200. Too much time doding other cyclists and they were too bloody long. 100kms with 100 participants is much nicer. I'll do the Sean Kelly next year, but only to say that I've done it. Probably won't bother with the other 2.

I'm a big believer in the early start as it means less queuing at the stops and not being caught up in slow moving cyclists. ROK isn't that long though, at least in terms of ride time. Less climbs and good roads mean you fly around it.

Chips Lovell · 13-10-2009 04:08PM

Lumen wrote: »

It's about beating people who aren't competing with you.

The most widely practiced form of racing on this forum.

ROK ON · 13-10-2009 04:09PM

sy wrote: »

Any details on this ROK ON?

Yes. Plan is to to so it supported maybe with velopeleton.
I am aiming for last week in june or first week in july.
You would be very welcome to tag along. I would welcome doing it with a few people. Was going to do etape but don't want to do something with 7k other cyclists.
When gradient approaches 10% I climb at avg od 10kmph. On that basis I need to improve this to 12-13kmph in order to have 4.5days at 8hrs om saddle as opposed to 10hrs.

You are a better climber than I so it should be no bother.

thebouldwhacker · 13-10-2009 04:17PM

All I meant was that a sportive is what you want it to be. One can hammer all the way if one wishes or can stop at each food stop and go as slow as a summer afternoon.
There is no official race but one can still ride it for ones own reasons, these include pb's, racing comrades etc.
In racing, you race, therefore they would be traditionally seen as attracting those who are cycling the event to specifically win or compete, thus excluding people who cycle for a past time or any non competitive reason. For example in a tri I was involved in last year the leader in the cycle blew a tyre, instead of fixing and continuing he dropped out as it cost him too much time. There is a big difference between the ethos of such events.

My initial point was just highlighting the attractiveness of such events as the ROK or the W200 for non competitive cyclists......

tunney · 13-10-2009 04:44PM

Just noticed there are GPX files for the W200 on their site, class I can ride the 2009 W200 on my Computrainer in my shed now. I suppose if I was extra nice I could ask the wife to bring cake out to me every few hours.

Lumen · 13-10-2009 04:51PM

tunney wrote: »

Just noticed there are GPX files for the W200 on their site, class I can ride the 2009 W200 on my Computrainer in my shed now. I suppose if I was extra nice I could ask the wife to bring cake out to me every few hours.

Stick this on in the corner for the full effect.

JacksonHeightsOwn · 13-10-2009 05:08PM

tunney wrote: »

Just noticed there are GPX files for the W200 on their site, class I can ride the 2009 W200 on my Computrainer in my shed now. I suppose if I was extra nice I could ask the wife to bring cake out to me every few hours.

you`ll have to cue for it to make it uber realistic though

rottenhat · 13-10-2009 06:09PM

el tonto wrote: »

Didn't the Mick Byrne spend a lot of time on back roads and could there be an issue in throwing a few thousand cyclists over such narrow roads?

That's certainly a fair point - if you were doing the Mick Byrne on a larger scale it would be very crowded and it would also have to be extensively marshalled which is obviously a considerable expense and administrative hassle. One of the organisers of the Mount Leinster said to me afterwards that he thought if it got any bigger than 200 riders they'd have to start limiting it so they could keep the quality up which is pretty small beans compared with the Wicklow. For my part, I prefer something smaller and I doubt I will do many sportives next year at all because of this - I'm happy to accept that, like gigs in stadiums, the likes of the Wicklow 200 are just not for me. Given the familiarity of the route, and the inferior organisation, and the high price...you're more like to see me at the start line in Dungarvan than UCD in 2010.

bbosco · 13-10-2009 06:24PM

Greyspoke wrote: »

I was at the Clonmel stop on the SK Tour this year and within a short space of time there was a long queue for food stretching well out into the car park.

The queue this year in Clonmel was at least as bad as anything I've seen on the W200. Also, the shower facilities in Dungarvan were woeful and far inferior to those in UCD. Just thought that was worth pointing out.
Best bang per buck sportive I've done (not that I've done loads) was the Mick Byrne this year.

Vélo · 15-10-2009 10:54AM

I wonder will we see anyone doing the WW200 on the Dublin Bikes Scheme bikes?

Esroh · 15-10-2009 12:05PM

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

I'm liking this thread, as with many here I need something to aim for, whats the first big cycle of 2010? surly there's one before the w200?

My ones for 2010 include:

W200
West cork 200
ROK 200
Kilkenny 200 (it rocked last year)
Conor Pass

Any other recommendations?

An Post Tour of Sligo was May 9th in 09. Good early one

Ill plug our own.
Western Lakes CC Polka Dot Fada (180km) July 18th 2010

Wicklow 200 - 13th June 2010

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