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

Good spin with a buddy today. He's coming to Spain with me in a few weeks so wanted to get some hills done. We did that.
Ticknock- Kilmashogue- Cruagh- Kippure- Laragh- Coffee and cake, then back up Glenmacnass and Sally Gap and back to the start.
116km with 2119m climbing at a very leisurely 22kmh
It was a pleasant enough day to start but by the time we got up Kippure it was 7degrees and a bit of mist coming in. The descent to Laragh was cold but the coffee and cake was lovely. The climb back up the Gap wasn't too bad as we had a mild tailwind but we weren't in any hurry anyway, just enjoying being out. Got to within a few hundred yards of the start and the rain started. Could not really have timed it any better. Legs are feeling it a bit but the rest of the body is feeling pretty good.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1142883112

Takca wrote: »

I did the Leitrim Glens 100KM today, I arrived early to see the 200KM start, about 40 of them left at 9AM for a long day in the saddle.

Then at 10AM we took off, I started with a strong group (to strong for me) but got dropped after about 20KM once the going got tough. Then I settled into a pace I was happy with. Chatting with some other soloists along the way. Had a great day, rain even stayed off for all but the last 10KM. I'm hoping I'll be able for the climbing in the 200KM next year....

http://leitrimglens.com/
https://www.strava.com/activities/1142991541

Come visit on http://audaxireland.org and get in training...

Just the usual midweek out to blessington on main road , across the bridge and left for Manor kilbride and back by lisheen to main road and home. Lovely mild evening last night. 45km avg 28.6 kph. One of my last spins in my 50's, will probably get out on Wednesday for my last one. Friday being the big day , hoping to take day off and get out for first spin of my 60's.

Went out last night for a hill raid, it was a beautiful spin seeing the sun set up at the Sally Gap. It was incredibly warm the whole evening, didn't even put arm warmers on on the way back home. The amount of flies up there was unreal though, millions of the buggers bouncing off my sunglasses decending to Luggala!

Fireball XL5 wrote: »

I experienced a shocking moment on the way up Howth Hill today.

I will be 60 in December and as a guy on a Dublin Bike passed me I realised I will never see 25 again!!!!

:D:D

Sure you're only a nipper

Windy, and traffic is building! Bring on next week when the schools are back, that's when the games really begin. Feeling fit these days, but wishing I had gotten out more on leisure spins this summer, there's still time I suppose!

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

(It didn't come up as a KOM (just a 'PR') on my Strava activity even though I'm in first place. )

This happened me on my 1 and only KOM, on the activity I clicked "Refresh Activity Achievements" and it came up as I expected. I think maybe it was because it was private and then I changed it to public(maybe?)

magicbastarder wrote: »

heh! looks like both yourself and Mercian Pro responded to my gauntlet, i'm now no. 3.

You'll have to get out there and give it another go.

(I think the other lads on the club ride were a bit puzzled when we took off at speed in the middle of nowhere).

Quick 30km test spin with my new fizik saddle and FSA carbon K wing bars, picked them up half price in the bike-discount sales... to say I'm delighted with the bars is understatement... It feels like a new bike, so smooth, so much of the road buzz is cut out and the ergonomics are unreal

Quick hour today with some hard efforts in the middle, 220w average for the hour so happy with that considering asthma is flaring up at the moment


https://www.strava.com/activities/1149399207

Fireball XL5 wrote: »

I experienced a shocking moment on the way up Howth Hill today.

I will be 60 in December and as a guy on a Dublin Bike passed me I realised I will never see 25 again!!!!

:D:D

Normally I'd say never use age as an excuse for poor performance but, in this case, I don't think you have any other choice

Nice spin out to blessington, valleymount and around the lake drive to Lacken, on the back road to manor kilbride and home on n81 .
70 km avg 27.6 kph. Nice way to spend the first hours of my 60 th.

Tested myself today to try and see how I'd be for 300odd kms in two days in less than two weeks time, I wanted to see how far I could push without food or a break. Managed 70kms at a good pace and comfortably. Reckon I'd have got the 100 without needing to stop but 50kms will be fine for what I have planned but good to know how my engine is.

Plan for training over the next few days is to do between 30 and 50kms a day for the next 8 days and then rest until the Thursday the 7th which is day 1

I will also be training Muay Thai, BJJ and do 3 'leg days' in the gym. Be grand

Forgot my Garmin this morning. I had become a bit of a slave to the speedo and lately I've been ignoring it. Was nice to just wander.

Headed to ballycanew , Gorey, out old n11 to inch and on to Arklow, took exactly an hour and had 31 km on the clock.Headed back towards inch and took the left turn for Castletown, around Tara hill to Ballymoney , Courtown and down coast road to Ballygarrett, Killenagh and home. Just over 66 km and an avg of 28.6 kph.
On a separate note, just outside Courtown I had eased up trying to wipe sweat from my stinging eyes when a guy passed me and I m sure he said hello or something to me. I picked up and went along side him , said hello and about to ask where he was heading and and he just looked at me, said nothing and upped the pace. We hit a drag and I came along side him again, said hello and about to converse and he takes off again, I came along side him again and was taking right turn at Peigs bar, and just said " nice talking to you " Wasn't trying to piss him off, we just happened to be of similar pace and I was trying to be friendly.... Just after the right turn a mother, father and kid were pottering along coming towards me and we exchanged pleasantries.

Chilly this morning and the traffics getting heavier. Really wasnt in the mood for a cycle, feeling tired and sore last few days but dragged myself out for a stupidly short 13km spin. Feel better now coz in past i would have just said im not feeling up to it and stayed home and then done same next day and day after that and suddenly its a month or 3 later and the bikes not been used

Stopped beside a lovely Kawasaki on the canal today, tried to have a laugh with the rider and I said 'I thought real Kawasakis were green', impressed he was not

Had hired a Carbon Bianchi Intrepida for the duration of our trip to Valenica, but due to the pressure to be finished before Siesta time had a frustratingly limited ride experience. Got in 4 spins on the first week and two this week (hopefully a last hurrah tomorrow morning) thanks to a combination of insomnia/broken aircon and thunderstorms.

Yesterday I set out to do a bg one, 160km with 2km+ change climbing.

To minimise upset to Mrs Rollingscone I'd learned to take the bike in off the balcony the night before and keep it beside the bed. Kit was packed and ready to go, managed to get about 4 hours of more or less functional sleep and aside from the awkardness of another early rising guest walking in on my getting into my UV leg covers in the communal kitchen got out pretty efficiently and was on the road by 07:20. Getting out of the city centre went fairly efficiently despite having to bypass the normal route through the Turia Riverbed park due to the soaked clay.

It was still lightly raining and not yet bright at this stage, then I made the fatal error of trying to use Google maps to navigate from one of the small satellte towns onto my route and ended up riding a CF roadbike through farm roads and getting wet clay on my cleats.

Eventually with consultation to a proper map and the Garmin Route I was able to cross some concrete farm roads back onto course, given a speed boost when about 8 farm dogs swarmed out onto the road and gave chase.

Things went fairly smoothly from then on although I was now mud spattered and an hour behild program. I took a stop after the first short hill and bough a 1.5 lire bottle of water to replenish my bidons (I'd had to use some of my starting supply to wash clay off my cleats as couldn't clip in and scrapiing wasn't doing the job.) and set off through the rest of Olocau, in the next villaage I stopped at the end to take a picture of the local castle and stepped into a park area, immediately sinking into more welt clay and going throughCleatgate a second time.

Amazingly there was a segregated cycle and access only car lane for the entire next 20km runnng parrallel to the dual carriageway and this took me to the start of the mountains proper.

At first climbing went well but I was passed handily by a local roadie on the way to the first peak and then began what I think was a 7km descent: many boardsies will know my story of hard earned technique over cowardice descnding progress and I can safely say on that first long winding clifftop descent all of that progress dissappeared.

After this descent and nother stop for a water refill I began the second and tallest ascetnt wherein two things happened, one the temperature rose to 26c and the road surface degenerated to sub wicklow loose gravel.

At this point I came to learn that every single climb in the Serra Calderon is basically a variatiopn on the Wicklow gap, never very steep but always never ending and flaunts it by showing you the next long stretch ahead of you at every corner.

It was truly beautfiul up there but it got difficult to manage my heart rate and athough it was a blessedly cloudy day with an occassional cool breeze the ambient temperature was sapping and Rivelo kit whle very nice does not breath well in warm close weather.

I tried to stop in the picturesque village of Alimehjad before the peak of this climb but could find no open shop or cafe (aside from the community pool) so I follishly forged on (and didn't risk the lovely looking font in the town square as it wasn't marked as potable.)

This led to me struggling up the rest of the climb with many stops to "take photos" and running out of water.

Luckily after an unpleaseantly gravelly 1st half of the descent on the other side, I found a local cafe/bar in the tiny hamlet of Ain (another gorgeous place) and despte being swarmed by hungry cats managed to fuel up with another 1.5l water, an ice cold radler, a coffee and a Bocadillo (turkey, melted cheese and spicy chutney - the Numero Cinco -) ; having my coffee stop mid descent was awesomesauce and gave me a boost through the next section which took me over a lower hill (still struggled with the heat and the headspace, f'in flies!) and after buying another 1.5l at the next town *actually at a random roadside hotel past the town) I had to deal with the flat heat of the open valley as I crossed for a good 25km to the final clmb, and ended up buying a 4th vbottle of water on the way!

The last climb was Oronet which I had managed handily on an 85k spin a few days before but again I found myself dragging in the heat and managed to stop at least three times on my way to the peak.

After this it was a straight drop back down through the town of Serra and a flat rush back to Valencia, where upon finally arvng (and emptying the last drip from my bidons on the edge of the city), I immediately lost the run of myself and got briefly lost ddespite having a dead cert way to get home.

Mission more or less accoplished at 175km.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1159957585/shareable_images/map_based?hl=en-US&v=1504126482

RayCun wrote: »

Car/bike collision right in front of me at the KCR today
Car was breaking the lights :mad:
Luckily both saw each other in time to slow down, but still hit each other. Cyclist went over the bonnet but got up, him and bike seemed ok.

You must be mistaken. It is cyclists that break the lights, not cars. You can ask Pat Kenny or George HOok if you don't believe me.