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

Alanstrainor · 14-12-2018 10:40am

mr spuckler wrote: »

I didn't feel like I got the payback I deserved this evening after this morning's battering :mad:

Me neither! No where near my personal best times on my commute home. Weekend looking incredibly bleak too. Ah well.

site_owner · 15-12-2018 4:49pm

Had to put in 30 ish km on the bullitt in and out of town with one kid.
Wasnt too bad all in, but wet gear reached its limits and sprung a few leaks.
Assist makes massive difference with the headwinds

Had to go back out to collect a parcel from an post, so 40k in the end.

magicbastarder · 16-12-2018 3:16pm

just 47km this morning, a bit cold and damp, but i took a turn off the naul-balbriggan road looking for the eastern approach to snowtown, and it's lovely down there. you're cycling along a river valley that seems to head for stamullen, for a few km.

Wishbone Ash · 16-12-2018 3:26pm

magicbastarder wrote: »

j... and it's lovely down there. you're cycling along a river valley that seems to head for stamullen, for a few km.

Mercian Pro refers to that area as "The Happy Valley".

magicbastarder · 16-12-2018 3:43pm

i didn't do the full length of it - got as far as the bridge, just past the left turn for snowtown, and then headed back up snowtown.

dahat · 16-12-2018 3:47pm

3. 5hrs getting well n truly soaked through.

As I was on my own it actually made it some bit managable as I could stay on a pace to keep myself some bit warm through cadence. It never got above 3 degrees with some quality rain jackets left at home as normal. The Galibier Mistral did the best it could but even that gave up eventually.

102km at 29.2 avg and blue skies everywhere now to rub it in.

Mercian Pro · 16-12-2018 6:03pm

magicbastarder wrote: »

i didn't do the full length of it - got as far as the bridge, just past the left turn for snowtown, and then headed back up snowtown.

I think the first time I discovered that valley was on a sunny day in April or May when the whitethorn was in bloom. It was stunning especially the section you rode from the bridge to the mill. The Delvin River forms the county boundary from west of Naul to Gormanstown.

68 lost souls · 17-12-2018 12:44am

3 hours 20 to go 60km but it had 1200m of climbing. Great day out with the club followed by tea coffee and treats in the clubhouse.

We climbed Bohernabreena to military road, descended sticking lane then went back up to view point via crush road, back down to mount Venus, across the back of Marlay and up The hill past stackstown as far as the masts in Ticknock. Three big climbs

Borderfox · 17-12-2018 1:37pm

Managed to get out on Saturday and Sunday, soaked on Saturday and about 44km
https://www.strava.com/activities/2017961996

Sunday was cold but dry and headed out through Dunsany on to Doreys Forge through Moynalvey and up Drumlargan hill towards Kilcock for a coffee. 52km in total
https://www.strava.com/activities/2019788660

brownian · 17-12-2018 1:40pm

Sunday was one of those days when the cycling is simple pleasure. It was a grey enough day, with damp roads, but after the horror that was Saturday (well done, Borderfox!), every pedal stroke was fun fun fun. Out with the usual crew to Kilternan, Fox's, Viewing Point, Feather Beds, Glencree, wheeeee, Enniskerry (coffee), home. Short and sweet.

Sun came out later for a stroll on Bray Head with Mrs B. Home to hang up the decorations.

Alanstrainor · 18-12-2018 1:39pm

Made it in grand this morning, not a bother at around 9am. Even managed to make it in dry enough too which was unexpected. Only a couple of commutes left in the year now.

Thinkingaboutit · 18-12-2018 2:23pm

Nothing except standard rain (things dried now) between 7 and twenty past, and roads notably busy for this time.

irlirishkev · 19-12-2018 2:12pm

17k commute to work at 8am, still a bit manky after last night's festive tipples.
Lesson learnt. Won't be doing that combination again in a hurry!

mr spuckler · 19-12-2018 2:22pm

irlirishkev wrote: »

17k commute to work at 8am, still a bit manky after last night's festive tipples.
Lesson learnt. Won't be doing that combination again in a hurry!

I'd my 14k commute after 3 nights in a row of 'festive tipples'! thankfully it was refreshingly cool out.

Luxman · 19-12-2018 2:51pm

Out around NCD for me this morning, just had to tackle some hills as the standard training spins are getting a bit 'blah'. Grey enough start but brightened up after an hour. Lovely and quiet up there. 54k with 760m up.

smacl · 19-12-2018 4:20pm

Nice spin up to Massey's wood at lunch. Finding the hills very tough with deep mud and wheel spin leading to a couple of walk and push bits on sections I'd usually have no problems with. Steep descents on the mud are mighty craic though and being out on the bike is so much better than the last couple of evenings on the turbo.

silverharp · 19-12-2018 7:24pm

my last for 2 whole weeks, the damn thing stays in the shed, happy days

smacl · 20-12-2018 9:00am

silverharp wrote: »

my last for 2 whole weeks, the damn thing stays in the shed, happy days

Reverse for me, bit of time off and hope to get out as much as possible. Happy days also

magicbastarder · 20-12-2018 9:17am

nice and quiet out on the roads this morning. apart from east wall road, i got there just after the freight train had been through.

Thinkingaboutit · 21-12-2018 11:47am

Quiet enough despite the late start of 7.05am and maladjusted front brake, will look later. I hope to go up Stocking Lane and round about if the weather stays okay over the holidays.

smacl · 21-12-2018 5:20pm

Thinkingaboutit wrote: »

Quiet enough despite the late start of 7.05am and maladjusted front brake, will look later. I hope to go up Stocking Lane and round about if the weather stays okay over the holidays.

Was up that way over lunch cycling up to the Hellfire, fantastic weather for it and well worth the effort. If you're up as far as the viewing point at the top of Stocking lane the routes back either via Piperstown, Glassamucky or Glencree are lovely options to extend the ride without too much extra effort if the conditions are good.

Edit: First time getting on a leader board on Strava today, even if it was only 10th on a muddy descent of a lesser used off-road route. Yay!

RobertFoster · 22-12-2018 2:12pm

Tried to get out for a club spin this morning, but as I was getting the bike ready (lights + Garmin) a woman in a car stopped and asked me did I know the owner of three horses that were loose on the road :eek: Got in contact with the owner and went after the three escapees who were munching some grass 30m up the road.

Another car spooked them into a neighbours garden, so I closed the gate while waiting for the owner. Unfortunately the hole in the hedge the first three escaped through was discovered resulting in a further six horses making a break for it in quick succession! Those six barrelled past me up the road causing the original three to hop the neighbours hedge to rejoin their comrades (the last being a comically short pony).

I followed them at a distance by bike to try and keep an eye on them without spooking them further. They trotted along for ~700m not showing signs of slowing down, so it was lucky when a car came towards them and they took a sharp right into another garden. I blocked the gate and waited for the owner. He arrived with backup, the horses were rounded up and walked back to where they came from, and the hole in the hedge was patched. Lots of fun pre-9 am on a Saturday.

Once it was all over it was too late to make the club spin unfortunately. I ended up doing just 50km solo (with Patti Smith going through my head). Nice and sunny, not too cold either.

Luxman · 22-12-2018 2:32pm

our usual club spin is on a Sunday and it looks a wickle bit damp tomorrow according to the forecast so a mate and myself went for a wander, 70k odd, damp but not too cold. Hoping to get out Monday and a couple of days next week to try and get to 10000km for the year

secman · 22-12-2018 11:04pm

Managed a 60 km club mince pie spin this morning which edged me over the 7k km for the
year.

dahat · 23-12-2018 7:19pm

Standard wet Sunday ride today, 3.5hrs and felt great the while way round despite the weather.

Hoping to abandon the trsini g plan and get some endurance miles in over Xmas given the reasonable forecasted weather.

saccades · 23-12-2018 8:50pm

Soft day - forgot to turn Strava on so no idea of distance but loads of schlumpy trails and grinds up the side of ticknock with some old friends.

Last spin on current bike as the fun police approved an upgrade, spin and road bike somehow use different muscles (I presume different bits), so I'm aching now.

Good times.

24-12-2018 12:53am

I rode to Duleek and back today with Christmas gifts. First time on the bike in nearly 2 weeks since I cut my thumb. Took the beater bike too as I could stash the gifts on the child seat. Wide 35mm grippy tyres over 20km and it's been damp putting it mildly for the last week or so, so I was surprised how greasy the roads felt or maybe I need to look at the tyres????????

Had one car who after passing me beeped, waved and flashed the hazards at me between Donore and Duleek, either someone I knew and didn't recognise the car or someone spotting a guy on a Santy run

smacl · 24-12-2018 6:57pm

smacl wrote: »

Edit: First time getting on a leader board on Strava today, even if it was only 10th on a muddy descent of a lesser used off-road route. Yay!

Pushed that 10th up to 7th and see that a few familiar names further up the leader board. Route tends to have walkers and horse riders so I reckon a few quiet 5am summer spins are in order. Downhill in the thick muck just doesn't seem to grow old, I wonder is the stamina and belly of an out of shape mid fifties bloke coupled with the aspirations of 7 year old boy such a clever combination?

#pretendingtobeagrownup

secman · 24-12-2018 8:35pm

Day 1 of Rapha 500 km challenge, out to Blessington via Manor Kilbride and out past Hollywood and on towards Baltinglass, quick turnaround and back to Phoulaphoca and right towards Tulfarrus. Back out on to n81 into blessington and across bridge for Manor Kilbride, Lisheen, brittas and home. 100 km Avg 26 kph.

400km to go

Happy Christmas to you all and safe riding over the holiday period.

jrar · 25-12-2018 12:06am

Got out around 15:00 and did a nice 60k on what was mostly a dank, overcast afternoon - darkness fell and I do like riding quiet country roads in the dark. Closing in on 10K for the year - just over 100kms to go !

Justwinginit · 25-12-2018 2:14pm

Haven't been out for about what seems like forever. nice little 20k to get back into it. New bike computer to help me get out there again:-) Really mild out, hardly a breeze..Happy Christmas all..

Wishbone Ash · 25-12-2018 2:27pm

Checked the Strava monthly climbing challenge after getting into work this morning as I thought I may have completed it.

Nope - currently at 7,999m! Now if only I had known I think I could have found a meter somewhere.

mloc123 · 25-12-2018 3:49pm

15km family spin (cargo bike) this morning, nice day... not too cold and dry

Eamonnator · 25-12-2018 5:13pm

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Checked the Strava monthly climbing challenge after getting into work this morning as I thought I may have completed it.

Nope - currently at 7,999m! Now if only I had known I think I could have found a meter somewhere.

I had a friend, who was a Garda motor cyclist. About 40 years ago, he was on duty on All Ireland Football final day.He wanted to watch the match, but was expected to be on patrol. He brought the motorcycle home and put it in his garage. He needed to account for the mileage on his bike.so he put the bike on it's stand, started the engine and put it in first gear and let it run, to put some miles on it. He went into his house to watch the match, when he came out the engine had seized, because it was air cooled.
It took a lot of explaining.

Type 17 · 26-12-2018 2:29pm

Lovely morning for a spin today, lack of traffic really got me in the mood, and I kept it flat for a change (only 81m ascent).

71k at 29km av in 2hr 27m - city centre out on the path towards Howth, turn for Baldoyle, to the end of Balheary Rd and back again.

I didn't really have a goal in mind for the year, but a new bike and a great summer weather made all the difference - last year I only managed 1,078km (in fairness family issues got in the way last year), but today I'm up to 3,300.

pjmn · 26-12-2018 3:04pm

Grand day here - dry, calm and mild...

https://www.strava.com/activities/2036234191

secman · 26-12-2018 5:37pm

Day 3 of Rapha challenge, Tallaght to Kill, across to Clane, Prosperous, through the curragh to Kildare town, kilcullen, Dunlavin, Hollywood, Blessington, manor Kilbride, Brittas and home. 123.5 km Avg 26.8 kph. A lot of headwind, especially on the curragh, some dangerous crosswinds, and eventually tail wind from Hollywood to home. Horloced... 269 km done.... 231 to go.

nilhg · 26-12-2018 8:15pm

100km through South Kildare on my second day out on Festive500 duty, it would have been 10km more only for my rear tyre giving up the ghost in a spectacular bang, I had to do the wait of shame by the road, lucky it was nice and mild.

I'm about 100km behind secman so far but there's plenty of time yet.

Justwinginit · 27-12-2018 10:14am

Just shy of 25km yesterday. Very mild again, hardly a breeze out. Slowly getting back into it. Avg just under 25kph,cadence 84 and heart rate 167. I was taking it easy enough. Not pushing hard. Is that heart rate normal anyone know?

dahat · 27-12-2018 10:30am

Heart rate is relative to you only, everyone has different zones etc.

Cycle your bike and enjoy it, don't get beat up about heart rates etc if you aren't racing.

Macy0161 · 27-12-2018 10:52am

Heart rate can vary for a number of reasons too (underlying virus, sleep/ fatigue, caffiene etc), which is why power became popular - you're either putting out the numbers or you're not. Also, HR monitors aren't necessarily accurate, and not accurate for everyone.

pjmn · 27-12-2018 1:29pm

Short spin today, nice day out...

https://www.strava.com/activities/2037897166

smacl · 27-12-2018 4:08pm

First time out on the CX bike in awhile rather than the old MTB beater. 53k taking in Kilternan, Foxes, Glencree and back down again. Lousy pace no doubt as a result of putting on a few extra pounds over the last couple of weeks. More hills and less booze needed in the new year to haul things back a bit.

secman · 27-12-2018 8:14pm

Day 4 of Rapha, a short recovery spin of 50km a loop from house to ballyedmund, ballycanew, Gorey, Ballymoney, courtown killenagh and home. Avg 25 kph. 318 km done , 4 days to go with 182km left to do.

Mercian Pro · 27-12-2018 9:26pm

Normally I wouldn't be too keen on large numbers on club spins but the twelve of us today had one of the most enjoyable spins of the year. Everyone was well matched, keen to be out after all the eating and drinking and there was relatively little traffic. Headed from Swords to Hazlehatch to Celbridge and on to Maynooth for the coffee break before a fast return to Swords. Was feeling good so added in a loop over to Baldoyle before heading home to Glasnevin. 139km at 27kph so only 101km to do before Tuesday to get to 10,000 for the year.

We are really lucky to have two very knowledgeable (and entertaining) group leaders in the Club. Thanks and happy New Year to them and to their counterparts in other clubs throughout the country. We'd be lost without you

Wishbone Ash · 27-12-2018 9:48pm

Mercian Pro wrote: »

... Everyone was well matched...

Apart from myself who drifted off the back several times dragging the pace down!

magicbastarder · 28-12-2018 2:51pm

out along the seafront and a couple of times up howth; i bruised my ribs (not particularly badly) a couple of days ago, thought it'd be fine on the bike, but i did feel it when pushing hard out of the saddle.

Luxman · 28-12-2018 4:21pm

I was out along the seafront as well today, I had done some my climbing and was just started on the Sutton side, there were loads of cyclists out, i was keeping to the left half of the lane and two approaching cyclists were on their half, then suddenly the second chap veered out in front of me, he had reached into his pocket and took out what appeared to be a hanky but must have also dropped something and was looking back, hence the veer. Managed to avoid him but he appeared oblivious to what he had done. Whilst sipping a coffee in Howth village another chap said to me 'You look experienced', i didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult :-). He wanted to know where to get decent gear, i directed him toward Galibier.

magicbastarder · 28-12-2018 5:20pm

yeah, loads out around howth today. including a group on the seafront cycle path who weren't all that keen to make space for oncoming cyclists.

dahat · 28-12-2018 5:26pm

2hrs in Costa Del Shed doing some base aerobic work as it was a bit too technical to hit the numbers on the road.

Tomorrow however is a road day and buzzing to get out given the decent weather this time of year.

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

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