Another "200 Build Up" Randonee.......

emty

Brutal,punctured at powerscourt gates and that was the last I saw of anyone until the second controll.16 dnf's I hear,was very close to being one myself.Wind was ball-breaking!

rogerb

bunnygreen wrote: »

Would any of you lads say that was harder than the wicklow 200 route?.

Yes, I agree with blorg: harder than the Wicklow 200, even without the wind. Even if you leave aside the "famous" climbs (Old Wicklow Gap, Slieve Maan, Sally Gap), there's still an awful lot of hard terrain: from the R763 to Garryduff, the circuit of Croghan mountain between Woodenbridge and the Wicklow Gap, and the stretch from Aughrim through Macreddin and Ballycrean to Slieve Maan to mention just a few.

But what a fantastic route! It took me along roads and to places I'd never been before and probably never would, with some fantastic scenery and challenging cycling.

There was a front group consisting of myself, a guy from Bray Wheelers and one from Sorrento from the second control before Slieve Maan. The Bray Wheeler had to head home at Laragh, so we were down to two from there. Going over Sally Gap my legs really started cramping up and I couldn't hold Sorrento's wheel. That headwind was insane alright. He receeded to a small dot on the horizon and I came in a very distant second.

So, a tough day but really worth doing. I think this event deserves to become a classic: the route was superb, the road markings were excellent, the food stops were well stocked and all the volunteers were really nice.

rogerb

emty wrote: »

that was the last I saw of anyone until the second controll

You did half of today's epic on your own after doing the boards spin yesterday? :eek: Respect!

TinyExplosions

rogerb wrote: »

You did half of today's epic on your own after doing the boards spin yesterday? :eek: Respect!

Absolutly, Emty my man, you're a bit of a machine! I was in no state after Saturday to do anything!

Raam

Fair play to everyone who did the cycle yesterday, especially those who were out on Saturday too. Saturday was very windy and Sunday looked worse, even from the comfort of my living room
Was there a good turn out?

bunnygreen

Hey blorg,did you end up riding the rest of it on your own or in a group?I missed the food/control stop in Laragh and just kept going,no wind protection all the way home.I met a couple of lads who did the 100km and they were in a bad way.I thought i saw Rogerb on his focus and orwell gear up at the front for the short amount of time i managed to stay with them,fair play to you Roger for sticking that one out at that pace,that took a lot of stamina and iron legs.Well done to all who finished it surely was a day to remember.

penexpers

How many people did this, out of curiosity?

blorg

I was pretty much completely on my own after I punctured, save for a couple of km- met a fellow punctureee (on a Specialized Allez) at the control before Slieve Mann. Stuck with him up Slieve Mann and helped him with another puncture but I was going a bit faster and didn't see him again after the descent.

I certainly would have appreciated being in a bunch over Sally Gap, that was brutal. I think I would have managed to stay with one of the bunches, if not the lead one; my speed really dropped once I was out of the bunch.

I'm very bad at estimating but I would have guessed around 50 people turned out?

Here's an elevation profile for anyone who might be interested. This goes as far as Shankill on the way back, where my Garmin ran out of batteries. There is just one steep short climb after that, up to the Vico Road from the Station Road in Killiney (in the region of 75m.)

Raam

blorg wrote: »

Looks like a stinker of a route!

TinyExplosions

Raam wrote: »

Looks like a stinker of a route!

Looks like the kind of thing you'd love
-sorry, having a very anti-light climbers day today, it's just bitterness

Raam

TinyExplosions wrote: »

Looks like the kind of thing you'd love
-sorry, having a very anti-light climbers day today, it's just bitterness

As Will Smith says...
"Don't hate the player, hate the game!"

TinyExplosions

Raam wrote: »

As Will Smith says...
"Don't hate the player, hate the game!"

Oh, I was most definately hating the game too, but it's easier to hate the whippet that's about an hour up the road

bunnygreen

Hey Tiny,i would'nt be a natural climber at all,to big etc,but what i found yesterday on the longer climbs was i could get into a nice little gear,keep the heart rate steady and get up those stinkers without feeling i needed an oxygen tent at the end of it, i got out of the saddle early on the climb and kept it spinning high but light,i surprised myself ,the undulating roads around a lot of the route really got me though,very hard finding a decent gear,changing all the time,very energy sapping,im sure everyone has their own way of doing it,my key is to keep the heart rate down,if i blow early im a gonner,thats why ill never challenge for KOH.Just to say as well i think it was Rogerb i saw caning those hills in the Orwell colours,very impressive stuff my man,i think your part goat.

TinyExplosions

bunnygreen wrote: »

Hey Tiny,i would'nt be a natural climber at all,to big etc,but what i found yesterday on the longer climbs was i could get into a nice little gear,keep the heart rate steady and get up those stinkers without feeling i needed an oxygen tent at the end of it, i got out of the saddle early on the climb and kept it spinning high but light,i surprised myself ,the undulating roads around a lot of the route really got me though,very hard finding a decent gear,changing all the time,very energy sapping,im sure everyone has their own way of doing it,my key is to keep the heart rate down,if i blow early im a gonner,thats why ill never challenge for KOH.Just to say as well i think it was Rogerb i saw caning those hills in the Orwell colours,very impressive stuff my man,i think your part goat.

I'm much the same, I end up in my smallest gear just grinding up slowly at about 11kph. It's not that that was killing me, it was the headwind, it just sapped all my energy and will to live!

Planet X

penexpers wrote: »

How many people did this, out of curiosity?

30 for the 200 and 39 for the 100 (approx., they were the unofficial figures being quoted).
Hope you all enjoyed it. Our route planner said that the fastest 200 man would not be in in less than 9hrs. Scary stuff indeed.

erizo

I did the 100km (108km in total)and took me 5hours 20 mins on the saddle.
It was a very well organized event, great food stop and nice bunch of people.
Now I know I'm not ready for the Wicklow 200, but i will do the 100 instead.
Windy in Sally Gap, that was a killer!!!

The new saddle is killing me!!! I need to replace it. Thought it would have been cushioned enough,but I'm all pain!!!
My bike is old too and i need more training for a 200km one!

Bambaata

recently on big climbs when im aqlready in bits i take a bit of the gradient out by using the width of the road where possibkle. covers way more ground but helps me recover cos its more gradual. i am awful at getting out of the saddle. just not able to do ti and at 175lbs and not having a really granny gear i need to do ti otehr ways!

erizo

I weight 95 kg, and i manage to stand off the saddle, but a good gearing also helps

TinyExplosions

I don't get out the saddle all that much (and I'm 110kg!), but am yet to find I need a granny gear -lowest ratio on my compact double has been getting me up all the hills I've tried

bunnygreen

Hey Tiny,the main thing is you get up up the hills,thats it.Im 82kg and consider myself too heavy to be a decent climber,sure ill get up them but i need all the help i can get,the compact deffo helps, i have a 12/27,and like you say hav'nt found any thing yet i can't manage,but theres always a first.