Wicklow 200 done and dusted

cantalach

tripswitch wrote: »

Cheers for that. Am I reading it wrong or did we really do 13,188ft of climbing over the whole day?!

It was just over 11,000 ft (just under 3,500 m) according to my bike computer, which uses GPS and barometric.

trek climber

hey guys,
Am just recovering today from yesterdays exertion. Did the 200 with two other mates plus a guy from Leitrim who we met about half way round and stayed with us for the rest of the day. Took us 8hrs and 45 minutes. It was a tough day and abiding memory is Slieve Mann, had not done it for a number of years and as a result got caught out when we crossed the first climb thinking is that it ??
Boy were we wrong - I was never so glad to see a tent in all my life.
What a great day out. Legs are very tired today, backside is very tender and also strangely enough the palms of my hands are quite sore - I think it is from all downhills and holding on for dear life in some cases.
My only regret was that we were late arriving at UCD and I missed the Boards group and never saw them after that.Hopefully I will get to meet ye guys in the not too distant future.
I picked up my boards gear off Tiny on Saturday evening and was wearing it yesterday - cool gear. A number of people commented on it over the day.
Have to now just rest and recuperate before the Border Trek next Saturday and sunday. Any Boards guys doing it ??

TinyExplosions

trek climber wrote: »

Have to now just rest and recuperate before the Border Trek next Saturday and sunday. Any Boards guys doing it ??

I was considering it a while ago, but never arranged anything -there's an overnight stop ain't there... do you have to book something, or whats the organisation like?

Chips Lovell

WicklowRacer wrote: »

Highlights were Wicklow Gap climb and riding with Kelly and Earley for a bit.

So Kelly was there. I was keeping an eye out for him because I wanted to tell people afterwards that I'd been dropped by Sean Kelly.

blorg

I think he was promoting the Sean Kelly Tour of Waterford- I got a leaflet for this at check-in. I may well do it, looks like a good one.

Bambaata

Yeah i rode with that Kelly pack for a while but i got caught out a few times at the stops. YOu really needed to take off with them as they left and my frined asked if i'd take a bag for the last 50k whcih i did but by the time i got the bag from him they were gone. Great bunch. GOt some really good ground covered in that pack when i was with them.

trek climber

TinyExplosions wrote: »

I was considering it a while ago, but never arranged anything -there's an overnight stop ain't there... do you have to book something, or whats the organisation like?

Thats right there is an overnight stop but you can register on the morning as far as I know. Th organisation is first class, much better that the Wicklow in my opinion in terms of motorbike marshalls all along the route, much better signage(using telephone poles), marshalls at any major junctions and better back up services.
THe only downside is for the two days it will cost you 135 sterlingalthough friends of mine are just doing the Saturday spin without registering.

sy

Had a great day and rode the course in the company of El Tonto and Niceonetom. Great company and great wheels to follow, niceonetom on the long hills ( mountains!) and El Tonto in the last 50k. D'ont know what he drank or ate at the top of Slieve Maan but he was putting some wattage thro that bottom bracket on the run into UCD ! Yes we all rode 42 inner rings in my younger (fitter years) when I rode the W200 20 years ago. Slieve Maan was a 42 x 24 then but died this year even with a 34 x 27! My ride time this time around was 7.55 but 20 years ago it was 6.50. Yes I'm afraid the years do catch up. By the way the guys I rode with are relatively new to the sport and with more hard training over the next few years should and will reduce their ride time by quite a bit. Which means I'm looking for partners for next years W200!

PS Thanks to Peter for his directions on my way to Belfield early Sunday morning!

cantalach

Bambaata wrote: »

Yeah i rode with that Kelly pack for a while but i got caught out a few times at the stops. YOu really needed to take off with them as they left and my frined asked if i'd take a bag for the last 50k whcih i did but by the time i got the bag from him they were gone. Great bunch. GOt some really good ground covered in that pack when i was with them.

Any idea what time the Kelly group set out from Belfield? I was thinking beforehand that it would be nice to hang on to the back of them for a while, but didn't see any sign of him at all.

kincsem

More on the Langster single speed

This is it http://www.s-bikes.com/ebwPNLqrymode.a4p?f_ProductID=8784&f_FullProductVersion=1&f_SortOrderID=0

Gearing is 42x16 which explains how I passed his group a few times on the flats. Of course they zoomed by when we hit the hills. I guess women check out each others clothes. Guys check out each others bikes, which explains how I noticed he was on a single speed. And he had three of four large bumps on the back of his calves - muscles.
When I was talking to him later in Belfield he said there were a few "city specific" Langster editions. His London edition had "God save the Queen" on the chainstays, and a map of the London underground on the downtube.

bobtjustice

kincsem wrote: »

More on the Langster single speed

This is it http://www.s-bikes.com/ebwPNLqrymode.a4p?f_ProductID=8784&f_FullProductVersion=1&f_SortOrderID=0

Gearing is 42x16 which explains how I passed his group a few times on the flats. Of course they zoomed by when we hit the hills. I guess women check out each others clothes. Guys check out each others bikes, which explains how I noticed he was on a single speed. And he had three of four large bumps on the back of his calves - muscles.
When I was talking to him later in Belfield he said there were a few "city specific" Langster editions. His London edition had "God save the Queen" on the chainstays, and a map of the London underground on the downtube.

Usually don't like racing style bikes, but that one is really sweet.!

Bambaata

cantalach wrote: »

Any idea what time the Kelly group set out from Belfield? I was thinking beforehand that it would be nice to hang on to the back of them for a while, but didn't see any sign of him at all.

i dont know tbh. we caught up with him a the first stop. seemed like they had been there a while.

Planet X

Cramped real bad along Djouce.
Went to bed at 7:30pm last night and got up at 7:30am this morning to cycle to work. :p

Did Kelly get his burger and chips? :pac::pac::pac:

Limestone1

cantalach wrote: »

Any idea what time the Kelly group set out from Belfield? I was thinking beforehand that it would be nice to hang on to the back of them for a while, but didn't see any sign of him at all.

About 8.10 - I met them in the grounds of UCD searching for the start as I was. A couple of cardboard signs from the N11 entrance would have helped.
Anyway they must have passed me 4 or 5 times during the day, I managed to hang on to the back a few times until a hill appeared, but they were taking long leisurely breaks presumably to give me time to catch up !
Most impressive sight of the day was Kelly powering up Slieve Maan as if he was on the flat. Only one of the group held onto his wheel and they were out of sight in 20 secs. Overall I was very happy with the food and water stops (apart from being accosted by the irate woman on the lane beside the Donard stop!) - agree that some of the signposting could be improved particularly beyond Dundrum where I missed the right turn at the roundabout.
Was looking out for the boards jerseys but didn't see any - I'll have to get up earlier next time.

Chips Lovell

Photos are up. Haven't looked through them yet.

Chips Lovell

Spotted dub-skav, emty and TinyExplosions.

TinyExplosions

el tonto wrote: »

Spotted dub-skav, emty and TinyExplosions.

Hehe, that was the photographer we were hopin had got the three of us!

look at me tryin to be all aerodynamic

Chips Lovell

You look like you mean business alright.

Only 168 photos up there, which is a lot less than last year. I'm wondering if they're going to put up more later.

blorg

Tiny, are these your ankles? Stuck in towards the end there, strange one.

blorg

el tonto wrote: »

You look like you mean business alright.

Only 168 photos up there, which is a lot less than last year. I'm wondering if they're going to put up more later.

They put them up in dribs and drabs last year, I imagine they will have around the same amount in the end. You just need to remember what page you were on, the new ones will go at the end!

TinyExplosions

blorg wrote: »

Tiny, are these your ankles? Stuck in towards the end there, strange one.

They are indeed -a mental strange photo I nearly missed, the shoes made me double take... it only begs the question, 'do my ankles look big in these shoes?"

Pic of emty on his own too

kenmc

i think it's harpz just leaving number 12. http://www.wicklow200.ie/gallery/2008wicklow200/IMG_8836

Bunnygreen front left
http://www.wicklow200.ie/gallery/2008wicklow200/IMG_8893

zorkmundsson

el tonto wrote: »

Spotted dub-skav, emty and TinyExplosions.

saw ye a fair few times early on, i think, but then my catastrophic slowness told.

Chips Lovell

kenmc wrote: »

i think it's harpz just leaving number 12. http://www.wicklow200.ie/gallery/2008wicklow200/IMG_8836

Bunnygreen front left
http://www.wicklow200.ie/gallery/2008wicklow200/IMG_8893

Can't see harpz in that one?

Missed meeting bunnygreen. That's him with the cap?

Morgan

There's me on the left:
http://www.wicklow200.ie/gallery/2008wicklow200/IMG_8899

cantalach

Limestone1 wrote: »

Most impressive sight of the day was Kelly powering up Slieve Maan as if he was on the flat. Only one of the group held onto his wheel and they were out of sight in 20 secs.

Those guys never really lose it do they. Check out this report about Eddy Merckx riding part of Melbourne's Round the Bay in a Day event in 2006. He was 61 at the time. Key quote:

"But once we hit the open road Eddy was enjoying himself. And boy was he going. At one stage, as I was grovelling on his wheel, I looked at my computer to see we were doing 40 kph, uphill in a head wind, going past riders like they were standing still."

barrabus

there are more photos on www.ambientlight.ie there is a huge number of slieve mann.

kenmc

el tonto wrote: »

Can't see harpz in that one?

Sorry, thought those were boardsie shorts, and he had mudguards on. Sorry.

el tonto wrote: »

Missed meeting bunnygreen. That's him with the cap?

Yep. met him coming over sally to the crossroads heading for lug. Orwell took me all the way down to laragh

TinyExplosions

From ambient light:

Me at top of Slieve Maan
Frenchie at the same point
Blorg -noticeable by the sandals
I'm crap with names, so apologies for those who I can't remember:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (that you Bambaata?), 6

daymobrew

barrabus wrote: »

there are more photos on www.ambientlight.ie there is a huge number of slieve mann.

Found some boards jerseys:
a, b, c.

None of me.