Boards 200

TinyExplosions

niceonetom wrote: »

there's no hammerheads shouting "close that gap", i promise. inclusively is what it's all about.

Must remember to start shouting that on Saturdays...

Waiting at the top for the slow riders is all well and good, but you then have to wait the extra hour it'll take to recover -I'm not repeating Sneem again -I should definately have stopped there instead of pushing on

Chips Lovell

TinyExplosions wrote: »

Must remember to start shouting that on Saturdays...

There's an opening available for the position of Group Ride Nazi alright.

TinyExplosions wrote: »

Waiting at the top for the slow riders is all well and good, but you then have to wait the extra hour it'll take to recover -I'm not repeating Sneem again -I should definately have stopped there instead of pushing on

Ah, but the top of a hill is a bit different from Sneem. Plenty of opportunity to recover on a descent.

TinyExplosions

el tonto wrote: »

There's an opening available for the position of Group Ride Nazi alright.

That's the second time in two days someone has wanted me to take the position of Nazi -css in work, and group ride here... what is it about me!

Raam

TinyExplosions wrote: »

what is it about me!

You are a Nazi.

BUACHAILL

tell me guys just as a measure
how do you rate the long hill in Roundwood as a climb ??

Raam

BUACHAILL wrote: »

tell me guys just as a measure
how do you rate the long hill in Roundwood as a climb ??

It's tough enough.

BUACHAILL

sorry for being Anal
mark out of 10 ??

Raam

BUACHAILL wrote: »

sorry for being Anal
mark out of 10 ??

Oh I dunno, too many variables. How about 5.5? Stretching to 6.5 on a bad day.

BUACHAILL

ha ha i can feel the annoyed tone in your writing
sorry was just interested !!

Raam

BUACHAILL wrote: »

ha ha i can feel the annoyed tone in your writing
sorry was just interested !!

Sorry dude!
I was trying to write a scale comparing it to all the other climbs in Wicklow plus some other ones I have done. Then I realised that was a bit of overkill.

BUACHAILL

no hassle i am sure i am wrecking lots of heads
just trying to get a grasp of where my cycling level is at thats all

Raam

BUACHAILL wrote: »

no hassle i am sure i am wrecking lots of heads

Not at all.

BUACHAILL wrote: »

just trying to get a grasp of where my cycling level is at thats all

What climbs have you done so far?

BUACHAILL

long hill
devils glen...... oh man what a killer
other than that just plenty around Wicklow town but they are not too bad
all mycycling really has been motorway

blorg

Is the long hill the one up by Djouce, or the one that runs parallel (e.g. the main road to Roundwood?) Which direction are we talking about here? The main road going towards Roundwood is quite a long drag, and the one up by Djouce is quite short but steep- neither are in any way difficult coming in the direction towards Dublin though as you already have a bit of altitude.

BUACHAILL

Coming from dublin going to roundwood,and devils glen one is again coming from ashford and heading the glendalough road not roundwood.

blorg

BUACHAILL wrote: »

Coming from dublin going to roundwood,and devils glen one is again coming from ashford and heading the glendalough road not roundwood.

That road up from the N11 is a long drag all right, although I haven't gone up it in years. I find going down it much easier

BUACHAILL

yeah funny that i quite like that direction better myself !!
do you know the devils glen hill i am talking about ?

blorg

BUACHAILL wrote: »

yeah funny that i quite like that direction better myself !!
do you know the devils glen hill i am talking about ?

I don't think so but I have gone down, not up, one of those roads between the road to Roundwood and the one to Ashford- was unfamiliar to me and I ended up taking a corner badly and hurling myself at 70km/h into a thorn bush. Lucky it was there really as it provided a fair bit of cushioning albeit of the thorny variety. Scraped into bits and utterly _covered_ with blood but nothing broken! I must have looked great limping back to Dublin.

Gavin

blorg wrote: »

I don't think so but I have gone down, not up, one of those roads between the road to Roundwood and the one to Ashford- was unfamiliar to me and I ended up taking a corner badly and hurling myself at 70km/h into a thorn bush. Lucky it was there really as it provided a fair bit of cushioning albeit of the thorny variety. Scraped into bits and utterly _covered_ with blood but nothing broken! I must have looked great limping back to Dublin.

Jesus Blorg, you really seem to cream yourself when you take a spill. Broken legs, smashed rear windscreens, high speed thorn bush encounters. You must take more care ! People will get scared by the sight of blood stained boards.ie jerseys.

BUACHAILL

yeah in fairness sounds like some drop, it must have been bad when your thanking your lucky stars you ended up in a thorn bush, although sounds a lot better than eating concrete

blorg

Verb wrote: »

Jesus Blorg, you really seem to cream yourself when you take a spill. Broken legs, smashed rear windscreens, high speed thorn bush encounters. You must take more care ! People will get scared by the sight of blood stained boards.ie jerseys.

Never broke my leg thank god (just my elbow, and that was low speed, someone driving into the back of me a few years ago.) If I get to September I'll be crash-free for the last year I'm getting better, it has certainly taught me to be much more meticulous about my brake adjustment!

Raam

BUACHAILL wrote: »

tell me guys just as a measure
how do you rate the long hill in Roundwood as a climb ??

Rightio, in the attached, I have highlighted the Long Hill climb as you approach it from Enniskerry. I have never approached it from the N11. The other big spikes that you can see are, in order, Slieve Mann, Shay Elliot, Sally Gap. I would rate Long Hill as the easiest of the lot. Any more questions, just shout.

BUACHAILL

Raam thanks a million . More than I expected and very much appreciated. Easy reading but certainly not so easy I am sure on the saddle. Cheers again

Raam

Hi everyone,
I was wondering if we should try get agreement on some of the finer details. I know it's still a week away, but I'd like to give everyone a chance to have their input. What I'm suggesting is only to get the ball rolling...

Start Point: Harolds Cross Dog track at 6am, then onto the bridge in Dundrum to pick up anyone who wants to leave from there. Plan is to leave Dundrum by 630am.

I'm proposing an early start time because I expect the route to take us some time due to the inevitable carnage that the climbs are going to cause us.

The 125 group may not wish to start as early, so if someone else wants to run with organising that, be my guest.

Rest Stops for 200:
Laragh (after Sally Gap, Wicklow Gap)
Rathdrum (after Shay Elliot, Slieve Mann)
We can play it by ear after that.

Chances are, this list is out of date, so just shout if your name should/shouldn't be there. Maybe say where we will pick you up also...

Takers so far:-
200
El Tonto
Blorg
RogerB
Raam (Harolds X)
NiceOneTom
RTD

125
Caroline_ie
TinyExplosions
LDB
c0rk3r
Mugatu
Eagle

125 Start Time: 8 from Dog Track, 830 from Dundrum
125 Rest points: ?

PeadarofAodh

Afraid you're going to have to count me out...unless Planet X whisk the bike to me during the coming week (only ordered today!)

TinyExplosions

May I suggest a 8/8.30am start time for the 100

E@gle.

I got back from the Us yesterday but i think i'll do the 125 as i havent been on the bike in about 2 months

LDB

TinyExplosions wrote: »

May I suggest a 8/8.30am start time for the 100

What about

Start time 10am - Harolds Cross dog track, then 10:15 Dundrum.
Restpoint - Laragh

That way we should hopefully be able to meet up with the others about the same time at the end for anyone who wants to.

If that's too late, i'll happily do an 8am start.

Raam

I thought this was apt, giving the amount of climbing we are gonna do.

From today's Roadbikerider.com newsletter...

Slice 'n' Dice Long Climbs

Lots of recreational roadies will try to set a brisk climbing pace at the bottom of a hill and attempt to maintain that tempo to the top. Then they wind up folding tent about halfway up. The rest of the climb becomes a struggle as wise riders who started slower stream past.

One way to solve this problem is to divide the hill into 3 sections. If you know the climb or can see the top, pick landmarks around the one-third and two-thirds points. A sign, tree, mailbox, patch in the road -- anything you can see from a distance works fine.

Then treat the 3 sections like 3 different climbs. Here's how:

---In the first third, your intensity should be moderate. Choose a gear that lets you spin a bit faster than your normal climbing rpm. You should feel a touch of guilt that you aren't pushing harder. The hammerheads will surge past.

---Ride the middle third at normal intensity. Get into your regular climbing cadence. You should be working hard but not all-out. Some of the early hotshots will begin coming back.

---Drop the hammer on the last third. Now you're concentrating on strong-but-smooth pedaling. Your breathing is deep but rhythmical and controlled. Your legs are beginning to smolder, but that's actually good. Aim for what Lance Armstrong has called "sweet pain" rather than suffering pain. And it will be sweet as you roll by the riders who started the hill too hard -- like you used to.

Here's a great image to keep in mind (thanks to coach Chris Carmichael): Climb like a carpet unrolling. Start relatively slowly and finish fast.

A climb paced this way will feel better physically and mentally. Your time up the hill will almost certainly be faster compared to the common mistake of starting too fast and slowing significantly before the top.

DirkVoodoo

Top tip there, I'd put myself in the "tent folding" category.

I think I might put my name in for the 10, haven't looked at my bike in weeks now.