Wicklow 200 - 13th June 2010

pixbyjohn

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pixbyjohn

pixbyjohn

pixbyjohn

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CramCycle

Hermy wrote: »

Finally I wonder does anyone know the plight of the cyclist who crashed on the way down Slievemann? Cyclists I spoke to at the time of the incident seemed very concerned but I later heard that it wasn't quite so serious. Hopefully she's okay.

She is alive and well, met her in St. Vincents at about 20:00. Nasty grazes and a broken wrist but in very good spirit. Were you the unofficial guy I asked about radioing the other marshalls? beside Glenmalure lodge?

I was the guy in the bright red Coifidis get up

Sorry I made everyone slow down and dismount.

On a side note Iarnod Eireann driver who was "stuck" behind the ambulance. You are a D*ck and should be put down for crimes against decency.

DualFrontDiscs

CramCycle wrote: »

On a side note Iarnod Eireann driver who was "stuck" behind the ambulance. You are a D*ck and should be put down for crimes against decency.

Given you have the time and location, presumably it's not impossible for a complaint to IE to be investigated?

Git101

Hermy wrote: »

I was in Greenan for the day so I decided to take a spin up to the crossroads to see what I could see. Not long after I arrived Mr. Kelly passed and a while later I spotted only my second Boards jeresy of the day. I ended up hanging around Glenmalure for the afternoon with track pump in tow, directing traffic and explaining to tired riders which way is up. No-one needed air but I did assist one rider with a rear derailer which wasn't selecting first gear.
When the steady stream of cyclists was eventually reduced to a trickle I decided to leave my post at the crossroads and drive as far as Rathdrum and just as well too as I encountered a couple of riders struggling with punctures which I can imagine aren't the easiest thing to deal with at the latter end of a 200km event and the rain is p!ssing down.
Not the day I had planned but enjoyable nonetheless.
Maybe I should get more involved in marshalling now that cycling is off the agenda.

Thanks Hermy
That's me in the boards gear. I was travelling most of the day with some lads from Naas CC, we were re-grouping there before the SE climb.

I met some boardsies throughout the day including Cadex, Buffalo and Shotgunmcos.. Great to meet you guys..

I popped something in my knee comming out of Rathdrum, it made the last 40 or so miles interesting and slow.

Well done to all who took part.. See you next year..

Esroh

I want to say a big 'Thank You ' to the Civil Defence for looking after me at the end.
Got caught in the rain for the last 20km and we had also lost the keys to the van so we could not get changed so the cold set in.4 hours wrapped up in Heat blankets though I not remember much as we waited for spare keys to be brought up from the west.

Still I had a great day from start to finish of the actual bike ride:D

iregk

Really enjoyed yesterday. Was out with a mate who struggles big time on hills so we had to do everything we could to stay with him and drag him along. 8:20 it took us. Saw a load of boards jerseys but the only one i really spoke to was tomc and that was going up the hill towards Hollywood.

The rain held off very well and even the lovely bit of sunshine that broke through on the way and up the mann was very plesent and welcome. Food stops I thought were very good. I was waiting for about 30 seconds on Donard and no q at all in Rathdrum. Plenty of gels and bars and all to get me through the day.

The only grip I had was the lack of good groups to latch onto. The only one I got was from Derrybawn to Rathdrum a group of Bray Wheelers passed me and I jumped in behind them and we rocketed to Rathdrum. Just then though my rear derailleur started to give up and I could only get 4 gears at the back and they were slipping. I did pretty well on the climb out of Avoca considering but shortly after I was stuck on one ring at the back. I knew it was about to go though so I selected a nice one. Finished from redcross to Greystones with a choice of 3 gears only. The front was working fine, that was my 3 gears!!!!

Overall very enjoyable and had a ball.

souter

Managed my first 200 without too much pain (so far), though at a leisurely 10.5 hours start to finish (any sign of the official times being posted?).

Like blowfish, though with nothing like his effect, really enjoyed the last section - the hard work was done but still had enough in the tank to raise the pace.
Got in a small group and chasing down those in front of us made the time pass a lot quicker.

Only slight booboo was parking at the Shoreline in Bray instead of Wicklow - having to climb back over Bray head after the event was not the smartest way to end the day.

Organisation was pretty good as well.

Thanks to the boardsies who tolerated me on spins earlier this year - that experience made a big difference.

Hermy

CramCycle wrote: »

She is alive and well, met her in St. Vincents at about 20:00. Nasty grazes and a broken wrist but in very good spirit. Were you the unofficial guy I asked about radioing the other marshalls? beside Glenmalure lodge?

Hi Cram,
Glad to hear the casualty isn't doing too badly.
Yeah, that was me pretending to be a marshall.
I suppose that despite my good intentions, being there in an unofficial capacity meant I was limited in what help I could give.
A lesson for the future methinks!

Leroy42

Did the W200 yesterday, luckily the weather held off in the main (could have been worse!) and I felt the day went well. Certainly echo the other posters about the admin support etc. The marshalls at the corners were great, thanks to each of them. One of them, from Bray Wheelers, even sweeped up the gravel on the right turn at the Laragh/Rathdrum junction.

The distance markers were great, but a small critique I would have is that the road markings were too close to the corners themselves. On some occasssions they were almost at the junction. Could do with some pointers earlier to get yourself better placed.

Thanks to the Civil defence, that Water on top of SlieveMann was great, and all those who came out to cheer really keeps you going (just pretend their cheering your epic ride rather than the more likely sympathy applause)

I was, however, disappointed with the route. Not enough climbing. Don't get me wrong, I'm knackered and found it really difficult, but it is the Wicklow 200 which means climbing, but I felt too much time was spent on the flat/rolling sections. From top of Sally Gap to base of SlieveMann is close to 80kms with a further 70Kms after the top of the Shay Elliott. While of course these also take it out of you, for next year I think bringing back the Wicklow Gap and back over SallyGap/Luggala should be considered. (Not sure about the distances etc, but it a year away to work it all out!) The route was good, but not epic!!!

Previous years seemed to have more climbing (although the state I am in maybe memory isn't the best!)

SerialComplaint

CramCycle wrote: »

On a side note Iarnod Eireann driver who was "stuck" behind the ambulance. You are a D*ck and should be put down for crimes against decency.

Taking a train out onto those Wicklow roads is highly irresponsible.

Nietzschean

Leroy42 wrote: »

I was, however, disappointed with the route. Not enough climbing. Don't get me wrong, I'm knackered and found it really difficult, but it is the Wicklow 200 which means climbing, but I felt too much time was spent on the flat/rolling sections. From top of Sally Gap to base of SlieveMann is close to 80kms with a further 70Kms after the top of the Shay Elliott. While of course these also take it out of you, for next year I think bringing back the Wicklow Gap and back over SallyGap/Luggala should be considered. (Not sure about the distances etc, but it a year away to work it all out!) The route was good, but not epic!!!

Previous years seemed to have more climbing (although the state I am in maybe memory isn't the best!)

Last year pretty much was the same climbing wise. if you want more climbing do the MB200 maybe? I don't think more climbing on the WW200 would be great, enough people struggle with the climbing thats there, more would just turn people off.

shotgunmcos

My first Sportive: Yay!
Race the prvious day in Schull and a 3:30am start though: Boo!
Nice Toll guy on M7 pointed me to Portloais for emergency petrol stop: Yay! Life saver #1
I was late starting the event as a results: Boo!
Fits 30km flew by and I was loving the views by Glencree: Yay!
Problems with crank and shifter: Boo!
Managed to climb the Sally gap on a 50/25: Yay
The Cloud on top of it: Boo Hiss!
A boardsie recognised me in that mist (how I don't know) and said hi: Yay!
We were all cold and wet: Boo!
The weather improved on the bottom: Yay!
My crank fell off before Donard and I thought my day was done: Boo hiss!
Enter: Nice couple from Monaghan life saver #2, phone call, wrench, strong arm from a guy in a van and I was good to go again after some faffing: Yippee!! Thank you Thank you Thnak you whoever you were
The queue at Donard (because I left Greystones at 0740): Boo!
Happy that crank was ok I hit a stride to the next checkpoint in Rathdrum and developed a lovely climbing rhythm up the trio of Aghavannagh, Slieve Mann and Shay Elliot. Loved the Slieve Mann descent: Yay!
Stuck on small ring so spun out a lot during the day: Boo!
Passed hundreds and only 2 went by me on climbs all day, very pleased with that: Yay!
Found a hair in a sandwich at Rathdrum: Boo!
Rode for a while with a guy training for an IMCH and he was a hoot, best of luck mate: Yay!
More spinning out on better road surfaces before avoca: Boo! (I just stopped an manually put it on bigger ring as it was annoying me so much)
But I caught one of the guys who outclimbed me on Slieve Man and he nicely offered nme a tow, cheers mate: Yay!
The climb after Avoca, unexpected when you thought you had the business part done: Boo Hisssss!!!
Still full of beans at 150km although hills were beginning to get to me: Yay!
Hadn't got onto a decent group all day and when I had caught up with earlier starting groups on Rathdrum, I got bored of hanging about. Thus the last 30km were pretty lonely passing ones and twos: Boo!
A group eventually came steaming along lead by a couple of Limerick cycling club: Yay!
With no big ring I had to spin like my life depended on it to hang on: Boo!
I almost bonked at Kilcoole but it was right beside a shop: Yay!
A guy rolled in with a foul mood on him after his 5th puncture :eek: Poor guy: Boo!
Met another guy who had suffered the same fate and was having the same coke, bar and crips. Not alone: Yay!
We watched 3 small pelotons whizz by: Boo!
The sugar kicked in: Yay!
So did the headwind: Boo!
I finished before the heavens opened: Yay!
But it had taken 8.5 hours total with all the stoppages: Boo!
7:05 cycling time though: Yay!
After food I had to cycle back to the car in the downpour: Boo!
It was all worth it and generally delighted that I can climb afterall: Yay!

Well done to all the boardsies who completed, if you had a yell from a guy with a Limerick Tri club top on, cheers for the acknowledgment

CramCycle

DualFrontDiscs wrote: »

Given you have the time and location, presumably it's not impossible for a complaint to IE to be investigated?

The ambulance picking up the girl at Slieve Mann was blocking the road to pick her up and this guy starts giving out that they are blocking the road.

I said its an ambulance they should be done in a few minutes at which point he starts giving out what a bunch of r*tards they are blocking traffic like that

He then said he was a train driver and it was an emergency that he had to get to work and when I asked him why and he said why do you think? So the train leaves on time.

He continued giving out for several minutes to the civil defense as well.

Everyone else were very nice and understanding, I forgot to take his plates as I would have liked to report him to IE as he was in their uniform.

Hermy wrote: »

Hi Cram,
Glad to hear the casualty isn't doing too badly.
Yeah, that was me pretending to be a marshall.
I suppose that despite my good intentions, being there in an unofficial capacity meant I was limited in what help I could give.
A lesson for the future methinks!

I thought you were doing a great job down there, very important to have people out there to lend a hand at spots that are missed by the officials.

mloc123

Not a bad day, weather was a bit hit and miss. I found the climbs fine but was caught in that downpour for the last 20k. Bumped into MCOS, Caroline and Unionman.

Joking aside about it being a fred fest I did see some very stupid stuff all day. The pick of which had to be people crossing the white line into oncoming traffic on bends and others while in a group stopping dead without warning, I am suprised there were no pile ups.

hinault

Did it.
Weather held off I am glad to say during my spin.

Couple of oddball incidents.
The climb out of Avoca was a lot more difficult than I had remembered.
I descended at the top of the climb and was descending down toward Redcross when this young lad flew by me and mistook a right turn : he and his bike summersaulted the hedge/trees.
I stopped fearing the worst because the speed he was going at, made me wonder what sort of state he was going to be in with that crash.

All i could hear were cries of "help".
Thankfully he landed in the grass (as opposed to a tree or on to somethnig metallic).
I pulled him and his back back out on to the road.
Thankfully apart from brusing to his back and ego, he was able to continue on.

Well done to all those who did 100/200.

nitrogen

pixbyjohn wrote: »

Love the jersey. Can they still be bought?

Congrads to everyone. I hope to do it next year.

Hermy

CramCycle wrote: »

The ambulance picking up the girl at Slieve Mann was blocking the road to pick her up and this guy starts giving out that they are blocking the road.
I said its an ambulance they should be done in a few minutes at which point he starts giving out what a bunch of r*tards they are blocking traffic like that
He then said he was a train driver and it was an emergency that he had to get to work and when I asked him why and he said why do you think? So the train leaves on time.
He continued giving out for several minutes to the civil defense as well.
Everyone else were very nice and understanding, I forgot to take his plates as I would have liked to report him to IE as he was in their uniform.

I suppose there's always one. Shame really.
As I mentioned already, the motorists at Glenmalure were very patient. And most of them wanted to know about the event while they waited for the road to clear.

iregk

Leroy42 wrote: »

The distance markers were great, but a small critique I would have is that the road markings were too close to the corners themselves.

Only really got caught out with that in Ashford. The turn sign was right at the turn and I thought it was the roundabout they were signaling for. Only got to the roundabout to realise there was no right turn and heard one or two shouts behind me. Going around the roundabout there was a group of about 15 or so following me around it

jag con

I started the 200 at 6.30 and had a good day it took me 10 hours to complete it but the last 40k was horrible i was knackered it was damp up to the gap and also from Rathdangan to the bottom of the Shay Elliot

Well done the the organisers it was well marshalled and the food points there was no long waits for food

billaustin

Was up at the Shoreline Leisure Centre and rolled out at 06.15 for the 200 start, eventhough it was ridiculously early it was nice heaing off and the weather was pleasant enough. The Sally Gap was dreadful and the Northwav rain/wind proof jacket I got last week was a godsend, it really helped as the weather turned nastier and visibility became tougher. Was alone for a long time though! Finished one water bottle and was trying to get my second off the bike but dropped it on the way to Lacken. Thanks to the one or two guys who stopped to help me have a quick look but it was nowhere to be seen!

Never did the distance before and I did feel it going into the last 25kms but I was delighted to get back to Greystones in 7hrs 56mins, not bad for a first go and well done to all of you yesterday on the 100 and 200. By the way a quick thanks to all the marshalls, civil defence and anyone who gave up their Sunday to volunteer!

Roadtoad

You folks that do it in 7.xx or 8.xx really dodge the pain. Its much harder and wetter to get around in 11.4x, with the demotivating battering of being passed by group after group. Even Mrs Byrne going to mass in Rathdangan passed me, or so it seemed.
Glad things worked out OK for Ms. Glenmalure, well done Cramcycle and others for their help.
The wonker in the car that wanted to get past 2 ambulances, a back board and a girl in the ditch got up my goat as well, as he 'was late for work'. I suggested he go south back over the mountain, his facial response was priceless!
The ambulance drivers were absolutely correct to totally close the road, rather than having to deal with traffic as well as an incident. Well done to all the support teams, catering, first aid, hospitality, registration.

monkeyslayer

who won the fancy bike??

iregk

jag con wrote: »

I started the 200 at 6.30 and had a good day it took me 10 hours to complete it but the last 40k was horrible i was knackered it was damp up to the gap and also from Rathdangan to the bottom of the Shay Elliot

Well done the the organisers it was well marshalled and the food points there was no long waits for food

Did I see you at one point not long onto the climb through the rocky valley pulled in at the side?

unionman

Did it for the second time yesterday. Despite feeling much stronger than last year, my ride time was the very same (10 hours over a 12 hour day, 7am to 6.45pm). Not disappointing, but a slight improvement would have been a real bonus. I did not train nearly enough, that's for sure.

At the 30km mark, somewhere between kippure and sallygap, I was fighting the urge to abandon it, as I could not imagine completing another 170km in those conditions. But by the time I reached Kilbride things were improving. Any rain after that I didn't really notice, as you can only get so wet. I think the day itself was warmer than last year.

Sean Kelly slagged me for wearing full finger gloves. When the hardest man in the game tells you you're soft...well...you just are.

Slieve Mann and Shay Elliott were easier this year, the advantage if having done it once already I guess. Finding myself providing motivation for others on those two climbs came as a surprise, particularly as they looked fitter than me.

Nobody spoke on Slieve Mann or Shay Elliott ascent, eerily quiet.

Delighted to hear the injured lady on Slieve Mann descent is OK. I was one of the people who filed past while they were treating her. Credit to everyone involved in dealing with that situation, I thought it was very well handled. Relieved to hear it wasn't more serious (I thought it was at the time).

My friend Daragh finished two hours in front of me. I'll just have to suck that one up and say fair play, his first one too.

Met niceonetom, Caroline.ie and mloc123 along the way. Spotted other jerseys too but didn't know them. Met countless other anonymous cyclists whose company made the day all the more enjoyable. Thanks to all of ye.

If recovery really is the mark of fitness then I am happy to say I am in much better condition today than after last year.

Next year? Ask me next January...;)

unionman

unionman wrote: »

Nobody spoke on Slieve Mann or Shay Elliott ascent, eerily quiet.

Strange, I found myself chatting to loads of people going up both of them. The sight of the fellah in the recumbant going by prompted plenty of talking points.

Caroline_ie

I was just watching the people huffing and puffing passing by me in sweat at a heart rate that was probably going through the roof. Yes they were overtaking me, but they were all dead by the top, I kept on going. I actually didn't break at all except before my final acent of the Sally gap on the way back home. Briefly got off the bike in Kilbride and Donard looking for water.
I am not sure my aproach was the best, I went for it Solo up until the botton of SE.

Vélo

unionman wrote: »

Did it for the second time yesterday. Despite feeling much stronger than last year, my ride time was the very same (10 hours over a 12 hour day, 7am to 6.45pm). Not disappointing, but a slight improvement would have been a real bonus. I did not train nearly enough, that's for sure.

At the 30km mark, somewhere between kippure and sallygap, I was fighting the urge to abandon it, as I could not imagine completing another 170km in those conditions. But by the time I reached Kilbride things were improving. Any rain after that I didn't really notice, as you can only get so wet. I think the day itself was warmer than last year.

Sean Kelly slagged me for wearing full finger gloves. When the hardest man in the game tells you you're soft...well...you just are.

Slieve Mann and Shay Elliott were easier this year, the advantage if having done it once already I guess. Finding myself providing motivation for others on those two climbs came as a surprise, particularly as they looked fitter than me.

Nobody spoke on Slieve Mann or Shay Elliott ascent, eerily quiet.

Delighted to hear the injured lady on Slieve Mann descent is OK. I was one of the people who filed past while they were treating her. Credit to everyone involved in dealing with that situation, I thought it was very well handled. Relieved to hear it wasn't more serious (I thought it was at the time).

My friend Daragh finished two hours in front of me. I'll just have to suck that one up and say fair play, his first one too.

Met niceonetom, Caroline.ie and mloc123 along the way. Spotted other jerseys too but didn't know them. Met countless other anonymous cyclists whose company made the day all the more enjoyable. Thanks to all of ye.

If recovery really is the mark of fitness then I am happy to say I am in much better condition today than after last year.

Next year? Ask me next January...;)

I left about 5 minutes after you and finished about 15 minutes before you. I must have missed you at one of the food stops. It would have been good to go around with someone. I don't recommend doing a cycle that long on your own, even though there still is plenty of other people around. Were you wearing your Boards gear? I only saw one other person wearing the jersey but I didn't get his name, he just shouted over at me "Boardsie".

As I said earlier I only decided when I got to the turn which cycle to do. For a while I kept thinking I'll regret this and it even entered my head to turn back at one stage (Imagine the shame:eek:). So I thought it best to forget about it and just keep going, I'm delighted I did now.

jag con

iregk wrote: »

Did I see you at one point not long onto the climb through the rocky valley pulled in at the side?

No i think it was one of the lads in the club i passed him and he said that there were thumb tacks on the road i must have passed about 10 people who were punctured in that area

skidpatches

Did my first 200 yesterday. Rolling 10 hours, 11 hours overall. Started at 7, finished at 6pm.

The only time I had doubts was before starting to climb Sally Gap, when 170km seemed like an awful long way to go, and fast riders were whizzing past me at a depressing rate.

The other point where I needed a little mental strength was when some dude told me that we were on top of Slieve Mann, when it was actually Aghavannagh. Now I *KNEW* that this couldn't be the case, but somehow on the way up the actual Slieve Maan, I started thinking it was Shay Eliot. So I was a little disappointed to find that there was another big climb to come.

I was well impressed with the marshalling, and all of the volunteers. Not very impressed with the long queue for the barcode reader in Donard, only for the reader not to work anyway!! The guy said it didn't really need to be scanned... if I'd known that I wouldn't have bothered queuing.

A big thanks to all of the organisers/helpers/marshalls.

-K2-

7:36 on the road for me, which equates to 25.4km/h - exactly the same average speed I had for the Mick Byrne 160.

Good day overall.

skidpatches

Dónal wrote: »

The sight of the fellah in the recumbant going by prompted plenty of talking points.

Any other unusual bikes spotted? Saw a tandem before the start in the car park, and another just after the start. I was on a Moulton.

DirkVoodoo

skidpatches wrote: »

The other point where I needed a little mental strength was when some dude told me that we were on top of Slieve Mann, when it was actually Aghavannagh. Now I *KNEW* that this couldn't be the case, but somehow on the way up the actual Slieve Maan, I started thinking it was Shay Eliot. So I was a little disappointed to find that there was another big climb to come..

People always seem to say this, when you go back and do it again it will seem quite funny (I hope) as there is no way that bump in the road before SM can be considered a climb.

Well done on doing it though!

unionman

Vélo wrote: »

I left about 5 minutes after you and finished about 15 minutes before you. I must have missed you at one of the food stops. It would have been good to go around with someone. I don't recommend doing a cycle that long on your own, even though there still is plenty of other people around. Were you wearing your Boards gear? I only saw one other person wearing the jersey but I didn't get his name, he just shouted over at me "Boardsie".

I wasn't wearing boards gear yesterday. It was too warm for the jacket, and TinyExplosions still has my jersey *cough*.

I wore my fredilicious Kraftwerk TDF jersey, which attracted a few compliments. Though for much of the day it was concealed by high-viz rain jacket.

Company is good alright, makes it easier, and we would have been well matched by the sounds of it. Ah well, next year?

buffalo

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

People always seem to say this, when you go back and do it again it will seem quite funny (I hope) as there is no way that bump in the road before SM can be considered a climb.

Well done on doing it though!

Likewise - a lad asked me as we started up SM, "Are we on the SE yet?" He took the news rather well, considering.

paddymacsporran

Only did the 100 yesterday, have had a recurring knee problem and the big climbs would have killed me, the 100 was OK though, nothing too severe for a fat old bloke with a dodgy knee there. total time 3:45, 829m of climbing. Most was a solo ride, caught a great group of Triathletes at Ashford and they horsed it back home, fantastic!

Downside is I come on here and there's a piccie of me crossing the line.....!!

Can anyone tell me how much climbing was on the 200? I have heard about 2800m?

AstraMonti

My garmin reports 1102m of climbing for the 100km route.

Caroline_ie

AstraMonti wrote: »

My garmin reports 1102m of climbing for the 100km route.

yes but you're quite tall, you'll always end up climbing higher than most.

DirkVoodoo

AstraMonti wrote: »

My garmin reports 1102m of climbing for the 100km route.

Do you enable elevation correction? It can make quite a big difference. MMR says around 1700m for the Wicklow 200. I would be surprised if it was anywhere near 2800m as the Mick Byrne was just over 3000m.

monkeyslayer

skidpatches wrote: »

Any other unusual bikes spotted? Saw a tandem before the start in the car park, and another just after the start. I was on a Moulton.

There was an older couple doing the 100k on an orange tandem, I got chatting to them and incredibly the lady on the back was 90% blind. Lovely jovial couple having fun on the day. Saw them again on the way home from the car driving out the n11 out toward bray, cycling in the torrential rain, LEGENDS as far as I'm concerned. And the old man on the hybrid doing the 100 in shoes and cords with a shirt and jumper on, taking it handy and strolling up the tougher climbs. Whatever about the speed demons on their 2kg carbon bikes finishing in 6 hours, these three were my heroes of the day

mloc123

My Garmin says 2,368m for the 200 with elevation correction on

Blowfish

With elevation correction off, my 705 is telling me 2,766 m for the 200.