an post tour series

ednwireland

just got my entry forms for sligo

http://www.anpost.ie/AnPost/content/Cycling/An+Post+Cycle+Series/

sligo round 9th may
http://www.sligosportandrecreation.ie/2010/02/an-post-tour-of-sligo-2010/

still dont know whether i can do 160km ( in less than 8 hours)

Captain Havoc

ednwireland wrote: »

still dont know whether i can do 160km ( in less than 8 hours)

There's only one way to find out

Esroh

Yes You Can^^^^^^^^^

k_d

ednwireland wrote: »

still dont know whether i can do 160km ( in less than 8 hours)

im kinda looking at that also, the furthest iv done is 70k..

Im gonna go out saturday and try 100 and see how i get on, i am fit, im just wondering about my cycling legs, i only really started cycling 3 months ago, commuting and getting about 100 k alltogether a week on the bike...

8 hours does worry me tho...

ednwireland

last year the first people back were done in 5 to six (30kmh average)
i wasnt around later to see how many people came in later might just sign up for the 160 and cut off the strandhill loop if i'm wrecked the 60 was just too shrt last year (and iwas a stone heavier and in the middle of a 3 week flu) if they had a 100km option i would prefer that
no problem doing the distance just how long it takes and whether there will be any lardies struggling up hills like me
or will i just be riding round on my own (whcih i can do anytime tbh )
although sean kelly is supposed to be riding (swoon)

jag con

HI i think i might do this as in May i want to do a few 150-160 k spins leading up to the Wicklow 200 whats the story with the 8 hour time

Con

jag con

Just checked the website on the 160 k route there is about 550m of climbing has anybody done this route and whats it like afaik the W200 has just over 2000m of climbing

Con

ednwireland

jag con wrote: »

HI i think i might do this as in May i want to do a few 150-160 k spins leading up to the Wicklow 200 whats the story with the 8 hour time

Con

i'm averaging 22-23 km/h on spins at the moment so 160/22 = 7.2

so i reckon 8 hours for me

but i'm sure your much faster (everyone seems to be on these boards.)#

the main climb is over a road call the ladies brae very picturesque and as you can see from the route there isnt that much serious climbing (its no wicklow 200 thats for sure, i guess never having ridden in wicklow)

jag con

Edwnireland i would have no problem with 23-25 k per hour as it is a endurance event thats not a bad average also im not the lightest person at 16st

If i enter it we could do it in a group which would make life easier

Con

Esroh

Lads a few of my clubmates who ere first seasoners did this last year and enjoyed it.
We will have a good crew there this year so your welcome to climb on board the WLcc leisure train on the day

def not comparable to W200

Toblerone1978

Esroh wrote: »

We will have a good crew there this year so your welcome to climb on board the WLcc leisure train on the day

Make sure that you go on the WLcc leisure train and not the other one. They don't do easy!

ednwireland

Toblerone1978 wrote: »

Make sure that you go on the WLcc leisure train and not the other one. They don't do easy!

cheers, think i'd be pinged out the back in a millisecond anyway on the 'other' one

Esroh

Toblerone1978 wrote: »

Make sure that you go on the WLcc leisure train and not the other one. They don't do easy!

Never a truer word said. Thats why I stipulated 'Leisure' of which I am proud longterm member. There are no prizes in Sportives

Esroh

So who has signed up. Entry goes up 10euro from Thursday

ednwireland

i'm there 160km (suprise suprise)
did the innisfree wheelers 80km last saturday in 3 hours riding (27kmh average) so bring it on

boy am i going to regret saying that

Esroh

ednwireland wrote: »

i'm there 160km (suprise suprise)
did the innisfree wheelers 80km last saturday in 3 hours riding (27kmh average) so bring it on

boy am i going to regret saying that

Those Innisfree peeps run a good event. The Yeats Country later in the year is a good spin

thereturn

Looking to go to this on Sunday travelling from Dublin to Sligo. Considering getting train to Sligo on Saturday as have no bike rack. Excuse my ignorance but does anyone know what are my chances of getting a couple of bikes onto train as don't have a bike rack! I see on irishrail website it says three bikes per train though doesn't appear to be anyway to book a bike on. Any knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

Redjeep!

I've just seen that the online entries for Sligo are now closed. Does anybody know if it's OK just to turn up and register on the day or is that it closed ?

blorg

thereturn wrote: »

Looking to go to this on Sunday travelling from Dublin to Sligo. Considering getting train to Sligo on Saturday as have no bike rack. Excuse my ignorance but does anyone know what are my chances of getting a couple of bikes onto train as don't have a bike rack! I see on irishrail website it says three bikes per train though doesn't appear to be anyway to book a bike on. Any knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

It is first come, first served, so turn up early. You have to buy a ticket for your bike (or dog) but it doesn't guarantee you a place.

hynesie

Redjeep! wrote: »

I've just seen that the online entries for Sligo are now closed. Does anybody know if it's OK just to turn up and register on the day or is that it closed ?

Ring them. Someone from boards got an entry last year the day before by ringing the organiser.

thereturn

blorg wrote: »

It is first come, first served, so turn up early. You have to buy a ticket for your bike (or dog) but it doesn't guarantee you a place.

Thanks for the advice

at1withmyself

hynesie wrote: »

Ring them. Someone from boards got an entry last year the day before by ringing the organiser.

I missed the registration as well so emailed them and got the following so it seems you can register on the morning but ring them to confirm the time you need to be there at to register.


Hi Paul,
Unfortunately the on line application is closed, but if you are in the Sligo on Friday you can come into the office to register we are located in the Teagasc Building, in Riverside, or there is also registration on the Saturday evening before the race from 4-6pm, or on the morning of the event, if you would like to register on the morning of the event you can let me know which event you are interested in and I will be able to let you know the registration times.
Hope this helps
Regards
Syveen

Redjeep!

Thanks everybody, I'll call them tomorrow to check, but it looks like I'll be OK from what you all say.

thereturn

The route for last years routes from mapmyride is on this site http://www.connachtcycling.com/#/anposttourofsligo/4533158519 Anyone know if it is same course? Wondering how challening it will be as never done event this long before (doing the 160km).

Esroh

thereturn wrote: »

The route for last years routes from mapmyride is on this site http://www.connachtcycling.com/#/anposttourofsligo/4533158519 Anyone know if it is same course? Wondering how challening it will be as never done event this long before (doing the 160km).

Route is the same. Did not ride it last year so cannot tell you more.

Pace yourself and you'll get through the 160. Beware of the urge to rush off with the speed merchants at the start:D

ednwireland

Esroh wrote: »

Route is the same. Did not ride it last year so cannot tell you more.

Pace yourself and you'll get through the 160. Beware of the urge to rush off with the speed merchants at the start:D

+1

route here http://www.sligosportandrecreation.ie/cycling/the-routes/

considering the brilliant preparation i have had (head cold, sore throat all week) cant wait i may be the slowest person round
thinks about booking monday off work to make sure i have enough time to get round !

where we all meeting ?

k_d

ednwireland wrote: »

+1
cant wait i may be the slowest person round
thinks about booking monday off work to make sure i have enough time to get round !

No ill be winning that one,. last week was my first time on the bike in 5 weeks. bloody back injury. missed the 80k but went out myself and done 70k myself last week in under 3 hours.. 90 k is the furthest iv been... should be fun

hope to finish it in 8-9 hours....anything less is a big bonus...:)

ednwireland

k_d wrote: »

hope to finish it in 8-9 hours....anything less is a big bonus...:)

glad i'm not the only one with that sort of time in mind

Esroh

ednwireland wrote: »

where we all meeting ?

Carpark at IT Sports Centre not have alot of meeting points apart from outside the SC itself:D

ednwireland

Esroh wrote: »

Carpark at IT Sports Centre not have alot of meeting points apart from outside the SC itself:D

at the start then blue primera with laquer peeling off and thule roof carrier will be me. focus cayo

k_d

cool i keep my eye out, ill be on a trek 2.5 way behind everyone else.

Redjeep!

I phoned them and they're happy to register people on the day. Just need to be there early (between 7:30 and 8:30) which will mean a very early start :eek:.

Esroh

In Western Lakes CC gear on a red Felt but will not be part of the WLcccrew pushing to the front at the start:D

ednwireland

god, if its anything like this morning tomorrow, might be able to leave the knee warmers off mind you 9 deg outside

chakattack

Redjeep! wrote: »

I phoned them and they're happy to register people on the day. Just need to be there early (between 7:30 and 8:30) which will mean a very early start :eek:.

Is this for the 160k?

at1withmyself

chakattack wrote: »

Is this for the 160k?

Yes, the start time is 9a.m.

at1withmyself

Anyone have an address for the registration office?

Where do I go in the morning?

ednwireland

institute of technlogy sligo sports centreas you drive in you will see foot ball pitches on your left and before you get to the car park a road on your left follow that round
http://itsligo.ie/contact-us/campus-tour/
its called the knocknarae arena on this map (letter P) theres a big car park as you drive in (the arena at the end is where the registration is - picked my no. up this afternoon:D
http://itsligo.ie/contact-us/view-map-of-sligo-city/

dnme

ednwireland wrote: »

institute of technlogy sligo sports centreas you drive in you will see foot ball pitches on your left and before you get to the car park a road on your left follow that round
http://itsligo.ie/contact-us/campus-tour/
its called the knocknarae arena on this map (letter P) theres a big car park as you drive in (the arena at the end is where the registration is - picked my no. up this afternoon:D
http://itsligo.ie/contact-us/view-map-of-sligo-city/

Ed

Nice meeting you last year, forgot all about this one, too late now to enter, plus I have nbot been on bike since winter. Let us know what the 160 is like, I'd love to do that kinda distance.

Kieran

ednwireland

no worries kieran, just finished my porridge about to head out the door - feckin frost on my car at the mo ! but clear blue skies so should warm up a bit

ednwireland

6hrs 20 mins riding. Thanks to everyone whose wheel i sucked

Esroh

Ed good to meet you.
5.46 cycling time

What a day. We were blessed with weather although not sure where the wind came from it was so still before we started.
People from all over.

dnme

ednwireland wrote: »

6hrs 20 mins riding. Thanks to everyone whose wheel i sucked

Good going, were you knackered after?

ednwireland

fairly, was worse later last night, tweaked a muscle somewhere in the back of my knee so that hurts a bit - the leg are sore this morning
had to stretch my back out at the second food stop (it always seizes at about 120km at the moment so that sorted that out
rout was great the climbs arent that hard but the first one seemed to suprise a lot of people
great day out

pab_lowe

Made it in 5.45. Great day except for that damn wind which made the homeward journey tough. Just enough sun to make it very pleasant. The event was very well organised and thanks to all the stewards at the junctions and the people at the food stops. My longest ever distance and I'm very happy with myself. Spent a fair bit of time on my own and towards the end, I thought, 'how could I ever do this again'....five minutes after the finish I was looking forward to the next one....roll on burren

Redjeep!

I got in at about 3:45 (that's pm, not elapsed time !!!) , but not sure how that split between riding and feeding, I'll check my Garmin later.

Those last hills (Lady's Bray ?) almost killed me, just because I didn't expect them and had no idea how long they went on for or if they were going to get any worse.

All in all, a fantastic day. Well organized with a great buzz around the place. The marshalls were fantastic and even all the motorists were great.

ednwireland

ladies brae was tough alright, i just stuck it my small ring and took my time (i remember why i bought a triple now )

got in groups all day but got in one from last feed stop to been dropped on the first climb into strandhill on my own then at least the wind wasnt too bad when you turned into sligo so just took it easy-ish then

CheGuedara

Great ride yesterday on the 160. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who was considering it but decided against.

The marshalling was as good as one has come to expect of an An Post ride with every junction held for riders to go through without stopping and the route well signed from depart to finish.

Food stops were possibly a wee bit early (not necessarily a bad thing) and then a wee bit late (would've made the Armstrongian deal for a banana/nutrigrain just before the Ladys Brae climb) but once at them it was just a matter of a wee queue, grabbing a bit of food (did anyone get the pasta at the second stop? Lovely penne with creamy sauce and big chunks of chicken in it, just brilliant) and then layin out on the Coolaney soccer pitch under blue skies nom-ing on very much appreciated food and chatting about the last climb/descent whatever. And the water stop at the top of the first climb was def well timed after doing my best to climb it well (read as 'thank Christ - there's a guy handing out water!').

The only place in the whole ride that was a bit iffy was the descent of Ladys Brae - loadsa loose chippings and a left hander that threw you wide about 1/3 the way down :eek:. Met 4 guys who'd been caught out by it and took a dive into the very thankfully soft bog at that point!
Nothing the organisers could have done about it more than the warning they gave at the off and it looked like the road had a serious amount of repairs done to it after the ice so was happy to take a slow, cautious descent on ok surface over a slow, cautious descent over no surface.

Got stuck in with some of the Shannonside Wheelers up to the Strandhill return and we worked well before the distance in the legs and a bit of a kicker of a hill blew me out the back door (if any are on here, it was great stuff bowling along with ye guys). Then tried to make the best of the last few kms home with that headwind making what was really easy road seem that bit more of a challenge to make it home under the 6hrs so really happy with that (5h53 for 156km by RwGPS which I'm inclined to believe more than Garmin right now).

So that was the metric and (almost) imperial century done in the day and no failure of man or machine - well pleased with things and met Mr Kelly at the end to boot. Hard to beat days on the bike like these ones.

at1withmyself

Great day yesterday, weather was fantastic for the day which really helped as well. Think it was reaching 17 degrees at the start line!

The organisation was fantastic and congrats to everyone involved in running a great event, as mentioned earlier the Marshalling was fantastic and there was enough food and water stops to keep me happy, as Che said the second one was a bit far but I had some food with me to keep me going as I never rely on the official stops.

The route was good with none of the hills being too tough but it was pretty much up and down a lot of the way, the scenery was fantastic as well especially going around the lake at the start. I was beginning the curse the officials near the end as every time I seemed to be passing a sign pointing to Sligo they were signalling us to go the other way but that was because I was tired!

Up to the first food stop I was always in a group and wasn't too happy as it was pretty easy in the middle of a group so after the first food stop I went alone and went well until the climb just after the 100 km marker. My legs were really hurting after that which made the final 50km tough but I pushed on.

Finished with a time of 5hr 59min, distance was 156 and total climbing was over 1250m.

Don't suppose anyone has a profile of the route?

ednwireland

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/ireland/sligo/245123841744984304?video=1



first red bump is hungry hill second is the climb over easky lough and the red one at the end is the ladies brae

Peterx

Fantastic day out, so well organised. Having the second food stop so late on the route was kinda good, you could really relax knowing all the hard work was behind you.
That left hander on the chippings was well dodgy but a far worse right hander had not one but two marshalls so in fairness the organisers did their best for us.