Leinster Loop

neris

I saw one guy off his bike looking a little shook talking to a motor bike guard and there was a fella in Naas gear I think, telling us to slow down that there was diesel on the road

michael196

pprendeville wrote: »

great report - are you a journalist. very vivid descriptions of the area ye cycled thru. love it.

not a journalist , but i did win a south tipperary essay writing competition years ago !!!! LOL I wasnt overly familiar with the area and the villages.

moving into the filming arena next !!! gonna Capture parts of the sportives on HD film and put up on you tube .

ashleey

Any chance we could mount a campaign to get farm traffic off the road? Then there will be less of that oily muddy sh@TTY slime on the road. Aren't tractors made for fields?

Fender76

This was my first time attempting something of this size... only been back on the bike 6 weeks...
Made a disasterous rookie mistake, took on far too much liquids before the start, all was going great with the controlled start, up fron near Roche until about an hour in outside Athy I had to pee... stopped and did my business thinking I would be able to catch up no worries... Stupid mistake... Never got within an a sniff of the main group again and spent al lot of energy trying to get back in a horrible headwind... Managed to pass a few groups but by that stage I was spent... and then came the hills.. I had no energy left and crawled my way through the 20k hilly section like an 80 year old. I was never so glad to see a car dealer in my life. Just about managed it back to St. Laurences in one bit (actually I think I left half my ass out on the road..) at about 2.30...
All in all though I'm delighted I did it. It was really well run and there was a nice bunch of lads (and ladies!) doing it. The weather was horrible but it didn't really bother me...
Defo doing it next year when I'm a bit fitter and wiser...
By the way, what time did the first guys roll in...?

aspender

This was my first proper sportive after a couple of months of cycling. I did the West Wicklow 100 (really 90km) last week as preparation.

Had a really enjoyable time. The headwind on the way out was a bit of a pain, and after Athy I was riding pretty much solo. It seems my main problem at the moment is maintaining a good average over the flat/rolling stuff in order to keep up with groups. Weight loss and fitness work over the winter should cure that (along with maybe some new wheels )

Having studied the route and done the advertised section over the hills before, I took a wrong turn directly after the left at Castlecomber as it appears the official route on the day changed. The MapMyRide route on their website had a left turn directly after turning off the main road. There were three marshals on the main road turn, and none at the left/straightahead junction after. In hindsight, without any road markings or marshal I should have just gone straight on, but instead turned left the way I knew the advertised route went. End result was I shaved off just under 2k I think (my Garmin said 117.22) but I don't know how different the climbs were. My wife mentioned she heard others saying they took that route as well. I was passed on it by one of the event cars at one stage as well and they didn't correct the error of my ways so I guess it probably wasn't much different. Rookie error!

Saw one guy spill going over a speedbump somewhere around Tullow (I forget where) but he was fine. All in all I thought the marshalling was excellent and enjoyed steaming through junctions with traffic stopped! I'm looking forward to other such events next year, but for now it's time to work on the fitness.

MWalljobs

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By the way, what time did the first guys roll in...?[/QUOTE]


I was in the first group of 5 to roll over the line at 13.38

neris

Cant remember what my distance read out at but was about 123.somthing km

rat_race

Great day, superb marshalling (very professional, helpful and friendly), good scenic and challenging route. I fell twice, but nothing too bad. Also got a puncture, but one of the support cars stopped and had me sorted in 2 minutes! Time to replace the tyres I think.

Bit disappointed that I didn't/couldn't keep up with the front group...but I was wrecked by the end of it, which is what I aim for!

Coffee/muffins/water/orange juice/bananas, etc, were plentiful! I don't know about "post-event massage treatments" and "post-event entertainment" though -- I saw nothing of the sort (I just love giving out)!

Will definitely do again!

sheepfield

ashleey wrote: »

Any chance we could mount a campaign to get farm traffic off the road? Then there will be less of that oily muddy sh@TTY slime on the road. Aren't tractors made for fields?

Ashleey,

Ah here, get back in your box, or just back on the bike!
As a country boy (check the username) and keen club cyclist, you have to literally take the rough with the smooth. Irish roads have plenty hazards and I personally am much more worried about bad surfaces and potholes than the farmer who by necessity has to get around to do his business. It was a brutal day weatherwise and i came off myself on the same descent. It was my own fault, diesel, dogs or otherwise, and as I mentioned to others, I was lucky to get away with bruises, unlike the unfortunate gentleman with the broken collar-bone. Thats the game we are in.

Its like this: cycling involves risk-taking. If you want a steady, slow, safe roll, fire away. Avoid the country and cycle in the phoenix park so. Thats my style on some days.

This sportive was up more my street in that it was reasonably tough with rolling terrain mixed with wide open roads; excellent marshalling, superb food and facilities - I know the Larries set-up very well - and a day/conditions when you had to be strong and determined to get home in one piece. I would do it again in the morning, this time hoping not to fall off. If i do, I wont be blaming some random farmer.
So there...!:D

ashleey

I was only joking (mostly). I live in Kilkenny so I'm used to it. The only thing is I've done a reasonable amount of cycling in rural France and the uk and it's not the same as Ireland. Still, it was a great day despite the weather and top respect to the organisers who laid it on brilliantly. Glad you, like me weren't badly hurt and I hope the bike is ok. You must have been near the front like me as the marshals were saying ' maybe we should send them wide' as I was heading under the wheels of a BMW.

sheepfield

"Was" near the front: crash made me lose contact with 2nd group and soloed all the way home in 4hr 5m.
PS: will give you a lift in me tractor some day...!:)

ashleey

Good man. Appreciate that. After getting clattered at football last night I'll probably need a lift. I finished on 4 hours so we must have been close together. See you on castlecomer 100 maybe (I'm changing my tyres)

michael196

hope to join u in castlecomer


dont know that county at all,

will write yous up as usual, and will have a camera on board !!

mike1963

neris wrote: »

Was an excellent run event and the communication from the marshalls was well appreciated. Think everyone enjoyed it. Will do it again next year just be taking it easy at the food stop.

No doubt the marshalls did an excellent job. I thought maybe there could have been a food stop earlier, 80kms was a long cycle against a head wind and over hills without a stop.

peterjc

rat_race wrote: »

Great day, superb marshalling (very professional, helpful and friendly), good scenic and challenging route.

Echo that.

Miss-timed leaving Carlow after the feed stop and spent the remaining time in no mans land between the leading group and those behind. Thought of easing off but with the amount of rain falling I didn't want to get cold so I pressed on. Dicey roads in parts especially on the way down to the Barrow river (and over that narrow bridge!). That N9 is a bit of a drag on the way back!

Sign me up for next year!