An Post - The Rebel Tour

Bobbins

80km/90km good too. Weather really made it. A bit dicey coming back through Dennehy's Cross though, not much love from my fellow corconian car users!! :rolleyes: Really enjoyed it though, fave cycle of the season tho I feared I was ruined after the SKT climbs

Well done to all involved, it was a great day out!

Plastik

Bobbins wrote: »

80km/90km good too. Weather really made it. A bit dicey coming back through Dennehy's Cross though, not much love from my fellow corconian car users!! :rolleyes: Really enjoyed it though, fave cycle of the season tho I feared I was ruined after the SKT climbs

Well done to all involved, it was a great day out!

True, having to come back through town was a bit of a nightmare. Signposting could be easily missed by people unfamiliar with Corks one-way systems. It would be my only 'negative' of the event. I was glad I knew the streets backwards!

ajk24

Plastik wrote: »

Back The route was billed as 160km but my computer clocked 166. 5h 35 rolling for 160km, 5h 47 for 166km! I'm very happy with that, it's my first time breaking the 6h mark and a long way from the 7h 47 rolling that I suffered at the Stephen Roche Tour de Cure back in March! The route today was fairly handy though (+1,100m or so), much easier than the Sean Kelly a forthnight ago.

We had a headwind for the first 60k to the foodstop so sheltered in the peloton! And we had a headwind again once we rounded the old head of Kinsale all the way back to Cork - so the last 35/40k or so.

Great day out, great weather (thanks weatherforecast!), I was sweltering under my baselayer and knee earners! Didn't see any boards gear on show but met one or two along the route!

I had 6hrs 10min for 154km -garmin forerunner 405 - what were you using @plastik. savage day out. peparation wasn't the best. arrived home at 3.30am after family party so only had 4hrs sleep:(. wasn't silly enough to drink last night though.

got in 2 good groups - 1st from crossbarry to 1st food stop in dunmanway although we had to be remind a few people to roll through at times.

from there to ballinspittle stuck with the 'Chain Gang' from kerry who marshalled a group of about 30 with nice quick roll throughs which kept a very nice pace going. headed off with just my faithful companion @albob from there. headwind made the last stretch tough (for some more than others - i'm an other ). the viaduct was a welcome site.

nice decent from there thanks to the lessons @funkyzeit has been giving me to conquer my fear of fast decents.

got some really nice soup and rolls at the finish.

enjoyed the day hugely. big thanks to organisers and especially the volunteers. would agree that finish through city centre mightn't be the best but then again it was good publicity for an post and the event itself.

vektarman

Plastik wrote: »

True, having to come back through town was a bit of a nightmare. Signposting could be easily missed by people unfamiliar with Corks one-way systems. It would be my only 'negative' of the event. I was glad I knew the streets backwards!

Not being from Cork I hadn't a clue where I was when we returned to the city, I tagged along with one or two other cyclists and fortunately they knew their way around.
My only criticism of the event was the 1hour 15 minute registration queue on Friday evening for some people, as I arrived they opened a second queue from the back of a car so that eased the waiting time.
Otherwise very well run, plenty of food and drinks at the stops and the route was well signposted apart from going back through the city, thanks to all the volunteers that helped out to-day, to use an old cliche, it couldn't be done without them. BTW I saw one nasty spill involving a few bikes on a fast downhill about 15k in, hopefully everyone involved was okay.
Distance 92 kilometres, rolling time 3:38.

ajk24

vektarman wrote: »

.
My only criticism of the event was the 1hour 15 minute registration queue on Friday evening for some people, as I arrived they opened a second queue from the back of a car so that eased the waiting time..

i think was due to a late start. there was a bad crash which blocked one direction of the Jack Lynch tunnel. The guy delivering the numbers and jerseys got massively delayed. traffice was ridiculous in the city yesterday evening as a result.

rayr

Agree with above. Great day out. Did 160k with two friends from Sportif Waterford. My Polar read 159.6k and rolling time 5 45 which we were happy with. Thanks to a few lads from Clonmel +2 others who dragged us around from Dunmanway. Road surfaces good for the most part and excellent food stops and it didnt rain.

Agree with the finishing few k thru the city centre. Hairy at times and lights a pain - something to be looked at for next year. However this is a small gripe on a very well organised event . Well done to all concerned and it shows that the An Post series is a fab bonus for us sportif riders.

murf85

Any idea how many actually took part? Sounds like numbers were well down from waterford two weeks back.

Unfortunately i missed it today...but it sounds like it was a complete hammerfest and a great day!

What was the jersey like?

at1withmyself

murf85 wrote: »

Any idea how many actually took part? Sounds like numbers were well down from waterford two weeks back.

Unfortunately i missed it today...but it sounds like it was a complete hammerfest and a great day!

What was the jersey like?

900 for the 90 & 160 which was double the previous year.

Jersey was nice and IMO much nicer then the SK one....

rayr

at1withmyself wrote: »

900 for the 90 & 160 which was double the previous year.

Jersey was nice and IMO much nicer then the SK one....

+1. Also nice water bottle in goody bag. Hot soup at finish was also welcome.

Plastik

Ajk24, my computer is made by Topeak, it's usually fairly accurate though. If the more recognised brands of computers read a true 160 to the finish then I'll gladly concede that it's mine that's actually out a bit!

The numbers don't compare to the SKT but it was a nice manageable size.

novarapid

good day out, weather was nice, could have done with more signpost to direct people through the city, saw lots of dangerous cycling, people waving about in the middle of the road, with loads of space inside them making overtaking hard, some people should get lessons before they are left out on the road.

albob

ajk24 wrote: »

headed off with just my faithful companion @albob from there. headwind made the last stretch tough (for some more than others - i'm an other )

Well, if your fat ass had provided me with more protection from the wind I wouldn't have struggled so much! Seriously though thanks for dragging for those 50Km. Found the stretch for Garrettstown very tough. As for the hill up from Ballinhassig....the less said about that the better.

As an aside my Garmen 305 clocked 163Km....6hrs 12mins....see ajk24 you didn't drop me by that much and I obviously did 7Km more that you....and don't harp on about some dropped chain or something! I won't say what my average heart rate was!

seve65

Shattered now !

Did the ride in 5h13. Well pleased with the time, tantalising closing to under 5 hours though !

Made no major stops except for chain coming off around Ballinspittle at which stage I lost the guys I was tagging behind.

Felt like I was going backward at the Old Head right up until climbing the last bits of the dual carriageway up to Cork. Was struggling to keep up with some of the mountain bikes from the 80K around Kinsale ! Got cramp in both legs as well which is unusual for me, when I tried to hit the front of a couple of the 80Kers that I was tagging behind, so had to slow even further at that point.

Cycling shirt is good, and as said earlier, thanks to the volunteers.

Did the entertainment liven up at the showgrounds, it started raining while I was there so I made an early exit ?

I sat on the floor and dropped my soup at the end, and it bounced up onto my face ! Nobody seemed to notice, so I didnt even have a bit of a laugh. I expect somebody noticed me wiping it off with the bottled water, and no doubt leaving some in my hair !:D

cantalach

novarapid wrote: »

good day out, weather was nice, could have done with more signpost to direct people through the city, saw lots of dangerous cycling, people waving about in the middle of the road, with loads of space inside them making overtaking hard, some people should get lessons before they are left out on the road.

Well the Bishop of Cork certainly wasn't impressed with what he saw:

http://twitter.com/b2dac/status/24180679093

ajk24

albob wrote: »

As an aside my Garmen 305 clocked 163Km....6hrs 12mins....see ajk24 you didn't drop me by that much and I obviously did 7Km more that you....and don't harp on about some dropped chain or something! I won't say what my average heart rate was!

speed was going haywire for the last 30-40km. had me doing 6km going down from the viaduct to the bandon road roundabout.

cantalach

albob wrote: »

As an aside my Garmen 305 clocked 163Km....6hrs 12mins....see ajk24 you didn't drop me by that much and I obviously did 7Km more that you....and don't harp on about some dropped chain or something! I won't say what my average heart rate was!

FWIW, MapMyRide estimated it at 155km.

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/ireland/cork/652128222417735558

albob

cantalach wrote: »

FWIW, MapMyRide estimated it at 155km.

I suppose I was swerving all over the shop on those "climbs"

ballyharpat

I did the Tour today, the food was great, one of the Marshalls, when we needed him pointing us in the right direction, was chatting to people in a car, other than that they were great. The goody bag was great with the water bottle etc. I love the jersey.

My gripe was the way it said to register at the Cork Showgrounds, I looked online and the only showgrounds I could find were in Fermoy. Had my bro in law drive me in this morning, he knew they were talking about Pairc ui chaoimh-but not easy for an out of towner to figure that out.
Weather was great, finished in 4 hr 50 min, Back into Cork with Mick Moody-averaging 27 mph for the last 5 miles, and he was doing 10 miles in 23min, back in 1978!!

Great day out!

RoubX

I really enjoyed this event, especially since we managed to dodge every shower! It was well organised with good parking and a good food stop. Lovely scenery around Kinsale.

Had it's usual share of looneys at the start and some mental riders through the city at the end. All the old things that give us a bad name going on. What goes through the head of these spanners? It's a leisure ride, not the TdF!

But all in all a well run and enjoyable event. Will be back next year. Might bring the family next year because of the start in the city and the entertainment at the end.

kcphoto

Largely agree with many of the above comments (BTW I clocked 157.5km at the finish for the entire route).

It was a good route - much better route than the rebel tour which started in Mallow last year.
The delay at the sign on Friday evening was a negative and I also think the finish through the city is not a good idea - the stopping and starting at the lights and junctions is the last thing you want at that stage and concentration levels can be low. I also think the finish through the the city wasn't well signposted - I know the city but for anyone who isn't familiar with Cork I could see it might be hard to negotiate your way back to the showgrounds.

On the positive , the route was good , the weather was great, the food and water stops were well placed , choice of food was excellent (appreciated the pasta and buns) and the volunteers at the food stops particularly were very friendly and helpful.

I thought the numbers were low enough compared to ROK or SKT but obviously they are building on this. However, living in Cork , I thought there was very little promotion of the event in advance and very little awareness in the city of the event.

Overall though - very good day out and thanks to all involved.
Got home in 6h30 which i was happy with - despite a few cramped legs near Ballinhassig. Thought i was going well until the old head and stretch back from garretstown took its toll.

on_the_nickel

Agree with most of the above, it was hugely enjoyable until we got back to Bandon Rd roundabout. Signage and marshalling was v. poor. Bringing us back on the main Kinsale to Cork road is also something that could be looked at, lots of frustrated drivers on that road.

The negatives were small though, the jersey and bottle were worth the entry fee alone, the food was brilliant and the girl doing the tea at Dunmanway was very pleasing on the eye! I went to the showgrounds at 7:40pm on Friday and didn't have any queues.

Look forward to next year.

at1withmyself

on_the_nickel wrote: »

the girl doing the tea at Dunmanway was very pleasing on the eye!

They were all lovely girls!

I went down to Cork on Friday night and was worried with the rain that night and also met eireanns forecast of heavy rain for saturday! Had no issue's signing on Friday evening and the jersey, bottle, sports beans and hydration tablet made up the best goodie bag of the series.

The next morning was fine so decided to run risk and I ditched the shoe covers and raincoat but still bought a base layer and thermal jersey so was very warm throughout the day, of course that was better then getting drenched! I wasn't familiar with the area but thankfully there was plenty of people making there way from the Showgrounds to the start otherwise I wouldn't have known where to go.

I thought the city centre start was fine and the pace was fine to the let of, unfortunately I lost the lead group at the final roundabout and struggled for about 10km trying to catch up (head wind didn't help) before easing off till the second group and stead with them till Dunmanway. Very well organised stop with a great selection available. Form there I was mostly by myself but once we reached Clonakilty the view and scenery improved and the climb up to Ballinaspittle was testing on the legs but no tough gradient so was ok. As we were leaving the foodstop I was chatting to someone from one of the local clubs and he was telling me it wasn't too difficult till the end until we reached the Old Head and he went "sh!t, there not taking us around there" and it was tough, the clmibs themselves not too bad but as we turned back into the wind the legs started to burn.

Luckily about 10km past Kinsale I got life back in the legs because I was watching the road sign distances and with what I thought was less then 13km to go they turned us off the main road and then I seen the 20km to go sign. I felt good and started to push for the final climb and I knew it peaked at around 125m so I knew it would be ok to push without burning out. From there the descent into Cork was nice but like others I wasn't impressed by so few Marshals at the junctions. I stopped at all the lights heading into the city but once in the city I stopped and if clear then went though as the constant stop/starting was getting frustrating, although some were going straight through without slowing down particulary at zebra crossing! Also once in the city I took a full lane to myself but was going fast enough not to annoy drivers and it was the only way I could keep an eye out for signs.

All in all a great day out and there was a good atmosphere at the start, finish & on the road and thanks to all who gave up there time to help out on the day. Although I think it would be best to avoid a return through the city centre next year.

Clocked 163.94km's in 5hrs 45mins with 969m ascent, a bit slower then what I wanted but the wind played a big part.

I had registered for the Rebel Rush but didn't bother as it seemed like you just arrive and go out on course at any time. I'm sure it was fun but couldn't handle another drive back down to Cork and I go down there regularly enough anyway.

So that's the end of the series and I'm delighted to have finished all 5 routes which have helped me see so much of the country and to have met so many interesting people so thanks to all who volunteered or cycled the routes

Roll on 2011............

contador2009

I travelled to Cork last Saturday, having entered and paid €40 for the 2010 Rebel Tour. I wish to make my feelings known you you as coordinator for the organisers.

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the cycling on the day, despite very poor organisation, bad signposting, poor stewarding, no food available at my second food stop and an overall poor experience on the day. It is highly unlikely that I will be back in 2011, and I suggest with the utmost respect that An Post will be looking at 2011 in a new light. In fact, might I suggest one of 2 options: 1. Do a root and branch overhaul of all aspects of this Tour. 2. Consider not running it in 2011 and allow another county to approach the standards set by the other An Post Tours.

I happened to meet local cyclists on the road who explained to me that they were coincidentally having their club tour on the same day, over much of the same route. Were you aware of this? We stopped to ask for directions at one point, were told to turn right, and as soon as we did so, the person giving the directions asked (can you believe this?) "Which tour are you on?" Unacceptable!

We got lost leaving Cork City, because of poor signposting. A steward on the offending roundabout just watched us and gave no direction. We saw no bikes for about an hour, realised we were heading to Bandon, and were fortunate to have a geographical brain between us to head across byroads to rejoin main route, about 20 minutes behind. To be fair, the food at Dunmanway was excellent, but nonetheless, I am left with a very sour taste. I consider my entry fee not value for money.

Finally, I would like to know if there is any truth in the recent comments on boards.ie that registration for cycling Ireland members was €35.

Plastik

I can only speak for myself but that definitely wouldn't have been my experience of the 160km. I found all signposting and marshaling for the route (bar coming through town at the end) perfectly fine. It was also fairly obvious on the sign-up website that there were separate links for CI members and those that weren't.

contador2009

I am happy thay all was well for you and you enjoyed it.

realslow

Have to strongly disagree with negative post of contador 2009.Despite being one of slowest riders on tour 6.41 rolling, had no issue regarding signage or stewarding untill the return into city.Difficult to understand how poster lost touch so early as to miss everyone turning off main road,loads of food when I hit Ballinaspittle and everyone extremely helpful. My first 160, totally enjoyed it ,real buzz,apologies to earlier poster if I was beginner in middle of road holding him up,will know better in future. Diet started this morning,stones to lose.

seve65

Plastik wrote: »

I can only speak for myself but that definitely wouldn't have been my experience of the 160km. I found all signposting and marshaling for the route (bar coming through town at the end) perfectly fine. It was also fairly obvious on the sign-up website that there were separate links for CI members and those that weren't.

I would agree with that. If I have to be negative, i would say

1. having start and finish in the city is good for the profile of the event but it does make it tricky with the open roads and might justify more stewards or an alternative route with less lights and roundabouts through the city (if there is one). You cant have everything though. Perhaps as quite a few like to note their times and therefore may have cycled a little faster through town than we should, there could be a marked point out of town where the official distance ends and the rest of the route is described as a warm down ? I know it is a leisure ride, so maybe thats not necessary.

2. The Cork leg of the an post series seemed to be the slowest in announcing venue and date, so attendance might have been impacted a little bit by that

3. Numbers are building on last year and will always struggle to match the higher profile events like the SKT

4. Advertising in the local area didnt seem visible to me, and when I spoke to work colleagues, none were aware any event was on. I expect advertising (just a few banners around the place) would draw in more new cyclists. Perhaps it did got some mention in local press, not sure ?

5. If they donated some proceeds in future to charity that would also increase numbers.:)

moby2101

Hi...my 2 cents!!

I really enjoyed the Rebel tour last Saturday (Rolling time of 5 hours 20 mins, total time of 5hours 40) ...for me the positives outweighed the negatives ...however there were a number of negatives.

As mentioned by other posters on here the signage was appalling in places and especially on the way back to the Showgrounds ..I was basically on my own on the way back in and luckily I know Cork City well otherwise I would’ve gotten lost...

I’m nearly certain I read on the official website for the Tour that they had changed the 80km route because of a shortage of Marshals, well that was certainly apparent .
At times it felt as if you were on training spin due to the lack of signage (hit on a few steepish descents on very band bends that weren’t signed at all) & marshalling.

In my experience I have to say the marsahals at several junctions & roundabouts were either chatting to motorists or oblivious to the fact that there was a cycle tour going on.

I really have to question the wisdom of having a large group like that out on a dual carriageway for long stretches at a time, alternative routing for next year needs to be addressed.

The foodstops were superb, great variety of food and service there from the volunteers.
As An Post event it does need to up its game considerably if it’s to compare with The Burren tour for example.
Overall a great day, hi to plastik who I chatted to briefly on the way to Dunmanway

Toblerone1978

After reading Contador2009's very harsh and unfair letter, I suppose the decent thing for all the volunteers to do is hand back the money they've earned :rolleyes:.

Signage through out the event needs to be improved but other than that, it's grand. The goody bag was the best I've ever seen.

on_the_nickel

contador2009 wrote: »

to: Michael Crowley,Co Ordinator Cork Local Sports Partnership
Copy to: An Post Cycle Series, Communications, An Post, GPO, Dublin 1.


Dear Mr. Crowley,

I travelled to Cork last Saturday, having entered and paid €40 for the 2010 Rebel Tour. I wish to make my feelings known you you as coordinator for the organisers.

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the cycling on the day, despite very poor organisation, bad signposting, poor stewarding, no food available at my second food stop and an overall poor experience on the day. It is highly unlikely that I will be back in 2011, and I suggest with the utmost respect that An Post will be looking at 2011 in a new light. In fact, might I suggest one of 2 options: 1. Do a root and branch overhaul of all aspects of this Tour. 2. Consider not running it in 2011 and allow another county to approach the standards set by the other An Post Tours.

I happened to meet local cyclists on the road who explained to me that they were coincidentally having their club tour on the same day, over much of the same route. Were you aware of this? We stopped to ask for directions at one point, were told to turn right, and as soon as we did so, the person giving the directions asked (can you believe this?) "Which tour are you on?" Unacceptable!

We got lost leaving Cork City, because of poor signposting. A steward on the offending roundabout just watched us and gave no direction. We saw no bikes for about an hour, realised we were heading to Bandon, and were fortunate to have a geographical brain between us to head across byroads to rejoin main route, about 20 minutes behind. To be fair, the food at Dunmanway was excellent, but nonetheless, I am left with a very sour taste. I consider my entry fee not value for money.

Finally, I would like to know if there is any truth in the recent comments on boards.ie that registration for cycling Ireland members was €35.

As you can see above, I am copying this email to An Post Press Office

Be honest, you've got the hump because you dropped your chain and no one waited for you.....

contador2009

Toblerone1978 wrote: »

After reading Contador2009's very harsh and unfair letter, I suppose the decent thing for all the volunteers to do is hand back the money they've earned :rolleyes:.

Signage through out the event needs to be improved but other than that, it's grand. The goody bag was the best I've ever seen.

Harsh and unfair, yes perhaps....but sarcasm is no answer! Many many volunteers did a wonderful job, just they weren't where I needed them to be when I got lost!

contador2009

Reply received from Sports Partnership. I am happy to post this, as requested.


Thank you for your email and taking the time to contact us. Initially I would like to assure you that we will, as with all of our events, be carrying out a full review of the weekend and will be involving all of the partners that supported the Rebel Tour in this. This will take some time to complete so please bear with us, as we have a full schedule of other programmes and initiatives that we operate as a Sports partnership.

However, even at this early stage we are overwhelmed with the response we have had from the feedback to date. Our email inbox is clogged this morning with words of congratulations to the volunteers and organizers and looking forward to next Years event. The amount of texts we received back from precision timing who text every participant on Sunday evening has been overwhelming, with only one negative text.

At present I am not in a position to dispute your issues, but many of them I cannot understand how it could have happened. In an effort to summarise some points that I feel are important and that may answer your comments, I would like to highlight the items below:


* The event operated with a volunteer/staff effort of approx. 100 people
* Each of the long tours was provided with a Garda escort out of the city to the Viaduct which is on the main Bandon road, so I am unclear how you could have got lost leaving the city, as all the riders were enclosed between lead cars and broom vehicle and a garda escort.
* We were made aware of a club event on same date, but this was at short notice and it was a very small club event, of which we have no influence or control. On a weekly basis there are many independent charity/club events run in the cork area.
* Of course some stewards would ask what tour you were on as we had 2 different routes on the day, especially if you stopped to enquire, as you mentioned in your email. Both started at different times to allow stewards differentiate, as they followed a different route from the Half Way Roundabout. So if a steward enquired which tour you were on, I can only assume they were trying to be helpful and ensure you went on the correct route for the 160km for which you had registered.
* I am glad that you mention the food stop in Dunmanway was excellent. The food stop in Ballinspittle returned 8 trays of food after the broom vehicle passed, all of which was available at the finish line when riders returned. I have checked this morning with our lead volunteer at Ballinspittle and she has confirmed this.
* At the finish line each rider received a certificate, were treated to a sports drink from one of our sponsors and we had a food stand there giving out cups of hot soup and a roll. The fruit, chocolate and sandwiches returned from the food stops were also available.
* Yes I can confirm that the entry fee for Cycling Ireland members was €35. This was a €5 reduction, given the involvement of Cycling Ireland and the fact that they have been excellent partners and sponsors.
* Every rider received a goody bag, with lots of items inside including a bottle, reflective snap band, TG4 Pens, car air freshner, Zim electrolyte tabs, Sports beans (new product), promotional leaflets and Kinetica sports powder sachet.
* Every rider also received a quality Rebel Tour jersey.

In conclusion, I can only say that I am really disappointed to hear that you did not enjoy the event and that you felt it was not value for money with a €40 entry fee. I will reply in due course with the full report on the event, if you would like to receive a copy.

I have copied the An Post press office in this email also, and can confirm that both Aileen Mooney and Barney Whelan from An Post GPO Dublin, attended on Saturday and participated in the event.

rebel10

Wasn't participating in the cycle lads, was just a happy motorist who passed ye! All I can say is fair play, especially when it came to negotiating the city!

One thing i will say is that i felt perhaps the day chosen was quite bad, does it need to be on a saturday or would Sunday be better? Just i felt the volume of traffic on a saturday didn't help and there was alot of motorists overtaking you in dangerous parts of the city.

I thought the warning to motorists (who didn't know the event was on) was very poor. An odd car flashing lights with an "An Post" logo would have helped even.

Another thing was cyclists going through red lights. Very dangerous.

But overall I would like to say i wish i had your energy and drive. Fair play!:)

jdt101

contador2009 wrote: »

I travelled to Cork last Saturday, having entered and paid €40 for the 2010 Rebel Tour. I wish to make my feelings known you you as coordinator for the organisers.

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the cycling on the day, despite very poor organisation, bad signposting, poor stewarding, no food available at my second food stop and an overall poor experience on the day. It is highly unlikely that I will be back in 2011, and I suggest with the utmost respect that An Post will be looking at 2011 in a new light. In fact, might I suggest one of 2 options: 1. Do a root and branch overhaul of all aspects of this Tour. 2. Consider not running it in 2011 and allow another county to approach the standards set by the other An Post Tours.

I happened to meet local cyclists on the road who explained to me that they were coincidentally having their club tour on the same day, over much of the same route. Were you aware of this? We stopped to ask for directions at one point, were told to turn right, and as soon as we did so, the person giving the directions asked (can you believe this?) "Which tour are you on?" Unacceptable!

We got lost leaving Cork City, because of poor signposting. A steward on the offending roundabout just watched us and gave no direction. We saw no bikes for about an hour, realised we were heading to Bandon, and were fortunate to have a geographical brain between us to head across byroads to rejoin main route, about 20 minutes behind. To be fair, the food at Dunmanway was excellent, but nonetheless, I am left with a very sour taste. I consider my entry fee not value for money.

Finally, I would like to know if there is any truth in the recent comments on boards.ie that registration for cycling Ireland members was €35.

You letter is extremely unfair to each and every volunteer who gave their time so generously on Saturday, not to mention Cork Sports Partnership.

It is a 160km event, marshals at each crossroads is just impossible.

Your negative and single minded attitude is a threat to the future of such events.

Have you tried Golf? The signage is very good between holes!!!

p.s. CI members carry insurance and pay an annual fee, you have an issue with this also...

CrankyCod

It is a 160km event, marshals at each crossroads is just impossible.

Your negative and single minded attitude is a threat to the future of such events.

Have you tried Golf? The signage is very good between holes!!!

p.s. CI members carry insurance and pay an annual fee, you have an issue with this also...

The guy is fully entitled to complain if he had a bad experience, the entry fee was steep enough. There seemd ot be plenty of marhsals and signage for the SKT, why not the Rebel tour?

One negative posting is hardly a threat to future events, that's ridiculous.

Routing the cycle through Cork City on Saturday afternoon is a bad choice, particularly to the showgrounds which is hardly known by Cork people anymore, not to mention outsiders. There was also a Star Wars expo on the same day so the traffic in that area was even heavier than usual.
Maybe the organisers could start and finish at the County Hall or somewhere on the outskirts of town for next years tour.

jdt101

"One negative posting is hardly a threat to future events, that's ridiculous."

An Post are one of the few companies in Ireland putting money into cycling;

-An Post Sean Kelly Pro Team

-An Post Cycle Series

-An Post involvement in the Tour of Ireland (no event this year unfortunately)

So sending such letters to the GPO is 'ridiculous'.

c montgomery

jdt101 wrote: »

"One negative posting is hardly a threat to future events, that's ridiculous."

An Post are one of the few companies in Ireland putting money into cycling;

-An Post Sean Kelly Pro Team

-An Post Cycle Series

-An Post involvement in the Tour of Ireland (no event this year unfortunately)

So sending such letters to the GPO is 'ridiculous'.

Agree completely but there's always one.

at1withmyself

jdt101 wrote: »

"One negative posting is hardly a threat to future events, that's ridiculous."

An Post are one of the few companies in Ireland putting money into cycling;

-An Post Sean Kelly Pro Team

-An Post Cycle Series

-An Post involvement in the Tour of Ireland (no event this year unfortunately)

So sending such letters to the GPO is 'ridiculous'.

Why is it ridiculous? The poster had some negative points to their day and I think they are entitled to air them and I commend them for actually going to the trouble of writing the letter and not just coming on here complaining but doing nothing about else about it. They have also shared the reply which wasn't necessary. The poster also pointed out some positives even after all the negatives and I hope they give the An Post cycles another go.

While my expierence was different to this person everyone is entitled to their opinion and it seems most people had issue's during the day with the route or lack of Marhsals so hopefully his comments will be taken on board to make next years event even better.

c montgomery

at1withmyself wrote: »

Why is it ridiculous? The poster had some negative points to their day and I think they are entitled to air them and I commend them for actually going to the trouble of writing the letter and not just coming on here complaining but doing nothing about else about it. They have also shared the reply which wasn't necessary. The poster also pointed out some positives even after all the negatives and I hope they give the An Post cycles another go.

While my expierence was different to this person everyone is entitled to their opinion and it seems most people had issue's during the day with the route or lack of Marhsals so hopefully his comments will be taken on board to make next years event even better.

Getting lost before the bandon road when there was a police escort and a rescue car at the back is RIDICULOUS. Complaining about getting lost at this point in the race and writing a letter to An Post whinging about it is RIDICULOUS.

Boosterseat

Has anyone come across photos from the event on Saturday?

adodsk

There are some here apparently, but i'm firewalled here so can't see 'em

kerryscoob

c montgomery wrote: »

Getting lost before the bandon road when there was a police escort and a rescue car at the back is RIDICULOUS. Complaining about getting lost at this point in the race and writing a letter to An Post whinging about it is RIDICULOUS.

Have to agree, how the hell you could get lost with hundreds of other cyclists all going the same way within 5kms of the start:eek:

Thoroughly enjoyed the day, volunteers were excellent in every way, (pasta a great idea). Roads good,weather good, marshalling very good.

Yes maybe going through the city on the return journey wasn't the greatest of ideas but that's a matter that can easily be rectified. I did head down to the show grounds to sign on Friday night, after 30 minutes had to head to off for a GAA match but there was chaos due to a road accident,so be it.

MY BIGGEST GRIPE COULD THE ROADS BE FLATTENED I DON'T LIKE HILLS.:D

funnights74

He he kerryscoob what hills? after Kinsale was tricky but that was mainly down to tiredness, they could have but didn't included a few real toughies in the kinsale area that would have really hurt but it was only moderately difficult course in my honest opinion.:rolleyes:

kerryscoob

Who mentioned difficult :rolleyes:, but I'm not looking forward to Conor Pass on Saturday and thankfully the Chain Gang are not bringing us home the Short Mountain to Tralee.