Ring of Kerry Cycle - Beginner (advice needed)

WilcoOut

Howya Lads,

could I enlist the help of your expert knowlege?

I would love to partake in the Ring of Kerry Charity cycle this year on the 2nd of July

A few of my buddies did it last year and Id love to do it this year

heres the thing, I have never cycled competativly, ever. my only cycling would have been as a child and i have prob not been in the saddle since my early teens

could anybody suggest a decent training program for me? or perhaps some good routes to get practicing on? im living in the South Dublin region

iv no intention of romping home in record time, but just to finish would be my goal without killing myself!

cheers lads!

Captain Havoc

It's not a competitive event is the first thing. Personally I would start by doing a few 30-50km cycles per week. Eventually you should be able to get up to 200km in a week around May. The event has massive participation so drafting is available everywhere. Most importantly concentrate on getting the kms in and enjoy it.

CheGuedara

+1 on what the Captain says.

It's not a competitive event, it's not even a sportive event (non competitive challenge event) - it is however (as far as I know) the biggest charity cycle in the country and a very enjoyable day on the bike.

You'll get all ends of the cycling spectrum at it but the ROK is very much ideal for cyclists that are relatively new to the bike to get out test themselves for charity (so much so that we set it as the target for the year for all our new/novice members).

Because of the frequent food/water stops (every 30km or so), the really relaxed nature of the event and the fact that no matter what pace you're good for you'll find a group that's working at the same as you, you'll end up eating and talking your way around the Ring.

If you start small, getting in say 30-40km spins and work up to 60-80km spins (or bigger if you find yourself going well) as you get fitter, by the time you get to the ROK you'll be more than a match for it.

WilcoOut

thanks alot lads!

could you recommend any routes around my way that would suit me training wise?

ROK ON

I would echo what has been said above. Main thing is to gradually build up the distance.
The longest cycle that I did prior to first doing the Ring was about 100km, it took me three months to build to that from 20km.
The cycle itself can be highly enjoyable.

As regards routes in South Dublin. I would avoid the longer climbs like Stocking Lane etc (unless you enjoy that sort of stuff), as there are two longish drags on the Ring of Kerry rather than any climbs. There are also no steep bits on the Ring.

So for training cycles I would suggest the following.

(1) Out thru Tallaght toward Blessington. Eventually work up to a lap of the Blessington lakes. The roads in Kerry are rough and rolling - the road around Blessington Lakes is very similar.

(2) Out thru Dunrum, Stepaside and Enniskerry - eventually building up to Roundwood and Laragh. You can do this avoiding the main climbs.

(3) For my first Ring of Kerry I trained exclusively in the flatlands of Kildare. usually headed out by Maynooth then onto Clane, Sallins, Naas and back.

Enjoy the training and the day itself. Best of luck.

penexpers

Captain Havoc wrote: »

a few 30-50km cycles per week

This would be overtraining imo. Obviously a lot depends on your current level of general fitness but I wouldn't go from a base of nothing to doing a few 30-50km cycles per week and I certainly wouldn't do 200km in May if the ROK was the goal.

For the record, the longest cycle I did before the ROK was about 30km and I finished it with no problem.

Ghost Estate

Watch out for the buses. They sneek up out of nowhere that part of the country and the roads are very narrow

shamwari

OP, it is a day to savour and enjoy. With proper preparation you will do the Ring no bother. I posted my experience here, and I only started training in March last year for it. You have plenty of time to get yourself ready. You don't need massive levels of fitness. Just proper training and be comfortable on your bike!

macnab

Have a look at a similar thread here

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056185452

Dave11

I have never seen so much food at the rest stops as I have on the ROK and it's all good quality to.... build up nice and slow between now and then and even try some of the other sportives around your local area and you'll be flyin for ROK.

oicherider

I got back on my bike after many years absence last week with the intention of doing the Ring.. Started at 4 miles and nearly died after it..

I'm training on a mountain bike for a start with shorter cycles with the view to getting out on the road bike for longer spins once I get my fitness levels up a bit..

I was just wondering if I am approacing this right??

Ardennes1944

Id say just hop on the road bike now. Cycling with the MTV is just gonna demoralize you and make you want to quit. You won't be using a MTV in the ROK. do in training as you would do in the game as my manager always told me

smacl

oicherider wrote: »

I was just wondering if I am approacing this right??

Pretty much the approach I took for the Wicklow 100 last year and it worked out ok. A couple of things you might consider;

Get your bike serviced in your local bike shop, could make your cycling much easier for a nominal outlay, and reduce the likelihood of breaking down in the middle of nowhere.

Plan a series of rides for the next couple of months that extend your distance and take in enough hills so that you will be well prepared on the day. My plan for the W200 is in this thread, basically breaking down the big task into smaller progressive goals.

Have a read of some of the cycling logs in the sub-forum, there's some inspirational stuff in there from a number of regular posters who are working their way up from minimal experience to pretty major rides.

And don't forget to enjoy your spins, the more you enjoy them the more you'll do and the easier it all becomes.

DMGACC

Hey lads,

Would I be completely daft to start training for ring of Kerry at this stage 4 weeks before the cycle? Would that be achievable? I am not an experienced cycler, have been out on a road bike maybe 10 times in my life all in last year usually doing a very leisurely 25-35km. I run a small bit but I dont know does running fitness transfer into cycling fitness?

Would that be any way achievable?

macnab

One of the lads that did it with us last year had no training done, unless you count the time he cycled 10km to supermacs and then rang his wife for a lift home. He is a bar man however and a busy one at that, so he probably covers a fair few KM's on his feet per day so he was fit. With 8 months training I did it in 6 hours 40 minutes, he did it in 12 or 13 hours.
Having said all that I would say go for it. But get training right away. Start gently and work your way up to a 100km spin by the end of June.

DMGACC

Cheers macnab. I must have a think and decide this weekend one way or the other

Smith614

Have been doing 20-30 km few times a week for past few weeks, did 80 km today no problem, feel grand. Reckon I should be ok.

Roger Hassenforder

not sure if they are taking any more registrations for the moment, massive numbers going this year apparently. give them a bell



http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/73237936252/

Cork24

Never did the ring, love to but every year I have stuff coming up and again this year

But my training would be,

At best able to cycle up to 80km without a pit stop, get has much hill climbs in so you will be strong on the hills.

I would be looking at training 3 times a week

Tuesday - Thursday do around 30 - 50k and the. Either Saturday or Sunday do a 100k cycle

rrrrrrrr

There's a gang of us hoping to do the Ring of Kerry over two days next month, staying in Waterville along the way.

It's been suggested that Waterville is less than half way around and we're leaving all the hard bits, including the 2 biggest climbs to day 2.

I'm wondering would it be a better idea to go clockwise around the loop and get the hard bits over with while we're fresh??

Most of us are not exactly superfit, to say the least!

funnights74

rrrrrrrr wrote: »

There's a gang of us hoping to do the Ring of Kerry over two days next month, staying in Waterville along the way.

It's been suggested that Waterville is less than half way around and we're leaving all the hard bits, including the 2 biggest climbs to day 2.

I'm wondering would it be a better idea to go clockwise around the loop and get the hard bits over with while we're fresh??

Most of us are not exactly superfit, to say the least!

Doing the Ring the "other way around" certainly makes the second day easier but don't under estimate how tough the first day is going to be even if you are "fresh". Having done it both ways myself Killarney to Waterville is a fairly hard slog, especially before and after Sneem there are a fair few slopes that are very testing.
The prevailing winds are usually South Westerly so you might also be travelling up mountains into the wind.
So there's a lot to consider, I personally prefer the conventional route, yes the climbs are on your second day but if you take it handy on day 1 and after a nights rest you are making the trip considerably easier.