Harlequin duathlon castlebar

yop

locteau wrote: »

Hi Guys,

The cycle off road is pretty rough, and the mix of views is simply because people use to adventure races like Gaelforce, think this one is easy.

But if you are like me, I would use a mountain bike with clips. Or a racer with running shoes if I had a old racer.

Maybe those pics of the of road will help you to decide :https://picasaweb.google.com/Locteau/HarlequinDuathlon2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCIuT1Ly11N-M6gE#

Regarding the first aid kit it is advisable, and the puncture kit is definitely needed (see pictures)

Registration is 6 to 10pm and on the saturday morning. (was in the race pack not in my core email, runireland etc....sorry)

So we have gone from roadbike with gators to mountain bike... will it change again tomorrow, maybe a quad bike??
People aren't really comparing in fairness, its the route we did last year, then you get an email 2 days before that you should use gators, then 36hrs before a mountain bike is mentioned?

For those not connected to the event on FB there is a high possibility that they could arrive down with a 2 or 3 grand carbon bike, as they may have done it last year on same. Fair enough inform them that they may need gators but then to make a statement that the organiser would use an MTB :eek:

Great its an adventure race but make sure people who are paying to do it are informed and don't presume that they will stumble upon boards or the FB page.

I know if this happened in WAR next month there would be war of another sort, but then again it wouldn't because they keep people up todate of all changes.

All it would have took is an email when you decided to change this and I still think you may need to go out on an email to people informing them that an MTB is a choice.


Good luck to everyone, hope the weather holds out.

TheEagles

"Regarding the first aid kit it is advisable, and the puncture kit is definitely needed (see pictures)"

Advisable but not compulsory?? i just dont want to end up carrying things if there not mandatory.

Agree with the above posts, been told it might be no harm to use a MTB wasnt what i wanted to hear, not everyone has a selection of bikes to choose from.

I'll be goin with a racer and seen how things go on the rough part. I'll carry the bike if i have to, i only have the 1 good bike......

Mr Freeze

@Excuseless

Hi, how many finishers will score points in the adventure race league thingy, top 50 or top 100????
Thanks

Gally05

i changed to the gators yesterday , but i was talking to one of the lads who cycled the course on sunday and he got a nasty gash in the wall of his wheel(he was using gators aswell) so i wondering now if they will hold at all !

woody1

i foresee a lot of people walking with bikes , ive just traced a line over that fire road on google maps and its approximately a mile and a half or 2.6k ish mite be bit shorter ive no idea exactly where transition is, but there gonna be at least 2k of walk / run / cycle slowly and pray ! itl be an experience anyway
ive always wondered whether id be bothered enough to fix a puncture / replace a tube mid race or whether id just call it quits.. maybe im going to find out

Gally05

jes well i dont wanna find out !!

Granite Head

woody1 wrote: »

ive always wondered whether id be bothered enough to fix a puncture / replace a tube mid race or whether id just call it quits.. maybe im going to find out

I got 3 punctures last year in GF, before CP (only two tubes with me ) - and not on the off road section (lesson don't go out with a worn tires). Ended up walking the bike for about 10k - completing the event became a mental challenge then.

My changing of tubes improved but still paranoid about punctures :eek:

PS I am also bringing a can of the foam that fills and seals tubes with me tomorrow (forget the name).

Mr Freeze

Just had a look at this offroad section.
Ya it's not ideal for a racer, but it's doable, it's as bad as the bog road on the back of the reek for anyone that's done that route! I just ran it there and there is probably only 2 spots where you might have to run with the bike, 2 steep inclines, in case the racer tyres don't grip!

I dunno why an MTB was recommended, that's overkill! And you'd be screwed then on the Tarmac sections!

Anyways I'll be bringing my old bike with kelvar tires instead of my decent bike with slicks! The offroad bit at 2.2 km is too far to run with a bike!

Best of luck to everyone tomorrow!!! Hopefully we all get over that section ok!

elchupanebrey

Cheers CK, that's some nice recon work right there. I'd say it's been blown out of proportion at this stage how bad the road is. Hope I don't live to regret saying that....by getting a puncture.

elchupanebrey

CKWPORT wrote: »

@Excuseless

Hi, how many finishers will score points in the adventure race league thingy, top 50 or top 100????
Thanks

last year twas top 100 in the races

woody1

yep i was up there meself around 6.30 today and its not awful bad but then again ive never cycled a racer on anything like it..so i couldnt really call how its gonna be but it looks okay is.. i met padraic there and he mentioned the hills and the lack of grip issue struck me on the way back in the car if thats all i have to worry about il be very happy

having driven up from castlebar along the race route id be more worried about the hills on the road in the initial 7k, mother of god they were tough in the car !

yop

woody1 wrote: »

having driven up from castlebar along the race route id be more worried about the hills on the road in the initial 7k, mother of god they were tough in the car !

Them hills are dogs, I run out to the booster from Cbar and back home in prep for Connemara 1/2, the calves do be on fire

Good luck to all tomorrow.

woody1

well that wasnt too bad.. iF anyone sees results anywhere could they post a link
have discovered that the brakes on the bike dont bite as much as id like which made the off road descent interesting
thankfully got thru it without any punctures or injuries other than a nasty muscle cramp for the last 4k run
got there in 2.35 ish i think i wasnt looking at the watch as i crossed the line ...im happy enough with that given that ive bugger all training done this year at all...

Fitzilicious

Great day for it!!
Was flying it....4th girl after the Booster station.....at the very bottom of the off road...puncture in back tyre...game over!!
There was 4 of us at the bottom fixing our punctures!
Cost me about half an hr...annoying but what can you do!!:mad:

Surface was ridiculous though, I saw two peops with punctures on the way up to the Booster station!
One guy got three punctures after the Booster station....he still finished it,fair play to it!
Saw another girl go flying off the bike at the bottom of the off road...luckily no injuries.

Aside from the off road was a great day!
Booster wasn't as bad as I had expected....head down and arms pumping!!

elchupanebrey

Made it through with no issues, I'd say a lot of others weren't so lucky:(
A club mates tyre split on the offroad, so that was game over for him. He was flying too, top ten at that stage.

Enjoyed the day though I have to say, well run and well marshalled. And tasty oranges at the end.

TheEagles

Yes well run and very well marshalled, was a perfect day for it but got a bit hot about an hour into the race. the off road section was bad, ended up carrying the bike for about 1km, didnt want to run the risk of a flat. saw alot of people fixing flats.

started to cramp at the start of the last 4k but alot of people said the same for some reason, maybe the heat had something to do with it. was happy over all completed the race in and around the 2hours. early season yet nice to get the 1st event of 2011 under the belt.

snailsong

Had a good day out too, finished 2.32, happy with that. Found the off road cycle a bit of a drag like everyone else. Weather was great and marshalling etc was excellent. Having Pádraig and Mary involved seems to add something to an event.

Anthony put in an awsome performance to come second, 7 minutes ahead (I think) of the next man. In other circumstances we'd be hailing him as the phenomenon that he is, he'll go very close in gaelforce this year. We might even comment that he's still very young for adventure racing, people seem to peak mid to late thirties.
However,....Conn Doherty is only 15. He was 3 minutes ahead of Anthony. This is an unbelievable performance. Its hard to imagine what he may achieve in the future. I hear he's involved with cycling, running and swimming as well as triathlon, excelling at all of them. Best of luck to him.

Bignaldo

that was me with the 3 punctures on the fire road. I only finished the race because there was no other way back. Maybe next year the organisers will include several inertubes in the goodie bag!!!! Sorry, but this race was not fun. Needs a rethink for next year.

Head The Wall

Had a great day even though I had a broken chain before the hill run, big thanks to No 431 for giving me your chain tool to get me going again. Lost 15 or 20 minutes I think but got to finish in 2:35 which is better than not finishing.

The gravel section was fine on a racer, I passed out a lot cycling it and a lot of people were sitting in the saddle while cycling, this is big no no as you will get a pinch puncture very easy and I reckon this was the cause of a lot of it yesterday. In future keep out of the saddle and keep your legs bent and use them as suspension. I also buckled my back wheel and had to do the last 15k with the wheel rubbing the brake but what doesn't kill me only makes me stronger.

Cheers to the organisers for putting on a great day

woody1

i know ive had my issues with the off road section previous to the race but that was more to do with lack of notice about it ... i found it ok,which could be hugely coloured by the fact that i didnt get a puncture , i was close to coming off the bike at times... what i would say is if you take out the off road, where is the adventure element, the hill run is on a road practically.. so to my mind if you take out the off road its just a duathlon...
the other thing is , i heard a rumour about a guy running to the finish from the bike transition at the hill as hed gotten punctures..i passed a guy in a mayo jersey running on the newport castlebar road alright, i didnt see whether he had a race number though and i just presumed it was a local out for a run.. anyone else hear this ..did someone seriously run 20k to finish it..i have my doubts...

Head The Wall

Yeah that was a competitor, passed him as well on the bike. Met him on the hill when I was going up so he was well up there at that stage and was obviously a fit old hoor

yop

woody1 wrote: »

i know ive had my issues with the off road section previous to the race but that was more to do with lack of notice about it ... i found it ok,which could be hugely coloured by the fact that i didnt get a puncture , i was close to coming off the bike at times... what i would say is if you take out the off road, where is the adventure element, the hill run is on a road practically.. so to my mind if you take out the off road its just a duathlon...
the other thing is , i heard a rumour about a guy running to the finish from the bike transition at the hill as hed gotten punctures..i passed a guy in a mayo jersey running on the newport castlebar road alright, i didnt see whether he had a race number though and i just presumed it was a local out for a run.. anyone else hear this ..did someone seriously run 20k to finish it..i have my doubts...

That was my wifes uncle, wrote his bike off on the off road. He is not too impressed.

Bignaldo

woody1 wrote: »

i know ive had my issues with the off road section previous to the race but that was more to do with lack of notice about it ... i found it ok,which could be hugely coloured by the fact that i didnt get a puncture , i was close to coming off the bike at times... what i would say is if you take out the off road, where is the adventure element, the hill run is on a road practically.. so to my mind if you take out the off road its just a duathlon...

There was no off road last year and it was called an adventure race! However, the problem was caused by the road being repaired at the last minute. It didnt have time to settle down and compact. The surface was full of sharp stone. Give it a year and it will be grand. I went from top 30 to last place fixing punctures... Pisser. Must trade in my carbon racer for a crappy hacker if i race next year!!!

Head The Wall

I'll have to disagree, most people got through it fine without punctures so I would say it was your riding style.

I had 100 PSi in my tires and passed out a good few people on the offroad section but as an ex MTB racer I would be used to reading the surface and the only problem was braking on the downhill section

Bignaldo

Sorry Head the wall, I have to disagree.

I race MTB downhill and XC at the moment and know to stay out of the saddle and pick a line. Ive never had a puncture in Gaelforce in four years on the same bike. There was a dozen people on one corner alone with bikes upside down. I even had armour between the tube and the tire. A dub guy had two punctures in armoured schwalbes. The stone was sharp so it was pure luck if you got through or not. Fair play to ya for making it through. What tyres were you running.

If they dust the road and roll it for next year it will be fine.

Mr Freeze

Any one elses calves killing them still? Mine are in bits :mad:

I got through the offroad section fine anyways, I took easy enough on and kept the weight balanced evenly and was extra cautious on the descents, I lost places due to this, but I was just happy to get over the section.

All in all, a good day, happy with time, 2:12, I lost a few places at the bottom of the booster, as I got massive blisters on each foot from the run down it. I made a few back on the bike, only to lose them again on the run as I could barely run.

yop wrote: »

That was my wifes uncle, wrote his bike off on the off road. He is not too impressed.

I would say he is none to happy alrite. I saw him running in when I was getting changed at the car, I and thought something was up.

Head The Wall wrote: »

I'll have to disagree, most people got through it fine without punctures so I would say it was your riding style.

Bit harsh, on a racer, there is a lot of luck involved crossing terrain like that.

woody1

yeah stiff as a board still today.. entire right leg..left calf, shoulders back but right leg the worst by a long way.. im putting it down to pounding down the hill and lack of training this year in general.... stiffest ive ever been after a race.. mind you its probably the longest race ive done as well so a combination of that and no preparation
maybe next year we should all drive up and down the road in a convoy before the race and compact the surface i cant see them getting it rolled

i was going on that off road so slow that someone running would probably have passed me.. went down the downhill with both brakes on and the bike still wasnt keen to stop

it seems to be mostly people that were doing well in the race that were getting punctures probably because they were pushing on thats a real bugger wouldnt have been a big deal to me in the position i was in to lose places itd be more the pain of actually fixing the thing that would annoy me but it must be seriously fecking annoying to be doing well one minute and then watching people zipping by you as you fiddle with tubes and pumps etc the next...

Fitzilicious

CKWPORT wrote: »

Any one elses calves killing them still? Mine are in bits :mad:

I got through the offroad section fine anyways, I took easy enough on and kept the weight balanced evenly and was extra cautious on the descents, I lost places due to this, but I was just happy to get over the section.

All in all, a good day, happy with time, 2:12, I lost a few places at the bottom of the booster, as I got massive blisters on each foot from the run down it. I made a few back on the bike, only to lose them again on the run as I could barely run.



I would say he is none to happy alrite. I saw him running in when I was getting changed at the car, I and thought something was up.



Bit harsh, on a racer, there is a lot of luck involved crossing terrain like that.

My thighs are in bits.....my reward for pushing it on the Booster station!!

You were lucky not to get a puncture another competitor mentioned to me after the race and I have to agree!
When I was fixing my puncture there was four of us in the same spot.
We all had different types of tyres and pressure.....I think anyone was liable to get a puncture on Saturday regardless of the tyre or cycling style!

When I got going again passed another 3 people with punctures.

Lost around 30 minutes & 3rd/4th place of the women!!
Annoying but what can you do! :rolleyes:

Any sign of the official results yet??

locteau

Results can be found here :

http://www.runireland.com/news/doherty-wins-harlequin-adventure-duathlon-results-added-harlequin-hotel

Thanks everybody and well done. I am reading your comments with care.

Seb

Gally05

passed that guy aswell on the road , number 275 i think it was , made bits of the bike ,

was lucky enuf not to get a puncture , glad i invested in the gator skins !! i had 110 psi in the tyre , jes ya feel every little bump when ya have that kinda pressure ,

2:43 was my time , not over happy with it , was looking to hit near the 2:30 but havent a whole lot of training done , bit stiff today , had a football game yesterday and i wasnt even fit to do the warm up :rolleyes: