maracycle new route

tonti27

getting set for the Maracycle June 25/26 i see that the route has changed this year mostly around the Drogheda were it avoides the Drogheda town centre and the Naul hills, i see signs apperaing on local roads its going down the Collon Drogheda road and towards Oldbridge were it goes after that i am not sure.Is there anyone that can tell me more the map on the site is very limited it lists Garriston, Ardcath and Duleek ect

granda

this should help just bypass naul and follow ardcath ,garristown
http://www.mapmyride.com/s/routes/view/bike-ride-map/united-kingdom/belfast/18894486
btw where are you from as i'm doing it to and hows the last of the training going hopefully i'll see you there tonti

tonti27

was looking at the map my ride link that appears to be last years route, it is avoiding Drogheda town and the so called haul over the Naul( i am over Ardee way)

feck sake lads

granda is it going across the obelisk bridge up king billy's glen onto the collon road i seen signs for it today.
if so looks like a tough route ,leisure cycle my ass .
tell you what make sure you find a group you can comfortably stay with otherwise it's going to be a grueling spin.

granda

fsl i've seen the signs around and glad i've plenty off miles under the belt now so i dont reckon i'll die doing it but aleast it should be a challange , if i managed the bellewstown hills and jenkinstown hill i should cope with king biilys glen(i hope) plus a little moral support in drogheda on the day wouldnt hurt

feck sake lads

ah once you have the miles in your legs you won't have any problems ,but the route seems to be avoiding the towns is this right if so thats a pity .
anyway you enjoy the trip i done it twice or even two times biggish problem carrying enough food to last the journey:eek:
i remember a lad asked me for water, when i gave him my bidon he undone the cap and drank every last drop, he then proceeded to ask the next guy in line for his water what a dick .:D:D
moral of the story piss off mate and bring your own water.;)

granda

got the food covered fsl, i foung a small rucksack that i'll be able to carry plenty of bars plus spare tubes and what not i've worn it on a couple of long spin and i hardly notice its there just have to hope now that the hayfever stays away

Cape Clear

I am registerd for this. Just wondering how people have found the cycle over the years?

granda

this will be my first year doing it and i hope that as long as i've do the preperation all will be well and as far as i'm concerned i want to enjoy myself so i'm just taking it easy (no racing) and keeping to my own speed

Cape Clear

granda wrote: »

this will be my first year doing it and i hope that as long as i've do the preperation all will be well and as far as i'm concerned i want to enjoy myself so i'm just taking it easy (no racing) and keeping to my own speed

My first time doing it also! I am treating it as training for the Tour De Munster in August. Its good to get 2 days back to back training in and see how the body reacts to it. Good luck on the day Granda!

feck sake lads

lads make sure you also bring the wet gear and enough tools to get you out of trouble
tire leavers
2 spare tubes
multi tool
pump.
tire boot .patches/glue
do you need your cables changed /brake blocks are your tires up for the trip .
i know your all keyed up for this but just make sure you have everything covered and FFS enjoy it, dont get into a group thats to fast for ya there will be plenty other groups to join in with.
there ended the lesson :D

Tony Leonard

Hi folks, i dont like the look of 'challenging' sections lol
only bought bike april and with work recent training has suffered. I managed 100km in last weeks wind and rain pretty ok on sunday but i am conscious that is about halfway of each day ha
I intend to get about 140 km done this sunday. Am I kidding myself here ha

manwithaplan

Tony Leonard wrote: »

Am I kidding myself here ha

No - you'll be grand. Just eat and drink regularly and pace yourself. Try to stay loose after the first day's effort. Don't just plonk yourself down somewhere afterwards. No need to go mad on stretching etc but just make sure you move around a bit.

There's no need to go mad this weekend. It's not going to make a heap of difference other than calming your fears about the distance.

Best of luck and enjoy it.

Tony Leonard

Thanks manwithaplan, sunday is a mix of reassurance about distance and testing some set up im getting done on sunday afternoon. im tending to find pain in side of tree translating to calf after about 60km so some guys are going to assess my gait, seating position etc etc and I want to see how that effects matters.
im doing the trip alone too which adds to nerves ha

Tony Leonard

As a further follow up ... i have done the blessington lakes loop out from saggart. how do these hills compare to those on the maracycle does anyone know?
can anyone tell the nerves are hitting now lol

granda

rode a bit of the route yesterday around garristown donore tullyallan and its not that bad fairly easy really.there are no big hills around there just steady one and not that long the worst one would be king williams glen and the its all easy after that to dundalk ,but ive no idea what its like after dundalk ,just take it easy and dont go mad and you'll get thare and back

Tony Leonard

thanks granda. i assume your a regular cyclist? when people say easy are we talking about a 25km/h average kind of speed?

granda

ye about that, but i only cycle for fun i'm in no way competative

Tony Leonard

ok cool i can probably handle that for a while. I think the key is to find a group of riders like myself. in a group it is much easier too. have you heard any final numbers yet? I know they were struggling. i got number 361 or something?:cool:

feck sake lads

the only think that will wreck your head (if you let it ) would be distance .theres no really hard sections as far as i know.
rule one FOOD plus water make sure you have plenty for both legs.
if you like sambo's then by all means take your favorite
high energy drinks are way better than water
dont wait until your hungry nibble away at raisins/ power bars .
rule two take it easy its not a race if you get dropped this is a good time to eat those sambos and take in the scenery relax.
rule three make sure you have spares tubes pump multi tool just in case;)
so have fun hope the weather is kind wet gear is your friend.

Tony Leonard

some good pointers feck. i got to 80km sunday and was STARVING ha
i would have forgotten about a supply of bars for the return day!!!
tesco are selling good options in the big stores at the minute plus belts ... i may go in this evening.

granda

where are you based tony

Eamonnator

Tony,
If you mean Lacken, Valleymount etc., you'll have no bother with the hills on the maracycle.
My number is 38.

Rallymad

Tony Leonard wrote: »

ok cool i can probably handle that for a while. I think the key is to find a group of riders like myself. in a group it is much easier too. have you heard any final numbers yet? I know they were struggling. i got number 361 or something?:cool:

Has anyone got the final number i was expecting 1500 or so last time i did it 1994:eek: i was number 2002 if its very small numbers it will be very spread out id imagine.

Tony Leonard

Hi eamonator, im based in portlaoise but the other half is from blessington so yeah that was the route i was discussing. Nice route on a sunny day.
I haven't heard final numbers but i think its below 500

Inquitus

What time does it leave off at DCU? need to book a train ticket back

Tony Leonard

its 7.30am isnt it?

Inquitus

Tony Leonard wrote: »

its 7.30am isnt it?

Thanks, should be able to make an early enough train then.

granda

start is between 7.30 and 8.30 btw i.m no 15
maybe we could get a bit of a boardies group going

Eamonnator

Staggered Start.
First Start at 7.30am.
Last Start at 8.30am.

"You should be at the start between 07.15 and 08.00"
quoting from "Ride 'N' Bike Pack".

Inquitus

granda wrote: »

start is between 7.30 and 8.30 btw i.m no 15
maybe we could get a bit of a boardies group going

I would be up for this, I specialise in holding a wheel and drafting, what skills can you bring to the table?

granda

i'll bring the northern accent for when we get across the border

Inquitus

granda wrote: »

i'll bring the northern accent for when we get across the border

Sold, I spent too much time in England!

Harpz

I applied well after the closing date and got 462 so I'd say there will be less than 500 doing it. Also up for drafting fitter boardsies. I now live in Belfast so i can tell you when we have reached our destination and recommend nice bars and restaurants

Rallymad

Number 53 here:)

brasshead

Number 366 - would be on for a boardsie group too, though given my lack of long distance training, I may end up struggling with the pace

Anyone know how tough a climb King Billy's Glen is, compared to some of the climbs around North county Dublin? Looked at it on google street view and it looks pretty steep.

granda

did it the other day and didnt need to get out of the saddle once it's just a steady climb ,the haul over naul is much worse if that helps

treborm

Is it too late to enter this.

granda

phone them and ask the number is on the co-operation ireland website

The Davestator

Just signed up for this today! The longest spin I've done is 100k last week. I was starving by the end so wont be making that mistake again.
I remember as a kid watching the colourful peleton starting from AALSAA and i never thought I'd be taking part.
Looking forward to it now.

Tony Leonard

hi folks i would def be up to join this. like one or two mentioned my furthest training run was 100km last week. i was more bored and saddle sore by end than tired so maybe we can keep each other company ha
buying bib shorts today as a 60km yesterday had me in ribbons ... (€10 cycle shorts have died a death ha) any suggestions on purchasing?

brasshead

granda wrote: »

did it the other day and didnt need to get out of the saddle once it's just a steady climb ,the haul over naul is much worse if that helps

Thanks - done the Naul many times - area tends to be my most cycled route.

Selfheal

Just to say, entries for this year's Maracycle are closing later today.

Tony Leonard

would be nice to know a final number.

RacoonQueen

I'm actually very tempted, was randomly looking at this today and haven't been able to get it out of my head...

brasshead

So what food/snacks/drinks are folks planning to bring? Going to stock up on bananas, jelly babies and mini mars bars Anything else I need to consider?

granda

aldi fruit bars for me and plenty to drink

Inquitus

Have we assembled a team of boards domestiques then?

Tony Leonard

Tesco have great energy bars in their big stores at the moment and i have invested in a small hydration back pack to back up my on bike waterbottle. I think i will fill one with water and the other with a decent hydration drink to keep me going. very tempted to stick a red bull in side pocket lol
i havent heard of getting a group together since it was first brought up .. any ideas on how to identify each other??
did anyone get caught in the deluge last night on a last spin?? I got saturated ha i believe the weekend is going to be wet also

granda

ye got soaked last night as well ,for the boardsie group if someone wants to suggest a area to meet at dcu and/or post race numbers here and we can play hide and seek to find each other

The Davestator

Got my pack today. No. 562 if any boardsies want to say hello.