Ring of Kerry 2012

Lumen

You're upset about the criticism of Enda's t-shirt, right?

Chips Lovell

Threads merged

siblers

I didn't have any trouble with the clubs really, I have absolutley no prior experience in cycling with such huge numbers (or any sort of numbers) but I quickly figured out what was what. Although near the end of the cycle when I was fairly fecked my concentration started to waver a bit and I probably wasn't as aware as I had been earlier on.

There were a good few times where I had to hit the breaks and grind almost to a stop to let riders to my immediate right pass by when I came up to someone slower directly in front of me. And in fairness most of the cyclists said thanks to me when I did this which does help as it did get quite annoying at times.

I had a few problems with riders in the middle of the road, especially when they were swaying, as you'd never know what they'd do when you'd go to pass them out.

Cookie_Monster

this might seem a bit obvious and all but surely if you know you are going to do it faster than most start earlier to avoid them?

Here they grade all the starts into 4-430, 430-5, 5-530 etc (for example) and you pick the pace you think you're going to manage and for the most part it makes it a lot easier, does this not happen for ROK?

Chips Lovell

Tourman wrote: »

I thought I did see a request that Club cyclists leave at around 6am and this would have avoided a lot of the problems as there would have been less need to overtake slower riders. For this reason I left at 7am.

I never saw any request in the literature I received or on the website. Nor am I aware of my club receiving any such communication.

Did anyone receive this instruction?

ROK ON

Vladimir Kurtains wrote: »

I never saw any request in the literature I received or on the website. Nor am I aware of my club receiving any such communication.

Did anyone receive this instruction?

Last year clubs (in the locality) were asked to start around 6am iirc.

Dubba

Noticed some nicely re-surfaced roads this year. Who wouldn't want to put the hammer down on a gently sloping road like this, esp with a bit of a tail wind!

Of course you pick when its safe to pass and being rude to other cyclists is just plain ignorant but that's down to an individual just being a tit and hardly something you can level at club or leisure cyclist in general.

bogmanfan

In the Women's Mini Marrathon they have several categories of participant: elite runners, fast runners, runners, joggers and walkers. The start is staggered, and the groups set off in that order. Therefore the faster runners aren't being held up by walkers, and the slower joggers aren't being constantly overtaken. I think a similar system would benefit everybody on the ROK. Let the faster riders off at 6 and the slower ones off after 7. Would be a safer day for everybody I reckon.

Lumen

bogmanfan wrote: »

In the Women's Mini Marrathon they have several categories of participant: elite runners, fast runners, runners, joggers and walkers. The start is staggered, and the groups set off in that order. Therefore the faster runners aren't being held up by walkers, and the slower joggers aren't being constantly overtaken. I think a similar system would benefit everybody on the ROK. Let the faster riders off at 6 and the slower ones off after 7.

I thought we had this already - the official start was 7am but the organisers encouraged clubs to go off at 6...

...and then a bunch of people moaned about club cyclists being discriminated against. :rolleyes:

Frere Jacques

I was pretty sure Enda had a Ring of Kerry Jersey when he was sitting on the curb in Waterville. I think someone chucked the B4L teeshirt on him for the photo, otherwise it would have been clung to him.
As for the club riders, I had no problems for the most part. The only time I saw dodgey stuff was a group of five flying down Coomnaciste overtaking on the outside, the lad in front of me also decided to overtake and didn't look and only a last second shout from the leader of the club lads prevented carnage. The lad who swerved without looking was in the wrong but the five lads were hammering it and overtaking on the otherside of a twisty road leaving them no room for error. This was at about 12. If these lads want to cycle like that, there is no way they should be doing it when the average joe who has left at 7am is on the same stretch. At a guess these 5 lads must have left sometime after 8am judging by their pace. If you do that and ride like that someone will get seriously injured.
In the cycling Ireland rules:
"Be mindful of the need to act in a manner that takes account of their own safety and the safety of others".
Neither the five lads or the lad who swerved did this.

Saying all of that, I loved the day. We took our time and saw parts of Kerry I had never seen, views from roads I had driven along previously but never took the time to enjoy. Defo be back. Maybe a safety vid playing on a loop on a big screen whilst people are queuing to register next year might be a good idea. Make it a couple of minutes long covering overtaking, road position and stopping. Also highlight different starting times. They are easy measures to implement but make it a safer event for all.

jonj123

I rode my high nelly around the ring on saturday..managed to cycle every hill thanks to the encouragment i got from everyone along the way

monkeysnapper

FZ wrote: »

I would have to second your opinion on earphones. I think that listening to Snow Patrol or the Boss while cycling verges on the suicidal. You need all of your senses about you while on a bike - especially when 1000s of other cyclists are on the same route.

What a load of tosh!!! Just because you may have earphones on doesnt mean you still cant hear and see whats going on around you, ( verges on suicidal) talk about dramatic!!!!

MajesticDonkey

monkeysnapper wrote: »

What a load of tosh!!! Just because you may have earphones on doesnt mean you still cant hear and see whats going on around you, ( verges on suicidal) talk about dramatic!!!!

Well in fairness, it does seriously impair what you can actually hear around you.

Jawgap

FZ wrote: »

I would have to second your opinion on earphones. I think that listening to Snow Patrol or the Boss while cycling verges on the suicidal. You need all of your senses about you while on a bike - especially when 1000s of other cyclists are on the same route.

monkeysnapper wrote: »

What a load of tosh!!! Just because you may have earphones on doesnt mean you still cant hear and see whats going on around you, ( verges on suicidal) talk about dramatic!!!!

I'd have to agree with @FZ - some of that whingy whiney teenage angst sh1te that Snow Patrol sing along with the crushed-working-man vibe ol' Brucie likes to put out now and again could have steering off a cliff seeking death as a blessed relief from it all.........:)

....of course you'd if you tried to pull to the right you'd only get ploughed by some bunch of lycra-clad, Lance Armstrong wannabes trying to emulate Cav's leadout train on the roads of Kerry;)

le petit braquet

jonj123 wrote: »

I rode my high nelly around the ring on saturday..managed to cycle every hill thanks to the encouragment i got from everyone along the way

Formidable! Chapeau!

How did it handle on the descents?

michael196

I saw two lads without helmets. ( separatly) one lad in GAA gear on a hybrid or mountain bike near the start after staring at 07:00 am , and another fully kitted race like cyclist after kenmare somewhere.

Cookie_Monster

michael196 wrote: »

I saw two lads without helmets.

musta been just before they crashed and died...

there were a few on last years w200 also.

Seve OB

michael196 wrote: »

I saw two lads without helmets.

Seen one aul geezer on what looked like a pretty old hybrid. He must have been about 60, had the cycling shorts on and a short sleeved checked shirt on. And a lovely straw hat! He looked a picture!

I asked him was it the new Sean Kelly design in streamlined crash helmets, but tbh I didn't understand the very thick kerry accent reply!

Seen him then later on sitting on a wall as we left kenmare, only for him to whizz past us going up Molls Gap. He was in the back of a pick up drinking what looked like a pint of Guinness!

Seve OB

There was a wine coloured car going around with some guy hanging out of the sunroof taking pictures. Does anyone know where to catch a glimpse of these, I think he got a few of me, but one or two in particular as we were coming into Sneem where I even managed a pose!

funnights74

He got very close to me on the descent off of coomaciste, a bit too close, :eek: i told him to back off ( a wee bit more bluntly than that) and off he backed.

Some pics found by the magic of google here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28422791@N08/7530246220/in/photostream/

(Ouch)

Tourman

fixie fox wrote: »

I am an average club cyclist and, like a good few I know, I have given up on riding the Ring of Kerry event.
The main reason is because it's just not a comfortable day out for the club cyclist who will be overtaking hundreds or thousands of 'normal' RoK cyclists.
It's also a matter of respecting the spirit of the event. It has traditionally been a charity event and a challenge for locals who see it as a once-off event for the year.
With the recent popularity of cycling and the huge growth of numbers in the RoK there's now a lot of Nouveau Cyclistes complaining about the lack of cycling 'etequite' amongst the local cycling commoners - some Of them don't even wear 'proper' gear or ride 'proper' bikes :eek:.
However, they have been doing it their way before the word 'sportive' came to Ireland.
My advice is to forget about it if you want to hammer around it like a club run. Go ahead if you are prepared to enter into the traditional spirit of the event and respect the type of cyclist which sustained the event for years.

I think you have nailed it.

De Bhál

stevieob wrote: »

There was a wine coloured car going around with some guy hanging out of the sunroof taking pictures. Does anyone know where to catch a glimpse of these, I think he got a few of me, but one or two in particular as we were coming into Sneem where I even managed a pose!

I assume this was the same car I saw. I asked the photographer and he said he was taking shots for "The Kerryman" newspaper.

michael196

there is video footage from a helmet cam of the descent from molls gap to the finish,

i think it could rightly be heavily criticised for some bahaviours in it, so am very slow to post,

I have put it , then deleted it.....then put again then deleted again,

it is the final 30 k sprint from molls gap to the finish

the other 150K of the ROK, I did a lot more sedatly

those will post later,


I am the rider and wil admit now, that not fully proud of some of the moves: so there is my apology up front.

[COLOR=#ffcc00]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT6EIEet45Y&feature=youtu.be[/COLOR]

the next video shows a crash in a league race at 10 minutes into the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=pRpc0SFox8w&list=UUbBeZo8slVYFDbNelgGd9Mg

Morrisseeee

Since the road was closed I don't see anything too dangerous there !
Q. Is that a cyclist in the ditch at 2:07min ?

edit: that was a close call with the crash :eek:

Lumen

Morrisseeee wrote: »

Since the road was closed I don't see anything too dangerous there

There was a flat bed truck descending a few metres ahead of me, on the wrong side of the road. It almost collided with an oncoming Mountain Rescue vehicle on a blind bend.

Closed roads does not mean "you can safely assume there is nothing coming the other way".

Besides which, death by crashing into an oncoming ambulance would be too ironic.

Morrisseeee

Lumen wrote: »

There was a flat bed truck descending a few metres ahead of me, on the wrong side of the road. It almost collided with an oncoming Mountain Rescue vehicle on a blind bend.

Closed roads does not mean "you can safely assume there is nothing coming the other way".

Besides which, death by crashing into an oncoming ambulance would be too ironic.

.....em.........I was referring to Michael's descending !?

michael196

Morrisseeee wrote: »

Since the road was closed I don't see anything too dangerous there !
Q. Is that a cyclist in the ditch at 2:07min ?

edit: that was a close call with the crash :eek:

yep he looked shook up !

le petit braquet

Lumen wrote: »

There was a flat bed truck descending a few metres ahead of me, on the wrong side of the road. It almost collided with an oncoming Mountain Rescue vehicle on a blind bend.

When I was descending somewhat later, a grey 4wd vehicle was coming up the road as well. In fairness he was sounding his horn and flashing his lights, but anyone foolish enough to take the wrong side around a blind bend would probably have needed a new chamois at the very least.

Lumen

Morrisseeee wrote: »

.....em.........I was referring to Michael's descending !?

Yeah, I wasn't really arguing with you on that point, just making a general comment about that descent and "closed roads".

meercat

jonj123 wrote: »

I rode my high nelly around the ring on saturday..managed to cycle every hill thanks to the encouragment i got from everyone along the way

is this your arse?

ROK ON

@Michael196

Thanks for posting the video link. I do the Ladies View descent a lot and would love to do it on closed roads.

Fwiw - you travelled 3km in 4m29s - so there is most definitely room for improvement. Great to see how others handle it; it's not a steep descent but is pretty technical. I love it. There were parts of the video that I knew exactly how I would be heading into some of the bends.

Great to see something like that.

teednab-el

stevieob wrote: »

There was a wine coloured car going around with some guy hanging out of the sunroof taking pictures. Does anyone know where to catch a glimpse of these, I think he got a few of me, but one or two in particular as we were coming into Sneem where I even managed a pose!

I saw that guy you were referring to too. We must have been near each other.

michael196

ROK ON wrote: »

@Michael196

Thanks for posting the video link. I do the Ladies View descent a lot and would love to do it on closed roads.

Fwiw - you travelled 3km in 4m29s - so there is most definitely room for improvement. Great to see how others handle it; it's not a steep descent but is pretty technical. I love it. There were parts of the video that I knew exactly how I would be heading into some of the bends.

Great to see something like that.

there are a few more videso to come. maybe people will recognise themselves in the videos

sayno

There was also somebody taking pics at the finish line. Would anybody know who that was?

thewatch

michael196 wrote: »

there is video footage from a helmet cam of the descent from molls gap to the finish,

i think it could rightly be heavily criticised for some bahaviours in it, so am very slow to post,

I have put it , then deleted it.....then put again then deleted again,

it is the final 30 k sprint from molls gap to the finish

the other 150K of the ROK, I did a lot more sedatly

those will post later,


I am the rider and wil admit now, that not fully proud of some of the moves: so there is my apology up front.

[COLOR=#ffcc00]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT6EIEet45Y&feature=youtu.be[/COLOR]

the next video shows a crash in a league race at 10 minutes into the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=pRpc0SFox8w&list=UUbBeZo8slVYFDbNelgGd9Mg

Thanks ****ing class when it all goes right :cool::cool:

Esroh

Michael 196
I see you found 'The Dud' at 22 mins (Western lakes CC).

EMYVALE CC Monaghan

well done to everybody who took part, any idea what they raised for charity

michael196

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MugZOAdoWjY&list=UUbBeZo8slVYFDbNelgGd9Mg&index=1&feature=plcp


there is three more videos to come.



Check out our upcoming Tour of Wexford 150K and 100K at

www.wexfordwheelers.com

michael196

Esroh wrote: »

Michael 196
I see you found 'The Dud' at 22 mins (Western lakes CC).

who would not be tired at the end of 180 K !!!

squeaky crank

michael196 wrote: »

there is three more videos to come.

Michael - what type of helmet cam are you using?

Thanks
S

michael196

its a GO PRO HD ( not the Go Pro HD 2)


films in HD then downgrades the quality for uploading


www.gopro.com

The Noble Nudge

Looking to buy the jersey first time doing it and left it to late to buy one.
Based in Dublin so any help Fitzcycles are all out going by the amount i passed on the day I'd say it would be hard come by.

Sikpupi

http://www.osullivanscycles.com/location.php

You could try the above Shop in Killarney - they have 2-3 shops and are very helpful!

The Noble Nudge

Sikpupi wrote: »

http://www.osullivanscycles.com/location.php

You could try the above Shop in Killarney - they have 2-3 shops and are very helpful!

Sound now get rid of that post until I get my shirt!

kingdomlad

The Noble Nudge wrote: »

Looking to buy the jersey first time doing it and left it to late to buy one.
Based in Dublin so any help Fitzcycles are all out going by the amount i passed on the day I'd say it would be hard come by.

You could also try Landers Outdoor World in Tralee. Im sure you could order it with them over the phone.

Esroh

michael196 wrote: »

who would not be tired at the end of 180 K !!!

Sorry I was not commenting on you being tired just that you joined up with the Wlcc rider. He is known as Dud.
I found the video a good watch. I'm impressed with the camera not picking up wind noise although we can clearly hear you talking.

michael196

Esroh wrote: »

Sorry I was not commenting on you being tired just that you joined up with the Wlcc rider. He is known as Dud.
I found the video a good watch. I'm impressed with the camera not picking up wind noise although we can clearly hear you talking.

I didnt understand what you meant by 'dud' :D

yes you can clearly hear me ****eing on .....:D

Axel Lamp

sayno wrote: »

There was also somebody taking pics at the finish line. Would anybody know who that was?

They were all from Killarney Camera club and will be be posting links on the Ring of Kerry site in the next few weeks. It takes a while to get through the thousands of pics they took

sayno

Axel Lamp wrote: »

They were all from Killarney Camera club and will be be posting links on the Ring of Kerry site in the next few weeks. It takes a while to get through the thousands of pics they took

Thats great. I will keep an eye out.