Wicklow 200 2014

easygoing39

It won't be worse than 2011,now that was a wet 200!

Carpenter

oooooooo no its not nice out today

bazermc

Horrible morning here in Dublin city centre. Oh no. Feel sorry for the lads. Not as bad as 2011 though.

crosstownk

I set off at 8:15 to do the 100. The rain was bucketing down for the guts of an hour. It started just as I topped the Long Hill. I was soaked through and the discomfort of the rain being driven into my face hurt my pace a little at that point. The rain eased off and I kept going. I finished up with an average of 25.1km/h which I was happy with given the earlier conditions.

That's my first sportive and my first 100km done. Now it's Guinness time!

Trhiggy83

crosstownk wrote: »

I set off at 8:15 to do the 100. The rain was bucketing down for the guts of an hour. It started just as I topped the Long Hill. I was soaked through and the discomfort of the rain being driven into my face hurt my pace a little at that point. The rain eased off and I kept going. I finished up with an average of 25.1km/h which I was happy with given the earlier conditions.

That's my first sportive and my first 100km done. Now it's Guinness time!

That's fair going in that weather ,the girlfriend is doing the 200 ....god bless her

RebelButtMunch

I saw a girl after taking a fall at a downhill and the ambulance flew by later. Anyone know how she is?

Eamonnator

She's fine, was able to continue. Cuts and bruises.
Happened on the descent from Slieve Maan.

paulie_irl

Eamonnator wrote: »

She's fine, was able to continue. Cuts and bruises.
Happened on the descent from Slieve Maan.

this must have been another accident Eamonnator is talking about !

the lady I attended to got admitted to A&E that all I know!

SetOverSet

A guy on the 100 route apparently came off at speed about 2km before Rathdrum (Vale of Clara) and went over a wall, 10ft down into trees (according to fire brigade / ambulance). They had the road blocked, held our group up for 5-10 mins while the put him onto a backboard stretcher as a precaution. Hope the guy's OK!

cheerspal

Well that was a wash out. Never been so wet on a bike. Headwind for 80% of the day added to the delight. Still glad I did it and a those bloody loops of Howth paid off.

https://www.strava.com/activities/151055845

Arequipa

Hey! 200km done! enjoyed the day, but the weather was supercrap...it rained for most of the day, with some torrential water; made it tricky to descend and some the roads had puddles nearly halfway across the road: saying that, it wasnt too cold, so I could warm up quite quickly!
The event was well run; the foodstops and food were good and i enjoyed the pasta at the end.

some of the marshalling was a bit disorganised; at one junction we were stuck behind a bus for a few minutes in lashing rain; we tried to go around the bus and the marshalls shouted at us to wait...I thought they might be able to stop the traffic for 10-20 seconds and let us through...

i dont know what the pol;icy is on this: on other sportives a motorbike/marshall waved us through and stopped the traffic for a couple of minutes...

I understand that with such a big event as the Wicklow 200, this may not be possible, but the organisation at this junction was poor...

signage was mostly okay, but in a few places there didnt appear to be any signs showing the route; a couple of roundabouts at the end come to mind!

Overall, i enjoyed it; i struggled a lot in the last 20kms, but overall, it wasnt as tough as i thought!

A

Eamonnator

There are a number of categories of people, who can stop and direct traffic.
Marshals on the W200 are not numbered in any of these categories.

Beasty

Arequipa wrote: »

i dont know what the pol;icy is on this: on other sportives a motorbike/marshall waved us through and stopped the traffic for a couple of minutes...

Marshals are not permitted to stop traffic at all. They are there to warn you of danger and direct you

AmberGold

Did the 200. The mts climbed came in at 2962.
A very hard day made worse by the wind and rain. The catering was excellent IMO.

No issues with the marshalling either.

07Lapierre

Marshalling was excellent...every marshal gave loud clear instructions and directions. Signage was excellent too.. Every junction marked and warning signs for descents.

All in all, a well run event. Pity about the weather though.

zindicato

who was the fella that i shouted ''boards jersey sighting ''going up the long drag in avoca?

Arequipa

Ah yea, i understand that they cannot stop traffic...at other smaller sportives motorbike marshalls and a few others did stop traffic at a few junctions and roundabout, but i think mostly the Gardai did it!
I agree, generally the marshalling was very good; particularly at the bad surface to the bridge, but in the situation above, the lashing rain and busdriver (who seemed to be a bit confused) just frustrated us all: all part of the 'character building' experience!!

Murphj7

More marshalls but in general a good spin. If you cycled on the west coast every week these conditions are normal.

del_boy13

zindicato wrote: »

who was the fella that i shouted ''boards jersey sighting ''going up the long drag in avoca?

That would be me. Struggling on. I must have passed you a couple of times the short break in Rathdrum helped me claw back some time.

del_boy13

Thought the event was well run but the wait in Baltinglass was a bit of a killer and one that I regretted once I left the hall. Miserable headwind but most people seemed to be in good spirits. The crappy weather adds to the sense of achievement.

My experience with the marshalls was good they seemed to be on the ball.

After the misery of the climbs actually felt pretty strong on the last 30k and managed a decent pace even though I put the Garmin in the pocket as it was starting to do my head in.

RebelButtMunch

paulie_irl wrote: »

this must have been another accident Eamonnator is talking about !

the lady I attended to got admitted to A&E that all I know!

I've only done the race twice and both times I've seen people sprawled at that corner. It's a pity that happens.

mal1

Did 220. Marshall put me the wrong direction thinking i was with a group from a Swords cycling club that were heading in another direction. Food wasn't bad. Good route but not as well organised as other sportives.

Sammo13

Tough day out. Right from the start going up the long hill and the road to Roundwood struggled to fine any groups to get in. Apart from the tailwind over the Wicklow Gap the first 100km was really hard going, especially the 20km from Hollywood to Blessington. Stopped at the food station for 30 mins and that was to long as was cold getting back on the bike and took about 20 mins to warm up.

Got into a 3 man group from Blessington to the turn before Tinahely, was a great help but the legs were shot from there on home, got over the Slieve Mann (hammered rain, hard going) and Shay Elliot. Straight on home from there, Redcross was a drag and a half.

Thanks to the Marshall's and helpers, well run and improvement on previous years.

http://www.strava.com/activities/150971615

Pinch Flat

zindicato wrote: »

who was the fella that i shouted ''boards jersey sighting ''going up the long drag in avoca?

Saw a guy in green boards kit at the food stop in baltinglass

irishrover99

What a day. Must have rained for about 7 of the 8 hours I spent on the bike. Average speed 25.2km which I'm happy with because of the weather.

Never stopped or filled my bottles in ballintinglass and ran out long before sliver man. My back completely gave out due to creak in neck and the rain. Got the best water ever at the top and my gels started working then. Shay Elliot was better.

Best sandwhich ever in rathdrum and pain killers for my back. Run home was hard. Not a lit of talking in the groups today. I think most people suffered.

My beer now tastes great

outfox

So did yer man with the 2013 medal complaint get a medal this time? If not, we'll never hear the end of it.

dragratchet

did the 200 today, the rain coming down around 6:30am as i drove down the n11 scared the bejaysus out of me.. luckily it held off once we got moving, untill we were on the road to laragh. tough but enjoyable day despite the weather, only adds to the epicness of the whole thing i spose.. highlight was getting a quick breather while a young kid corralled a herd of cows towards our group on some tiny road on the home leg.

Zen0

First time doing the 200. Really enjoyed it. Marshals did an excellent job. I didn't think the wait in Baltinglass was that bad considering the numbers involved. Sandwiches were top notch. Whoever told me the 200 is easier than the Orwell Randonnee lied.

Lumen

RebelButtMunch wrote: »

I've only done the race twice and both times I've seen people sprawled at that corner.

It's not a race!

cheerspal

The way some lads were coming down slieve Mann you would have thought they were on the tour. Idiots.

Eamonnator

cheerspal wrote: »

The way some lads were coming down slieve Mann you would have thought they were on the tour. Idiots.

I do the W200, to enjoy myself. I imagine most people are the same.
Yesterday, I was overtaken at great speed on the descent from Se Elliot, by three guys. I would dearly have loved to have able to keep up with them.
I can only imagine the buzz, they got from descending so quickly and so safely. Fair play to them.

RebelButtMunch

Lumen wrote: »

It's not a race!

Phew! That was a close one. My sincerest thanks for the correction and I'm sure the rest of the boards users will benefit from that.

Allow me to rephrase

I've only done the event twice and both times I've seen people sprawled at that corner.

Lumen

RebelButtMunch wrote: »

Phew! That was a close one. My sincerest thanks for the correction and I'm sure the rest of the boards users will benefit from that.

Your probable sarcasm suggests that you don't think the distinction is important. I do think it's important for several reasons that ought to be obvious (insurance, expectations, people crashing out on corners for no good reason).

That said, I came fairly close to running out of road at 70+kph on the Orwell Randonnee (which I knew perfectly well was not a race), so there's no accounting for idiotic mistakes even from people who should know better.

OTOH with thousands of cyclists on the road, many of them tired and/or excited at the awesomeness of it all, it's hardly surprising there are a few scrapes.

mal1

cheerspal wrote: »

The way some lads were coming down slieve Mann you would have thought they were on the tour. Idiots.

I don't see that problem with it provided they don't put others in danger. If they hurt themselves then that's their risk. I didn't see anybody put anybody else in danger so why be bothered.

mal1

Lumen wrote: »

Your probable sarcasm suggests that you don't think the distinction is important. I do think it's important for several reasons that ought to be obvious (insurance, expectations, people crashing out on corners for no good reason).

That said, I came fairly close to running out of road at 70+kph on the Orwell Randonnee (which I knew perfectly well was not a race), so there's no accounting for idiotic mistakes even from people who should know better.

OTOH with thousands of cyclists on the road, many of them tired and/or excited at the awesomeness of it all, it's hardly surprising there are a few scrapes.

I think the guy knows the distinction and is just saying that it is a slip of the tongue. I think that all doing a 200 km event knows the difference, well i would hope so.

Harrybelafonte

mal1 wrote: »

I think the guy knows the distinction and is just saying that it is a slip of the tongue. I think that all doing a 200 km event knows the difference, well i would hope so.

You hope in vain.

cheerspal

Eamonnator wrote: »

I do the W200, to enjoy myself. I imagine most people are the same.
Yesterday, I was overtaken at great speed on the descent from Se Elliot, by three guys. I would dearly have loved to have able to keep up with them.
I can only imagine the buzz, they got from descending so quickly and so safely. Fair play to them.

I have no problem flying down when dry but with that wind and the roads very wet it was crazy.

nilhg

I thought the day was in general very well organised, the scanning in of the cards really speeds up registration and the marshalling was very good. Sometimes it's the little things that can make a difference though, my companion punctured just coming into Rathdrum, he changed the tube and pumped it up as best as he could then came up to the food stop where he thought there would surely be a track pump available, but there wasn't, luckily the Orwell car was there and they very kindly sorted him out. Also there was no mechanical support at Rathdrum, where both 100 and 200km routes had their food stop, I'd have thought it's a logical place to have it, could have done with a small drop of chain lube myself, the water on the road down to Rathdrum seems to have degreased mine better than I can do at home, when it dried out it was making some alarming noises.

I have to say I was very envious of some of the team car/van setups on the road yesterday, looking at lads/ladies getting hot food/drink and dry gear was making me think I'm going to have to crack the whip with our lot before next year.

blackvalley

cheerspal wrote: »

The way some lads were coming down slieve Mann you would have thought they were on the tour. Idiots.

The fact that some riders have the confidence , competence and bike handling skills to descend fast and safely does not label them as idiots.
For some the whole reward for climbing a big mountain is the sheer thrill of a fast descent
If you felt happy to descend at whatever speed you were doing then in your opinion anyone travelling faster was an idiot !

blackvalley

cheerspal wrote: »

. Headwind for 80% of the day added to the delight. .

Dont know what rout you were on but our group had a fabulous tailwind most of the day . Apart from Hollywood - Baltinglass and sections of the Baltinglass - Avoca it was a great help . Any day you have a tailwind up Wicklow gap, Ballinabarney, Slieve Maan And Shay Elliot is a good day

dragratchet

blackvalley wrote: »

. Any day you have a tailwind up Wicklow gap, Ballinabarney, Slieve Maan And Shay Elliot is a good day

tail-wind up the wicklow gap was great yesterday, absolutely flew up it (relative to my usual grind up)

Johnny Jukebox

Enjoyable day, despite the weather. Big big shout out to the Powerbar guys on top of Slieve Maan; they do a super job every year.

Came into Baltinglass, saw a huge queue and was too wet and cold to stop. No control, no medal but hey.

Pinch Flat

Set off well enough and, according to strava, set a few PR's up through Kilmacanogue. I felt tired before I started and probably over did it on the bike in the lead-up so my legs felt heavy - I thought they'd kick into action, which they never really did over the day. A lesson learned for the next Sportive. Definitely the most miserable I've felt on a bike in a long while - time for me to look at the amount of cycling and, in particular recovery, I'm doing.

All was looking good until a puncture just after Laragh - 1st of 2 on the day. That sort of set me back and struggled to find my rhythm for the rest of the day. Further mechanicals also didn't help - was stuck in 25T on the rear, so was murder going up Slieve Maan and Shay Elliott.

I second the marshalling and Powerbar guys - top notch as ever and no issues. Food was better as well in the stops - sandwiches and snacks better than the last few years. I got cold after Baltinglass food stop and the headwind (the only one of the day really) was murder for the next 20odd km. Shout out to the Fitzcycle lads on to of Slieve Maan who pumped up my tires ion the lashing rain - fair play.

Final mechanical was getting stuck in the small ring on the front with about 30 km to go - so spun like a demon home. Had a 2nd puncture within the last 15km which did me in.

All in all glad I did it - lessons learned all round in terms of rest and bike readiness.

michael196

Pretty damn faultless. I only stopped for food at Rathdrum, thankfully no quibbling over 1 food item person. Got as much food as I wanted.

Nice improvements over the finishing stretches , giving an easier ride in, ( fly over the M11 onwards )

Feeling that the organisers have listened to previous quibles over the years.

dragratchet

historically, what would be a very fast rolling time across the 200 course?

nordicb

Mixed feelings this time, compared to last year. Miserable day to be on the bike, cold developing shiver at stops, which made stops short and purposeful. Was hoping to enjoy fast descends, but rivers on roads didn't add too much confidence and lashing rain hurt looking straight. It turned up from being an enjoyable and observing ride to rather a fly through survival speeding to the dry, which actually did improve my time by an hour to 7.5 hours at ~27kph avg. Didn't even talk to anyone this year...

Being not local, had no clue of where I was, but better surface this year, marshaling was excellent with clear signalling and direction, fair play to these lads standing in the rain for hours. My friend rode into a crash on the road, but luckily nothing serious except bruise on his elbow. Everyone else seemed to be alright too.

Other than that, bike behaved, gatorskins see W200 2nd time puncture free. Rear hub pawls sound a bit loud after all this rain, might require a quick service. Brake pads, that came with 105s brakes, have seen a lot of abuse during the day, but were excellent otherwise.

Thanks again to marshalling, organizers and those in front who sheltered from the head wind at times.

cheerspal

blackvalley wrote: »

The fact that some riders have the confidence , competence and bike handling skills to descend fast and safely does not label them as idiots.
For some the whole reward for climbing a big mountain is the sheer thrill of a fast descent
If you felt happy to descend at whatever speed you were doing then in your opinion anyone travelling faster was an idiot !

I wouldn't describe descending at 60+ km/h on a soaked and windy road safe.

07Lapierre

cheerspal wrote: »

I wouldn't describe descending at 60+ km/h on a soaked and windy road safe.

Pulling the brakes at 60kph on a soaked and windy descent can be more dangerous!

Raam

cheerspal wrote: »

I wouldn't describe descending at 60+ km/h on a soaked and windy road safe.

Ah it's not that windy, you can take almost all of those bends without braking.

blackvalley

cheerspal wrote: »

I wouldn't describe descending at 60+ km/h on a soaked and windy road safe.

Good for you so I presume you descended at an appropriate speed in a safe manner.
However that does not mean that someone else who descends faster and feels competent and confident in their ability to do so is an idiot. They would also feel that they were descending at an appropriate speed.:)