Etape ras mumhan

ciaeim

anyone doing this?

outfox

Yep. Weather looks good.

ciaeim

outfox wrote: »

Yep. Weather looks good.

Yea forecast is good. I've never done this before any advice?

outfox

It's tough enough, with about 2500 m of climbing if I recall. Must be one of the hardest sportives around, although the pace is slightly faster than most sportive's I've been on. There are 7 climbs (including the long gentle drag between Adrigole and Glengarriff), all spread out along the route, with a final flat of around 30 km. None of the climbs themselves is very difficult, but taken together they become an ordeal. I found the climb out of Ballingeary quite hard last year, which comes at around the 100 km mark. This is West Cork and Kerry, so the crappy tar and chip roads really take it out of you.
The only advice I can give you is to go at your own pace from the start, otherwise the last 50 km will be horrible. If you're not used to the road surfaces here, you might find it useful to put on wider tyres with lower pressure. Oh, and take it handy coming down the Healy Pass, as the corners often have gravel.
Having said all that, it's a fantastic route. Well worth it. Hope you enjoy it!

ciaeim

outfox wrote: »

It's tough enough, with about 2500 m of climbing if I recall. Must be one of the hardest sportives around, although the pace is slightly faster than most sportive's I've been on. There are 7 climbs (including the long gentle drag between Adrigole and Glengarriff), all spread out along the route, with a final flat of around 30 km. None of the climbs themselves is very difficult, but taken together they become an ordeal. I found the climb out of Ballingeary quite hard last year, which comes at around the 100 km mark. This is West Cork and Kerry, so the crappy tar and chip roads really take it out of you.
The only advice I can give you is to go at your own pace from the start, otherwise the last 50 km will be horrible. If you're not used to the road surfaces here, you might find it useful to put on wider tyres with lower pressure. Oh, and take it handy coming down the Healy Pass, as the corners often have gravel.
Having said all that, it's a fantastic route. Well worth it. Hope you enjoy it!

Thank you. I Will keep all of this in mind cheers. Best of luck with it

Amprodude

How many days is this?

at1withmyself

Link to Etape:

http://www.etaperasmumhan.com/

which is one of the stages that the Ras covers and is normally the hardest!:

http://www.rasmumhan.com/

This is my third year doing it and make the trip down from Galway so that should give an idea of how much I like it . Last year was the same route as this year and as above it was tough although I think 1600m is closer to the elevation gain.

The front group generally go fast but just stick near the back if you want a more relaxed pace like me and smaller groups form. The climbing kicks off early and the final 25km home can be hard but its the home straight which should be enough to carry you home.

As with any Kerry cycle the scenery is amazing so I'll be heading down on Friday to get a spin in then as a warm up.

https://app.strava.com/activities/131932329

ciaeim wrote: »

anyone doing this?

kayaksurfbum

Im looking forward to this, now that the weather is going to be good!

casion3

Was supposed to do this but injury and illness forced me out next yr I promise

outfox

at1withmyself wrote: »

although I think 1600m is closer to the elevation gain.

You're probably right. I don't know where I got 2500 m.
That's what it felt like though!

ciaeim

outfox wrote: »

You're probably right. I don't know where I got 2500 m.
That's what it felt like though!

Apparently it's 2100 according to Strava 😓

tamaskan

I did it for the first time last year and according to Strava it was 1799 metres elevation gain. It's a great sportive, best I've done by a long shot. As previous poster has said, none of the climbs are too strenuous individually, but there's not too much of a gap between them so the accumulated stress on the legs means that by the time you hit the Ballingeary climb (4.3 km @ 4.8%) it feels a lot worse than it really is.
The other thing is the wind will be northerly this year which will be a hindrance for most of the journey except for Carriganain and the Healy pass which are the first two climbs of the day.
In any case it's a great day out, enjoy the buzz.

fat bloke

I'd like to do this myself. Fabulous route. Big difference between the 2 paces though! 27 too slow but cripes I'm not sure how I'd come with 34 over that distance this early in the year!

Are there big bunches?

kayaksurfbum

On the entry it says pace cars will at 34kph and 24kph. Thats a bit to fast and to slow in my opinion.

Suppose ill stay with the 34 group until the first hill then find a group to join! Im sure i wont be alone.

tamaskan

fat bloke wrote: »

I'd like to do this myself. Fabulous route. Big difference between the 2 paces though! 27 too slow but cripes I'm not sure how I'd come with 34 over that distance this early in the year!

Are there big bunches?

Don't worry about it, there are groups all over the place. If you find yourself alone, you'll find a group at one of the two rest stops after 50 or 100 km.
From what I remember of last year, the group didn't break up until the first climb 15 km in. Up to that point the pace of the peloton was 33km/h. Then it scattered all over the place.

outfox

I don't know why they use 24 and 34 km/h cars. Last year (my first time), I did the 34. I was nowhere near it (in the end I averaged about 27). But it doesn't seem to matter. Sometimes the pace car would disappear, other times it was in front of us and in our way. I couldn't figure out what was going on. Maybe the car in front of me was the 24, and I'm deluding myself.
I think going with the faster bunch is probably better, because if you slip off the back at least you'll get picked up.
Now that I think about it, I don't ever recall seeing a second pace car last year, or hearing anything about it at the start - I think we all set off in one group.

tamaskan

outfox wrote: »

I don't know why they use 24 and 34 km/h cars. Last year (my first time), I did the 34. I was nowhere near it (in the end I averaged about 27). But it doesn't seem to matter. Sometimes the pace car would disappear, other times it was in front of us and in our way. I couldn't figure out what was going on. Maybe the car in front of me was the 24, and I'm deluding myself.
I think going with the faster bunch is probably better, because if you slip off the back at least you'll get picked up.
Now that I think about it, I don't ever recall seeing a second pace car last year, or hearing anything about it at the start - I think we all set off in one group.

Spot on. It's not the most organised event from that point of view.

longshank

outfox wrote: »

I don't know why they use 24 and 34 km/h cars. Last year (my first time), I did the 34. I was nowhere near it (in the end I averaged about 27). But it doesn't seem to matter. Sometimes the pace car would disappear, other times it was in front of us and in our way. I couldn't figure out what was going on. Maybe the car in front of me was the 24, and I'm deluding myself.
I think going with the faster bunch is probably better, because if you slip off the back at least you'll get picked up.
Now that I think about it, I don't ever recall seeing a second pace car last year, or hearing anything about it at the start - I think we all set off in one group.

The car was a bit pointless, it disappeared up the road on the climbs and got in the way on the descents. I cant really think of what purpose it was meant to serve.

ford2600

I checked the strava ride of one of the Dungarvan A3s who rode it; 32.5.

A lot of racing lads ride the sportive. You'd want to be in good shape to stay with them

ciaeim

Really looking forward to this now even though I am very nervous about it. Should be enjoyable if the weather gods smile on us😄

jinkypolly

Results are up.
http://www.sportsplits.com/Home/QuickResults?clientId=74&raceId=10323&raceName=Etape%20Ras%20Mumhsn%202015

Solobally8

Was there a prize for the male and female winners?

zurbfoundation

results?

fat bloke

Ah the old "winner" of the sportive chestnut.

I think it's determined by average speed divided by the number of sandwiches you ate

Solobally8

Why do they time it and give results?

at1withmyself

Tough day yesterday, the starting pace was very fast and stupidly I tried to keep up but at the first ascent I dropped right off and from there just stead at my own pace. The weather was fantastic and the food stops were well stocked. There was a slight easterly wind which I thought made the middle section tough but thankfully it was assisting in the final 25 km back to Kenmare. Was on my own since the start of the first climb but worked a bit with a lad from Clonmel on the final section and a nice little sprint finish at the end for what was probably last place but still a bit of fun!

Overall a good day but as always a very tough day in the saddle! Would highly recommend this event, also managed to get Priests Leap and Caha Pass in on the Friday so nice bit of biking done for the weekend.

tamaskan

jinkypolly wrote: »

Results are up.
http://www.sportsplits.com/Home/QuickResults?clientId=74&raceId=10323&raceName=Etape%20Ras%20Mumhsn%202015

Anyone else not see their name on the results. I came in soon after the last time on the list but I'm not there. Very disappointing considering the whole point of it is being a timed event. I imagine there are quite a few people not included.

Amprodude

I thought it was poorly organised myself. Not enough Marshalls present, and it was pure guesswork in places of what turns to take. It isn't a cheap event therefore it should be organised properly.

tamaskan

Amprodude wrote: »

I thought it was poorly organised myself. Not enough Marshalls present, and it was pure guesswork in places of what turns to take. It isn't a cheap event therefore it should be organised properly.

Did u at least get your result Amprodude?
I've just noticed that they don't even give the speed/pace of those whose results are up. What exactly have ' Sportstiming' been paid to do? The organisers must be pretty annoyed by the timing officials if they can't even work out the pace of those that did finish and whose results are up. Maybe not, it seems to be nothing but silence on the matter on their Facebook page.

jinkypolly

tamaskan wrote: »

Anyone else not see their name on the results. I came in soon after the last time on the list but I'm not there. Very disappointing considering the whole point of it is being a timed event. I imagine there are quite a few people not included.

Did you pass over the small timing pad area just over to the left of the road?

tamaskan

jinkypolly wrote: »

Did you pass over the small timing pad area just over to the left of the road?

I did. But I also know there were a good few people behind me as well who didn't show up on the results.

outfox

I think it may have something to do with the Ras itself. If the Ras gets in ahead of you, they seem to shut off the timing pad for some reason, so later riders don't get their time. I could be wrong. But something similar happened last year. Did the Ras pass you on the road?

tamaskan

outfox wrote: »

I think it may have something to do with the Ras itself. If the Ras gets in ahead of you, they seem to shut off the timing pad for some reason, so later riders don't get their time. I could be wrong. But something similar happened last year. Did the Ras pass you on the road?

I actually did the same time as last year, fifty seconds slower to be precise and my result showed up last year. My time was 5 hrs 48 minutes, so I doubt the Ras was close enough to affect it.

outfox

In that case, I have no idea. Just put it down to another example of how completely disorganised the etape is, I guess. You'd wonder where the money goes, though.

Beasty

Think there were a couple of regulars on here who did this thinking it was a race. One of them described it as "without doubt the most stupid hard thing I've done on a bicycle". Heard one even had a "proper" crash, destroying a wheel but still managing a soft landing. Never realised it was just a glorified sportive:pac:

Shep_Dog

Solobally8 wrote: »

Why do they time it and give results?

To make money for the timing company?

It's not a race and people have their own timing gadgets. 'chip timing' is a pointless gimmick.

tamaskan

Beasty wrote: »

Think there were a couple of regulars on here who did this thinking it was a race. One of them described it as "without doubt the most stupid hard thing I've done on a bicycle". Heard one even had a "proper" crash, destroying a wheel but still managing a soft landing. Never realised it was just a glorified sportive:pac:

Officially it's not a race, unofficially it very much is a race. A good percentage of participants will finish what is a mountain stage with an average speed of over 35kph, so they very much are racing. Quite a few could enter the Ras Mumhan proper and do alright for themselves. Though to be fair, anyone who didn't realise that officially it's not a race must live behind a rock. I'd still imagine it's the closest you can get to racing (against licences racers) without having a licence in this country. I'd say that's a good thing for those of us who ain't got the time and live too far from the scene to be racing.

buffalo

Beasty wrote: »

Think there were a couple of regulars on here who did this thinking it was a race. One of them described it as "without doubt the most stupid hard thing I've done on a bicycle". Heard one even had a "proper" crash, destroying a wheel but still managing a soft landing. Never realised it was just a glorified sportive:pac:

Both these wheels were rendered non-functional by the Healy Pass:

outfox

I still don't know why you were using a car tyre on the Ras. No wonder you crashed.

Beasty

buffalo wrote: »

Both these wheels were rendered non-functional by the Healy Pass:

You must be able to salvage a couple of spokes from that buffalo (and don't forget the wheel magnet)

zurbfoundation

I presume CI know its timed?

Its a massed start event over a set distance that is timed and a ranked list of finishing times is published - so it has lots of hallmarks of a race - much of the cost of a race license goes on insurance, so i guess if people are out on the roads in an organised event that is a race in all but name, with no race license, it raises a few questions.

on_the_nickel

zurbfoundation wrote: »

I presume CI know its timed?

Its a massed start event over a set distance that is timed and a ranked list of finishing times is published - so it has lots of hallmarks of a race - much of the cost of a race license goes on insurance, so i guess if people are out on the roads in an organised event that is a race in all but name, with no race license, it raises a few questions.

By that logic, participants in an triathlon/duathlon/adventure race with a bike leg would also need a CI license?

buffalo

on_the_nickel wrote: »

By that logic, participants in an triathlon/duathlon/adventure race with a bike leg would also need a CI license?

Do they not have a TI licence?

on_the_nickel

buffalo wrote: »

Do they not have a TI licence?

Triathlon, I'm sure they do. Adventure races, and maybe some duathlons, I would say a lot don't (have either CI or TI license).

Chips Lovell

I don't think any duathlons or adventure races are organised under the auspices of Cycling Ireland.

ford2600

What would happen from an insurance perspective in event of a bad accident?

Organiser is calling it a sportive but is adding a timing element and posting "results". It seems a bit of a grey area to me.

on_the_nickel

Jep Gambardella wrote: »

I don't think any duathlons or adventure races are organised under the auspices of Cycling Ireland.

Was the Etape (genuine question)?

Chips Lovell

ford2600 wrote: »

What would happen from an insurance perspective in event of a bad accident?

Organiser is calling it a sportive but is adding a timing element and posting "results". It seems a bit of a grey area to me.

I'd find it hard to see it being an issue to be honest. You'd want to be some gob****e to actually believe it was a race and all the organiser would need to do is highlight that participants had been told it was a leisure event run on open roads. I don't see the need for timing chips myself, but I don't think they'd cause legal issues.

on_the_nickel wrote: »

Was the Etape (genuine question)?

Yes.