Extreme Slieve Bloom challenge Sat Oct 7th Birr.

benneca1

fat bloke wrote: »

Well that's me told. Fcukin hell that was hard.

Andy Magic

Toughest sportive I've ever done, this was not easy at all. I crashed coming down the 1st decent, glasses steamed up from the clouds and I couldn't see a thing so ended up in the ditch and tried to get out only to land on the road sideways!

Fairly bad road rash all over. my right hand needs some stitches and my left thumb feels broke but not sure . The medical team were absolutely brilliant and also Warren (I think that's his name) from Velo.ie were extremely helpful, can't thank them enough tbh.

Anyway got the thing done, I wanted that medal (hardest one I've ever earned!)

https://www.strava.com/activities/1219578237

selwyn froggitt

My first time doing this event today,didn't get to see the Slieve Bloom mountains at their finest as it was pretty wet and misty up until about 1pm.
Great event,really bloody tough day on the bike,the roads were in great nick and plenty of them have been resurfaced.The organisation was first class,great food stop with beautiful hot soup that hit the spot.Met some really nice folk out on the road today and thanks to Wolftrap CC and all the volunteers

devonp

did this today, a bit damp and felt the cold all the way through, good job there was enough climbing to warm me up!!:)
good organisation and a good food stop in Kinnitty, soup was great, plenty of sarnies bread cake and fruit salad

felt the pace a bit on the flat sections but did ok on the climbs, some tricky decents with the pine needles, surface water and leaves but stayed upright

thanks to Wolftrap and all the organisers/marshals etc

didnt see any boards.ie jerseys(just had the cap on myself)

https://www.strava.com/activities/1219644170

delynet

devonp wrote: »

did this today, a bit damp and felt the cold all the way through, good job there was enough climbing to warm me up!!:)
good organisation and a good food stop in Kinnitty, soup was great, plenty of sarnies bread cake and fruit salad

felt the pace a bit on the flat sections but did ok on the climbs, some tricky decents with the pine needles, surface water and leaves but stayed upright

thanks to Wolftrap and all the organisers/marshals etc

didnt see any boards.ie jerseys(just had the cap on myself)

https://www.strava.com/activities/1219644170

My second time doing it and it has improved from last year. Mountains did not get any easier though.

pat.folan

2017 was my first attempt and I made it. I am a beginner cyclist only having taken up cycling in the last year. I started out on a hybrid I bought on the Bike 2 Works scheme then in May I bought a road bike.

I can't believe I completed this difficult challenge. It almost killed me. I got up the last three hills on sheer willpower. The fourth hill was a nightmare, many of my fellow back markers got off and walked. I managed to stay pedalling thanks to my training and more thanks to my compact gearset. I had 11-32 on the back. It looked like a Frisbee but I was glad of it on the day.

I was as slow as Xmas. I think only a few people finished after me but I suppose plenty didn't finish at all. If you are thinking about trying this but question your fitness/strength then my advise is eat small amounts often, drink plenty, use 50/34 gearset, for God's sake don't give up after hill four. The last three are much easier except that your legs just did one through four so you will be weak and slow but if you got to the top of four you can get over five, six and seven eventually.

Cyclists way stronger than me quit because they went out too strong. Err on the side of caution unless you love hills because it's unrelenting, hill after hill after hill. To put it in context my average speed ended up below 20kph. Properly fit cyclists I know finished with a mid twenties average. Go out there looking for a high twenties or more average and most people would be in real trouble no matter how strong they believe they are IMHO.

delynet

pat.folan wrote: »

2017 was my first attempt and I made it. I am a beginner cyclist only having taken up cycling in the last year. I started out on a hybrid I bought on the Bike 2 Works scheme then in May I bought a road bike.

I can't believe I completed this difficult challenge. It almost killed me. I got up the last three hills on sheer willpower. The fourth hill was a nightmare, many of my fellow back markers got off and walked. I managed to stay pedalling thanks to my training and more thanks to my compact gearset. I had 11-32 on the back. It looked like a Frisbee but I was glad of it on the day.

I was as slow as Xmas. I think only a few people finished after me but I suppose plenty didn't finish at all. If you are thinking about trying this but question your fitness/strength then my advise is eat small amounts often, drink plenty, use 50/34 gearset, for God's sake don't give up after hill four. The last three are much easier except that your legs just did one through four so you will be weak and slow but if you got to the top of four you can get over five, six and seven eventually.

Cyclists way stronger than me quit because they went out too strong. Err on the side of caution unless you love hills because it's unrelenting, hill after hill after hill. To put it in context my average speed ended up below 20kph. Properly fit cyclists I know finished with a mid twenties average. Go out there looking for a high twenties or more average and most people would be in real trouble no matter how strong they believe they are IMHO.

Well done you!

I agree, lots of good cyclists gave up after 4 as they attacked the climbs. Not a day for that.

Arthurdaly

Well done lads, gutted to have missed it due to injury. I done Pedal the peaks earlier in the year and enjoyed it, the extreme is a proper challenge.

Andy Magic

pat.folan wrote: »

2017 was my first attempt and I made it. I am a beginner cyclist only having taken up cycling in the last year. I started out on a hybrid I bought on the Bike 2 Works scheme then in May I bought a road bike.

I can't believe I completed this difficult challenge. It almost killed me. I got up the last three hills on sheer willpower. The fourth hill was a nightmare, many of my fellow back markers got off and walked. I managed to stay pedalling thanks to my training and more thanks to my compact gearset. I had 11-32 on the back. It looked like a Frisbee but I was glad of it on the day.

I was as slow as Xmas. I think only a few people finished after me but I suppose plenty didn't finish at all. If you are thinking about trying this but question your fitness/strength then my advise is eat small amounts often, drink plenty, use 50/34 gearset, for God's sake don't give up after hill four. The last three are much easier except that your legs just did one through four so you will be weak and slow but if you got to the top of four you can get over five, six and seven eventually.

Cyclists way stronger than me quit because they went out too strong. Err on the side of caution unless you love hills because it's unrelenting, hill after hill after hill. To put it in context my average speed ended up below 20kph. Properly fit cyclists I know finished with a mid twenties average. Go out there looking for a high twenties or more average and most people would be in real trouble no matter how strong they believe they are IMHO.

You are very knowledgeable for a beginner cyclist and that's a credit to you. I'm cycling years and I went on Saturday with a 52/36 on the front and a 27 on the back. On Glendine I wished I had either a compact or a 30 tooth cassette on the back, only thing is it made me do the hills quicker but it was tough.

Well done for finishing, what time did you get in at?

pat.folan

Andy Magic wrote: »

You are very knowledgeable for a beginner cyclist and that's a credit to you. I'm cycling years and I went on Saturday with a 52/36 on the front and a 27 on the back. On Glendine I wished I had either a compact or a 30 tooth cassette on the back, only thing is it made me do the hills quicker but it was tough.

Well done for finishing, what time did you get in at?

9 hours moving time with the guts of an hour resting time if you add up all the little stops plus the food stop. I tended to reward myself with a few minutes every time a crested a peak and I would take some water and a gel or energy bar.

I am less than a year cycling but in my defence i've clocked up over 9000k in that time and have gone from thinking a 100k sportive was challenging even in a slow group to now banging out 100k - 120ks in the fast group doing my fair share of being in the front.

I do most of my cycling on my own , though I do at least one club spin a week to get used to riding in a group and all the important skills that come from doing that.

By myself I am a high 20's to low 30's average speed cyclist over distances up to 100k and elevation gains of less than 1000M. I can hold an average in the mid to high 30's over short distances of less than 30K on a flattish course. In a group I can do a whole lot better of course.

All in all I am pleased with my progress. Not bad for a guy that turned 50 this year and took up cycling recently. Youtube and listening to experienced lads in the club has taught me a lot of the technical stuff and putting in 200k to 250k a week really pays off after even as short a time as 8 or 9 months.

All that said I knew the Wolftrap Challenge was at the bleeding edge of what I am able for. At 86KG and 6'2" I am not built for climbing. At least I had my new winter bike with its compact gearset. If I were using my regular bike with its 11 speed 11-28 , semi-compact gearset I would have had a harder time. I do okay on hills, don't get me wrong but I can't keep up with the top guys especially when they weigh 15KG less than me!

The main thing is I have a big smile on my face when i'm out on the bike. If I buy another one my wife will leave me. I think I have arrived as a cyclist.