Orwell Randonnee 2018

Eamonnator

Just home.
That was a tough, but great day.
I found it tougher than last year.
Really well organised, as usual.
Every junction manned and womanned.
I gave a shout out to a Boardsie on a Canyon, as he passed me on a drag.
I'm getting too old for this craic.

andy69

Really enjoyed that - fantastic day out.
Well done to all in Orwell, that was a lesson on how to run an event!! Marshals were brilliant all the way round on junctions, and on the bad bends etc. Great job!

Foodstop as always was first class, and the volunteers there were so helpful and friendly.

Funny enough I found this tougher than previous ones also - might have been the heat we're so starved of here so far in 2018!

Views all round the route were superb, but have to say the back of the lakes there was amazing with the colour of the water....was half temped to detour and jump in!!

Got round in nearly the same time as last year and the year before, so happy enough with that and met some great people on the route too.

ED E

How the hell did I miss the boards jersey.....


Do the Randonnee for the pain, do it again for the burgers :pac:

mr spuckler

yep, as those above have said it was a really fantastic event. the weather obviously helped but the organisation really was top drawer, food & water stops were well timed, well stocked and full of tasty goods! and the route is brilliant, the lake shore surprised me even though I'd been warned, it seemed to go on much longer than I expected! thankfully I hitched onto the back of a group for the last few kms.
Sally gap part deux was a challenge.

bravo to all.

Paul_Mc1988

mr spuckler wrote:

yep, as those above have said it was a really fantastic event. the weather obviously helped but the organisation really was top drawer, food water stops were well timed, well stocked and full of tasty goods! and the route is brilliant, the lake shore surprised me even though I'd been warned, it seemed to go on much longer than I expected! thankfully I hitched onto the back of a group for the last few kms. Sally gap part deux was a challenge. bravo to all.

That last water stop was a life saver, two bags of Haribo and a powerade was possibly the only thing that made me finish it. Also that cake at at the foodstop, i didnt even feel guilty about getting seconds

Eamonnator

I had forgotten to mention the Haribos at the last water stop, and to top it all a can of COLD Coke.
A real touch of class, that.

Milk_Tray

Best day out on the bike to date! Tough event and could only manage the 'lite' but was happy with a 24.5kph average. Never seen an event run so well! Hats off to orwell! I'll 100% be back next year for the full.

Out of all the hills, the wicklow gap was by far the hardest for me. That thing never ended, I was in a bad place going up that! Was glad to have read previous posts around the no restbite going around the lake , that was harder than it looked!! Some seriously tasty bikes were out too - I'm already planning to upgrade Lol

GabbaTheHutt

Photos from the Randonnee are being added to the Orwell Wheelers website. Well done to all who took up the challenge today.

Have fun finding yourselves:)

https://www.orwellwheelers.org/forum/leisure-public/6765-orwell-randonnee-2018-photos

goldenboots

Another superb edition of the Randonee in very strange weather. All from Maynooth CC that did it were hugely impressed. As usual, everything about this event was top class: base, route, marshalling, signage, food & water stops, burger and carrot cake. The bit of tailwind on the final ascent of Sally Gap was most welcome compared to the gale force headwind last year. Will be back in 2019.

Mercian Pro

Two happy Boardsies fantasising about the carrot cake in Laragh.

As others have said, it was an incredibly well run event and, for once, the weather cooperated. By the time we got to Kilbride after a mechanical issue early on, they had just about run out of everything except bananas. To make up for this, we were invited to drop into the shop in the village and to say we were from Orwell and all would be paid for. Tempting and all as this was, we had our reputations and clubs to think of and pedalled on

Daroxtar

Well that was a hell of a day on the bike. Had the absolute pleasure of having Mercian Pro for company on the spin. It was an honour, although it was a tough task sticking with him!!

Got off to a fairly bad start with a complete jamming of my chain which was never coming out until Mister Orange arrived in the van and removed the cranks. Got going again and gave it a bit of a go to make up some ground. Probably not the wisest as my training this year was way down on last year. I suffered a serious amount out there, especially after a heap of carrot cake and biscuits in Laragh, but made it round.

The weather was incredible. The marshaling was impeccable and the cake and burger were delicious.
Well done to everyone in Orwell.

Luxman

Super day on the bike, a masterclass in event organisation. My first Orwell but won't be my last, Suffered like a dog around the lake but I learnt that Zinc water can assist with cramps and I credit that magic stuff with getting me to the top of the gap the second time round without completing seizing up. Only downside for me was a blowout about 2k from the finish. Hit a hole at 40k and bang went the rear. Thanks Orwell for a most memorable day in the garden of Ireland

irishrover99

Really glad you's got some good weather today.
I was looking up at the mountains most of the day wishing I was out on the bike.
To think that I had to be wrapped in emergency rescue foil at the end of the same event 3 years ago just to stop the shivering.
Some mistook me for a hamburger 😄.

Macy0161

My first Orwell, but hopefully not my last either. Great day, although I still hate lake drive (either direction)...

Say a boards jersey in the brockagh, but turned around after filling my bottle and they were gone.

Had to skip the burger as was under time pressure by that stage, but also still on the list for next year.

Mick Byrne 200 up next - a bit of trepidation even though yesterday went well. I was in a group from the club, whereas more likely solo for that one.

lissard

Great day yesterday it made such a change to have sunny weather. Every year I keep thinking it's going to get easier but that first 40k is a real leg breaker. Between the climbing and the headwind heading to Laragh it felt like you had to work all the time for the first half of the ride. After the break it was a bit easier. Btw I think Orwell should change their top tube sticker to show some sort of demon at the start of Lake drive. That road is hell when your legs are gone. Thanks again to Orwell for a fantastically run event.

Wishbone Ash

Macy0161 wrote: »

...Mick Byrne 200 up next - a bit of trepidation even though yesterday went well. I was in a group from the club, whereas more likely solo for that one.

Pace is a bit more relaxed in the Mick Byrne in my experience as people tend to have set aside most of the day for it (i.e. on the 200 anyway - not sure about the 160).

NeedMoreGears

Great day with fantastic organization. Thanks to all at Orwell. The magic zinc water saved the day for me. I was solo much of the time so was wrecked by the time I got to that water stop. Got a second wind and didn’t suffer too much on the rest of the way home. Met Colm18 and DevonP. Only downer was I managed to lose my edge 500 after the finish. It was dodgy anyway but I’d have liked to get the ride data.

Luxman

NeedMoreGears wrote: »

Great day with fantastic organization. Thanks to all at Orwell. The magic zinc water saved the day for me. I was solo much of the time so was wrecked by the time I got to that water stop. Got a second wind and didn’t suffer too much on the rest of the way home. Met Colm18 and DevonP. Only downer was I managed to lose my edge 500 after the finish. It was dodgy anyway but I’d have liked to get the ride data.

Post on the Orwell forum. Maybe someone handed it in

Budawanny

Sounds like a good spin. Would like to do it next year.

terrydel

Beautiful day for it, as said above the first 40-45km is very tough indeed, huge amount of climbing. And then the run into Laragh was into a very strong headwind!
Managed a time of 5h36m and happy enough with that. Died a bit on the last 2km of the final climb up to the Gap from Manor Kilbride but other than that I climbed pretty well.
Even tho I've lived around Tallaght/Clondalkin Wicklow for years, I'd never took the descent down towards the Wall where the Lite and 145 split, and had never done the wall before. It was steep but not as bad as I expected. The turn onto Luggala caught me by surprise and a wave of depression hit at seeing that! Its probably the climb I struggle with most in that area, so seeing it by surprise didn't help!
Nice to meet devonp from here.

trek climber

Tough event but great day for it. Went round in 6 hours 41 minutes, the 1,000 metres of climbing in the 1st 40k was a bit of a shock to the system but settled into after that. Hats off to Orwell Wheelers who really know how to run an event - it was top class, as I didn't know some of the roads I found the marshaling to be really good. The carrot cake in Laragh was delicious but regretted eating it halfway up the Gap !!, the burger at the finish was also delicious.

Macy0161

terrydel wrote: »

It was steep but not as bad as I expected.

Steep but no Cun(t)ard! Although the steepest bit is the bit below/ left at the crossroads where we turned right on to it.

GabbaTheHutt

Another album of Randonnee photos has been added to the Orwell Forum, that's all of them now -
https://www.orwellwheelers.org/forum/leisure-public/6765-orwell-randonnee-2018-photos-and-videos#26414

Wishbone Ash

terrydel wrote: »

..... and had never done the wall before. It was steep but not as bad as I expected....

You do realise that the Orwell only does the last third of The Wall? The other two thirds are below where you turned right (as Macy has indicated).

terrydel

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

You do realise that the Orwell only does the last third of The Wall? The other two thirds are below where you turned right (as Macy has indicated).

It still wasnt as steep as I expected.

Wishbone Ash

terrydel wrote: »

It still wasnt as steep as I expected.

The first part at the bottom of the full wall is very steep.

terrydel

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

The first part at the bottom of the full wall is very steep.

I'll pop down there soon and face that demon :pac:

magicbastarder

any links to a strava segment for it? this is the climb not too far from powerscourt?

wanderer 22

magicbastarder wrote: »

any links to a strava segment for it? this is the climb not too far from powerscourt?

https://www.strava.com/activities/1138802592/segments/28056137252

mr spuckler

magicbastarder wrote: »

any links to a strava segment for it? this is the climb not too far from powerscourt?

I think these are right?

bottom part
top part
full

you can do a segment explore in Strava and just zoom into the area to find local segments.