Great Dublin Bike Ride 2018 - 23rd Sept

Kamu

First time cycling anything more than 30km in one go. My quads had nothing left as I got to Anglers Rest and had to walk the hill, thought I got up it just to see it bend and went "are you for real," had to get off the bike to walk.

A lot of tit-for-tat, passed a few cyclists, to have them pass me later, and on and on it went.

Need to learn how to properly Pace myself.

The food and coffee at St. Margerets was great, but I was so burpy from that point on, hahaha.

I merged with the 105's at that first roundabout after food. The road's were very congested from that point on!

All in all did just shy of 70km total today. Not bad.

marvin42

well organised event, just wished they would keep the route on build up areas to the absolute minimum. Maybe its time for the great North county Dublin Bike ride :-)

patrickc

My first sportive and plus 100k also.. I really enjoyed it have to say. Very congested at parts which slowed progress at times. All in all 3hrs 40 was happy with that.

The snacks were adequate I didn't wait around for the end food though.
Gardaí and marshalls did a good job for the most part.

Wishbone Ash

Very nearly hit the deck in the Clonsilla/Westmanstown section. Slow moving cars with cyclists moving up the inside until an idiot driving a taxi decided he'd had enough of cyclists passing on his left and closed the gap without warning. A couple of cyclists went down but I just managed to stay upright. Some choice words were exchanged.

(Incidentally, my boss at work had been in Beaumont A&E with her father and said the place was heaving with injured cyclists.)

Weepsie

Apparently someone went into a traffic cone (overheard some marshalls at the end). Only cones I saw where on the downhill to the Lower Road past Fort Lucan. Very easy to pick up a lot of speed there so wouldn't be surprised if something happened there

Kamu

Saw at least 3 separate instances which required some attention from the authorities,

Wish them all a speedy recovery and hopefully see them next year!

koutoubia

Weepsie wrote:

Apparently someone went into a traffic cone (overheard some marshalls at the end). Only cones I saw where on the downhill to the Lower Road past Fort Lucan. Very easy to pick up a lot of speed there so wouldn't be surprised if something happened there

Actually our spin wasn't entirely incident free.
There were cones at Ward Cross I think after a roundabout. A club mate was directly in front of me right on the inside big the cones when the inside rider swing out sending my clubmate to hit the cone and as I veered to avoid the incident the cone hit my front wheel . How the two of us remained upright is a wonder!

Weepsie

There were cones probably at every roundabout, or at least a lot of them that I just didn't really register, and also on Macken Street

py

Happy with my effort today on the 105Km today, got around in 3hrs15min which is good improvement on the past 2 years and on a longer route to boot. Wind was tough once you turned off at Sutton. Thoroughly tired now so the tipple in front of me is well deserved.

Tried to get a few groups working together but some people seemed content on wheel sucking despite several requests for them to pull through. Did briefly work together with a few lads with jerseys that had Henry J Lyons and another couple of gents with something something plonquers on the back of theirs. Gents the lot of them. Wheel suckers meant the groups didn't work and I ended up stop working and let the wheel suckers go ahead only to see them blow up on the hill in Naul so I went by and left them behind for good.

Marshalls and gardai were great. On the back end of the cycle, perhaps the last 30Km, I was a little unsure as to why the gardai were out as they weren't stopping traffic all that much. If they're not going to stop traffic then it's as well to have a marshall(s) on their own there.

Found the directional signage to be quite poor. Far too small and not distinct enough. There was one point where I'd gone for about 5-10Km after getting through Garristown and I didn't see one sign and thought I'd somehow gone off course. Whilst most folks have computers/strava running, it'd be nice to have signs with distance markers. Whilst I understand that having once off signage is expensive, getting a bunch of signs with a large white box on them where organisers could draw the distance in would be of benefit to everyone.

The change of the last 30Km of the route from the past few years was a poor choice imo. Too many interchanges to navigate and quite hairy when traffic is not stopped. Once you go out past Clonsilla, the roads all the way to the phoenix park are country roads but quite busy ones. Too dangerous for this number of cyclists to be traversing. The after navigating the strawberry beds and up past Anglers rest, I'd to deal with impatient cars in the phoenix park. That part of the park should've been closed off. Again, far too narrow a road once you're through the small roundabout. Not a safe final 30Km, needs to be reverted to previous finale.

The different locations for start and finishing was another poor choice. It's massively inconvenient for those travelling from afar. There was one portaloo at the start that I could see... for 7000 cyclists which you've asked to potentially line up from 7am for an 8am start. The roads that lead in/out of Grangegorman would not be suited for a mass start of 7000 cyclists. For the past few years they've made us cycle through the sports campus out in Blanchardstown, don't know why it doesn't start/finish there.

Minor issue, goodie bag should've been given out when collecting numbers. Am guessing they wanted to save on postage. Also no jersey numbers, again saving money.

Generally attend this event as the last sportive of the year. The prior 2 years have been solid and there was a great atmostphere at the end in Smithfield square. I'd be hard pushed to return to GDBR next year if it's the same route and will just use the Reservoir Dog (great great sportive) as the final sportive of the season.

veetwin

I would agree with py above. Thoroughly enjoyed the 105k cycle with about a dozen mates.

We all agreed that it was bad value for money. Over €50 for a sandwich and a banana that we queued for 20 mins for. No other options. The ROK is much maligned on this forum but their food stops are far superior offering a much broader range of food with less queuing.

Marshalling and Gardaí were excellent.

Phoenix park should have been closed to traffic for the couple of hours.

Don't think I'd do it again but enjoyed none the less - weather was great considering what was forecast a few days ago.

What was the point of the traffic cones on the descent after Fort Lucan? Downright dangerous IMHO.

Where do the profits of this event go? 7K participants at c€50 pp is €350,000

tonytiger81

Did the 65k and thankful the rain stayed away. Agree that the final stretch had too many stop/starts and realistically the main stretch of the park is usually closed to traffic at weekends so why not send it down that way? Our group stopped for pints at the strawberry hall. Great pints well deserved 😊

Weepsie

veetwin wrote: »

Where do the profits of this event go? 7K participants at c€50 pp is €350,000

€5 of that is insurance, there was also an early bird registration too that was slightly cheaper.

Gardai don't do it for free, the mechanics are all paid a flat fee as far as I know, food costs are no doubt deducted.

CI pay tax on income too I think.

squa

I've done a few Sportifs over the last 3 years and of them all, this one is probably closer to a leisure cycle. The big numbers meant the bunching for the first 15km and the last 30km reduced the pace drastically. So there was only about 55km in the middle where you can push yourself. But to be honest I'm ok with that because it was great to see so many cyclists out in force.

The first 20km North along the coast was absolutely glorious this morning. I think the marshals and Gardai did a fantastic job, stopping traffic as best the could, which for me was pretty much every junction/roundabout. Despite their great efforts, it didn't stop some tool hurling a few profanities when a Garda stopped everyone at a red light on a busy stretch back into town.

The only disappointment for me was that I too frequently noticed some Type A personalities act like they owned the road. Its no wonder motorists (of which I am one 80% of the time I use the road) lose their patience with cyclists. Regularly I saw groups over taking on the other side of the white line on blind corners and with on coming traffic. As one previous poster mentioned other clowns over taking cars who were patiently sitting in line waiting for a break. On one incident the car in question was actually making a right turn and still cyclists shot past on the outside. It's one of the rare times we as cyclists get the opportunity to shown that we can safely share the road with other users. Unfortunately behaviour like that doesn't help the cause.

All in all a good day out and I'd definitely consider it again next year. We'll done to everyone who finished and best wishes to anyone injured. I did the 105 in about 4 hours..... my main excuses for not posting a faster time are that I had the vomiting bug during the week and I did the last section through the Phoenix Pk with one of the Garda bike units.... plus I'm fat!

Eamonnator

Weepsie wrote: »

€5 of that is insurance, there was also an early bird registration too that was slightly cheaper.

Gardai don't do it for free, the mechanics are all paid a flat fee as far as I know, food costs are no doubt deducted.

CI pay tax on income too I think.

Cycling Clubs, who provide marshals, are paid a fee.

It all adds up.

Weepsie

Eamonnator wrote: »

Cycling Clubs, who provide marshals, are paid a fee.

It all adds up.

Indeed.

Thanks again for the ticket btw.

54and56

veetwin wrote: »

Over €50 for a sandwich and a banana that we queued for 20 mins for. No other options.

I think that's harsh.

Putting on a major event like this requires serious professional support and that, along with route planning/management, Gardai and Marshall expenses plus registration administration, your sambo, energy bar, energy/electrolyte drink, tea/coffee, portaloo's, mobile mechanics, broom wagons, goodie bag, medal and pasta/soup etc at the end all cost serious money.

It's easy to be a hurler on the ditch!!

veetwin

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

veetwin wrote: »

Over €50 for a sandwich and a banana that we queued for 20 mins for. No other options.

I think that's harsh.

Putting on a major event like this requires serious professional support and that, along with route planning/management, Gardai and Marshall expenses plus registration administration, your sambo, energy bar, energy/electrolyte drink, tea/coffee, portaloo's, mobile mechanics, broom wagons, goodie bag, medal and pasta/soup etc at the end all cost serious money.

It's easy to be a hurler on the ditch!!

In fairness I don't think I was being a hurler on the ditch. I was merely offering am opinion based on my experience as a participant in various sportives and the ROK Charity cycle.

I left all of those events feeling it was worthwhile and well organised value for money.

I don't dispute that putting on this event was costly and acknowledged the great work of marshals and Gardai.

There a great sportives put on every weekend up and down the country for half the cost of this event with better services and that was the background to my post.

If that makes me a hurler on the ditch then so be it.

squa

veetwin wrote: »

In fairness I don't think I was being a hurler on the ditch. I was merely offering am opinion based on my experience as a participant in various sportives and the ROK Charity cycle.

I left all of those events feeling it was worthwhile and well organised value for money.

I don't dispute that putting on this event was costly and acknowledged the great work of marshals and Gardai.

There a great sportives put on every weekend up and down the country for half the cost of this event with better services and that was the background to my post.

If that makes me a hurler on the ditch then so be it.

This event was very well run and obviously that costs money. Especially the amount of marshals involved.

However, I do agree that €50 is a higher price point and the food at the stop didn't reflect that. I've done €30 events down the country with much less participants and therefore less marshals required, but the spread is unreal. Some start with a breakfast and there's usually more food at the stops than my Granny's Sunday dinner!!

54and56

veetwin wrote: »

There a great sportives put on every weekend up and down the country for half the cost of this event with better services and that was the background to my post.

When you combine 7,000 participants with Dublin City you get the highest cost base in the country

Facilitating 7,000 cyclists on two different routes over 105km with a capital city start and finish can't be compared to hosting a few hundred on a sleepy Sunday in XXX (insert your preferred rural town)!!

Wishbone Ash

squa wrote: »

...I've done €30 events down the country with much less participants and therefore less marshals required, but the spread is unreal......

At smaller events, especially when it's for a specific cause, much of the food is prepared by volunteers - hence the wide variety on offer as each volunteer brings something different to the table.

You can't compare a small local event to one catering for 7,000 participants.

ED E

As a consumer their cost base isn't really relevant. What you pay and what you get are. A well managed "normal" sportif presents, in my eyes, a much much better value proposition.

A bit of the city doesn't really add anything over what Wicklow offers. A little novel maybe but not nearly as scenic.

Borderfox

I thought the last 30km was a shambles between the choice of route and merging the 105 and the 65 together. Cant say anything about the food stop as we went to the café in Naul but last year a hefty queue for two heels buttered on the wrong side wasn't welcomed.
The run at the start out of the city is great but I think the run back was a lot safer last year even if it wasn't as scenic as the Strawberry beds.
Last year for me

magicbastarder

Chap I know who's a garda (and did the GDBR) said the guys in blanchardstown told him there were lots of offs around junctions with the volume of cars mixed with cyclists, especially getting near the blanchardstown centre at lunchtime. Said they predicted it won't be allowed on that route again.

Wishbone Ash

ED E wrote: »

....A bit of the city doesn't really add anything over what Wicklow offers. A little novel maybe but not nearly as scenic.

I'd imagine the purpose of the GDBR is to raise the profile of cycling and encourage more people to get out on their bikes. There were huge numbers of 'occasional' cyclists out yesterday, many of them cycling in 'normal' clothing. If it went to Wicklow, many of them simply wouldn't do it. Scenic usually means climbs.

Starting in the city centre is novel but it's also a 'neutral' venue and has an element of 'take back the streets' about it. I've never heard anyone suggest that the Dublin Marathon should start in Tallaght or Blanchardstown.

Wishbone Ash

magicbastarder wrote: »

Chap I know who's a garda (and did the GDBR)....

Saw lots of Gardai cycling the route in full uniform and Garda bikes. Was wondering if they were obliged to do that or did they volunteer to do it? It would be nice to be cycling and getting Sunday premium pay at the same time.

py

Atom Ant wrote: »

However,I was curious with all the rain jackets going on. Was I missing something.

I put mine on when I started queueing for the start line but took it off a few minutes before the off. I used it to keep some heat in and appeared to work as it was the legs that were cold as I was standing around.

Borderfox

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

ED E wrote: »

....A bit of the city doesn't really add anything over what Wicklow offers. A little novel maybe but not nearly as scenic.

I'd imagine the purpose of the GDBR is to raise the profile of cycling and encourage more people to get out on their bikes. There were huge numbers of 'occasional' cyclists out yesterday, many of them cycling in 'normal' clothing. If it went to Wicklow, many of them simply wouldn't do it. Scenic usually means climbs.

Starting in the city centre is novel but it's also a 'neutral' venue and has an element of 'take back the streets' about it. I've never heard anyone suggest that the Dublin Marathon should start in Tallaght or Blanchardstown.

Dublin Marathon is on closed roads
A lot of the Gardaí around the Blanchardstown/Clonsilla/Clonee are at the roundabouts were standing back doing nothing

merc230ce

I thought the marshalling was bizarre in general and downright dangerous at times. The Guards were obviously under instruction to stand back and not direct traffic, but the fact that they were there at all just caused confusion. Most people assumed 'Well if the Guard is there looking at me and not telling me to stop, it must be ok for me to go', which is perfectly logical in my mind. Only I spoke to one of them and in their heads it was 'If you are not getting a hand signal from me you must obey the rules of the road.' So there were cyclists flying out onto roundabouts in front of cars which had right of way, or crashing into the back of other cyclists who had stopped to give way. I thought it was chaotic. If the Guards hadn't been there it would have been safer because everyone would have just cycled normally instead of assuming they had the right of way.

I also think that a field of 7000 requires closed roads. The worst section was just after the 65 and the 105 routes merged and the traffic was quite heavy too (was that around Clonsilla somewhere?) There were some poor motorists stranded in a river of cyclists, completely surrounded, and the thought that kept occurring to me was 'Is that driver going to be more considerate or less considerate of cyclists in the future?' I know what my guess is!

jamesd

First time doing this cycle, drove up from Galway in the morning.
Enjoyed the route out of the City and also the middle part of the cycle but the last few km into the city again was chaos and dangerous as everyone is saying.

Food stop was too early, be nicer if it was 50km / 60km in but look maybe it was the most suitable place for a stop, would have liked a few scones / sweets at the stop but the sandwiches were lovely and fresh.

Not a cycle I would do again because of the chaos into the city at the end but I am glad I did it yesterday and got my medal / cap.... (Good over all value I think)

Would agree with many of the points made.
There seemed to be a much bigger crowd this year, ( or it could be I just started a bit later?), huge queue at the lunch stop, so I didn't bother waiting.
On other years, I seemed to be cycling on my own a fair bit, then joining a group, falling off, joining another group etc, but this year there I was never on mu own.
The last 25km when the 65k group joined didn't work well at all, they seemed a lot slower, and we ended up stuck in traffic chaos.
Having said all that, I will do it again next year as I have done the first 4, and enjoyed the day,