My wife is Irish and still, as you can imagine having four brothers and sisters, has lots of relatives in "the old country". The family whilst living in Dublin maintain holiday homes in a town called Blackwater just north of Wexford and it is a tradition that they all spend a week or two in July enjoying the Irish countryside and beaches with their families, three generations together.
Each year we decamp from London and venture across the Irish Sea in our trusty old 2004 Renault Megane Estate fully loaded with the three of us, our luggage, three bikes, XBox or PS4 and the kitchen sink. We have an arrangement with another unrelated family who have a holiday home in the same area to rent their holiday home for the week. Believe it or not we usually get lovely weather and last year and the year before it didn't rain at all (this year we caught the odd wet spell).
This year was no different. What was different was that my brother-in-law who has a family including four daughters and a son all under 13 years old used to be on the heavy side. three years ago he changed his lifestyle and started walking and cycling to work. Last year he bought a reasonably light hybrid and started doing more mileage so during the 2014 holiday he and I cycled around Wexford. This year he has really caught the cycling bug! He has already done the Wicklow Mountains sportive and the Ring of Kerry so he was in good form (unlike me).
Before we set out my brother-in-law made it clear he expected me to bring a racing bike to accompany him on rides in the mornings. As instructed this year I brought the Specialized Roubaix.
We managed to get in rides on five mornings. Another morning we were supposed to go out, however, that was the one day it rained and as fair weather riders this didn't suit us so we went to the Eniscorthy golf driving range and did the shopping in LIDL/ALDI instead.
Wexford town council and the Irish Tourist Board have set out three rides in the area between 36 Km and 78 Km www.discoverireland.ie/Activities-Adventure/wexford-cycle-routes/78119 and these are signposted with blue signs. We only discovered these in 2014 and have not actually ridden the formal routes but have followed the same roads and crossed the routes many times noticing the blue signs. They are good if you don't know the area.
Each morning I would turn up at 08:30 am at my brother-in-laws house and we would discuss possible routes. It usually consisted of "We went south yesterday, what about north today?" or w"we followed the Slaney River from Eniscorthy along the roads to the west yesterday, what about we follow the river on the roads to the east today?". Anyway, this format seemed to work as each day we discovered some great new roads and we did about 500 metres of climbing each day.
I must say I did my usual trick of wheelsucking seeing as I was not as fit as my brother-in-law but he didn't mind as the was training for a long sportive (Stephen Roach?) in August.
At the end of the week we had done over 150 miles, not got rained on, and really seen the countryside. We saw lots of other cyclists enjoying the roads. Would I recommend riding there - Yes.
Friday, 7 August 2015
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
April 3th 2013 Back on the LOOK 585 Ultra
Yesterday I managed to get out for a midweek ride in the
sunshine , what little we have this year in the UK. I even ventured out in shorts and without a
waterproof but I was wearing a thermal shirt and London Dynamo windproof
cycling jacket.
I think what caused me to be so tired was the constant
jarring coming through the saddle and handlebars. Today my shoulders and neck are very sore.
As Mike and I are going to do a race on May 19th in France around Magny Cours called
“La Look” which is sponsored by the bike
manufacturer Look, I intend to do the race on my Look 585 bike. Now this bike is not the standard 585, it is
an “Ultra” meaning ultra-stiff. On top
of that it has carbon handlebars, seat post and carbon cranks. I haven’t ridden the bike for 3 years as I
haven’t been fit enough to justify it (in fact not since I finished the Etap Caledonia in 2010?).
Yesterday I got the bike off the hook in the garage and prep’d
it for my ride. I got on the bike and
you notice immediately how connected the pedals are to the wheels. The bike races along, even with winter tyres. The next thing you notice is how the steering
is so jumpy and as soon as you go over a bump or pothole you nearly lose your
grip on the handlebars (the roads in the
UK at the moment are disgracefully covered in potholes making it not only
difficult for cyclists but regularly ruining your car wheels). Twice I unexpectedly hit big potholes that
nearly threw me off the bike.
I set off on one of my usual loops taking in Polesden Lacey
(a National Trust property), Box Hill and the Headley Olympic loop, coming back along
Epsom racecourse, the home of the Derby and Tattenham Corner*. A total of 38 miles and some 650 metres of
climbing.
I must admit that I got tired on the way back and this wasn’t
helped by a headwind and my chain coming off on a busy road with no verge (by the Drift Bridge). Fortunately the last 3 miles is downhill along the A217. When I came through the door at home I was
shattered and I don’t think I am that unfit.
I immediately needed food satisfied with a chicken and tomato sandwich
with Branston Pickle, tea and something sweet which had to be met with biscuits
and yoghurt in the absence of chocolate.
When I downloaded my ride to Strava and Garmin Connect I
noticed that I had done so good times so the bike is obviously fast, but at
what price?
I think I will be going back to the Roubaix and the steel bikes
for the training and just get the Look 585 out for the race.
*Tattenham Corner is a small town in Surrey, UK, located inside the M25 motorway
thus being part of the London commuter belt. It is home to the Epsom Downs Racecourse. Neighbouring towns
are Epsom
and Ewell
whilst villages close by include Walton-on-the-Hill, Tadworth,
Kingswood, Burgh Heath
and Banstead.
The built up area is dwarved by the expanse of the racecourse.
Tattenham Corner railway station
is where Queen Elizabeth II used to
be dropped off by the Royal Train on race days, and is in fact closer
to the racecourse than Epsom Downs railway station. There are
several bus services going through the area, towards Epsom, Sutton
or Redhill. In 1993 it was the site of a train crash,
where a driver several times over the then legal drink-drive limit failed to
stop the train at the buffers, crashing into the station-hut.
Monday, 29 April 2013
Guildford Peloton Mini Strava Challenge #2 Week 5 - Monday 22/4/13 - Sunday 28/4/13
David C: A clear win for Steve (again) this week but
some good rides posted generally. On GC Steve is stretching away in to the
distance but just 45 miles separate 2nd from 4th.
Keep going guys.
Michael C: Aye right !
Honest Guv – my broadband has been on the blink for the last 3 weeks so
can I add my “familiar” 100 mile / 10,000 ft Sunday run ?! Happy birthday by the way Stato – is there a
“veteran” classification on Strava?
Duncan S: I rode into Kingston and back on Saturday
morning but forgot to attach my Garmin. Eight miles and 14 metres of climb
needs to be considered by the stewards. Talking
about veterans, Mike and I were looking at a race in Chianti, the wine region,
which has a restriction of only 1000 participants under 60 but unlimited riders
over 60. It is so oversubscribed for the under 60’s that they decide who has an
entry by ballot. Some 5000 people participate each year the first weekend of
October. Cycling, sunshine and wine, is that a good combination? It is called L’Eroica (not Erotica, wash your
mouth out). Oh, and the other rule is
that the bike must be pre 1987 with gear changers on the downtube. As it
happens I have a number of qualifying bikes in my garage if anyone is
interested.
Craig S: Not a chance! Do the airlines charge extra for carrying
all that steel?
Duncan S: We haven’t thought about the logistics yet. Are you saying your wife wouldn’t enjoy a
long weekend in Sienna, Florence and Chianti with wine and sunshine or that you
don’t fancy the ride?
|
Mini Strava Challenge #2
|
|||||||||||
|
Week 5 - Monday 22/4/13 - Sunday 28/4/13
|
|||||||||||
|
Name
|
No. of Rides
|
Miles Ridden
|
Climbing (ft)
|
Ranking - Miles
|
Ranking - KoM
|
Green Jersey Points
|
Hilly Index
|
Avg Ride (miles)
|
|||
|
Steve W
|
8
|
242.0
|
13,894
|
1
|
1
|
8
|
57.4
|
30.3
|
|||
|
Jon S
|
2
|
118.3
|
6,195
|
2
|
2
|
7
|
52.4
|
59.2
|
|||
|
Justin C
|
4
|
100.6
|
5,194
|
3
|
4
|
6
|
51.6
|
25.2
|
|||
|
Mike R
|
2
|
99.1
|
5,024
|
4
|
5
|
5
|
50.7
|
49.6
|
|||
|
David C *
|
2
|
75.6
|
4,105
|
5
|
6
|
4
|
54.3
|
37.8
|
|||
|
Craig S
|
1
|
70.7
|
5,361
|
6
|
3
|
3
|
75.8
|
70.7
|
|||
|
Michael C
|
1
|
45.9
|
3,156
|
7
|
7
|
2
|
68.8
|
45.9
|
|||
|
Duncan S
|
1
|
34.3
|
1,074
|
8
|
8
|
1
|
31.3
|
34.3
|
|||
|
21
|
786.5
|
44003.0
|
55.9
|
37.5
|
|||||||
|
Mini Strava Challenge #2
|
|||||||||||
|
General Classification
|
|||||||||||
|
Name
|
No. of Rides
|
Miles Ridden
|
Climbing (ft)
|
Ranking - Miles
|
Ranking - KoM
|
Green Jersey Points
|
Hilly Index
|
Avg Ride (miles)
|
|||
|
Steve W
|
34
|
901.7
|
51,632
|
1
|
1
|
38
|
57.3
|
26.5
|
|||
|
David C
|
13
|
534.5
|
24,553
|
2
|
4
|
28
|
45.9
|
41.1
|
|||
|
Mike R
|
12
|
521.4
|
35,673
|
3
|
2
|
27
|
68.4
|
43.5
|
|||
|
Justin C
|
14
|
489.8
|
23,941
|
4
|
5
|
28
|
48.9
|
35.0
|
|||
|
Craig S
|
7
|
345.3
|
25,116
|
5
|
3
|
18
|
72.7
|
49.3
|
|||
|
Jon S
|
6
|
337.3
|
16,295
|
6
|
6
|
17
|
48.3
|
56.2
|
|||
|
Duncan S
|
7
|
225.9
|
10,441
|
7
|
7
|
13
|
46.2
|
32.3
|
|||
|
Michael C
|
4
|
149.0
|
8,320
|
8
|
8
|
5
|
55.8
|
37.3
|
|||
|
97
|
3,504.9
|
195,971
|
55.9
|
36.1
|
|||||||
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