The Northern Ireland Thread. *Warning* May include cake
Comments
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dw300 wrote:Would I be right in saying there's a Causeway Cycle Challenge, and also a Giant's Causeway Challenge? Is there also another Torr Head sportive?
28 July
7 Sept
22 SeptCAAD9
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antlaff wrote:Bann Wheelers Annual Causeway Cycle Challenge is on the 28th July. Great undulating course with great views along the coast from Ballycastle. All very welcome with all monies going to local charities
Enter online here HERE
35 Miles route
60 miles route0 -
Think i shall be giving the 60mile route a bash on Sunday. Just trying to talk a mate into giving it a go as well.0
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anyone doing the Antrim Freewheelers run on Sat coming? Much nicer route and atmosphere than the crappy Lap The Lough.0
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antlaff wrote:Great turn out for Bann Wheelers run yesterday. 320 riders and over £5000 to charity. great weather except for a wee shower!!!
I was out on my own yesterday and caught the back of sportive after Ballycastle. That was one heck of a downpour between Ballintoy and Bushmills!0 -
Who's doing the Dromara Hilly 125 this Sunday?
Also, have some of this suckers! http://app.strava.com/segments/4974329All the above is just advice .. you can do whatever the f*ck you wana do!
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The Northern Ireland Thread0 -
dw300 wrote:
Also, have some of this suckers! http://app.strava.com/segments/4974329
On dear, noticed I'm 10th on that - good effort on your part though!
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So, anyone else here doing the Causeway Coast Sportive this Saturday? Signed up for the long one and really starting to regret that choice now, hearing nothing but bad things about Torr Head... :shock:0
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Im doing the middle minus Torr head. You can detour out of cushendun and take the main road instead.
If youve not done it Id recommend it. sure its tough but you can tick the box and say youve done it. I done it last year (no walking) but cant this year as the guys Ill be with arent doing it. I may take the head staggers when Im there though lol.
Fair play for signing up for the lot, thats a tough ride.0 -
I signed up for the full route but wedding planning, honeymoon and a lower back injury have forced a switch to the 80 mile route. Provided I can find a way of getting up there on the morning.
Definitely doing the Torr Head Road option. I drove it a few weeks ago, stunning road. The overall elevation gain isn't that much really, less than the climb to the top of Divis from the Glen Road. But the gradient is crazy in a few places.
The Giro is meant to heading up the coast road on the second day, Torr Head would be a great place to watch if they include it.0 -
25% in places. as you say a handful of crazy climbs with some beautiful rolling scenery.0
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For those of you looking for something a bit easier. Doesn't seem to have been widely publicised
http://www.entrycentral.com/Tour-of-StrangfordCAAD9
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sounds like a nice ride, Id be up for that.0
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That does look enjoyable alright. Might make the trip if nothing else comes up.0
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decided to blow off the causeway ride on sat. weather looks grim. 98% rain.0
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It's only rain bud, thats NI cycling for you......
I did the 'Finn MaCool' a couple of years ago, me and another club member, 100 miles from stormont to Coleraine.
I've never cycled in worse conditions! Soaked through by the time we got to my hometown, Carrick.We rode into Waterfoot, on the flat, struggling to do 8mph into the wind and lashing rain. Going over the Glens I thought we would be blown off, and come Ballintoy I couldn't actually see more than 2 ft in front of me . I think about 25-30 didn't turn up on the morning cause it was so horrendous, and only 40 completed it.
The most miserable 7 hrs of my life,...... yet I loved it lol, and glad I did it0 -
PedroJake wrote:It's only rain bud, thats NI cycling for you......
I did the 'Finn MaCool' a couple of years ago, me and another club member, 100 miles from stormont to Coleraine.
I've never cycled in worse conditions! Soaked through by the time we got to my hometown, Carrick.We rode into Waterfoot, on the flat, struggling to do 8mph into the wind and lashing rain. Going over the Glens I thought we would be blown off, and come Ballintoy I couldn't actually see more than 2 ft in front of me . I think about 25-30 didn't turn up on the morning cause it was so horrendous, and only 40 completed it.
The most miserable 7 hrs of my life,...... yet I loved it lol, and glad I did it
lol I done that too! It was terrible weather, I remember it just the way you did too! Was never as glad to see Coleraine in my life.0 -
Well the weather looks horrendous for Saturday all right :? - the wind will be more of a problem than the rain I'd say but sure that's why we have Rule 5!!
Hardest part is going to be turning right after 35 miles in Ballycastle, knowing that it means 80 more miles of suffering when a left turn would bring a warm shower followed by a warm, dry pub and a pint!! 
Having said that, is it wrong for me to be looking at the map trying to find a flat 10 mile loop from Ballycastle to make it up to a nice round 200Km ride... :shock:0 -
Well, I completed the long "Giant Killer" but with the "easy" option around Torr Head - at the final feed stop the organisers were strongly advising against doing Torr Head due to the weather and I decided that it could wait for another day. Gives me an excuse to go back and do it again properly next year.
The weather WAS horrendous, certainly for the first hour out along the coast towards the Causeway the crosswinds were causing a lot of problems for some. But once I turned south towards Bushmills things settled down - still miserable but not really a cause for concern either.
Will have to go back and do some of the route on a better day - I expect the views would have been brilliant but the low cloud put paid to that for most of the day. :?
Despite all that, there were a lot of smiling faces at the finish - a real sense of accomplishment no matter which route you had done. Felt surpisingly good myself, probably climbing better than usual although very cautious on the descents not knowing the route but overall a good day. 8)
What did surprise me were the number of guys who seemed totally unprepared for bad weather - saw one guy at the second feed stop in full club kit but no windproof or waterproof who was standing barely able to drink his coffee as his whole body was shivering so much. :shock: Another was asking around for a spare bin bag to use as a windproof... I was clad in my usual mixture of Decathlon and Lidl clothing and whilst I was wet through I certainly wasn't cold - then again I probably have more natural padding than some... 0 -
fair play man, torr is lovely but not on a day like that.0
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Fair play for doing the full route. The weather was worst for you guys. It was still pretty bad when we started the 80 miler at 9am, but the wind was behind us initially and the rain stopped by the time we got to Glenarm.
Did Torr Road myself. The wind had died right down and seemed safe enough to me. Probably the hardest 10 miles I've done so far on the bike, but loved every minute. Might do the Torr Head Challenge in a couple of weeks.0 -
And agreed about the unprepared people. As you'll see from my avatar I was in full winter gear! Wish I had shed the ugly yellow jacket before the photo opportunity on Torr Head though!
Funniest thing I saw all day was a guy on an upright hybrid, in trainers, track suit bottoms and a big hooded anorak overtaking everyone coming out of Glenarm!0 -
Heard there where a few people blew off their bikes on the loop towards the Causeway? We where held at the start for 40mins before they would let us off. I had signed up for the long route but the organisers would not let us. Opted for the midle route but only ended up doing 40miles a member of our group had an off. It was brutal to say the least.
Heard there was a guy who got his Pinarello stolen at the finish. Pish poor0 -
Heard about the people being blown off their bikes, but not about the theft. That sucks.
I saw two Pinarello Dogma Thinks, one in Movistar colours. I presume it was stolen from the racks outside the tent. Left my bike there too for a while at the end, but mine's just a Triban. In hindsight you wouldn't leave your bike unattended any other time.
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always thought a sportive would be an easy target for thieves. just dander down in some cycling gear, pick an expensive looking bike and ride off on it. noone would bat an eyelid.0
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Yep it was in the Movistar colours. He parked it up beside my CR1 and my M8's Addict at the entrance to the tent. My m8's addict was moved around the corner and the Pinarello was taken. Looks like someone knew what they where after.
Agreed its the only time that we seem to leave our bikes thinking they are 100% safe when in reality it is the prime opportunity for a budding thief to take his/her pick.0 -
Can't be many of those around, hopefully he'll track it down.0
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The owner was from down south. Hopefully he gets it back.0
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Thieving gits! :evil:
I felt uneasy leaving my bike outside so I made sure to hang my bike up behind my bosses carbon Di2 equipped Specialized with extra shiny things bolted on - I reckoned that if any thief was about they would take his before mine! Been back out on the road again this week - very few ill effects from the weekend - I musn't have been trying hard enough... :oops: 0
