Training Trip around Ireland

I went off last Saturday from Youghal at 0600am following the race around Ireland route which I downloaded on my garmin edge 705.My friend and crew member Darcy dropped me down and would meet me at the Giants Causeway in two days time to support me on the remaining cycle around Ireland.I followed the route on the gps track which was very easy to follow.Last year I had done this carrying the printed directions of the route which meant I had to stop regularly to check the turns etc. which was a nightmare.Last year doing this without support I returned home wrecked and demoralised. I remember standing on the bottom of a hill somewhere in Co. Sligo at 1130 pm at night in the rain and cold and looking at the map and checking the route.I had been cycling all day and I had missed a turn.I really felt miserable and said to myself "This is crazy" which is bad when I am saying it.I looked across the road and saw the glowing lights of a b and b in the distance and so succumbed and called a halt to it and booked into the b and b.I cycled onto Sligo the next morning and got the bus home,returning to the same location weeks later to continue the trip in a similar fashion.In the end I never competed in last years race due to problems in getting a crew together but learned a lot from taking part as crew member myself and it was great to help Caroline Van de Bulk achieve her fourth place finish.When things don't work out or quite go according to plan in life it's always good and enjoyable for me to help someone else achieve their goals.
This year I headed off on my training trip around Ireland much more confident.I covered 190 mile the first day to Aughrim Co. Wicklow passing through a nice climb at Mahon Falls in the Comeragh Mts and a lovely fast ride on fairly flat roads with the wind at my back all the way to the beautiful coastal town of Kilmore Quay in Wexford. After some lunch on a beautiful day I moved onto Drinagh Wexford,up to Mount Leinster and onto Aughrim.I arrived in Aughrim fairly late and didnt get a good meal before going to bed and no breakfast the next morning.I needed to get an early start to make Belfast by evening as I was staying with friends there and was keen to arrive asap.I took four hours sleep before mounting my bike again at 0430. I cycled through the Wicklow mountains on a wet and cold morning, onto Glenmacnass and Sally Gap down to Blessington,into Navan and up to Kilcock where I stopped for a big breakfast as I was starting to get tired since I had not eaten enough in the last 12 hours.After breakfeast though I felt great. After cycling over the Cooley mountains and down into Newry I cycled around the west side of Belfast and descended into the city on a beautiful Sunday evening.I was following my gps to my friend's house which was exhilarating, whizzing around the streets of Belfast.I was on a buzz noticing everything I saw in the city as I had spent the last two days cycling through the countryside.I could sense the history of Belfast through its buildings, neighborhoods,flags flying and people.After cycling in and out of numerous streets in the direction of the gps track I picked it up and the route guided me along a multitude of streets to the door of my friend's house.I had covered 190 mile to Belfast and felt good.It was great to meet up with friend's on route.They made me a lovely hearty dinner and I had a good breakfast the next morning before heading off again north.I plotted a route out of Belfast on ridewithgps and downloaded it to my gps which took me out the Crumlin road and back over the climb out of Belfast on a beautiful morning.I stopped on the climb to admire the view of Belfast.After about 13 mile I picked up the gps track of the race around Ireland route and headed towards the Giant's Causeway.Darcy had left Cork early in the morning and was waiting not far from the Giant's Causeway with some sandwiches in the early afternoon.He arrived at a great time as I was hungry and it was of course great for morale.For the rest of the trip Darcy would book the b and b in advance, have hot food cooked for me on the side of the road and basically look after me for the rest of the week.I cycled on to Derry over the Foyle bridge and down the long and undulating Windy Hill Road towards Limavaady and onto Malin Head.I covered 165 mile on the Monday and we stayed in a b and b near Malin Head in Caradonagh. I started cycling Tuesday morning at 8-8.30 after a good breakfast which was typical for the next few days. It always takes me a few hours to get going in the morning when I am generally at my weakest and get stronger as the day goes on.I felf tired Tuesday morning and it took me a good few hours to get going.I cycled up Mamore Gap slowly which at its steepest is 25% and onto Letterkenny.On the road out of Leterkenny I was tired and was in a dozy patch for a while until a guy cycled passed me.I immediately cycled up to him snatching the chance of some social interaction.I went from doing 13-18 mile an hour as chatting to Steve immediately got me out of my slump.We chatted away as Steve continued to cycle faster bringing us up to 20 mile an hour going uphill and into the wind.I did'nt really fancy doing a dual with this guy and told him I was tired.I was happy enough to just go along at a nice pace and chat away.He said he was heading to Donegal but at the roundabout turnoff he said he would go onto Sligo with me.Its a long drag uphill off the roundabout and he continued to up the pace.After the last few days I had no idea how hard I could go but I was able to stay with Steve no problem.He was a stone and a half lighter than me and was churning the big gears.He was a nice guy and obviously keen to see how strong I was which was fine with me although I wished it was'nt this day he chose to take me on.I like these cycling battles though that emerge between friends and fellow cyclist's you just meet,it's nice to test yourself and I love pushing myself against someone else as long as its friendly and healthy.There's nothing like friendly competitive rivalry to help you get stronger.My motto is that I always try to do my utmost to help and support anyone improve but will also always do my damnest to be ahead of that person too.If someone beats me up a hill or in a race I am delighted for the person as he or she must have trained very hard and that deserves respect.
I felt really strong and so went up a few gears and pushed it on up the hill.Steve started to lag behind and so I went down another gear and sprinted on.It felt great and my legs really felt good especially after the miles I had cycled in the last few days.It could easily have been me that was left behind and I often am left behind by stronger cyclists-There is always someone stronger.I eased up at the top and when Steve came alongside fraughting at the mouth he asked me my name and told me he was heading back.I cycled on rejuvenated and now wide awake from my meeting with Steve and the burst of speed.I have learned that when Im tired it is often a good idea to actually go into the big chain ring and cycle hard for a few minutes as this can be a good way of jolting you into moving again.I was now cycling a lot easier with Steve gone but still maintaining 18 mile an hour-much faster than when I was in my slump.There will be lots of ups and downs and slumps in the RAI and I and the team will need to find ways of maintaining as fast a relative speed as is possible.
I cycled onto Sligo and Ballina across a long boggy road in the mountains which was amazing.It was raining hard which was good in the sense that it kept me alert and I felt good.Darcy had booked a b and b in Castlebar and it was getting late so he picked me up in the van about 20 mile from Castlebar.I covered 165 mile on the Tuesday and felt good overall.We met some lovely people on the trip who were amazed and inqusitive about the race and what we were doing.Des and Oonagh Corcoran were really nice in Carragh House b and b in Castlebar.Their children are keen cyclists and they did'nt charge us for the night instead donating the money to our charity The Jack and Jill Foundation.
Wednesday morning I cycled onto Clifden and Oranmore,Galway covering 125 mile in the day.Again I was slow starting but as the day went on I got stronger and finished feelin good.We stopped in Clifden on a magnificent afternoon and sat in the sun at a cafe for a while before moving on.I had the wind on my back across the mountains in Connemara and all the way to Oranmore.We headed down the Clare coast Thursday morning which was beautiful although the wind was against me most of the way.This was a tough 80 mile section and with the undulating roads,winds and and nightime temperatures this section will prove a challenge for the riders in the race depending on conditions at the time of riding.It was a lovely route of 80 miles which finished in Kilkee.I was certainly getting tired and my mileage was dropping everyday,Darcy was tired too and his back was sore from sitting in the car for so long.I wanted to extend my limits but not push them to too much as I would take too long to recover and impede my training.So we called it a day at Kilkee,Darcy also had to get home and drive to Dublin the same night.I had covered 850 mile in 5 and a half days from Youghal to Kilkee which you can see here,here and here,The only mountains I did'nt cover were the Kerry mountains so I covered most of the climbing in the course.Im satisfied that I did 850 miles while resting every night.I will have to do 500 miles more in September and on less sleep.So I will have more time but will be more wrecked.I don't know can I do it but I feel this week was a good realization of where I am and what I need to do.I will be happy to finish the race in the 5 and a half days. It would be nice to do well and Im competitive but I really feel this is a race where we are all up against ourselves and no matter how strong or determined any rider is we will all have our own personal battles and struggles during the race.
Recovery has been very good and after a day off my legs were back to full strength.I tested my power output over 4 mins which was 390 watts average which is 10 watts higher than my last test so Im real happy with that and the recovery.I really enjoyed the trip around MOST of Ireland,Darcy learned loads and came up with some great ideas for the team set up,vehicles,food schedule,etc.
I will be doing real hard and fast training and really hard hill circuits over the next few weeks and I still have to get down my weight from 82 kilos.I will do it.I would like to do a 24 hour from Navan starting at 8p.m-the same time the race starts to see how far I can cycle on the course route.Crew member in Kildare Cathal Nolan has offered to do it with me this weekend and I will proably be able to get Darcy or Brian to come up also from Cork.
Must stay focused,not long left.
If you think what we are dong is worth a donation and would like to support what we are doing for the Jack and Jill Foundation you can support us on my charity page here.
Thanks to Darcy,Susan and Davy in Belfast,Des and Oonagh in Castlebar,Steve for getting me out of a slump and everyone we met on route.