Monday, June 14, 2004
Yesterday I rode in the Wicklow 200 – a huge organised ride that sends 1500 cyclists up into the mountains of Wicklow for pain and enjoyment.
The full length 200km option is a lot like a mountain stage in the Tour de France – half a dozen tough climbs and a lot of distance. I’d not been cycling too much in the spring, and reckoned the legs weren’t up to it, so I opted for the 100km shorter and easier version. Although it didn’t quite work out like that.
All was fine as we zoomed down the N11 at seven in the morning, with a Garda car stopping the traffic at the junctions on the way out of town. Amid the hum and whirr of hundreds of skinny road bikes it felt really good to be riding in the large good natured group.
When we turned off the main road after the Glen of the Downs the group swung right at a roundabout, and it really felt like we were a single entity, pouring round the bend.
The first hill broke the unity as the sharp climb saw us labouring in our own discomforts Even with my triple chainring, one twenty yard stretch (watched over by a masochistic photographer) was too much for me, and I reduced to pushing the damn thing.
But I soon remounted, and managed the next hill fine – gravel strewn but longer and more draggy. Up and down again until the sharp climb up to the top of Rathdrum, for food and drink.
We’d done around 60km, so from there it should have been a pretty straight road for me through Laragh, Roundwood and Enniskerry. I knew the 200 and 100 routes divided around Rathdrum somewhere, but the division point wasn’t clear, and I ended up heading out with the 200ers waiting for the split that never came.
Once I reached Glenmalure Lodge I knew that I was on the wrong road, so a call back to HQ confirmed this. Shit – back to Rathdrum, past scores of cyclists flying past me.
The road I should have been on was really pleasant, and the sun came out and I cursed leaving the sunblock behind. Eating and drinking all the way, and feeling in pretty good shape I arrived back at base to be met by Buendia and a certificate.
The short spin home and I was done. 157km in total (as near as dammit to 100 miles), just over seven hours on the bike. Sore legs and burnt arms, but a real sense of achievement.