Saturday, June 22, 2013

The Junedoggle // Strava challenge update

When I signed up to this month's Strava Challenge, I've set one single rule for myself: just doing my own thing and see how that turns out by the end of the months. So, there's no extra spins, no longer spins either just in order to climb higher on the virtual leader board. 

Here, I have an update about how things are at this point: I've done 531 km (+ 40 km manual entry 'cause the Garmin was acting up...) and earned the 250 km and the 500 km milestone badge in the challenge. 



There's still some time left before the end of this challenge, so I'm keep doing what I was doing! Riding twice a week and enjoy the hell out of my bike rides!!  :)

Friday, June 21, 2013

Dusty dry mountain bike spin // WW action in the sun!


In the spirit of my previous post I've decided to have a long mountain bike spin this afternoon and get the XC bike back to life on the bone dry trails of the Wicklow Mountains! Got my beautiful lunch with the usual espresso and after that I was ready to hit the road.

The day was just simply perfect: very warm with plenty of sunshine and what's even better the conditions of the trails. They are dusty dry and soo much fun to ride! A day like this makes me realize how much I appreciate conditions like this, when I'm freezing my t*ts off, getting soaked, dipping into mud up to my knees, being blown off my bike by the strong and cold wind for about 350 days of the year! So, today was a happy time!!! :)

Near Djouce

Fun rocky bit

Green, green, green

My treat on the way home: 330 ml of ice cold, bubbly Heaven in Enniskerry village 

So, what can I say? This XC spin was my best mountain bike spin in this year without a doubt! Got as far as Djouce on the WW and then cycled home on the road. Sun, bone dry trails & my favourite tunes along the way. Just the perfect recipe for a savage 3 and a half hour mountain bike spin!

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Back on the XC bike // Aiming for my next goal in 2013!



Lately I've spent more time on the road bike just to get prepared for one of my cycling goal for 2013. That goal was to get a PB on this year's Wicklow 200. That goal is in the bag, so it's time to aim for my next one. This "project" is something that I have my eyes on for a good while. I had an attempt two years ago that failed unfortunately...but I wanna have another go and I hope everything works out well this time!

So, there's no time to waste! I'm back on the mountain bike with full steam and getting ready for my 2nd  WW attempt later in this summer. 130 km, 3900 m elevation, 1 day. The Big Spin!!! 

What's on the table for me? The longest mountain bike ride I ever done. The most time spent on the bike in one day. The most climbing in one day. Only if I can ride the whole WW in one day. These are the things that motivate me and if I could achieve them, that would make me very-very happy I have to say. Especially because there's not very many people who has done it, as far as I know. I hope I could be one of them soon!   

This is the plan, so let get the ball rollin'!  :)

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Wicklow 200 (2013) - report // My best W200 yet!


Wow, what a brilliant day it was, don't even know where to start the story of my Wicklow 200. This was my 4th W200 and it was surely the best one yet! Well, first of all, we had a brilliant weather all week before the event and Sunday was the hottest day I've seen in Ireland for a very long time! Good start, isn't it?

My alarm went off at 4:40 am on Sunday morning and after a massive brekkie we were all ready to go. The ThinkBike van was fully packed the night before, so all we needed to do was to wait for our mate Dani and off we went. Even the drive to Greystones was great, the three of us were in a good mood already! :) 

The Dudes are ready to rock: Dani AKA Lizzard, Jani & myself :)
 
The plan was to stick together as long as we can and help each other out as much as we can along the way. We left the carpark at 7:15 am and started to eat up the kilometers on the N11. By the time we got the the first little climb the sun really started to give us some heat. Was such a nice morning to be on the bike! 

We arrived to Laragh in no time and we went off to do the Wicklow Gap climb straight away without stopping in the village. Lizzard and me went ahead and put the hammer down a little bit just to test the legs (and each other just as always). I felt really fresh and comfy on the first big climb of the day and had a blast on the way down to Hollywood. We re-grouped at the petrol station there and after a super short break we kept going. 


This is how we roll: Lizzard & me on the Wicklow Gap climb

Still smiling after the fast descent


It turned out I needed this little break to catch my breath 'cause before I knew it we got into a hardcore group on the N81. The three of us and three lads from Swords CC teamed up and started to work hard to speed up the day. Everyone took their share at the front. We were doing about 40-45 km/hour for a good while...that felt brilliant...after I realized this is a bit too much at this early stage of the day. So I dropped out of this fast front group 'cause I knew I was going to pay the price for this "being-a-superstar" type game later. 

Once we turned off the N81 and started to head into the Wicklow Mountains again we started to gather our strenght to get ready for the second climb of the day, the Slieve Maan. The climb started at 120 km and I think needless to say what it's like to hit that road after you have 120 km in your legs. Bit of a shock to the system indeed. 

This was the point where we just had to make the decision and let each other do our own thing. Lizzard took off, then me and Jani has settled into his own zone as well. I felt pretty good but soon I started to feel that havin' a cyclocross bike with a single chainring on the front was a bot of a disadvantage. Didn't feel like I have the power to keep the cadence high enough while I'm in the saddle, but getting out of the saddle wasn't something that I was happy with either. Luckily I pulled myself together quickly and finished the climb the way I wanted. 

In action on the Slieve Maan

Didn't stop at the top, went into the descent straight away and enjoyed the speed. Man, that donwhill is so much fun when it's dry! 

The fun filled, fast rolling downhill was just enough to get recharged before I started the Shay Elliott Climb as our last big challenge along the way. I have done this climb many-many times before, but I never felt so good and fresh on it like I felt at that time. I was a bit surprised to be honest, I was expecting a lot of suffering after what I felt on the previous climb. But the suffering got cancelled, what's left was a fast paced, great climbing experience. Just the was I like it! :) 

After we have completed all the big climbs there was nothing else to do, but to start heading back towards home. At this point I was on my own for a good while, so I've decided to listen to some good 'aul fashioned rock music and let the rest of the day pass by a bit faster this way. Climb...descent...flat...climb...descent...flat...and then I got that funny feel off the bike that you never really want to get. Yep, there it was: a sneaky front puncture...

After a quick repair in the sun I was back on track and on my way to the finish. I passed by places that I remembered from two years ago and also remembered who much trouble I was in at that time. And how  much I didn't like it back than... But this year was different. This year was soooo much better! Stonesplitting sun, blue skies and amazing time on the bike. I was tired but still in a great mind setting as I was doing the last 10 km. I knew I'm about to have the best time I've ever done on the W200 and that really put a smile on my face! 


Only 10 km to go!

Smilingface.com

5 km to go. 4...3...2...1...and FINISH! The 2013 Wicklow 200 was over. I was tired but for the very first time I felt like I wanted to keep going a bit more. Just didn't want it to end! I was absolutelly delighted how my day turned out, there are very few moments like this I think! :)

At the finish

At the carpark after the long & hot day in the mountains

There it is: the longest and the fastest 200 km I ever done! Happy days!


My Wicklow 200 in numbers: 


Total distance: 202 km
Clear riding time: 7 hours 42 minutes
Total elevation gain: 2584 m
Calories burned: 5610 calories
Max. speed: 61,9 km/h
Avarage speed: 26,2 km/h
Food and drink taken: High5 Gels x 5 , PowerBar HydroGel x 1 , banana x 1 , High5 Performance Bar x 3 , PowerBar IsoActive drink x 2 litres , water x 1 litre


So, another Wicklow 200 is done, looking forward to do the next one! The experience was outstanding but for different reasons compare to the one back in 2011. This year's event was super hot with real summer conditions that I'm well used to from Hungary. It was a gift!


The weather was a gift, the massive sunburn not so much. Still sore as hell... :)

One of my cycling goals are donefor 2013. My time was better than what I was hoping for, so that is another massive bonus for sure. And to achieve all this on cross bike with a single chainring setup on the front was the icing on the cake! :D

Congratulations to everyone who has done it, especially my friends: Jani and Lizzard! Thanks for all the help and for the huge laughs as well! Well done lads! :)


...check the link here for thousands of great photos:

Friday, June 7, 2013

Wicklow 200 // I'm all set, roll on Sunday!



Yes! There's only one day to go and then I'm riding the Wicklow 200 for the fourth time! I've been looking forward to this for a while now and as the days went by one by one, I got properly hyped up. :)

I've done some road training for it, the bike got a proper full service (thanks to Tomek for the superb help) and to top all that we are about to face the hottest weekend for a long time! So, instead of my rain jacket I might need to pack some sun lotion! Haha, still can't believe it though!! :)

The TCX is ready: first time doing the W200 on a cross bike & with a single chainring setup. Bring on the challenge! :)

The plan is the next: heading out with two of my mates and will stick together as long as we can. After that everyone is doing their own thing. Do I have a goal? Of course, just like I always do! The target is the 8 hours mark and I'm sure I will do my very best to achieve that!

Wicklow Mountains, stonesplitting sun, hard climbs, fast descents, 200km, shorts & short sleeves, sunburn, blue skies, tons of fun. These are the things that I'm expecting and I'm sure I going to have a blast! Bring it on!

Monday, June 3, 2013

Col de Kippure // The big climb



This year's Wicklow 200 is only a week away, so I've been spending lot more time on the road bike cyclo-cross bike lately. I don't own a road bike at the moment, so I have the team Giant TCX converted into a road bike for the summer. Except the tyres the whole setup remained the same as I race the cross season on the bike and that means I'm running a single 38T ring on the front. 

It's fine, it's does the job for me. However I wanted to have a long(ish) road spin with some proper long climb on the way to see how I can deal with this setup up in the mountains. 

The best way to test things out was to pick the highest peak near Dublin and have a go! The route was the well known one to all the riders who are looking for a 25 km long climb: 

Milltown - Rathfarnham - Stocking Lane - Military Road - Kippure


From the Yellow House Pub in Rathfarnham it's pretty much all the way uphill to the top of Kippure (750 m). Lovely and long climb with some real special and remote final section. I don't know what it is about it but every time I'm on this climb I really feel like I'm in my own little bubble: very cloudy, poor visibility, steep enough road. Just me on the bike and the climb...simply brilliant!! 

Milltown - Kippure mast: 1 hour and 19 minutes // 25.21 km // 750 m altitude

So, yesterday's spin was the last one with climbs like this before Sunday. Felt great, bike setup works very well with the single ring. Was an absolutely excellent spin I have to say, it got me hyped up for the weekend. :)