My bike free summer - Part 2

The summer time is nearly over (sometimes it seems like it hasn't even started yet in Ireland though...) but couple of weeks are still ahead of us to enjoy it. It has been a lovely summer for me so far and not only on the bike of course. I've been at lot of places and did good few nice things on the bike-free days of the summer. 

Excellent view of the Dublin Bay from the Bull Island

Thinking about the Life's Big Questions... :)

Ready to have the best burger in town at Jo'Burger in Rathmines

In the Dunmore Cave near Kilkenny

Nice evening walk up on Threerock with my wife Anett

Single Speed World Championship - race report

I have completed one of the most unique race ever since I am racing when I crossed the finished line of the 2011 Single Speed World Championship in Ballyhoura. But let's begin from the start! The centre of the race was in a little town called Kilfinane where all the registration and the campsite was organized for the riders. I travelled from Dublin and arrived just in time after the 220 km drive.

The parking was quiet tricky since the town was flooded by cyclist from all over the world. Finally I managed to get a spot and after a quick registration I was ready to have lunch and get prepared for the race that started in the early afternoon. 

The content of my goodie bag

The bike is ready to go

Waiting for the breifing

After all the preparation finally we were ready to go: more than 570 riders from 26 different countries! Fantastic number, isn't it? The peloton was in the middle of the town centre and we were leaving the town with Garda escort.

Flags everywhere: Kilfinane was very welcoming

The buzz was amazing: seemed like everybody from the local community was on the street just to have a look at the massive group of mountain bikers passing by. They waved at us and we got lovely and friendly cheering everywhere. It was great! :)

I was at the front while we left the town, had a lovely chat with last year winner from New Zealand along the way.

After the short journey between the town and the Trail Centre the peloton has arrived to the famous venue: Ballyhoura. The start was at the carpark where the atmosphere was superb already. We had to cycle up towards on the fire road and put the bikes up side down. Then walk back to the start line and get ready for the ~200 m run to get to our bikes. 

START! It was an absolute mayhem to reach the bikes: but to make things even more exciting the organizers moved the bikes so most of them weren't at the same place where the owners left them. Luckily my bike wasn't touched so I run straight up to the top of the fire road, picked up the bike and off I went. The race has started.

Course map of the SSWC in Ballyhoura

to see the full details on the course, click here.

We had to complete 2 laps with the total distance of 35 km. We didn't get rain during the race but from the day before the trails were quiet muddy and slippery. Most of the climbs were on fire road so the gradient wasn't too killer.

Pushing hard on the fire road (photo by Ballyhoura)

All the trails were lovely and quick with lots of switch backs and tight turns. Loads of rocks and some roots at some place made the race hard but extremely enjoyable for me. The northshore section was excellent, however it was super muddy so many riders had difficulties to cross them safely. Some of the downhill bits were extremely slippery and very fast paced. I loved it! :) 

In action on the fast descent (photo by Ballyhoura)

Rolling along on the track (photo by Ballyhoura)

On the twisty trails

For my biggest surprise the crowd was huge (compare to regular mountain bike races) all around the race course. Even in the most remote locations I heard people cheering the riders, taking photos and all that stuff. It was great to see so many people came out to see the race. Lovely! :)

After I crossed the finish line

After 2 hours and 9 minutes I crossed the finish line! Durig the race we climbed 1218 m in total wich is tough enough on a single speed bike I think. It was such good feeling to complete the race. I felt very good on the bike all the way and I was very happy to be able to compete against people from al around the globe. 

I was tired but very happy after the race

" And the most fashionable overshocks award goes to: Andras Gercsenyi ! " - this was my only fancy dress accessory :)

So, this is it! The SSWC 2011 is over but it was a fantastic race indeed. The course was excellent, I really enjoyed to race there. The event was very well organized and the buzz was huge. I never seen such a big crown on any mountain bike event so far and the atmosphere was on top level! :) I met so many very nice people (guys & girls from Scotland, USA, New Zealand, England, Canada, Israel) and had a great time on the bike together. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming! Some of the familiar faces were representing the Irish mtb field as well, it was great to recogize some of the Team WORC, Biking.ie and IMBRC lads. Well done everyone! :)

The only small thing that caused me slight dissapointment is the fact the organizers did not record any race number at the finish, therefore ther isn't any final result for anybody who did not finish in the top 3. Yes, many people don't take the event very seriously, but I think some others do. I have prepared to compete and lined up on the start line with 100% commitment... It would have been nice to see some sort of order and result list to know how I did finish after the race. They told me this is normally the way but I just wasn't aware of that, so this left a little bad taste in my mouth...  

But on the other hand I'm very happy I was part of something very special indeed and since the locations are all over the world (last year was in New Zealand, next year is in South Africa), I really appreciate the fact I was able to race this year since the race was just on my doorstep. This was possibly "a once in a lifetime opportunity" to enter a race like this and it was great to use this opportunity.

SSWC rocks!!! :)

National Hillclimb Championship - race report

I just completed my first ever hillclimb race this evening. The event was the prestigous National Hillclimb Championship on Kilmashogue Lane. Steep and savage climb indeed and for surprise a big enough field (60 riders) lined up on the event.

My hillclimb bike: Trek Madone 4.5 with Mavic Ksyrium SL wheels and some minor weight reduction

When I seen the start list for the first time I got surprised and qiuet excited 'cause my name was the very first on the start list. I was the first rider to take off and give my best on the climb. 

The start list with my name on the top as a first to take off

We got to the St. Columba's College in time and after the quick registration I was getting ready for the race. My start was at 7:01 pm so after I got changed I went to get warmed up properly. It was necessery before I hit the steepest bits along the way. Lucky enough the heavy rain stopped and the road even started to dry up so the weather was in our favour tonight. :)

At the start: ready to go!

Go! Go! Go!

Off I went, started the race

I started with pretty high pace but I had to realize quickly: if I try to force this for long I could get into trouble shortly. So I settled into slightly more manageable speed and kept going towards the top. I was going very close to my limit but luckily I could stay "fresh" until I got to the steepest sector just before the finish. At that point I did not see anything else but my hands on the handlebar and maybe about 2-3 m of the road ahead of me. I heard the spectators were shouting and cheering me up which was a huge boost to keep up the effort! I heard my name so many times, I couldn't believe it! It was fantastic feeling! :)

Giving my 100% to get a good time (photo by Dave Harnett)

Head down, just keep going! (photo by Dave Harnett)

On the steepest bit the spectators gave me a huge boost (photo by Csaba Horváth)

I got to the top and crossed the finish line. Checked my computer and the time was 9 minutes and 15 seconds on the screen. I was very happy with the time since my goal was to get it under 10 minutes.  I am also very happy to achieve the 3rd best time on the last steep bit registered on Strava.

Tired but happy chat with the lads (photo by Csaba Horváth)

I have finished 30th in Senior category 2 minutes 13 seconds down compare to the winner. I am happy with it now because I did give all I have today and I know my form wouldn't get much better than this at the moment. My effort was enough to get the 30th place but the new Personal Best time makes things a bit sweeter for me.

Just chillin' out after the race :)   (photo by Csaba Horváth)

I'd like to say thank you to everyone from the ThinkBike.ie CC,  and to all the friends for the fantastic cheering, without them it would have been more difficult. Also a big thank you to Marcin who gave me his wheels for today to shave some weight off my bike.

My overall impression is fantastic on this event. I really enjoyed to race there today and I was happy to compete against some of Ireland's top road racers and hillclimb specialists. The winner time is absolutelly incredible, 7:03! That is different dimension indeed, and doesn't look like I will be able rise to this kind of challenge any time soon! :)

National Hillclimb Championship - closer look on the course

I went up to Kilmashogue this morning to check out the championship course once again. I know the road very well but I preferred to have a last go on it before I race there tomorrow evening. The first thing I really liked that the organizers put in a nice effort already to make the course safer and better: all the gravel is cleaned off in the road where the very steep and tricky turns are. 

But lets have a closer look on the course:

The bottom of the climb with the well known name

The bottom section starts with a quiet friendly gradient

Then it gets a bit steeper as we pass by the houses on the left

The first turn along the way: the first really steep bit

The right turn just before the carpark, still nice & steep

After the carpark the gradient drops a little bit...

...and even flatens out for a short section giving the chance to "rest" a bit

Then it gets steeper again slowly...

The real-deal just about to happen at this point

And here we are: the most difficult sector of the climb, no doubt about that!

At this point the gradient gets steeper then 20%!!! Legs are about to fall off! :)

After the destroyer straight bit the road evens out again a little bit

Getting close to the Finish Line

And there it is: the end of the race! After all the steep sectors this bit feels flat and gives a relief indeed

So, this is the National Hillclimb Championship course in details, I can't wait to line up to the start line tomorrow evening! It will be excellent race for sure! :) To add even more to the excitement I will be the first racer who takes off at 7:01pm. Brilliant!

for the full start list please click here.

National Hillclimb Championship - upcoming race

The season is nearly getting to the end but there is still plenty of great competions out there. One of them is the National Hillclimb Championship hosted by the Irish Road Club on the well known (and in some cases feared) Kilmashogue Lane. The decision was made in a hurry but I was planning to compete on this race since I got my road bike. I just wasn't 100% sure about it until the last minute. But I decided: since the Kilmashogue climb is one of my favourite interval training climb I will give my best shot and see how I can manage this time. :)

The championship course is pretty short, it is only 2,5 km long but the steepness is serious indeed. The elevation gain is 220 m and the gradient gets as steep as 20-22% at some places. Luckily the road surface is excellent! The race starts from The St.Columba's College just near the M50 bridge and the finish point is on the very top of the tarmac road where tha farms are

for full information on the race click here.

This weekend will certenly very busy for me: I will race the National Hillclimb Championship (road) on Friday and race the Single Speed World Championship (MTB) on Saturday. These two races are pretty important to me so obviously I would love to do well on both of them. :)

Logging in Ballinastoe...

There is no other way to say: logging is part of the industry. But still: every time I see this kind of forest work and it's results it makes me feel a bit sad 'cause the effect it has is pretty dramatic. To ride on some of the nicest looking forest trails one day and the next time I ride there the whole forest is gone. The next "victim" is the well known Ballinastoe Mountain Bike Trail.   

The logging has been going on in the area for a while but it seem like the progress is just getting bigger and more sections of the trail are getting effected by the work. 

The fire road was destroyed by trucks back in February

Used to be a lovely forest on both side of the fire road...

This time one of my favourite section was erased of the earth. The part where the marked mountain bike trail goes very close to the Lough Tay and a short part is actually part of the Wicklow Way. It used to be lovely: where the trail joins into the fire road the forest was beautiful on both side. Deep green, overgrown, proper forest. But now it just looks pretty much dead.  All the lumber is piled up on the side of the road waiting to be transported.

Perhaps the worst part is to know it will look exactly the same as it is now for a very long time and we'll not see forest like we seen before perhaps ever again...