ThinkBike.ie Club Spin - up on Threerock one more time

This morning I went up up to Threerock to have my regular Saturday morning training spin. I joined the lads from the club once again to have a good laugh & fun like we always have. We met at the Taylor's Pub at the M50 bridge and climbed up to mountain to start our muddy mountain bike spin.

The group was big enough this week

After the serious rain on Monday all the trails were pretty rough due to the massive erosion caused by the huge amount of water. It was excellent to ride them though but I can say they weren't easy and certenly weren't the same like they were before. About the 3/4 of the place has changed so we had to adopt to the new conditions up there. It was cool though! :)

At the top, waiting to get re-grouped with the lads

Now, since I have started my winter training on Monday I preferred to have a bit more intense pace compare to what we normally have. This plan has worked out just perfectly because my good friend and team mate Richie Felle, who is in training and active racing in this seasons cyclo cross league was setting up some nice and intense speed for the whole spin. Richie, Ian and myself got ahead of the group most of the time and after we have done our more intense segments we re-grouped with the guys and kept going together. We had a constant spin today with little stopping and we have also covered some of the most technical trails up on the mountain. It was brilliant! :)

Elevation graph

Today we have been out for 2 hours and 30 minutes and covered the distance of 38 km with 1070 m of total elevation gain. It was a good old intense mountain bike spin and I have to say I loved every minute of it! It was excellent alltogether! :)

But now it is time to get the night-lights fitted and get the bike ready for my second spin of the day: tonight I'm going up to the mountains once again to have the first night-ride mountain bike spin of this winter. Gonna be cool for sure, I can't wait!  

Winter training has began, started in lashing rain

Now, that's what I call rain. Today the weather seemed like it'll never get better, seriously. I was "lucky" enough to enjoy every bit of the proper Irish rainy day during my training session up on the Leadmines and Threerock.

To top that I started my spin with a puncture repair... I took the bike out of the back of my car and there it was: I didn't even get to seat on the bike I did realize that the rear wheel has a puncture. Quick repair and I was on my way to have one hell of a wet day on the bike. :)

The gateway to my new "playground"

I cycled through Dundrum and Stepaside towards my first destination of the spin which was one of my new favourite place, Leadmines. I started to go there a bit more often than I did before and I have to say: it is a cool place to be on the mountain bike. The pretty heavy rain had it's effect on the trails, everything was super slippery and muddy. All the exposed roots were a beast to ride, especially on the Epic MTB club course. It was fantastic! :)

The "blessing" from the sky just kept coming in massive dosis

After my spin on Leadmines I got back to the road that leads back to the city and started to head up towards my old time favourite place, Threerock. 

The tarmac road climb was unbelievable: there was literally a river coming down from the hill! The amount of water on the surface of the road and on the side was crazy. So I did fight my way up on the river in still lashing rain and started my usual off-road session on the super muddy trails. 'Cause the weather wasn't cold and I was fully soaked technically from about 5 minutes into the spin I did not bother too much about the rain, just had fun on the bike. The Boneshaker downhill bit was one of the best descent of the day with some super deep "V" shaped erosion marks on the trails and with huge amount of water. It was like rafting on the bike! Cool! :)

Elevation graph of the spin

Today I have covered 38 km of distance under 2 hours and 10 minutes with 775 m of total elevation gain. The spin wasn't too long but considering the savage weather conditions with lashing rain I think it was long enough to get back to my regular training routine.

I had it planned for the 1st of November to get back into my normal training routine and start my winter preparation for the next season but I felt very good on the bike today and the pace of the spin was nice and intense it did not caunt as an easy off-season ride for sure. So I guess the winter training has launched a bit earlier for me, so bring it on! :)

What a spin! - ThinkBike.ie club spin up on Djouce

It seems like all these club spins are great and they are getting more popular each time. I decided to get out with the group this morning mainly 'cause I had so much fun in the last two weeks and also because this week's destination was the good old favourite: Djouce.

Big group with lots of familiar faces & good few new comers. We also had a special guest today: Conor's dog :)

When we left the carpark at about 8:45 am the weather wasn't looking too good indeed. We started our spin in cold and damp conditions and I got ready for the worst by looking at the sky earlier on. But once we got into the forest the weather has changed too: mostly dry singletracks we seen and the rain has stopped also. It was a true gift! :)

The Powerscourt Waterfall from the other side of the valley

Djouce is an truly amazing place for mountain biking. Mainly because the trails are savage, steep and pretty technical. The view is also great from the side of the mountain! I love the place and all those trails brought back some sweet racing memories when I competed on one of the best NPS course in the country couple of years ago. 

We have covered some of the best trails and singletracks on the mountain with crazy hair-pin bends and some super steep downhill sections. I had so much fun riding them but I am sure I wasn't the only one on the group. :)

Back at the carpark: after a quick change I got nice & comfy in the heated ThinkBike.ie Team Skoda Fabia :)

Today's spin was a bit shorter 'cause most of us were a bit under pressure to get back home. But hey! We have covered so many fantastic trails and had an excellent autumn of-road spin I can't complain at all.

This club spin was the best one yet! :)

2011 Trek Madone 4.5 review - thoughts after 6 months testing

It's been 6 months now since I got the 2011 Trek Madone 4.5 carbon road bike as a sponsorship bike from ThinkBike. I was able to use the bike for training and racing during the season and now it is time to give couple of thoughts and feedback on this excellent machine.

My first impression of the bike was very good: the lovely looking design and colour scheme is great. The visual look is the first thing on the bike that the rider gets ideas on and I have to say: it's a personal taste though but I think the bike looks cool! The black, white and blue combo on the matte finish is 100% hit.

Then I got even more impressed after the first test ride on the bike. I've had alloy & carbon road bikes in the past but the Madone 4.5 is highly the best road bike I ever used. The weight of the bike is ok in it's category and the parts are working the way they ment to be. The geometry and the riding position is comfortable but still "agressive" enough for racing and suits well for performance driven cyclists.

But let's have a closer look on the details. The first and perhaps the most important design feature of the frame is the head tube. The top bearings are 1 1/8" diameter (which is standard) but the bottom size is 1,5" (it is oversized diameter). This gives the bike very precise handling and extra stiffness on the front.

It was easy to spot the difference even in the first spin but the real difference pops out on some seriously fast descents in the Wickow mountains.

The other major feature of the frame is the oversized bottom bracket shell that makes the centre of the bike very stiff and rigid. Of course this feature is kind of standard on carbon frames but it is an important detail. 

I am not a big rider indeed but even I could feel the difference, especially on some steep climbs and during sprinting.

The gear system is the super reliable 10 speed Shimano 105 that is always a good choice on any road bike on this price level. The carbon fibre STI levers with hidden cables are super comfy and the shifting performance is brilliant also.

Good choice: Shimano 105 carbon STI levers

With the reliable Shimano 105 rear mech

The bike comes with Bontrager wheels and finishing kit that gives a bike a nice and complete look. The wheels are strong and durable and the finishing kit really maching with the rest of the bike.

I have changed couple of parts on the bike 'cause they were my personal preferences. I use Fizik Arione saddle, BBB Wing alloy handlebar and SpeedPlay Zero pedals. Also took the Bontrager tyres off and got Continental ones fitted. But the rest of the bike is the same as it comes, I did use the stock item that the bike is being sold with.

The only little issue that I experienced is the next: the bottle cage fitting is a little bit too low on the seat tube and as a result of that the bottle rubs against the downtube. I always use one bottlecage but I got a second one for the Wicklow 200 , and after 8 hours of riding the bottom of the bottle scratched off the paint on the downtube and left an unpleasant looking mark on it...

Pros and cons on the Trek Madone 4.5 :

+ light and stiff frame with excellent geometry and great looking design

+ precise and reliable Shimano 105 components

+ durable Bontrager wheels and finishing kit

+ great value for the price

- issue with the bottle cage position on the seat tube (on the 52 cm size)

- very slippery Bontrager tyres

Custom setup for the National Hillclimb Champs

Somewhere in the Wicklow

Super cool looking setup with  Bontrager Aeolus carbon wheels

My overall feedback on this bike is very good. I did enjoy to use the Madone 4.5 in the last 6 months and I hope I will have the chance to use it for a little while before I have to give it back to ThinkBike. It is not my own bike but if I would like to purchase my own road racer any time soon this bike would be on the top of my list for sure. I would highly recommend this bike to anyone who would looking to get a lovely road bike on a good price. Go for it, you wont regret it! :)

Short & easy road spin to Enniskerry

In the spirit of being relaxed and easy on the bike today I went for another lovely and easy road spin. I was thinking up 'til about lunch time should I go for road spin or take the mountain bike out and have some fun trail biking. But I had so much fun on the road bike yesterday, so I voted to have a road spin today as well.

The plan was to have a short spin but with a little bit more climb that I have done in the park during yesterday's spin. So I started to head out towards Enniskerry but I crossed the hills instead of taking the more flat route through Stepaside. First I climbed up to the Lamb Doyle's Pub and from there I climbed up towards the Johnnie Fox's Pub. This route is always lovely with very little traffic and some sweet little climbs along the way.

The famous place: the highest pub & restaurant in Ireland.

It is pretty quick to get to Enniskerry on this route but before I got there I had some fun on the super fast descent just before the village. Sweet! :)

In the town centre with the lovely coffe-house called Poppies in the background. On the weekends the place is normally full with cyclists! :)

From Enniskerry I decided to take the route that leads me through Stepaside and Dundrum. The traffic was a bit mad, I had couple of close calls on my way home. Luckily nothing happened but a van and a bin-truck took the overtaking extremely tight which did not make me happy... 

The other thing that made my cycle more challenging was the wind: it was a lovely and bright day but the wind was so strong I nearly got blown away couple of times. Especially on the way home! It was epic! :)

The map of today's spin

I cycled only 35 km today under 1 hour and 25 minutes with the total of 480 m elevation gain. This was a super short road spin indeed but the plan is still the same: nice & easy! :)

Short & easy road spin in the park

I am in the middle of my off-season break but I still need to keep the legs turning from time to time. I am doing little on the bike in the last couple of weeks. Mostly I join the guys from the club on the Saturday mornings on their mountain bike spins. But today I felt different: wanted to ride the road bike on my own. I haven't been on the road bike since the  National Hillclimb Champs, and I have to say I missed to have a good road spin. 

Today the weather was pretty savage with very strong wind and some rain also. Now, I was lucky enough to get out and get the cycle done before the rain but I am telling you I did get some serious wind out there today. I had couple of things to do at home so I didn't want to go too far and since I haven't been there for a while I decided to go to the usual and ultimate easy road spin destination: the Phoenix Park. 

The park was the same as usual, nothing special I can mention about it except the spectacular view at some places. The autumn is here and the forest looks brilliant at this time of the year. I love it!

Get out there, do 2 laps and come back home! :)

I cycled only 2 laps around the park but it was more than perfectly enough what was planned for the day. It was a very short spin with only 38 km of distance in 1 hour and 30 minutes with almost no elevation gain. I really enjoyed to be on the road bike again and I know it'll be fun to have all the long winter spins on the road soon. :)

What a spin! - ThinkBike.ie club spin up on Threerock

Today I've had a brilliant club spin again with the lads from the ThinkBike.ie CC. This time we went up to Threerock and discovered some new trails thanks to my team mate Richie Felle.

In front of the Yellow House in Rathfarnham

From home I cycled up to the well known Yellow House Pub and met with the young Dan from South Africa. We cycled up to the meeting point to the Taylor's Pub just at the bottom of Threerock at 8:30 am.

This week we had a nice and big group, 11 of us started the climb up to the top of the mountain. I really enjoyed the chat along the way, it was a funny type spin. :)

At the lower carpark

The strange thing is: I have been up on Threerock so many times I can't even imagine and I still can discover new trails and places! It is crazy! :) Richie was the leader if the group and he guided us to some super sweet trails where I never been before. I loved the way most of these trails were very muddy, we had lots of fun on the donwhills. 

We are havin' fun somewhere in the forest! :)

We found this crazy steep bomb hole on the back of the hill and we spent good bit of time to ride the thing from every possible direction. It was excellent! I loved every bit of it! :)

Short brake to re-group

After we have covered so many trails we turned back towards the lower carpark and enjoyed the last bit of downhill on the man-built trails. At the lower carpark we split up and I cycled back home through Dundrum.

We have been out for 2 hours and 15 minutes and we've covered 33 km of distance with 757 m of total elevation gain. Today's spin was a real off-season type autumn mountain bike ride with lots of chatting and laughing. :)

I had great time on the bike today, I really need cycles like this to get re-charged before all the cold and savage winter training starts.

Back in the day - looking back to some sweet memories

It is always good to look back to the nice memories especially when they seem far away. Cycling in general but mostly racing was very important part of my life and most likely it always will be. 

My old team back in Hungary: Dunaharaszti Giraffe KCSE

I was going through my old photos on my hard drive and I found some very cool, old shots in the archives. I though it would be nice to post  them 'cause they were taken many years ago back in Hungary. Everything was so different: the tracks, the bike and equipment, trails, different level of skills and experience. Everything except one thing: I wanted nothing else but race my bike. 

I have joined my old team in 2001 and raced for them until I left Hungary in 2005. I have spent nearly 5 fantastic years with them and learned a lot about bikes and cycling in general. We have travelled to races together during the summer and trained hard during the winter months. The team was full of bike-maniacs and commited racers, so it was the perfect environment for someone like me. I got sucked into the world of mountain biking. :)

"Where is the funny looking jersey design is coming from??!" - I've been asked many times here in Ireland. The owner of the team is a very tall guy and his nickname was Giraffe since he was in college. So when he registered the team he named it after his own nickname. This explains the funky looking team kit. :)

I was lucky to be part of the country most "professional" amateur cycling club: we had our own team bus with trailer for the bikes, own gym with free access, team coach & massage therapist and club sponsors who looked after all the expenses (travel, accomodation and race entries). 

I really appreciate everything, without them I wouldn't have the chance to get addicted to this wonderful sport. 

These are some of the many-many old photos that I was talking about: 

At the start line (UCI ranked XC race)

Setting the pace right from the start

Finished a popular XC marathon race called Bükk Marathon

In Italy as part of the Hungarian National XC Team's support team (Olympic qualifiction event)

At the start of the race...

...that turned into a complete nightmare. One of the most difficult race in my life.

Getting ready ( I was already in a good mood)

Climbing some crazy trail

Lovely summer day for a MTB race

Some roller action during our Team Training Camp. (still can't believe the funky shorts and the slippers...)

Bit of a media exposure :)  (finished 3rd and they were asking about the course)

So yes, it is nice to look back a little bit in time and re-live some of these memories again. Good old times will never get faded indeed! :)

What a spin! - ThinkBike.ie club spin up on Leadmines

What a spin! Excellent day out on the bike, great group and fantastic trails. An off-season spin could not have been any better. 

Ready to go at the Palmer's Pub carpark

We met at the Palmer's carpark just at the bottom of the Leadmines trails at 8:30 am this morning. I cycled out just as I always do so I got warmed up nicely by the time I got there. 7 of us left from the meeting point and started out excellent club spin on the trails of Leadmines.

The group of ThinkBike.ie mountain bikers :)

We had a great time on the bike, we really enjoyed the good weather. We decided to get up to the top and have a savage and qiuck spin on the well known and famous Epic MTB club course. It is a lovely and technical course that helps a lot to improve many abilities on the bike indeed. 

The map of the Epic MTB club course

After the had a great time on the club course of the Epic guys we aimed towards the crazy steep climb that leads up to the "viewpoint" just next to the Leadmines hills. It was insane: steep and techical climb and the wind was so strong we nearly got rolled over couple of times while we got up to the top. But the view made up for everything: fantastic!

Up on the top!!! :)

Once we got back to the bottom of the hill we have covered some of the most difficult and technical downhill segment that I found up there so far. It was very tricky and steep at some places so I can say it was very challenging for most of us.  Then we have covered most of the trails on the other side of the hill and we hit the tarmac road again that leads back to the carpark. From the carpark I cycled home through Stepaside and Dundrum. 

After the spin at home: shower, change and ready to have lunch :)

Today's spin was my first off-road spin for 2 weeks now and I loved every minute of it I can tell. I missed mountain biking for sure however I enjoy the comfort of my off-season time! :) 

We went out for 2 hours and 30 minutes and covered the distance of  37 km with the total of 810 m elevation gain. It was a perfect spin to get my legs going again and have fun on the bike on this lovely autumn day.

I hope the next week's club spin will be just as fun as today's spin was! Thanks lads, I had great time! Can't wait for next week! :)