Ballinastoe // What a spot!

2014 European XC Marathon Champs // Update # 7

I was keeping busy on the bike during the last couple of weeks, so I figured it's about time to write another update about the progress.

I have been doing big, long MTB spin lately but the main goal was to have a spin that is very similar to the race in June. So, I've decided to go for a 75 km long full off-road training spin around the trails of Ballinastoe.  Now, just to give a little extra kick to the project I created a charity page to raise funds to the Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team. This way I'm doing what was planned but also hoped to raise some money to them. 

So, picked a day, got my gear prepared and went for it. The alarm went off at 4:30 am this morning and before I knew it I was all ready to go in the car park in Ballinastoe. 

Stunning sun rise at 6 am

The plan was to stick to a steady pace and try to keep consistent laptimes. So, off I went and started to clock up the miles. The weather was ok enough, thankfully I didn't get any rain. Lap after lap and as it was planned I finished the 75 km long spin just under 5 hours and 12 minutes and climbed 1750m along the way. Completed 5 full laps and did a little extra at the end to make up the 75km. Also kept all my laptimes around the 56-59 minutes time, happy days.

5 hours and 12 minutes later at the trail head. What a spin it was!

The F29 was a freakin' rocket today, serious bike it is!

Today's spin shows that to me that the training is going 100% the way it shoud be. Feeling great on the bike and I'm full of motivation. There's only a few weeks left until the race, so no time to rest now. Keep the pace going and I'm sure I going to have a great race in June! Bring ot on!! :) 

http://www.mycharity.ie/event/ballinastoe75/ 

http://www.strava.com/activities/134715887 

Big thank you to the guys from Biking.ie for the free bike wash after the spin. Nice one lads, I appreciate the help! 

 

Ballinastoe 75 // 11 days to go

So, here's my next project. I've had this idea in my head for a good while but it's time to go ahead with it and do something different!

As part of my preparation for the upcoming European XC Marathon Champs I have decided to ride the distance of 75 km around the Ballinastoe Mountain Bike Trails (the same distance as the Master's race will be in June) and use this opportunity to raise funds for the Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team. I can't think of any better way to thank their effort for rescuing people (including mountain bikers) when they're in trouble up in the mountains. 

If you think this is a worthy way to support them, please help me to raise funds for them and visit my fundraising page on Mycharity.ie! Thank you!

http://www.mycharity.ie/event/ballinastoe75/ 

Ballinastoe // WW Spin - Spring is officially here!

Ah, spring...I was waiting for this for soooo long: get out on the bike wearing shorts and short sleeve jersey and not freeze into bits in the middle of nowhere. Now, the weather was getting better in the last few weeks all right, but for me who is coming from "The Continent" it still was a bit too nippy to wear the summer setup. :)

But let's go from the start: I got a long weekend this time, I'm off for 3 days in a row so it was pretty obvious to me I was gonna get out on the bike at some point. Since the weather was looking good for the whole weekend and also for next week as well I picked Saturday as my day to ride my XC bike.

Got up early and after a quick brekkie and a short preparation I was ready to go:

Drink & Food: check

Earphones: check

Summer clothing: check

My plan was to cycle out to Ballinastoe on the road and get home on the Wicklow Way. This plan worked out pretty much as it was planned with a little more tarmac on the way home instead of full off-road.

The map of today's spin

I left Milltown just a bit before 9 am and started to head out towards Ballinastoe through Stepaside and Enniskerry. After about 1 hour and 15 minutes I got to the trail centre of Ballinatsoe where the carpark was pretty much filled already. So I kept going quick before I run into the usual Saturday morning gridlock on the trails...

Nobody is around but not for long: tha place was packed within minutes

After a super quick ride on the trails of Ballinastoe I got to Lough Tay where I got on the board walks and started my climb up towards Djouce Mountain but of course I couldn't pass on the opportunity: I stopped for a minute 'cause I just didn't want to miss this view. Amazing!

Needless to say anything, it says it all!

I got the boardwalk sector done but while I was riding along on them I had my eyes on the peak of Djouce. It was nice and clear, no wind, no clouds. Just a perfect chance to get up to the top of it! :) 

The top of Djouce Mountain: 730 m above sea level, I think it's the highest off-road climb around.

After a quick look around I hit the fast and rocky descent and started to head back home. I passed by the Powerscourt Waterfall still riding on the Wicklow Way but once I got to the carpark I picked to ride home on the tarmac road instead of my original plan.

So I got home through Enniskerry and finished my spin with 3 hours and 30 minutes time and 65 km of distance with nearly 1300 m of elevation gain in the Garmin. The tarmac sectors on the way out and back were easy and fast but the offroad bits were pretty savage I have to say. It was pretty cool and completely different experience to ride the Wicklow Way from a different direction and to get up to the top of Djouce on that super steep (25-30% gradient) off-road climb was just a great achievement for me! I loved it and I can't wait to get it done again! :)

...check it out on Strava! 

This is the elevatin graph of today's adventure

Besides all this the other thing that was cool is the nice & warm day. Finally there is sunshine out there and I can say that the Operation Cyclist Tan has started today: the typical tanlines are one their way, nothing can stop them now! :)

Icy & muddy spin around Ballinastoe

Today I've had a real winter spin on the XC bike and I have to say it was absolutely perfect just the way it all happened. Get out to Ballinastoe and have 2 of the long loops done nice & fast, this was the plan for the day. Since the weather was savage and cold (-2°C) I decided to drive instead of ride all the way there. I got up at 7:30 am and after breakfast and coffee I was ready for the first challenge of the morning: get the car deiced! :)

Nice and hard ice on the windscreen, winter is still here

After the short drive I arrived to the place that was busy already.  I got changed quickly and I was all set. Drink in the bottle, timer reset on the Garmin and go! When I went  out for the first lap the temperature was still below 0°C, so besides the cold the other thing that provided fun time on the bike was all the ice everywhere. I got warmed up quickly though but the sketchy trails did not ease up at all for about an hour. Ice everywhere and frozen puddles of course. By the time I got out for the second lap everything started to melt a little bit so the whole thing turned into some savage icy-muddy spray in the face. Was cold but at some level of course I really enjoyed myself on the bike! It was great! :)

Here is a great shot of the Wicklow where the snow just looks amazing.

Besides the regular "skidding-on-frozen-puddles-on-icy-trails-and-get-mud-all-over-me" story the real thing was the short section of the north shore. I can tell, it has been never been this tricky! :) 

Lovely ice coating on the north shore...sketchy

So, as it was planned I got 2 of the long loops done with a nice, quick but steady pace. I managed to have 1 hour lap times during the training so that left me with 2 hours training time on the bike today...check it on Strava.

Today's spin wasn't exactly long but it was some real quality time on the bike in savage weather conditions. It was cool, there is something I like about these cold and muddy winter spins. Can't wait for the next one! :)

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... 

New PB on Ballinastoe Long Loop (on the single speed bike!)

The SSWC is only 1 week away so I decided to have a savage, timed spin out on Ballinastoe 'cause the terrain is pretty similar to Ballyhoura I think. I have cycled 1 long loop and 1 short straight after that. Now, I am getting used to the single speed bike more and more day by day but today's spin was still planned as a regular off-road spin to see my own and the bike's limits with this setup. But it has turned out different in a good meaning of the word! :)

I felt very good on the bike and I really enjoyed the whole thing. Sometimes I felt I am on the very limit of my power, but some other times I felt I'm going pretty fast. I checked the Garmin when I got back to the barrier (start/finish point) and there was the surprise: I set up new Personal Best on the long loop, and the fact I shaved off more than 4 minutes of my previous record makes the achievement even more sweet! To top that: to be able to get this done on a single speed bike? I couldn't be any happier! :)

Garmin Edge 605 data of the ride (split times)

It's done, ready to go home :)

So the new PB for me on the 14 km long loop is 52 minutes 10 seconds. I am very happy to feel good on the single speed bike and I am really looking forward to race on it next weekend. I was a bit worried about the 2:1 gear ratio (28T x 14T), but it works well after all, so there is nothing to worry about! :)

New personal best - Ballinastoe (long loop)

Yesterday I went up to Ballinastoe to have a super fast training spin as a preparation for the National Champs. The weather was really bad, the rain was quiet heavy at the time I left from home. Because of that I decided to drive to the mountain bike trail centre rather than ride all the way there. Normally I cycle out and back but this time I voted for the bit more comfy option. :)

Ready for the record attempt.

My plan was to set up a new personal best riding the long loop. I haven't ride those trails for a good while so I was very curious what I can do on the day. I got ready and off I went.

The weather hasn't improved at all for the rest of the afternoon, so I was riding in very heavy rain and lots of mud. Luckily it was a warm day anyway so at least I didn't feel cold. I completed one of the long loop and one of the short one. I checked the time on the long loop and I was happy to see: task was completed, I finished with a new personal record. 

Ballinastoe Trails (long loop)

distance: 14 km

elevation gain: 319 m

avarage speed: 14,9 km/h

max. speed: 38,1 km/h

calories burned: 479 kcal

personal best: 57 minutes 48 seconds

After the wet and muddy spin

The gear might needs a good and effective detergent :)

I wanted to record a nice XC video footage also, so the GoPro camera was fitted on the bike during the long loop. Check out the recorded footage! :)

                   

Savage Spin on Ballinastoe Trails

I just got back from a decent spin. This morning I went down to Ballinastoe and did ride the trails that I like in deed. During the winter time when the weather isn't too good I drive there but during the summer I allways prefer to ride the bike all the way to the trails, have a nice mountain bike spin there and cycle home afterwards. This way I spend long enough time on the bike and after the spin I get good mileage as well. Also to get distance like this done on the XC bike takes good effort.

The map of the spin

I did get to Ballinastoe quiet quickly and I felt good and fresh so I wanted to have a quick, timed big lap done. I did ride the loop many times before but I never have checked the time that it takes to finish it. The starting / finishing point was the rail on the bottom of the fire road. Off I went for the big loop and I really enjoyed it in deed. During the first couple of kilometers I felt a bit slower than I wanted to feel but I have picked up the pace and got faster. 

After 59 minutes and 23 seconds I got back to the rail, this was my time to get the big loop done. I think it isn't too bad but I defenitely want to shave a bit of a time off next time. :)

I have stopped only once to take this shot. Excellent view! :)

After I got back to the carpark I didn't hang around for long because the weather started to get bad, so I wanted to get back home before the rain. I cycled back on the same route through Enniskerry, Stepaside and Dundrum.

Today's spin was 66.6km long under 3 hours and 15 minutes with the total elevation gain was 1021m. I have burned 1930 kcal during the spin and on the way home I broke my personal speed record as well: 73,5 km/h max speed on the XC bike. I am pretty happy for that, I like to go faaast! :)

Today's graph

Now I finished my outstanding lunch (roast chicken breast with mashed potato and steamed vegetables) so I am ready to rest this afternoon. :)

Saturday spin out in Ballinastoe

Finally we have the warmest and brightest day today for a long time. It seems like the real spring is here. Sunny, clear sky, no wind and clouds at all and 10°C temperature. It is might be only for a day or two but as long its here, we need to appreciate it! Nothing else is better to do so than a lovely spin in Ballinastoe.

We have arrived to the place quiet early, so the carpark has offered plenty of parking spots. After a quick preparation we were on the move with my friend Csaba. 

The mountain biker dudes! :)

The trails were wet and muddy but that was actually all right. The biggest issue was the fire roads were in very poor condition with very deep tyre marks and super deep mud in some places due to forest works. Sometimes the biggest challenge was just to cross the fire road from one side to another. You should see the place! Crazy!

We have spent 2 hours and 30 minutes on the bike today and finished 1 big loop and 2 small ones on the trails of Ballinastoe. It was such a nice spin, finally we could enjoy the taste of the spring for a little while.

The fire road - or whatever left behind the trucks...

Ready, steady, go! - Lets try to cross here...

The longer north-shore section

The end of the slippery surface

Lovely little drop at the end

Coming out from the forest

The last stop before we finished our spin for today

Thank you for my friend Csaba Horváth for the nice photos, good stuff!

Biking Blitz Rd 1. (Wicklow Blitz) race report

When I looked out the window this morning I thought: "...this is gonna be a savage day..." The weather was very bad with extremely strong wind and rain. The temperature was nice and warm at least but I wasn't sure that would be enough for a good race day out in Ballinastoe.

I've arrived to the place well in time so I parked close to the start/finish area and collected my racing number. Little bit of preparation and it was time to get to the start line. 

I have entered the super pro category. We had to ride 1 big lap and 1 small lap around Ballinastoe trails. The start/finish area was right on the bottom of the fire road. It provided a great chance to settle into postition on the wide road before we hit the first technical decent.

12 o'clock sharp - START!!! 

I was lucky to start from the 2nd line so on the fire road climb I could get into my own comfortable pace and get ready for the first downhill section. We were doing a good speed and got the big lap done quiet quickly. 

The fire road was actually all right but the trails were very wet and muddy. All the rocks and roots were very slippery. Nice!

It was great to get closer and closer to the start/finish. There was this big old truck with proper music. The atmosphere was fantastic there! I could hear the music louder and louder in every second. Once I got to the finish line to start my second (small) lap I got brilliant cheer from my club mates (thanks to Adrian, Dave, Henry and John).

After I have passed them everything went quiet for a while again. Just the noise of the wheels in the mud... We have finished the second lap quickly as well and before I realized I was at the finish line. It's done! Great!

Distance: 20km

Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes

Result: 22nd out of 90 riders (full results)

Great turn out from the club, well done guys!

Thank you for Niall Davis and The Biking.ie for all the effort that takes to run an event like this. Very well organized!

                                         The riders before the start

                                    

Savage day out in Ballinastoe

I haven't been in Ballinastoe for long time so it was due to visit the place.  Especially the upcoming 1st round of The Biking Blitz off-road event.

We have planned an early start for the day so we left the carpark at 9am to go for the planned 2,5 - 3 hours spin.

The weather was warm enough (10 °C) but the wind was extremely strong and we also got light, sometimes heavy rain. But I was on the bike and that what's count. I really enjoyed spin, the rain made the technical sections even more fun.

In the end we have cycled 2 hours and 30 minutes in serious weather conditions. I'm telling you guys: we appriciated the dry clothes and the heated car after the spin.