Uncategorized

by

Grand slam twarthed by Mean Buns

image

The lady standing behind the table of sandwiches pointed the scissors at me.

‘Bacelet’ she demanded.

I had travelled a round trip of 560km (400km by car and 160km by bicycle)  to collect my ‘Tour of Sligo’ bracelet and complete the set (An Post: Tour of Waterford, Tour of the Burren, Rebel Tour and Tour of Meath).  I had survived the 160km route only to be denied by the mean lady in charge of the Sligo IT caterers.

‘I collect them’, the man in front of me pleaded’

She shrugged as the scissors cut the bracelet from his wrist. She handed him the bracelet so that he could hand it back to her as he should have done when she first asked. He looked sheepishly at the slice of Ham between two slices of white pan. The theme music from Platoon played on the tan-oi as he turned away.

‘I need it to get my collection’ I also pleaded.

‘I need it to get paid’, she replied curtly.

A obvious solution was to keep the bracelet and thank her for her help but I decided not to upset the ‘sandwich cart’. Its not like me. I usually like to start hassle and spread disharmony wherever I go but I was tired and I let it go.

When I look back now I realize it was only a paper bracelet and a lousy sandwich. I regret it all. I should have gone for it and said something that caused a fuss. and made Mean Bun lady cross.

 

Ah well- I got the final laugh on her- I took a second cup of coffee and took two of the Green Tea cakes even though there was a clear one sandwich, one coffee and one bun policy in place.

 

The An Post Tour of Sligo was fantastic and I am glad I left without my Bracelet as I will be going back again next year to get it.

by

Rationing

image


Written by Guest Blogger J.Hargreaves

"Full or half?" The nice lady stood in front of the pig said. "Full. I'll have full". The lady prepares to hand Peter a full baguette filled with freshly carved pork from the hog roast put on by Kilmallock cycling club. I see a flash of indecision motivated by his disappointment at his performance on today's hub tour. Indecision turns to resolve, "no, I'll have a half". Looking pleased Peter turns to me and says, "did you see that?"

Peter reflected on the speed in which some of his club mates shot up today's climbs as he generously squirted mayonnaise on his demi-baguette.
Later the Strava stats showed that he was slower up Christ the King today than three years ago.

"Only nine weeks until Dartmoor", Peter splutters whilst sharing with me one of the cupcakes from the generous post-cycle spread laid on by the club.

Not being in training for Devon's famous sportive myself I head back up to the buffet table for a second round bringing back an apple for the Duckster.
"I won't thanks" says Peter "watching my weight Jac, watching my weight!".

image

by

Tamed the Beast, humbled by Las Palomas

image

Well my weeks  training is over and as my flight climbs above Southern Spain I gaze down at the mountains picking out mountain bike routes. Then my eyes notice a lake that is familiar. I think I can make out Grazamela and Las Palomas.

The week was terrific. If I talk about the facilities, expertise and the routes provided by Andulucian cycling Experience I will sound like a infomercial. Suffice to say I will be back.

It was a week of mixed performance. I’m afraid I made the rookie mistake of going too hard on the first day. I spent nearly 4 hours at my threshold heat rate and paid for it on the following two days where I was barely able to get my heart rate above 60% max.

Thursday I went well getting up The Beast in the middle of the pack however I paid for my efforts on Friday’s mountain time trial when I trailed in a few minutes after the others. I was disappointed that I was not able to sustain my effort the whole way up Las Palomas but I did what I could do and I kept doing it.

by

Another beautiful morning in Montecorto

image

April, 7am, alarm goes off. Time to get up for a 9am 100km cycle – sounds grim, unless …

Breakfast at our townhouse at 7:30 is boiled eggs, fresh mango and yoghurt,  and fresh baked bread (purchased from the shop two minutes away). Down stairs is our bike room with a fully equipped tool room,  energy gels, homemade oatmeal bars and a fridge full of cold drinks waiting for our return.

The coffee is terrible however, so we have to stroll across the road to the cafe serving espresso and cappuccinos for €1.

What are the roads like?

image

Enough said.

by

One door closes …

Well my bike fit details just arrived in time for me to order my new frame. Yes, after 4 etapes,  5 Dartmoor classics, 5 Wicklow 200 and 5 Sean Kelly tours my beautiful Pinarello has developed a cracked frame.

My Pinarello was purchased just as financial disaster struck Ireland and like a man eating Lobster as the Titanic sank, I felt the were two choices I had with a modest financial windfall I had recieved. One was to invest the money (€5k) wisely in a steady commodity like gold or to blow it on a ridiculously expensive toy that I would not be able to afford for several years. Lobster tastes great and my Pinarello was a dream to cycle, brought me great joy and was worth every penny.

Well thanks to a horse that I have cycled past on a few occasions I am able to afford to replace my Pinarello.

Ireland remains in financial crises and my bank balance remains red so when Lord Windemere won the Gold cup by a nose he allowed me to continue to cycle in the style I am accustomed. More on this later
image

by

Making the cut

image

The 125km Lap of Laois was fast and furious.  The organising club went to the front and set the pace. It was fast.

Have you ever been frustrated when a fictional detective ignores the seemingly innocuous bit of trivia that is clearly crucial and you spend 400 pages waiting for the ‘world’s greatest detective’ to work out what was clear to you from the start? 

‘Siblings? Well he had a twin brother but he died years ago while exploring the Amazon. Very sad, they never did find his body’

Well that is happened to me this morning. I overheard two people talking at Registration.

‘I was with the lead group until the cut’. At the start line I heard

‘The food stop is about 15km  before the cut’ and then the riders in the chaingang began to talk in terms of distance to ‘the cut’

Later I learned that ‘The Cut’ was a 7km climb buried in the middle of what I thought was a flat ride.

I had a head start as I left the food stop before others and cycled the 15km to ‘the cut’ on my own and into a headwind. I climbed ‘the cut’ solo and crested the hill with 2 riders just catching my wheel on the descent. The three of us rode together flat out for the last 35km. Thankfully it was all downhill with the hardest part being the 8km circle of Port Laoise before arriving back in prison.