Stage 5 Report

Stage Report and Stage Data

Duration: 6:59:07
Distance: 104.82 miles
Work: 4349 kJ
TSS: 391
NP: 235W
VI: 1.35
Maximum Power: 739W
Average Power: 174W
Maximum Speed: 43.5 mph
Average Speed: 15.1 mph
Maximum HR: N/A
Average HR: N/A
TSB Today: -70
ATL Today: 199.1
CTL Today: 111.9

Very hilly stage today for the final ride to the finish. Started the ride in group 3 with Dave who had decided to ride with this group until the lunch stop and then set off early stopping only briefly as he knew what was ahead in terms of climbing and wanted to get a head start and see how he got on.

The good news this morning was that one of the organisers had managed to make a temporary repair to my rear wheel so the PowerTap wheel could be used again. He warned my to use "as low a gear as possible" to not stress the repair which kind of stuck in my mind during the ride. The thought of a sudden wheel failure was not a nice one, best not to think about it too much.

So, at the lunch break Dave set off pretty much immediately and I hung around having lunch and chatting pondering what to do. Decided in the end, instead of waiting for group 3 to set off, to go with group 2. This was the group I'd originally been riding with on stage 1 and when I punctured back on stage 2 when Dave had kindly stopped and waited for me.

Decision made and set off with the bunch without problems. The climbs were challenging but never really too steep and I was able to stay with the group for the remainder of the ride. The scenery on this section was spectacular and the descent from the Wicklow Gap towards Dublin a lovely descent on good roads in dry conditions, good fun.

The finish itself was in the grounds of a small hotel rather than in the town itself. Unfortunately the finish and onward transit arrangements were, I felt, very poor and riders having just ridden just under 600 miles over 45 days and over 100 very hilly miles today were left hanging around outside in cold conditions which was a great shame.

A memorable trip for many reasons, some good and some not so good. Once I'm home and have had the opportunity to reflect on things I may well write a short summary of my thoughts on the event, time permitting. Most importantly however I have completed the ride successfully, safely, and comfortably. I have proved to myself that my indoor Winter training arrangements allow me to complete consecutive 100+ mile stages in bad weather in the early season and to keep going which was my objective for this trip in readiness for Le Tour next year. I have now also developed a nutrition and hydration strategy for multi-day events which certainly works for me and which I can repeat easily. The Tour of Ireland 2009 has served it's purpose.

Tour of Ireland Stage 5

Hi

Stage Length: 170km 106 miles.
Stage Ascent: 3474 Metres.

Here is the map of the stage, to check our current position (updated approximately at one minute intervals during each stage) use the following links:

On a PC: http://tinyurl.com/74hwf5
On a mobile phone: http://tinyurl.com/c4jvwf

Stage 4 Report

Stage Report and Stage Data

The duration and distance figures are accurate and represent the full stage, the power and all other figures are of the first 90 miles at which point a rider behind me who wasn't concentrating rode into the back of my bike and damaged the wheel which could then not be ridden, thanks pal.

Duration: 7:21
Distance: 125.8 miles
Work: 2928 kJ
TSS: 248
NP: 212W
VI: 1.41
Maximum Power: 678W
Average Power: 150W
Maximum Speed: 33.3 mph
Average Speed: 16.7 mph
Maximum HR: 166
Average HR: 125
TSB Today: -55.1
ATL Today: 175.1
CTL Today: 105.1

Not a good day. Things were going just fine and rolling along a treat in decent weather, planned to ride for a while in group 3 and then switch to group 2 for the run in but events didn't go as planned.

During a steep descent a guy directly in front of me seemed to lose control of his bike and had a huge crash sliding/rolling a good 25 yards down the road which was still steep. Looking back at my GPS data he was travelling at about 30mph at the time. Somehow I just managed to avoid him and come to stop and go back to him, quite a mess. He was pretty dazed and badly cut up and he was packed off to the hospital, not heard yet is he is Ok. His seat post was snapped which either caused the accident of happened because of it, who knows.

So, much time was lost with that and we rolled on. Later in the ride some riders ahead of me slowed quite sharply and reasonably enough I did the same to avoid hitting them. Unfortunately the bloke in the line behind me didn't and rode into my back wheel, bust a couple of spokes and bucked it such that it was unrideable. Hence no more power data from this trip.

Had to watch the group roll away and wait for the recovery vehicle and eventually got a spare wheel fitted and got going again. Pushed on hard and caught the group which had stopped at the next feed, quick bite to eat and we were immediately away again.

Pretty pi**ed off with today's events so just rolled in with the group to the finish, the main thing was that I wasn't injured by any of this and I could very easily have been. Was pleased for David who was happy to come over the line first in the group 3 sprint finish.

Reflecting on things and as I feel now I think I may well give up this type of event. The actions of unknown others are just too unpredictable and likely to cause accidents and injuries. I've been really pretty shocked by the numbers of accidents on this ride so far especially given the small number of riders involved. Today's really nasty crash right I front of me could very very easily have caused severe and permanent damage to both the rider himself and others around him and it's a risk which can be avoided.

Tour of Ireland Stage 4

Hi

Stage Length: 210km 131 miles.
Stage Ascent: 2375 Metres.

Here is the map of the stage, to check our current position (updated approximately at one minute intervals during each stage) use the following links:

On a PC: http://tinyurl.com/74hwf5
On a mobile phone: http://tinyurl.com/c4jvwf

Stage 3 Report

Stage Report and Stage Data

Duration: 8:24:20
Distance: 146 miles
Work: 5006 kJ
TSS: 373
NP: 210W
VI: 1.25
Maximum Power: 748W
Average Power: 169W
Maximum Speed: 35.4 mph
Average Speed: 17.2 mph
Maximum HR: 168
Average HR: 170
TSB Today: -34.5
ATL Today: 154.5
CTL Today: 99.4

Long stage today and pretty eventful, all safely completed which is the main thing. Weather very mixed, very windy again with a starting temperature of about 4 degrees and we started once again in heavy rain. Weather improved during the day and the finish was warm and sunny though still windy, but at least a tail wind.

Another rider has apparently been taken to the hospital for treatment after a crash. A rider misjudged a corner and hit the side of a bridge and took, I understand, 4 other rider down with him. It's all so unnecessary in an event like this, it's not as if we are trying to secure pro contracts for the 2010 season!

I was riding very comfortably with group 2 when, damn and blast, I punctured. Following a cold, wet, and mucky repair aided by the mechanic who turned up I restarted. The mechanic asked whether I would like a lift back the group which I accepted and hopped in. Been in the van for just a mile or 2 when a lone rider ahead I spotted was my mate David who had kindly held back from the group once he knew I had a problem – chapeau! Hopped out of the van and David put in a terrific effort and after a few miles we ended up joining group 3 and rode with them to the feed stop. Really well organised group and we rolled into the feed station just about 5 minutes after the second group which was very surprising as we hadn't been pushing hard.

Groups 2 and 3 were merged for the last section and in spite of the plan for the groups to ride in together the pace was soon up and riders were being shed from the back. Was pleased with my run in and finished with the leading few riders without having to make a "proper" sprint effort, just kept pushing on and didn't seem to run out of steam at all.

Decent meal at the hotel and the usual recovery drinks and we will see how tomorrow goes, at least it's not so far to ride, "just" 100+ miles again. As a training and testing event this tour has worked well and has already proved to my satisfaction that one can successfully train indoors over the Winter and ride well in the early season in a hard endurance event, no more long cold Winter riding for me. My current position in terms of fitness is fine in terms of the 2010 Tour Ride, and I'll be about 5 kilos lighter then, and rested.

Steady away again tomorrow and at least the forecast looks better.

Tour of Ireland Stage 3

Hi

Stage Length: 245km 153 miles.
Stage Ascent: 2776 Metres.

Here is the map of the stage, to check our current position (updated approximately at one minute intervals during each stage) use the following links:

On a PC: http://tinyurl.com/74hwf5
On a mobile phone: http://tinyurl.com/c4jvwf

Stage 2 Report

Stage Report and Stage Data

Duration: 6:55:37
Distance: 106.66 miles
Work: 3982 kJ
TSS: 338
NP: 224W
VI: 1.34
Maximum Power: 668W
Average Power: 167W
Maximum Speed: 33.4 mph
Average Speed: 16.1 mph
Maximum HR: 168
Average HR: 130
TSB Today: -14.1
ATL Today: 127.2
CTL Today: 92.7

Stage 2 proved to be another challenging day, very high gusting winds and a mixture of rain and hail coupled with very cold temperatures, wasn't expecting to be seeing my breath as I cycled at this time of year. 2 nasty pothole crashes today. One bloke fine but apparently his bike frame broken in several places, the other not so fortunate had to go to the hospital and have not heard how he is, hopefully he will be fine.

Power figures well below what I feel capable of and a low average HR but that's the nature of this sort of ride and I don't intend risking frying myself yet as we have only covered one third of the distance of the tour so far, plenty of work still to be done and I don't want to risk running out of gas.

Have found today that the groups have not been well controlled and not working well together, there is a lot of very inefficient speeding up and slowing down of the bunch which just wastes people's energy and this has again resulted in some riders being dropped and finding themselves struggling in the awful weather which is a shame.

So far my nutrition and recovery plan, which I'm sticking to, seems to be working pretty well and today after yesterday's stage I felt good to go this morning so I'm quite encouraged by that. It's hard to imagine but I think I'm going to manage to gain weight on this trip in spite of all the exercise and the cold, just me I guess!

So, tomorrow will be a corker, the weather forecast is again poor and we have a stage of about 150 miles to deal with. I'm just hoping my hydration/nutrition plan will stand me in good stead and hope I'll get a good night's sleep, I'll be off to bed as soon as I've written this and hope to get at least 7 hours of sleep which would be great.

More tomorrow, as long as I finish safely and before midnight!

Tour of Ireland Stage 2

Hi

Stage Length: 172km 107 miles.
Stage Ascent: 1933 Metres.

Here is the map of the stage, to check our current position (updated approximately at one minute intervals during each stage) use the following links:

On a PC: http://tinyurl.com/74hwf5
On a mobile phone: http://tinyurl.com/c4jvwf

Stage 1 Report

Stage Report and Stage Data

Duration: 5:49:39
Distance: 101.65 miles
Work: 3675 kJ
TSS: 331
NP: 247W
VI: 1.29
Maximum Power: 810W
Average Power: 192W
Maximum Speed: 41.9 mph
Average Speed: 19.1 mph
Maximum HR: 182
Average HR: 140
TSB Today: 9.9
ATL Today: 100.8
CTL Today: 86.7

The first stage of the Tour of Ireland is over and done, all has gone well and I've been able to cope pretty well managing for the most part to ride with the faster group which was fun. One crash today that I was aware of when 2 lambs ran onto the road and into the peloton which was travelling at considerable pace downhill, the bloke who crashed seems Ok but I suspect may have some damage to his elbow, he's very stoical.

Bunch of really good blokes on the ride, easy to chat to and I think we are all kind of wondering how we are going to be feeling in the morning with another 100+ mile day in store. The forecast is once again for the wind to be very high, as it was today, and it remains to be seen what the rain will do, it's been lashing down earlier on this evening. Fine weather seems a long way off at the moment.

The escort arrangements are excellent, makes you feel really safe and the local drivers are just brilliant, really courteous and cautious around cyclists, the lorries and vans even stop as the peloton passes to ensure safe passage.

So, a good meal tonight and the usual recovery drinks and rehydration, we'll see if it makes any difference in the morning, I reckon that getting going will be a challenge but there is really not that much choice!

Tour of Ireland Stage 1

Hi

Stage Length: 164km 102 miles.
Stage Ascent: 1481 Metres.

Here is the map of the stage, to check our current position (updated approximately at one minute intervals during each stage) use the following links:

On a PC: http://tinyurl.com/74hwf5
On a mobile phone: http://tinyurl.com/c4jvwf

Outward Journey

Hi

Flew out with RyanAir from Newcastle to Dublin and the flight couldn't be faulted. Bang on time and the most prompt baggage delivery I have ever experienced, bike came last but to be expected.

Spent a few hours loafing around in the airport as I reckoned there would be more to do there than at the meeting point for the transfer on the bus to Lisburn.

Met up with the boys at the meeting point and just chatted for a while before eventually setting off for Lisburn. Bikes arrived late and partially built, have to complete in the morning.

We'll see what tomorrow brings!

The Road To Ireland

Hi

As regular readers will know my long term training goal is to get fit enough to ride the entire route of the Tour de France in 2010 covering each stage the day before the professional peloton comes through.

In the past I used to spend the Winter doing lots of long slow distance (LSD) or L2 riding and I think this was important initially to build some sort of core of aerobic fitness. However, I did not feel that long term this type of training was going to deliver the fitness I required. With this in mind I changed my approach during the Winter just gone and moved to a generally higher intensity training regime and essentially gave up ploughing round outside for hours on end in the freezing cold. If nothing else this approach has prevented me getting any colds for ages!

I decided to use the forthcoming tour of Ireland as a means of testing this approach. Essentially the question I needed to answer was: Could I train myself to ride 600 miles in 5 days by training harder over the Winter, indoors, but for shorter periods of time and effectively scrap LSD training? My theory is that if this can be done then this method will serve me well for the 2010 challenge as essentially after 600 miles it becomes a matter of adequate nutrition, hydration, and pacing, rather than pure "fitness".

So, what I've done is trained primarily indoors on my VeloTron concentrating on L3, SST, and L4 training but obviously accruing significant L2 time as a result of warmup and cooldown periods. The road riding I have done has for the most part been tempo (L3) riding with a few more sedate group rides included recently.

Looking at my power numbers the approach I have taken has yielded a significant FTP increase which was my intention, I am about to find out whether this will allow me to ride longer distance events at a lower percentage of my FTP, thus riding more efficiently in physiological terms.

The theory behind this is that it is riding at, near, or above one's FTP that causes the real "damage" during a ride and also depletes a rider's glycogen stores at a far greater rate. If therefore on has a relatively higher FTP one should be riding at a lower percentage of that FTP for a greater proportion of the time and in theory at least this should make it possible to ride more comfortably for longer, or at greater speed.

So, that was the plan. During the few longer rides I have done during this period of training I have felt that this approach has yielded the results I had hoped for. The only way to find out whether in a multi-day event I can keep going at the required pace is to ride one, that event starts on Thursday.

For those who might be interested in this approach to training for longer distance events the percentages of my training time spent in my power zones (yellow) and heart rate zones (red) over the past 6 months are shown below. I have done virtually NO scheduled endurance (L2) or active recovery (L1) work, the sections shown have simply accumulated as indicated above. When you dig into the data it is amazing how this L1 and L2 time adds up without actually scheduling formal L1 and L2 sessions at all!

Over the next few days I'll find out what the results are, watch this space...