Gorey 3 day – a triathlete in the bunch
April 14th, 2009 by Gavin
I finished in the main bunch each day in Gorey and have ridden my Specialized S-works Transition TT bike for a total of 5miles . . . . I am happy enough and although I didnt do anything special during the race I got what I went for – some fitness gains and a new experience.
Stage 1 was a bit of a shock to the system as it was my first real big bunch ride of the year – it took me about 40k to move up the pack and when I got to the front I enjoyed it better. So on stages 2 and 3 I tried to stay in the first 20 riders and do a fair amount of work.
I had thought that there would have been a lot more team work going on – but apart from a talented young Isle of Man team it seemed to be a big bunch of individuals that ‘car pooled’. In many cases having ‘a rider in the break’ was a relief rather than a tactic for not having to do any work …. I got the impression that 90% of the riders where there to maintain their pride and stay in the bunch rather than having any ambition to ‘race’. Fair enough I guess, maybe I dont really understand cycling racing yet.
Every so often Id be near enough the front and id say something like:
“surely you Dundrum boys should be organising a chase to bring back that break ?”
“here, surely as its the last day you Leinster boys should be riding up the front ? ”
“come on now Team Ireland (irish junior team) these Isle of Man Juniors are pissin all over you boys, get up there and show a bit of pride ! ”
but every time I was met with a blank expression, ‘my team mate is up the road (thank god)”, ”you get up and do the work” or and in most cases from the Leinster team “F$%& you” . . . .
So as you can see I didnt quite grasp the whole cycling etiquette and maybe amateur racing doesnt quite play out like it does on the Tv. Nor did I really know who to try and follow, when to try and break, when to work or when not to work. I found myself closing breaks steadily rather than with a burst of speed (cyclists dont like that, theres panic and no appreciation for calm constant wattage!). I found myself on the front going up hills with the rest of the group thankful. I found myself near the back of the pack and getting really annoyed when I saw a dude ahead of me who was carrying a few extra pounds. I got really annoyed with myself if I found myself in the middle of the pack and there was a chick (from the girls race which started ahead but always got swallowed up) a few wheels in front.
On one occasion I found myself having to raise my hand in distress as my leg cramped on Easter Sunday. My hip flexor and then my adductor muscle cramped (an adductor cramp is third on the list of painful cramps after hamstring and supposidly – wrist). I had to freewheel out of the back of the peloton, un clip my feet and stretch a little. I managed to make my way back through the following cars and past some stragglers at the back. On my way back to the group I saw a few back markers lose contact with the peloton – heads down, saliva dribbling and bodies giving everything to hold the wheel in front, but when the head comes up and shakes, you know its over ! ilovethatshit.
I was kindly taken in by the Bray cycling team for the tour and we stayed near Gorey at Coolattin Lodge – www.coolattinlodge.com – in my dream house I have a courtyard, a big farm house style kitchen with a wood burning stove, trails to run on at my door step and a ‘craft butcher’ nearby for the finest of lamb dinners – it really was beautiful (the lamb dinner and the accomodation!). For anyone thinking of getting away for a quiet weekend or for clubs looking for a training camp location, Id really recommend it.
So as I said in the beginning – I am not sure I really understand cycling racing yet. I did learn a lot though and have come away with my cycle legs having been awoken before the triathlon season begins. What I do know is that bike racing is hard. For hours all you hear is the sound of wheels turning, gears changing, your breathing. abuse rather than encouragement and on Easter Monday the rain falling. If your not hard enough you fall back. If your not concentrating you fall back. Theres not much information, publicity or razamataz. Theres an unwritten rule that “you should just know”. You turn up and get on with it. With all that being said maybe I should reassess my impression that 90% of the guys were there not to race but to hang on in the bunch - ’hanging in there’ is what bike racing is sometimes about and its from that achievement and those feelings that we sign up again.
At night time when I hit the pillow in Coolattin Lodge all I could hear was my heart beat. In the morning when I woke I could hear the kettle boil for the coffee which would kickstart another day on the bike. Another day which for some reason I was looking forward to . . .
April 14th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Great report Gav, good luck for the season ahead.
Stuart (Bray Wheelers)
April 14th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Does the ‘sunnies on the beannie’ look rather than a helmet help you fit in better at a bike race then?
April 15th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
They’re Specialized Singletracks = i took the time to look it up
April 15th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Gav, have you been away over winter?
April 15th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Hi Gavin,
Glad you enjoyed your ‘stabling’ at Coolattin Lodge, and that you had enough trough space and fodder and and an adjacent facility to have a quiet canter on your own before ‘the off’!
Noel
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:45 am
Good report Gav, well done. I hope the trainings going well and I hope to catch up at one of the TI camps during the year.
Rob
April 25th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
dont forget you were in with b,c, vets and junior race , most of the guys in the bunch work full time jobs and ride as a pass time , so you got to expect guys to be happy to hang on , if you want to ride a better standard and more aggresive race head for munster !! as for the irish junior team , check the results of the tour of the north , see how the irish junior team got on against a grade riders ! i would think they got a lot more out of there weekend then the isle of man team did , who where a class above everyone in goery ,
April 25th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
fergieoc . . . . i was only commenting on the race as i saw it – like i said in the second last paragraph i got an appreciation for the riders who hung on – i myself was one of them. it was a hard race. the isle of man boys were a class above and my comments about the irish juniors in the race was just some banter in the bunch. . .
April 25th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
no worries , i wasnt having a go at ya !! just commenting also , best of luck with the trainging and the year ahead !! see ya in the bunch !!
June 6th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Youll need to knock it up several notches yo should be able to race with 1st cats