Group 3 Wicklow 200 training plan (Greg's group)

Firstly, I need a better name for our group than "Greg's Group!". I'm not convinced by calling it the Wicklow Vets group either, as that makes us sound old, or agricultural :) Some of us are old and agricultural, but still!


As many of our group will be doing the Wicklow 200 this year and have to train for it, here's the plan for our spins leading up to the Wicklow 200. I won't be doing the WW200 myself but we'll still have it as the main training goal of the first half of the Summer. Hence the rapid escalation in climbing and distance. Family commitments make it very difficult for me to put aside the extra time for longer spins, so for some of the spins I'll add a Wicklow 200 (WW) Suggested distance, that you should consider reaching by adding on extra distance before or after our spin. It can be as flat as you like, it's just good to get used to longer spins - the hardest part of the Wicklow 200 in my opinion is being on a bike for almost twice as long as you ordinarily would.

Also, please, an important reminder: Bring a pump (or MANY CO2 cartridges and CO2 pump), two spare inner tubes, some money and a phone. You may find on some days that you're just not in the best cycling form and there usually are good places on the routes to head home and cut the spin short. On those days it can be a lot nicer to potter home on your own 3 or 4 KPH slower and enjoying yourself. A small decrease in pace, combined with buying an ice-cream or can of coke in a shop can make the world of difference to how miserable you feel :)

If you don't have everything you need to be self-sufficient then you're either stuck doing the whole cycle, however bad you feel, or else you're risking cycling home through the wilds without the necessaries if you get a puncture. That's a sad place to be. I'll provide enough misery with my choice of routes; no need to add extra by not bringing the right gear with you :)

Spins leave from Opposite Joe's at 8:15am on Saturdays. Unless you're Barry R, then you'll likely be leaving from opposite Joe's at 8:20 and chasing us half way to Larragh ;)

Plan:

Saturday 2nd April
We'll start off with 81KM distance and 1350m of climbing, from opposite Joe's. We'll do what I think is the easiest way to climb the Sally Gap (up by the Liam Horner memorial), and we'll have coffee and cake in Blessington. This should be within everyone's reach at a strong Yellow pace or faster. If this looks scary to you now, then it's time to step up the training in the 6 weeks or so that you have beforehand.

www.strava.com/routes/2738780

Saturday 9th April
92.3 KM distance and about 1750M climbing. That's a fair step up but as you'll never be further from home than Blessington, if you're struggling you won't have too far to get home. You can also skip the final Bohernabreena climb taking 300m or so off the climb. Don't skip it if the Wicklow 200 is your goal.

www.strava.com/routes/2092544

Alternative Sunday Sportive, Sunday 10th, Tour De Foothills (ncctourdefoothills.com/) 112km distance, 1200m climbing. So a little further, but a little less climbing. Pretty much a wash, so don't worry about it and just do whichever looks more fun! Or do both :)


Saturday 16th April
The escalation continues; 102km with about 1750M of climbing again. This week we're going to do both sides of the beautiful Shay Elliot climb. Climbing north to south is very easy and everybody should do it. Those who prefer can then roll downhill back to Larragh for coffee and cake. Those more foolhardy (or targeting the Wicklow 200, it's a climb in it), should roll down the south side of Shay and then climb back up. We'll all regroup in Larragh for cake. I say 'cake' a lot, don't I?

www.strava.com/routes/2547484

If you're one of our members who is a combination of Yellow pace and incredible stubborness (I can think of a few!) and you want to do both sides of Shay, then you may need to accept a very short coffee stop or heading back from Larragh with like-minded individuals. It'd be an impractically long coffee stop for the faster folk otherwise. It's likely we'll have enough to split the groups on the day so this may not be an issue but I try to balance long waits with letting everyone do all the climbs they want to.


Saturday 23rd April
So that you don't feel like you're missing out next week, this week we'll ride the Orwell Randonnee route together. The full route ( ridewithgps.com/routes/11286969 ) is 146km, but it starts about 10KM from Joe's so the whole thing will be about 166km with 2500m of climbing from Joes! There are multiple good bail-out points if you prefer not to do the whole thing. This early in the year, with the progression we're doing, the expectation is that you won't do the full thing! I'm an idiot, and if I have some company and the weather doesn't suck then I'll do the whole thing. There will almost assuredly be groups heading home from Larragh (about 110 KM total cycle, once or twice up the Sally Gap depending on the route chosen home). This is an especially important day to make sure that you have all your essentials with you (pump, 2 tubes, phone, money) in case you want to turn back early. In my experience, there's almost no chance that you won't have company if you turn back at Larragh but as this is not a beginners group with dedicated minders I can't guarantee it.

Saturday 30th April
Orwell Randonnee. Marshalling, not cycling! Try and get out for an hour or two on the Sunday if you can. The easier step-back weekend will do you good, if anything.

Saturday 7th May
www.strava.com/routes/2508199
109 KM and 1619m of climbing. WW suggested distance 120km.

This is a tough spin. The relentless up/down of the back road around the Blessington lake always catches people out. I'll try (as always) to split the group by pace on the day but if that can't happen then if you're on the front of the group, particularly over these lumpy 25km, please work hard at not constantly dropping people out the back. You won't be able to see them so you'll need to learn the correct pace for the group, taking the constant up/down of the terrain in to consideration. Otherwise I'll be driven mad having to say 'steady up' all the time :)

If you're aiming for the Wicklow 200 then you should consider adding on a bit of extra distance before or after.


Saturday 14th May
www.strava.com/routes/542050
94.1 KM and 1470M of climbing (plus possible Kippure). WW suggested distance 125km.

A favourite of mine. All four sides of the Sally Gap, two up and two down. Including the climb from the Roundwood side (Lugalla). That's the steepest way up the Sally Gap; it's only about 300m of it that are really tough but they'll be a good test of your bike's lowest gear :) We'll have our coffee stop in Roundwood shortly before Lugalla, so try not to load up on too much heavy food. The Bread and Butter pudding + Ice-cream is yummy though...
Optional extra climb of Kippure as we pass it by not long after our 2nd Sally Gap climb. That's a tough one but if the weather isn't too inimical then I'd really recommend it for the WW crowd. You're sure to get some company and it'll be a bit less training to add on yourself on the end. I'm probably daft enough to join you climbing it.

Saturday 21th May

108 KM and 1880 m climbing. WW suggested distance 130km.
www.strava.com/routes/4201527

We're going to do the Wicklow Gap from the Wicklow 200 side. I prefer the other direction but this is practice for the 200 :) We'll also do Butter Mountain on the way home and then the Bohernabreena climb. The Bohernabreena climb can be skipped and it'll save you about 300 M of climbing. If you're training for the 200 then don't skip the climb and you may want to add on a little extra flat distance either before or after, getting to 130km would be good.

I can't see the date of the 2016 Mount Leinster Challenge published anywhere yet. It's going to be about this weekend, so whatever weekend it's on, it's a recommended alternative sportive. 140km distance and 1370M of climbing. Technically it's 139.53, so if you want your Orwell Randonneur point then make sure that you go over 140km! That's already not that much climbing by our standards :)


Saturday 28th May

Wicklow Gap then STRAIGHT into Turlock's Hill. No sitting around recovering at the top of the Wicklow Gap :)

www.strava.com/routes/3316918
112 KM, but who knows how much climbing. When I made this route last year Strava was going mental. There's no way this route is 3000m climbing. I'd guess about 1850m?

We'll head out the easy way along the N81, though we will go the nice climby back road from Valleymount. We will split into individual pace climbing from the bottom of the Wicklow Gap all the way to the top of Turlough Hill. So this is a long, tough one. Odds are that there'll be some others around your pace so you won't be on your own. They may be 100m up the road, or behind you though. We'll re-group at the cafe in Larragh. If you're one of the slower members of the group then you may not want to go all the way to the top of Turlough Hill or you could have to choose between an almost non-existent coffee stop in Larragh, or letting the faster people go on and having a coffee break on your own or with other similarly paced people. Again I'll try and split the group by pace so hopefully this won't arise, but if it does, we need to balance excessive waits versus everyone getting to do every climb. Sorry.

WW suggested distance 150 . That's a tough call. All the above plus another 90 minutes or so on your own. It'll do you good to have a 150KM cycle with this much climbing under your belt. So, go on :)

Saturday 4th June -

It's a step-back week. To allow everyone to consolidate their fitness gains, avoid burn out, and to let the Wicklow 200 people recover to be in great form on the day.

www.strava.com/routes/2327502
77 km and only 1213 M of climbing!

Those of us not doing the Wicklow 200 (i.e. me!) might add on the Sally Gap from the Lugalla side, the climb up by the Blue Light or maybe the Liam Horner. The above route is going to feel like an absolute doddle at this stage; which is what you want if you're doing the Wicklow 200! Don't be led astray up the Sally Gap by me on the day :)

Sunday 12th June - Wicklow 200
200.5 KM and 2793 M of climbing. The climbing sounds like a lot but it's over a long distance and there's nothing extraordinarily nasty in it. You'll be grand; best of luck!

After that, the spins don't stop. The distances won't get much longer as I can't avoid the kids for the whole day, but the routes will get climbier. Yes, you can make things a lot climbier in the same distances :)

Brilliant, well done Greg, I'm tired already and you never mentioned featherbeds once.
Can I suggest a group name with the word sadist in.....see you on April 2

Surely you mean "happiest" not "sadist", John ;-)

How about a name like the crawlers or gliders!

Well done indeed, Greg - a great compilation. I'm relieved to find that in aggregate, the programme is more or less in line, km- and metre-wise, with what I've been doing over the years in those two months to whip myself into shape for my various Wicklow 200s. Pace might be a different matter. I'm a modest pale Yellow, and for this selection of reasonably 'climby' routes, based on the numbers I've clocked in the past I'd expect typically to average in the range 18.5-21.0 kph. Maybe being with this group will inspire me to better things!

Tom, a peleton should speed you up between climbs though it won't help so much once it splits up on the climbs themselves. I'd hope that we have enough people to be able to support a slightly slower paced group as well as those planned. I really don't know - it'll depend on who shows up on any given day.

All it takes is 3 or 4 people, including someone who knows the route (like yourself) - and I've deliberately avoided any unusual routes to keep navigation easy. With the 200 group being for people who haven't done the 200 before, I'd be optimistic that we will have other good long distance cyclists of similar pace to yourself. I have to do Strong Yellow myself or I'll be home so late that the kids will have made my wife crack up, hence why that's the official supported pace :)

I think that things will work out, as long as someone is willing to lead a slightly slower group. I'm glad to have you out with us :)

It'll be my pleasure, Greg - I'll lead from behind!

Hi Greg,

Would love to join this training group if there's space still available.

Sure, Ray. Space isn't an issue; it's not a group with dedicated minders so we can take as many people as show up and split as necessary due to numbers or speed.

I am planning on attempting the Wicklow 200 for the first time this year and I am impressed by the program that you have laid out. Would I be right in the saying that you would recommend hill training more than long distance "death March" spins? I done a good few 100km Sportive last year and it was the distance of the Wicklow 200 that was causing me concern. Typically, how long would the Wicklow 200 take to ride?

Every year, per the W/200 website, people take anything from 7 to 14 hours to get around! (See the nice histogram from the 2015 event). But you can see that most fall between 9 and 11 hours.

These times include off-bike time - hard to get that below 1 hour, unless you're a real hard-driving fanatic.

Greg's schedule is more than ample preparation, and I think the emphasis on climbing is right. Maybe do a couple of 5-hour+ trips at some stage, just to make sure your saddle-arse combination is up to it. I rarely did any more than 4 hours in the run-up to the day.

Have you looked at the programme for first-timers, to be run by Gerard Coffey, Rodney Phelan, Leonard Kaye and Warren Cray, as publicised in Garret's newsletter of 14 Feb?

Thanks for the histogram, Tom :)

Tony, I think you need a mix of both time on the bike and climbing. If you're badly lacking either of them then you're going to get found out on the day.

I think that really long spins aren't strictly necessary. I suggested a single 150 KM cycle more for your own psychological reassurance to have done it than anything else. I would happily enough do the Wicklow 200 on the basis of enough tough 100 to 120 KM hilly spins with just an eye to getting around comfortably and taking my time.

It's not as if you're going to be going solidly for 8 hours on the day. There are multiple break points on the 200, where you can easily eat and relax for 15 minutes. Then there's the tea or biscuit stops at the top of some of the climbs; where you can have five minutes off the bike and stretch a bit.

There's a big difference between training to get through it reasonably comfortably and training to do it as fast as you possibly could. We're aiming for the first with a margin for error :) Other priorities stop most of us from doing the second!

That said, the more you do in training, the easier and probably more fun the day will be. It's all a trade-off and you'll have to decide what's right for you :)

Thanks Guys some solid advise there, is anyone doing the Junior Tour Sportive next Sunday?

Hi Greg,
Do I need to sign up for this group or just rock up on Saturday morning? All the other groups appear to be full so I want to make sure I'm not missing something with this one.

Thanks!
Gavin.

Hi Gavin,

Group 3 and 4 are open to anyone turning up on the day and coming out with us. Neither groups are beginners groups, in that they don't have dedicated minders and the same no-drop ethos. So we don't need to limit numbers in the same way. That said, beginners are welcome if they can maintain the required pace, are club members, and either know how to ride safely in a group or are willing to learn quickly and tell us on the day! :)

Group 3 is Dark Yellow pace+ ; a completely nebulous concept that will only mean something to you if you've been out on yellow spins. It means the faster half or so of the Yellow cyclists.

Group 4 is Orange pace+ ; which is like Yellow but not as cool. IE it's a few KPH faster.

If you're not sure about pace then I'd encourage you to turn up and try them out anyway. The worst thing that can happen is that it's too fast for you and you have to head home. I'd hope to have enough people on any given Saturday to split into a few groups by pace. It depends on what else is on that day; we varied between extremes of 30 people and 3 people last Summer, typically having around 18 to 20.

This week's Group 3 spin is here - www.orwellwheelers.org/forum/spins/5433-...t-spin-saturday-8-15 and is on this Saturday.

Garret's initial Group 4 torturefest is on this Sunday, details copied/pasted from the leisure list:
Sunday Mountains Group(Group 4 of the Spring Summer Groups)
Our 1st spin will be next Sunday 3rd April.
Meeting point will be Yellow House at 9am.
Route will be Cruagh Sally Gap Laragh Roundwood Lugalla Sally Gap Featherbeds home. Ball park 90-100km depending on where you're coming from.
Suits all those at around Orange Level who are planning to do the tougher sportifs this Summer and especially the Alps and Pyrenees.

Greg

Great, thanks Greg. I've been out on several yellow spins since I joined and have yet to make a show of myself, so Group 3 sounds right.

Thanks,
Gavin.