Me and my big Mountain
AT 5.30 on the morning on Sunday June 11, thousands of cycling enthusiasts will converge on Greystones, Co. Wicklow, to take on one of the toughest endurance challenges in Irish cycling.
It’s an annual event that has taken place for the last 35 years – a 200km endurance sportive that is a test of both mind and body.
For most this will be the pinnacle of their cycling year.
The Wicklow 200 winds its way through the Garden County. With its spectacular views and punishing climbs, it’s the closest the club cyclist can get to the experience of riding a stage in the Tour de France without leaving the country.
For many of these cyclists this ride will take them well out of their comfort zone.
The Wicklow 200 is about twice the length of their weekly club spins and, with nearly 3,000 metres of climbing, it sorts the men and women from the boys and girls. It’s a toughie.
I went back to cycling in my early fifties after years of putting fitness on the back burner as I raised a family and the distraction of keeping down the day job.
But once I got back on a bike I was well and truly hooked.
I cycle weekly with other enthusiasts from the Naas Cyling Club and the bike is an obsession for these guys. They spend as much as they can afford on their carbon road bikes and meeting up for their Sunday spins to exotic locations like Laragh, Stradbally or the Hill of Tara is a weekly highlight.
Cyclists like to test themselves and it is good to have a target, something to aim for.
This year’s Wicklow 200 will be my fourth in the last five years. I’ve cycled it glorious sunshine and in near freezing rain.
Last year was difficult. The mist on the Wicklow Gap was so bad we couldn’t see the cyclists in front of us. Being unable to see the steep ascent ahead and having no idea of the distance to the summit was a mixed blessing and tested our resolve.
Eventually we regrouped at the summit but shortly afterwards we were faced with a freezing descent lasting several kilometres on treacherously slippery roads leading us to the next climb at Hollywood Hill.
By the time we reached Baltinglass the sun was shining. So after reviving myself with tea and sandwiches I threw away my old shoe covers, took off my leggings and sleeve warmers and headed off for Aughavannagh and the twin climbs of the Slieve Mahon and Shay Elliott.
These are the biggest challenges to surmount on the Wicklow 200 but we are spurred on by the knowledge that after these climbs we are on the way home with the worst climbing of the day over. Slieve Mahon is the first of the climbs. Starting off at 12 per cent you quickly find yourself down to the biggest cog on your cassette wishing you had several more. The next half hour is spent grinding your way up the mountain, passing the many cyclists who have got off their bikes and decided to walk and being passed by younger fitter cyclists who make you feel like you’re going backwards.
But there is camaraderie in abundance. Spurred on by words of encouragement from friends and fellow cyclists we finally reach the summits where we stop, catch our breath and re-hydrate.
After a nerve-wracking descent at speeds of up to 70kph on a narrow twisting road with traffic coming against you we pass the hotel at Glenmalure and start immediately into the next climb, the Shay Elliott — named after one of Ireland’s first professional cyclists. Shay was the first Irishman to wear the yellow jersey in the Tour de France, in 1963, and he came third in the 1962 Vuelta a España.
Soon we have conquered this hellish slope and again pause to regroup and recover. Rolling down from the summit towards Rathdrum and Avoca we know that we have passed the test. A few more short climbs and we will be home.
As we cycle the last 5km of the Wicklow 200 with tired and sore limbs, we experience a wonderful feeling of elation. We have conquered the course and we have, in a way conquered ourselves. The agony is already forgotten and we are already thinking of next year’s event.