The Cut????

[Eric]

is anybody going for a ride up the 'Cut' on saturday? i know that myaself, Nicki, Brian Ivory and Vera McCool were talking about it last weekend.

(come on Vera, dont back out of it now.... if anything happens to you i promise to ring Doug and he will come and collect you .... he may as well go for the double ...)

[bboyle]

Eric

Not that I'm one to express my opinion but I'd strongly discourage going to 'the cut' at this time of the year. My reasons;
Its the end of the season - so a structured programme for the next one should be considered (build up to the hills!)
The Saturday morning spins have just started back and its not really fair on some of the newcomers to mess up the routine so early on (everyone will begin to wonder - what are we doing this week/where are we meeting?/What are we climbing??! etc.)
No point in training pre-season right at the end of this one.........

Now again, not one to discourage hardship I think 'the cut' could be taken on in an additional Sunday spin.... you should be able to muster a crew up.

Now, Eric this is only my opinion and I have posted this to leave open to debate........ something I'm quite prepared to do!

I'd suggest heading towards Oldcastle direction as it offers hills on the way (presuming you start at the Park, Mullingar), not like 'the cut' where you have to cycle on the flat for miles before sight of any hill.

Would love to hear feedback........

Brian

[veramccool]

Thank God for Brian Boyle - Even though he is still on a "Year Out" he is still available on a Consultancy basis - No Cut for me this week end. We will meet as usual at 8.30 at The Park Hotel

V

[veramccool]

Westmeath County Cross Country Championships Sunday 12th October - Belvedere Estate
Race for every ability from Under 9's upwards to Novice, Senior, Veterns.
This is a good warm up race for the Leinster Championships which will take place on Sunday 26th October in Belvedere Estate.

[Killian]

Gotta agree with Brian, burstin a lung up the Cut on my first spin in ages doesnt fill me with warm and happy thoughts! Last time I heard Vera she was looking for hills, the Oldcastle route would seem to fit the bill - havent done that route myself. Hope to be up at 8.30 myself.

[Eric]

Brian

my reasons for wanting to go to the cut are simple and have nothing to do with pre-season training or structured training or building up to hills (pardon my ignorance but i am fairly new to all this training ;D): my reasons are these : i thoroughly enjoyed it the last time, i found it a huge challenge that gave me great personal pleasure to have overcome. i have been dying to go back since i did it the first time and was delighted when i heard Doug suggesting it. He has to pull out now due to injury but i thought i would just ask the question - was anybody on for the cut?

As for a Sunday morning spin – I thought the club all ran in belvedere on Sunday morning.
Anyway my apologies to one and all if I have messed up the Saturday morning spins, it was never my intention to do that. if nobody is going to the cut then i will be at the hotel on saturday morning heading for wherever with the threat of vera looming large over any stragglers .....

Eric

ps is anybody still on for the cut? Anybody???

[brianivory]

Eric,
Normally I jump at a chance to visit my native Offaly but have to agree with The Boyler on this one. I hit the cut for the first time last year with feck all cycles prior to it. On the second trip up I strained my knee badly. So plenty of time for slicing up the cut after a month or two of long sat morning cycles chasing Lance'ette McCool. By the way I DROVE to Oldcastle once and thought it was hilly so maybe that's the one for sat morn!
See ye bright and early. Forecast doesn't look too bad! (or have I just hexed it?)
Brian I

[bboyle]

Eric,

Your makin' me feel bad. If its any comfort, sometime before next season starts (march/April) we can go together to 'the cut' (presuming I'm in shape??) and we can go up and down the cut 10 times if you like......... promise it'll be enjoyable.

Brian

[pjwade]

Hi there Eric,
okay, I thought about this for a little and while I really do hate to admit I agree with Brian , I do. I really hurt my leg on a repeat day at the cut when it was not part of the training plan and suffered with it 8 weeks before Bala and many more after. i only now cycle and run without injury.. Sure, i really enjoyed chasing Duffy up the cut and putting him under pressure but it was not worth it!..
Now, I am not just saying avoid the cut. I come with a solution. This is an Enda M solution I must admit and while I am not as geeky as he it is worth a try.
Go to this link www.philipjwade.com/BikingLogs.html from here there is a "Googleearth link" on the right hand side under slievebloom. Click on this and it (unzipp ,click OK) will open gogle earth and show you a map of the bike ride over the cut and the wolftrap. When it opens, on the left hand side of google earth you will see the link in blue that you have and under is a little "Play" button. The usual triangle. Click on it (possibly twice, once it zooms out and then again0 and it will take you on the bike ride through google earth and over "The Cut". If you are feeling up to it you can take yourself over the "Wolftrap " also. The cool thing here is that you could press "pause", grab a cuppa and then hit "Play" again when you feel you may be up to the wolftrap. It plays a little fast than real time so you will not have to suffer too long, just be careful of the descent, you could fall off your chair and smack your face against the computer screen. Other than that it is a safe alternative to pulling a hamstring. Always practice "Safe Cycling" .



REgards,
Phil

P.s. looking forward to joining you up the CUT when I get back

[colm]

Totally agree with Brian, we need an off-season period where training is toned down for a short while. Helps us rest and recover after a long season yet stay in shape (ish). There'll be plenty of chances to cycle The Cut in the Spring.

In a totally unrelated matter, has anybody cycled with a broken foot before? I got a stupid suspected stress fracture in my 5th metatarsal (most outer bone) so I can't run but reckon I'll be ok to cycle (open to correction, but I read it on some websites).

How long is this Oldcastle cycle you all talk of?

[doug]

Folks the cut is only a hill,don't see what the big deal is as i suggested going up one last time before the winter hits,for those who done it in the winter will remember the crappy weather that we cycled in,tought it'd be nice to catch the last of the good weather,as for brian I if you had of done winter cycling with the rest of the group instead of starting in march you might not have got an injury,Brian these are your own words from the end of january this year.
I say keep it simple... train on hills and just pedal up them. Same thing as pedalling on the flat but much more enjoyable - the bigger the better!
So which is bigger the cut or old castle?

[doug]

P.s Brian going up the cut ten times i'd like to see that as long as you dont get caroline to stand in at the last minute ;D

[bboyle]

Now Doug,

The beauty about preaching is that it always comes back to you!

My main reason for not encouraging people to go up the cut is that the group saturday morning cycle is only building up numbers and to go off doing challenges at this stage will start a split. As the group develops the various standards of ability will evolve and i think it is important for the more experienced of us to recognise this so we can assist at this stage. If we take this attitude we will end up having an uninjured larger party of cyclists all more than capable of doing the cut circut on a weekly basis.
You can be sure when I start back training I will not be heading for the hills as I want to avoid injury/burn out/getting fed up. I might even stop for a cup of tea and scone in the first few weeks back!!

Yes Doug, I still think the Cut is only a 'hill' - we should look into some good pre-season mountain climbs (South of France might be NICE!)

As for Caroline doing 'stand in' - she's lovin' it!! (getting a few digs and getting called 'fatty' a bit more often these days) - Cant wait for the comeback (cue Rocky music!)

Brian

[Aidan]

Stop it now. This discussion is causing people to forget the Mooathon thread, I’m not happy. Paula, you know what happens when you make the doctor angry. Me not swimming Friday. I’m retiring at the top of my game.

[bboyle]

Sorry Aidan - will re-MOOve any distractions to more serious discussions!