rain miles count double

August 30th, 2009. The day had finally rolled around. This was the big one, the one all the training and Sundays spent in the saddle had been for. Lough Neagh: 25Km long, 35Km wide, the largest lake in the British Isles, and today I would be cycling 140Km around its shores. Neagh Problem, they say, but that’s 40% more cycling in a single day than I’d ever attempted before and a serious challenge to a guy who couldn’t cycle 5Km 18 months ago.

This was Lap The Lough 2009.

Lap The Lough 2009 - Neagh Problem

I started early, loading up on porridge and bananas at a sunny 6am before strapping my BeOne Storm to the back of the car and heading for Kinnego Harbour for the start line. I was fairly nervous about how I’d fare on the ride, as the back problems I’ve been whining about were playing up and my legs had felt quite leaden on a short warm up ride on Saturday. But there was no backing out now!

As I arrived at Kinnego it became clear this was going to be a large event as the queues for the car park stretched back to the main road and took around 15 minutes to negotiate! Our own group was larger than usual too, numbering eight including myself, and we could have been ten or more if a few others who had mentioned going had been well or actually shown up like they said they would. You know who you are.

Registration was necessarily quick and efficient and I picked up my free moustache and the official event T-shirt designed by Canadian artist Marc Johns (which then spent the day tied around my handlebars), however I wasn’t aware there was a free goodie bag and missed out on that.

Moustaches Enjoy Cycling Too

As with the Bangor Coastal Challenge, all breeds of bicycle were represented in the peleton. Most were on road bikes, but there were signifcant numbers on hybrids, mountain bikes and even a few tandem riders too. Chain Reaction were well represented as I saw a couple of other BeOne Storms, other BeOne models, and quite a few Vitus Alios too.

The start was delayed and it was close to 9:45 (I think) before anyone’s wheels were spinning. Conditions were good as we left Kinnego for Craigavon, with an overcast, cool day and only a light breeze to contend with. The thousand-plus riders in the event were still very much bunched up at this stage and filled the width of the country roads along this section! Marshals and motorcycle outriders were there to direct traffic and ensure safety for all concerned.

It was to be a busy day for the Puncture Fairy, and Her Flatness struck after only a few miles with Graham going down first around Seagoe. Our group split for the first (but not last) time here with Jonny and Ciaran going back to help and the rest of us continuing onwards to Portadown. The town centre was quiet at this time on a Sunday morning but the PSNI were there to guide the riders through nonetheless. I’ll admit I did a bit of red light jumping, but I reasoned it was allowed as a police officer was holding up traffic and waving us through. That felt good.

Fixing a Puncture on Farlough Road

Leaving Portadown we encountered a section of Farlough Road that had been recently top coated with sharp gravel. Unsurprisingly, this proved to be a bike-unfriendly surface and I saw many riders stopped with punctures along this stretch. Our very own Dave suffered here too, his front tyre deflating in a slow puncture style. He didn’t have a pump so I stopped with him to reinflate the tyre before continuing.

We finally cleared the gravel and came to the Maghery Footbridge over the river Blackwater, and an unofficial water and repair stop. Our trailing group of Jonny, Ciaran and Graham had made good time (thanks to Jonny tapping out a 20mph+ pace, I’m told) and caught up with me and Dave at the water stop. Dave’s bike was only a week old and his tyres were very new and tight, so it actually turned in to quite a struggle to change his slow punctured tube. We must have been stopped for 15 minutes fighting with it and the mechanic from the Sweeper Van stepped in to help too!

Maghery Water Stop

Eventually we were on the way again, but we nearly weren’t as Graham had a close encounter with a verge as we left Maghery, lost control, nearly recovered and finally tumbled off. He was a bit shaken up and sore, but seemed fit to continue.

Jonny and Ciaran lead the way to the first official stop at Ballyronan Marina, and I just about hung on to their wheels as the pace was quick (for me) again. We were making good time, but as we went through the centre of Ardboe another accident struck. Ciaran touched wheels with Jonny and went off in a bad crash, going down hard on his shoulder and knee and then sliding to bounce off a high kerb. Fortunately he wasn’t badly hurt, but he was bleeding, his knee was starting to swell ominously and he looked like he’d taken a bit of a knock to the head. We continued slowly to the Ballyronan stop, where Ciaran and Graham decided to call it a day and retired from the event.

Ciaran went to get checked out at casualty but was given a clean bill of health later.

Jonny took off at his own (much faster) pace and the other half of our group were by now too far ahead to consider catching, which left just Dave and me to complete the course together. We pedalled along the uneventful stretch from Ballyronan, through Toome and Randalstown and on to the lunch stop. Uneventful, that is, apart from one hairy moment with a fast moving and seemingly unobservant car at a roundabout in Antrim centre. But we managed to survive even that.

Lunch at Shane's Castle

The lunch stop this year was in the grounds of Shane’s Castle. A seemingly endless supply of sandwiches, biscuits and tea were laid out on tables and were eagerly devoured. Physiotherapy and massage services were available and a string quartet provided entertainment. It was just good to get off the saddle for a while too!

I also ran into sometime Rain Miles commenter and fellow BeOne Storm rider Damien Callaly. Hi, Damien, good to meet you in real life!

Lunch brought a further pleasant surprise. I was guilty of not really studying the route beforehand and had thought the Shane’s Castle stop was about halfway along. Given the state of my legs by that stage I was worried about having to do the same distance again to the finish, so I was very relieved to learn that we were actually more than halfway along and “only” had another 55Km to go.

Me at the Shane's Castle Lunch Stop

Getting going again after stopping was tough and not made any easier by the torrential rain that had started pouring down by now. But, rain gear on and refuelled, we ground along the east coast of Lough Neagh, skirting Aldergrove, Glenavy and Ballinderry. We had decided to try to maintain a 20-25Km/h pace despite the conditions (weather and legs) and more or less managed to do so, apart from a few stretches battered by a strong headwind where we had to back off.

We were well behind the main groups by now and were alone on the back roads for long periods, with only occasional stragglers to pass. It was good to have company (even if it was only Dave) as I think it would have been a cold, lonely and fairly miserable time otherwise. I felt sorry for the lone backmarkers, plugging away by themselves in the rain, and Dave and I both called out words of encouragement as we passed each one. “Keep ‘er going!”, “Nearly there!”, “Don’t give up!”, “Lovely weather!” and so on, you know the type of thing.

It was along this stretch, near the end of the course, that we encountered the disturbing scene of a paramedic crew applying CPR to a cyclist on the road. Tragically, the cyclist, later identifed as Bryan Hopley from Bangor, didn’t pull through.

We didn’t stop to look and moved on quickly. It was getting near the end now and it was starting to hurt. A lot. My legs were tired and cold, and I’d twisted my knee somehow at the 110Km mark so now any downstroke requiring any sort of power was hurting. A lot. I’d like to say I was composed, manly and stoic about the discomfort, but I think I complained. A lot. Sorry, Dave.

A final water stop was due at 15Km to go but we missed it somehow (I think they’d packed up and gone we were so late) and a quick break in a layby had to suffice instead. These last 15Km were the toughest of the course for me, but at least the rain had eased off a little by now. Finally, we crossed the M1 again on the Annesborough Road bridge and made it back to Kinnego Harbour for the finish line.

We’d Lapped The Lough!

Striking a Pose at the Finish Line

I finished with 86.2 miles on the clock and an average speed of 15.1 mph, with around 5 hours 30 minutes pedalling but 7 hours elapsed due to stops and repairs. At the outset, I’d expected a time of closer to 6 hours actual riding so I was pleased with these statistics. It turned out that our lead group was only about 15 minutes ahead, and Dave and I met up with them while having our post-event biscuits and cup of lukewarm (but very welcome) tea.

The event was well organised throughout, with good signage, PSNI support, mostly enough marshalls (they were a bit too thinly spread near the end) and plenty of food and water at the stops even for the stragglers. I’ve only heard reports of a few accidents, and of those only one or two required the attendance of the emergency services. We musn’t forget of course the passing of Bryan Hopley which does add an unfortunate shade of tragedy to the day.

A post on the Lap The Lough Forums claims:

We had 700 entries last year. We had 1,322 this year, almost double. We couldn’t have predicted this even the week before.

I say the promoters are to be applauded for handling these unexpected numbers as well as they did. Well done, folks! Double again next year?

Lap The Lough 2009 Photographs

I’ve uploaded a number of photographs I took on the day to a Lap The Lough 2009 photo album, and there are more in the official Lap The Lough 2009 Flickr Group. You can also view my pictures (and others from other rides) on my Bike Trips Flickr Set.

The BeOne had performed flawlessley again and even escaped the attentions of the Puncture Fairy. I’d broken my personal distance record and finished almost half an hour ahead of where I thought I might. On the day, I ate and drank a lot more than I had been on training runs as well as adding an extra dose of electrolytes to my fuel drink (as I’m a sweaty git), and I really do think these adjustments contributed to my performance. Food for thought, if you’ll excuse the pun, for next year’s training plan. I’d been toying with the idea of attempting an “imperial century” event (100 miles) next year, and completing this 86 mile course as well as I did has given me the confidence to go ahead with that idea as soon as I find the right event.

I thoroughly enjoyed my lap of the lough and had mixed feelings at the end. Sure, I was glad to cross the finish line and rest my cold, sore and weary bones, but at the same time I was sorry the day was actually over. The Lap The Lough event was the climax of my 2009 cycling “season”. I’ve put a lot of effort and miles into these past few months, but I’m glad to be settling in for a reduced autumn and winter cycling programme consisting mainly of commuting runs. Right now I need a rest, but I’ll definitely give Lap The Lough another go.

Just not for another year or so, eh? Please?

Did you take part in Lap The Lough 2009? How was it for you? Tell your story in the comments!