Of course the lads were right. The Wicklow 200 is not to be taken lightly, and while the organisers, the Irish Veterans Cycling Association (IVCA), list the start time as seven am, you can check in and head off anytime after six. With 200 kilometres and over 2,000 metres of climbing, not to mention the 2,377 participants all needing to check in, it makes sense to get an early start. And in the event, I felt fairly fresh, all things considered, as I wolfed some Weetabix and a cheese sandwich before hoisting my bike onto Brian’s car and heading off for the starting point at Greystones.

We parked at Greystones Rugby Club and headed for the check-in at the adjacent Shoreline Leisure Centre. There were five of us in all, regular cycling companions, and it was 06.10 approximately as we hit the road (the official record shows my start time as 06.02 but, inevitably, there was some “faffing” before we got going). We headed up the gradual climb along the new bypass road from Greystones, joining the Glen of the Downs road at Delgany. The organisers had provided goody bags with various energy foods which we pocketed for consumption later. Soon we had left the main road and were getting stuck into the first climbing of the day, from Kilmacanogue up through Rocky Valley and thence to the road passed the Powerscourt Waterfall and Crone Wood, where the “granny gears” were soon in use.

Apart from a brief bout of tweaking caused by adjustments to the brakes of one of the party (who will not be named in order to avoid embarrassment), this part of the trip was without incident. We did notice however that an extraordinary number of riders were pulling up with punctures. Now when over 2,000 cyclists hit the road in an event like this, a few punctures are to be expected, but this number was unprecedented. We were told later that the cause was thumb tacks on the road. The question of what sort of feeble minded prankster can find the time to spread thumb tacks on a back road in Wicklow is probably not a profitable source of conjecture, but no doubt some of the victims could suggest appropriate penalties for the culprits! We were lucky and escaped unscathed.

After a pleasant climb as far as Glencree, we moved on to the L94 past Lough Bray and up the demanding gradient towards the Liffey Head Bridge. Around this point it began to rain, lightly at first but increasingly heavy and wetting. On with the raingear and out with the “ah sure it could be worse” philosophy. This rather spoiled the passage through the Sally Gap and the descent towards Kilbride. The rain did not last however and gradually cleared as we travelled along the scenic but demanding lake drive, via Lacken and Valleymount, with its attractive vistas (glimpsed through the clouds) of the Blessington lakes, and its frequent steep hills.

We arrived in the village of Donard at around 11.30 where tea and sandwiches were provided. By now the day had turned sunny and we were able to sit outside the feeding station for a well earned break. After a rather long wait to fill water bottles we continued on, moving now towards the dreaded Slieve Maan. At this stage it got sunny enough to warrant stopping to shed a layer of clothing and put on sunscreen before hitting the hills again. While doing this I had to scramble form a steep wall into a field beside a stream to retrive one of my gloves, which had blown off the saddle of my bike. I can only presume that this is where I gained some scrapes on my left leg, which I didn’t notice until later.

Slieve Maan is a long haul, preceded by an initial climb which is only the starter before the main climb. As I pushed up the hill in low gear I passed a number of cyclists who were reduced to walking, presumably because of the high gearing on their machines. Unless you are at racing levels of fitness there is a lot to be said for a touring set up on these events.

The sun blazed down at the top of Sleve Maan – over half way there and feeling good! A fast descent was followed by another steep climb, this time up to the Shay Elliot memorial. Coming after the exertions on Slieve Maan, this is where I felt the pain, but I was heartened by cries of encouragement from onlookers near the top. From here we descended again, this time into the beautiful Clara Valley. This route really is a good reminder of the delights Wicklow has for the touring cyclist. Another food stop awaited us at Rathdrum, and our arrival here was fortuitously timed as we got indoors just in time to avoid a shower.

The rain had stopped when we left Rathdrum but it remained ominously cloudy. The route wound on past the Avondale estate and took a long downhill to the village of Avoca. Just as we were beginning to enjoy the downward gradients, we were swiftly brought back to reality by the climb out of Avoca towards Redcross. From there we followed a back road to Ashford via Glenealy. It was on this stretch that the heavens opened in earnest, some time after 15.00. Out with the raingear again but there was less philosophising this time. Mind you, anyone who felt unfortunate to be out in that rain should read Gerry Griffin’s account of the 1983 event on the Wicklow 200 website; I was there and I can confirm that it rained continually all day! Our group was broken up as some decided to take shelter while more plugged on through the torrential rain. We regrouped at Ashford for the final run in via Kilcoole to Greystones, with the rain getting steadily worse and reaching biblical proportions as we finally made it back to the Shoreline Leisure Centre, finishing at 17.08, almost exactly eleven hours from our starting time.

A hot shower and some soup and pasta worked wonders in restoring our spirits as we relaxed after the long day. Rain and some bone jarring surfaces aside, it was a most enjoyable experience. Congratulations to the organisers for a job well done, and I look forward to better weather next year!

John O’Flynn