Ladies TQ Paper 2-Day
The best ride of our lives – on wheels!
Day 1: 64.4k, 8 laps of Boot Inn Circuit followed by 2k time trial
Saturday the 4th Oct dawned a chilly day. This was the morning we had all been waiting for. The legs had been shaved and the carbs had been loaded. Now it was time to show the guys that we could unchain ourselves from the kitchen sink and kick ass. Emma, Colleen, Caroline, Grace, Breda and Bernie arrived at Sportslink, still not sure of what we were letting ourselves in for. Armed with bananas, energy bars and jelly babies, we donned our tight lycra (that hide no wobbly bits) and were ready for action. The pace was neutralised up as far as the Boot Inn, where we were let off. The first 3 laps were agony, when you start to think that you would rather eat the bike than go any further! Grace, who was on the Lenister team, stuck with the main bunch. After about 5 laps, Caroline, Colleen and myself formed a great group and finished together with Emma and Breda close on our heels. Grace, in the thick of it all day, finished a credible 9th in the mass sprint for the stage. At the finish line, everybody was congratulating each other on finishing the race, delighted that we all had managed to do it. Of course we could have stood there all day yapping, but as it was cold we headed back to Sportslink. The aches and pains of the first stage were thankfully eased by Catriona Byrne, (Arc Aromatherapy), who gave all the Swords ladies a full body massage which prepared us for the next 2 stages. Coupled with a great chat and sambos, we were ready for action again for our “I can’t believe its not 200k” time trial. We all found it tough.
Day 2: 70k, including every hill in North Co Dublin!
One of those days that you don’t want to get out of bed as you know what lies ahead!! Thankfully it didn’t seem as cold as Saturday. Once again the pace was neutralised as far as the boot inn, where the girls made up for it and took off like rockets!! Grace and Emma stuck with the bunch, while Colleen, Breda, Caroline and myself formed our own group with about 15 riders in total. Once again, we had a great pace and really enjoyed the spin. The hills were tough and we didn’t have “the hand of God” to help us, but gritted in. Caroline took off in the Naul and stayed away, would love to know what she had for brekkie!!! All in all we really enjoyed the race, and were delighted to finish. We are already looking forward to next year!
(BTW I saw those 15 sprint it out at the finish and it was ‘eyeballs out’ – Hugh)
Swords CC members have become a new form of vegetation, popping up in ditches all over north county Dublin!! Every corner we turned there was plenty of cheering and support. We were amazed at the support from the club, thanks to everyone who stood patiently in the cold to offer support, it meant a lot.
Right girls, what next ??
