I am gutted to not have finished Sunday its my 4th year there and I have finished every time, I always dig deep and finish in races I travel to, to be honest my heart was not in it this year, i have had a long year and some some amazing times on my bike with my mates and I will never forget them, for me Germany shattered me it took all the want out of me to ride my bike so after it I didn't really train at all, although I still raced all the rest of the long races when I say raced I should say rode and finished. its funny the head tells you to race but the body soon turns around and tells you to get fooked, you cant poison me every weekend and then expect me to work well for you hahaahaha anyway it wont happen again as I said gutted!!!
Now for the race i did finish and do the best I have done since I went there was fridays race at 2.44hrs I rode outa my skin to stay ahead of the new sherpa of the club Lynchy and once i had 2hrs under me i knew he wouldnt catch me, but once again the cramps started at 26k and with 19k to go i was in a world of pain, every time I had to push up a climb the legs were screaming and locking up on me the pain was horrific I was near to tears but I was not going to quit and let that fecker beat me, for some reason I thought after the ski slope it was all done and dusted, but its not, there are a load more of steep kickers and a hike a bike which was hell to my legs, the steps up outa the beach nearly killed me the running on the beach was worse jeasus I thought it would never end....but it did happy days!!!
Sundays race got a good start but i could feel that unwanted tingle in my legs, so I calmed down and grannied up the 1st long climb where Oz passed me then Philt ok thats grand i said but half way up it legs gave up and cramped hard again then at the last bit of the climb a small kicker 20 mts or so I had to get off, this was about 8k in to a 56k race, I decided to do the descent and see but the calves started cramping going down it so i decided to call it a day when I reached the bottle ladies Anthea and Anita and Owen Cullen. I put the bike in the car and went and watched the rest of my team mates doing deadly and cheered and supported them from numerous places around the course.
A big thanks to all the epic crew, riders and cheerers alike, it really does spur you on, A special thanks to Anita for driving Anthea around to do bottles for me it made all the difference not having to stop once on friday.Also a big thanks to my wifey Anthea for doing my bottles and supporting me and for leaving me alone on Sunday afternoon when I was fuming with myself as I cut my sworks in half and fooked it into the bag!!!
It was deadly to have so many of my club mates there, eating, drinking, drinking and drinking and having the Craic, the slagging was endless with everyone getting it especially Max in his budgie smuggler swim wear hahahaaha and Alfie the white seal in the water I think he got a bit of colour on him although that could have been a freckle, Terry is a complete nut job, Colm is a gentleman, Owen Cullen another nutter, Orla very funny person when she has a few beers, Erica mad as hatter, Caroline very pregnant but was still able to mix it with all the drunk people around her, RL well he is still my mate after all is said and done he trained his heart out this year and deserved to beat me but just didnt hahahaaha, it was great to see Migel, Steve another funny chap with beers shouting at old ladies in frejus and his missis Anita the wild child of the pack and Anthea's bestie and for everyone else who made the effort to go, all these people I would not have met and know if it was not for the club, so thanks to all in Epic it was a great trip and my room is booked for next year roll on 2013
Ok ok I forgot to mention some people, Jackie, Gary, Philt, Flan I love you all too!!!
Well that was the best Buzz of the year for me and my 29er!we had a nice social spin on Thursday and was good to see the smiles on everyone after the first decent!
The Masters race on Friday is always the race to try and do well in as there is no pro's in it and it's a bit shorter distance.Myself Alfie and Max got a good start and got away cleanly the pace was fast and it's so easy to get sucked in with the fast lads.Alfie past me at half distance and disappeared into the distance.he is some man on the hills especially with the gearing he runs.just missed out on a top 100 place but there's always next year!!
Sunday's race was just plain mad...because of the extra distance Alfie Max and I had a plan which was to take off slow and treat it as a fast spin. We were on the front row of the third wave (600 in each wave)which meant there is 1250 already on the track before us.helicopter is hoovering above us and the flag drops and Alfie is out of the seat gunning it so I go after him and we are top five then I got the lead with chopper above .got up the first climb with Alfie with lead group in sight and then it was the best buzz of the trip the first downhill where Alfie and I had a full on assault against the frenchies passing plenty from the previous wave and eventually wiping one of them out !!!RL had a super race and really got a great result for all his hard work during the year and well done to him.Epic mtb had a great presence at the 2012 Roc and well done to Orla Jackie Oz Phil Miguel
Gary Terry Alfie Max Richard Daragh Flan Owen Colm and of course our cheerleaders Erica Caroline Anthea and Anita (who puts up with me) for all the support and cheering us all on.
I booked my room for next year too so c u then ..
Nothing will beat the sound of 500 people in the wave clicking into their pedals, staring down that airfield and the sound of muffled clapping due to cycling gloves.
I guess as a girl it was a very different experience in many ways ..intimidating and encouraging at the same time. The cheers along the way "Allez la femme" etc were just great.I was very surprised at how few women were racing all weekend....are we the mad/stupid/brave ones..?
I loved Sundays race...the extra climb suited me.I started in the 5th wave which was crap but knew what to expect from Fri so went out like a headless chicken at the start. I think all the EPIC crew did great..really..the standard is so high and everyone did amazingly.I was almost grateful for the slippy-sloppy summer we had as those rocks and roots were a doddle in the dry. Bummer for Smithers on the Sun.. in all fairness your bugle playing in Badda-Bing after 678 glasses of wine was worth 3 gold medals....I nearly calved laughing at it....!!
Really enjoyed the banter at dinner time and heading off to St.Tropez was great...yachts, a Porche meet, delicious food, good craic...feic it...that's what it's all about for me. I can't recommend that trip enough and cheers to everyone there for being so friendly. Big respect to the Anthea, Anita and Erika who cheered me on the beach when I was seeing double and were always up for a laugh amongst the mtb talk...looking forward to seeing you all do a race next year!
It's a superb holiday...2013- marathon and Roc races. Bring it on...!
Frist of all, I would like to thanks everyone for the support and the craic at the Roc, it was nice to see some EPIC faces again.
It was my first Roc D’Azur, so I was a bit anxious and curious to do it, so many years earring and reading about it that my expectations were high. The Roc is a major stage in the MTB calendar and for some are the most important races of the year. Now I understand why.... all the pros are there, it’s the major event of year, the races aren’t easy, lots of technical stuff, big climbs and for my surprise much more single tracks that I had expected. Seems like something from another world and it is....
My results weren't the best ones, I’m miles away from my Irish level but I was very happy to finish both races, just finishing them was a very special achievement for me, particularly after all the muscular problems that I had, even though my 3:22h on Friday and 4:41h on Sunday.
I really enjoy every bit of it and now I have a goal for next year.... Do it much better!!
Great to read everyones reports - and for a bunch of messers with drink on us, I think the results from Epic were brilliant. Terry and Smithers (backed up by Anthea and Anita) were the biggest trouble makers, and the trip wouldn't have been the same without them. I was quite nervous at the start of each race, but once I got over the pain of the first hill I really enjoyed the racing. As Jaqui says, being a girl in those races you get enormous encouragement from the trackside supporters, you almost feel like a celebrity. Even from the fellow racers, the craic was great. Great to get the personal shouts of support from the girls on the course and back at the beach. When you pass the beach the first time, its so tough but you know your nearly there. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone, The experience of being in one of the biggest events, the sheer numbers of people, bikes everywhere, the buzz of the start line and helicopters flying just above your head was all amazing. But what really made it was the bunch from Epic out there. Everyone was in great form, great buzz, and really enjoyable to hang out with. Already booked for next year. Ive heard RL is giving courses in focused training!
The Roc is deadly. My third time there and it gets better every year.
For a change I decided to do the Roc Marathon (83 km) on the Friday instead of Roc Masters (44 km) and the main Roc on the Sunday (54 km). Id done a fair few long spins building up to the marathon but nothing had prepared me for the amount of climbing (2700 meters) id have to endure. Volume wise I was pretty confident I could churn out 100 km at a steady pace without falling apart but the race included a sh1t load of steep hard b*stard climbs that completely wrecked me. When Id gotten to 35-40 km I was struggling and then the mind games started as the km on my Garmin appeared to be going backwards! Next year Il definitely do the Marathon again, there were some brilliant singletrack sections that went on for miles (what goes up must come down) and the course was a bit more gnarly than the Sunday route. Also, with some idea of what to expect I reckon Il easily get under 5 hours next time round. The sunday main Roc was also deadly and if it wasnt for Phil Id probably be still out there! I just sat on his wheel for about 30 km until my legs started working and when he got a puncture I got a gap to the finish.
All in all the Roc is just feic'n deadly and it comes at a great time at the end of the season... blue skies, 25 degrees, beer and the craic in the pub... what a great holiday.
well, if I go next year !!
firstly i won't cheat, as I was accused of cheating from a couple of loners in another club, WDF, all I did was give them my real results, so fcuk off lads, as that's not cheating.
That's the only negative thing that happened to me, my results were superb for such a messer, really enjoyed getting to know all the members from the club just that bit better.
I was so Happy for lynchy on Sunday, as the head on him on friday, he looked gutted that he was slower than his arch rival, and he was not impressed. We all did our club very proud
and no-one came back injured,, we rocked the sh1t out of the bad-a-bing-bar and laughed harder than anyone else in the roc.
If Carlsberg did apres roc parties, they would have all of us starring for sure especially mister horn blower Darragh.
im booked in as well for next year. small room back of the hotel, no balcony, no guests allowed, and i'm getting lessons in French too.
BRANLEUR, SORTIR DE MON CHEMIN, Demandez-Moi Le Cul, Full XTR complete !!!
I am gutted to not have finished Sunday its my 4th year there and I have finished every time, I always dig deep and finish in races I travel to, to be honest my heart was not in it this year, i have had a long year and some some amazing times on my bike with my mates and I will never forget them, for me Germany shattered me it took all the want out of me to ride my bike so after it I didn't really train at all, although I still raced all the rest of the long races when I say raced I should say rode and finished. its funny the head tells you to race but the body soon turns around and tells you to get fooked, you cant poison me every weekend and then expect me to work well for you hahaahaha anyway it wont happen again as I said gutted!!!
Now for the race i did finish and do the best I have done since I went there was fridays race at 2.44hrs I rode outa my skin to stay ahead of the new sherpa of the club Lynchy and once i had 2hrs under me i knew he wouldnt catch me, but once again the cramps started at 26k and with 19k to go i was in a world of pain, every time I had to push up a climb the legs were screaming and locking up on me the pain was horrific I was near to tears but I was not going to quit and let that fecker beat me, for some reason I thought after the ski slope it was all done and dusted, but its not, there are a load more of steep kickers and a hike a bike which was hell to my legs, the steps up outa the beach nearly killed me the running on the beach was worse jeasus I thought it would never end....but it did happy days!!!
Sundays race got a good start but i could feel that unwanted tingle in my legs, so I calmed down and grannied up the 1st long climb where Oz passed me then Philt ok thats grand i said but half way up it legs gave up and cramped hard again then at the last bit of the climb a small kicker 20 mts or so I had to get off, this was about 8k in to a 56k race, I decided to do the descent and see but the calves started cramping going down it so i decided to call it a day when I reached the bottle ladies Anthea and Anita and Owen Cullen. I put the bike in the car and went and watched the rest of my team mates doing deadly and cheered and supported them from numerous places around the course.
A big thanks to all the epic crew, riders and cheerers alike, it really does spur you on, A special thanks to Anita for driving Anthea around to do bottles for me it made all the difference not having to stop once on friday.Also a big thanks to my wifey Anthea for doing my bottles and supporting me and for leaving me alone on Sunday afternoon when I was fuming with myself as I cut my sworks in half and fooked it into the bag!!!
It was deadly to have so many of my club mates there, eating, drinking, drinking and drinking and having the Craic, the slagging was endless with everyone getting it especially Max in his budgie smuggler swim wear hahahaaha and Alfie the white seal in the water I think he got a bit of colour on him although that could have been a freckle, Terry is a complete nut job, Colm is a gentleman, Owen Cullen another nutter, Orla very funny person when she has a few beers, Erica mad as hatter, Caroline very pregnant but was still able to mix it with all the drunk people around her, RL well he is still my mate after all is said and done he trained his heart out this year and deserved to beat me but just didnt hahahaaha, it was great to see Migel, Steve another funny chap with beers shouting at old ladies in frejus and his missis Anita the wild child of the pack and Anthea's bestie and for everyone else who made the effort to go, all these people I would not have met and know if it was not for the club, so thanks to all in Epic it was a great trip and my room is booked for next year roll on 2013
Ok ok I forgot to mention some people, Jackie, Gary, Philt, Flan I love you all too!!!
Well that was the best Buzz of the year for me and my 29er!we had a nice social spin on Thursday and was good to see the smiles on everyone after the first decent!
The Masters race on Friday is always the race to try and do well in as there is no pro's in it and it's a bit shorter distance.Myself Alfie and Max got a good start and got away cleanly the pace was fast and it's so easy to get sucked in with the fast lads.Alfie past me at half distance and disappeared into the distance.he is some man on the hills especially with the gearing he runs.just missed out on a top 100 place but there's always next year!!
Sunday's race was just plain mad...because of the extra distance Alfie Max and I had a plan which was to take off slow and treat it as a fast spin. We were on the front row of the third wave (600 in each wave)which meant there is 1250 already on the track before us.helicopter is hoovering above us and the flag drops and Alfie is out of the seat gunning it so I go after him and we are top five then I got the lead with chopper above .got up the first climb with Alfie with lead group in sight and then it was the best buzz of the trip the first downhill where Alfie and I had a full on assault against the frenchies passing plenty from the previous wave and eventually wiping one of them out !!!RL had a super race and really got a great result for all his hard work during the year and well done to him.Epic mtb had a great presence at the 2012 Roc and well done to Orla Jackie Oz Phil Miguel
Gary Terry Alfie Max Richard Daragh Flan Owen Colm and of course our cheerleaders Erica Caroline Anthea and Anita (who puts up with me) for all the support and cheering us all on.
I booked my room for next year too so c u then ..
Nothing will beat the sound of 500 people in the wave clicking into their pedals, staring down that airfield and the sound of muffled clapping due to cycling gloves.
I guess as a girl it was a very different experience in many ways ..intimidating and encouraging at the same time. The cheers along the way "Allez la femme" etc were just great.I was very surprised at how few women were racing all weekend....are we the mad/stupid/brave ones..?
I loved Sundays race...the extra climb suited me.I started in the 5th wave which was crap but knew what to expect from Fri so went out like a headless chicken at the start. I think all the EPIC crew did great..really..the standard is so high and everyone did amazingly.I was almost grateful for the slippy-sloppy summer we had as those rocks and roots were a doddle in the dry. Bummer for Smithers on the Sun.. in all fairness your bugle playing in Badda-Bing after 678 glasses of wine was worth 3 gold medals....I nearly calved laughing at it....!!
Really enjoyed the banter at dinner time and heading off to St.Tropez was great...yachts, a Porche meet, delicious food, good craic...feic it...that's what it's all about for me. I can't recommend that trip enough and cheers to everyone there for being so friendly. Big respect to the Anthea, Anita and Erika who cheered me on the beach when I was seeing double and were always up for a laugh amongst the mtb talk...looking forward to seeing you all do a race next year!
It's a superb holiday...2013- marathon and Roc races. Bring it on...!
Frist of all, I would like to thanks everyone for the support and the craic at the Roc, it was nice to see some EPIC faces again.
It was my first Roc D’Azur, so I was a bit anxious and curious to do it, so many years earring and reading about it that my expectations were high. The Roc is a major stage in the MTB calendar and for some are the most important races of the year. Now I understand why.... all the pros are there, it’s the major event of year, the races aren’t easy, lots of technical stuff, big climbs and for my surprise much more single tracks that I had expected. Seems like something from another world and it is....
My results weren't the best ones, I’m miles away from my Irish level but I was very happy to finish both races, just finishing them was a very special achievement for me, particularly after all the muscular problems that I had, even though my 3:22h on Friday and 4:41h on Sunday.
I really enjoy every bit of it and now I have a goal for next year.... Do it much better!!
Great to read everyones reports - and for a bunch of messers with drink on us, I think the results from Epic were brilliant. Terry and Smithers (backed up by Anthea and Anita) were the biggest trouble makers, and the trip wouldn't have been the same without them. I was quite nervous at the start of each race, but once I got over the pain of the first hill I really enjoyed the racing. As Jaqui says, being a girl in those races you get enormous encouragement from the trackside supporters, you almost feel like a celebrity. Even from the fellow racers, the craic was great. Great to get the personal shouts of support from the girls on the course and back at the beach. When you pass the beach the first time, its so tough but you know your nearly there. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone, The experience of being in one of the biggest events, the sheer numbers of people, bikes everywhere, the buzz of the start line and helicopters flying just above your head was all amazing. But what really made it was the bunch from Epic out there. Everyone was in great form, great buzz, and really enjoyable to hang out with. Already booked for next year. Ive heard RL is giving courses in focused training!
The Roc is deadly. My third time there and it gets better every year.
For a change I decided to do the Roc Marathon (83 km) on the Friday instead of Roc Masters (44 km) and the main Roc on the Sunday (54 km). Id done a fair few long spins building up to the marathon but nothing had prepared me for the amount of climbing (2700 meters) id have to endure. Volume wise I was pretty confident I could churn out 100 km at a steady pace without falling apart but the race included a sh1t load of steep hard b*stard climbs that completely wrecked me. When Id gotten to 35-40 km I was struggling and then the mind games started as the km on my Garmin appeared to be going backwards! Next year Il definitely do the Marathon again, there were some brilliant singletrack sections that went on for miles (what goes up must come down) and the course was a bit more gnarly than the Sunday route. Also, with some idea of what to expect I reckon Il easily get under 5 hours next time round. The sunday main Roc was also deadly and if it wasnt for Phil Id probably be still out there! I just sat on his wheel for about 30 km until my legs started working and when he got a puncture I got a gap to the finish.
All in all the Roc is just feic'n deadly and it comes at a great time at the end of the season... blue skies, 25 degrees, beer and the craic in the pub... what a great holiday.
well, if I go next year !!
firstly i won't cheat, as I was accused of cheating from a couple of loners in another club, WDF, all I did was give them my real results, so fcuk off lads, as that's not cheating.
That's the only negative thing that happened to me, my results were superb for such a messer, really enjoyed getting to know all the members from the club just that bit better.
I was so Happy for lynchy on Sunday, as the head on him on friday, he looked gutted that he was slower than his arch rival, and he was not impressed. We all did our club very proud
and no-one came back injured,, we rocked the sh1t out of the bad-a-bing-bar and laughed harder than anyone else in the roc.
If Carlsberg did apres roc parties, they would have all of us starring for sure especially mister horn blower Darragh.
im booked in as well for next year. small room back of the hotel, no balcony, no guests allowed, and i'm getting lessons in French too.
BRANLEUR, SORTIR DE MON CHEMIN, Demandez-Moi Le Cul, Full XTR complete !!!
