Cycling at Killarney on Wednesdays
After about 3 month of being on the bicycle and doing my regular morning or evening cycles. Which I thought was good training, did I discover that they actually cycle on the Killarney race track here in Table View. This is something I would have never thought of checking out, if it wasn’t for one of my new cycling buddies informing me of this.
When I found out about this new type of training I could do “High Intensity” I thought okay great, its time to up my game. I then went down to Killarney on a Wednesday night only to find some very professional looking cyclists an the South Easter wind pumping. I watched these cyclist doing a few laps of the circuit but it wasn’t something that grabbed my attention as I was not aware of the amount of suffering that was going on in the peloton at the time.
When I went home that evening I thought let me try this criterium cycling next week. So the next week came and I went down to what they actually call Race night Wednesdays. Not knowing at the time that there is actually Tuesday and Thursday evenings for the beginners and PPA members.
What I learnt on my first time cycling on the track is that the beginners will start with what they call the scratch plus 1 group. This group is made up of the more novice/beginners and slower cyclist. You then get the Scratch group which is compiled of the pro/elite riders and for anyone else who thinks they can handle average speeds of around 35km to 45km for 1 hour.
My first night was tough, I must say I probably only lasted 3 laps with my group before being dropped badly but very badly. The reason why I say badly is because I was only able to catch my breath and try and latch onto the group again after the 3rd time they came around. Also riding in a group like this is very good training on how to cycle in a peloton.
After that night I then came back the following week and did the same thing again. Lasted about 4 laps with the group that time and so on. With every week I could feel how I was able to hang on to the scratch plus 1 group longer and longer. I would recommend this high intensity cycling training to anyone that is looking to add that extra edge to their training plan.
In order to be part of this awesome cycle racing all you will need is R30 which you will pay by the ladies. I would recommend that you get to the race track by at least 17:50pm as the cyclist go onto the track at 18:00pm sharp. They then do circuit laps for about an hour and then the bell will ring which will mean the race is on as that is the last lap. This is where you are going to have to dig deep if you want to get to the line with the peloton.
Until my next Wednesday Killarney Race Night post, peace out!
