Nire Valley Drop

[carr16v]

Nire Valley Drop Sunday 30th Oct. Three distances, 30k,45k and 60k. Its an MTB sportive. Loads of single track. Really love this event. Myself and Nigel will be doing the 60k. If you like your mountain biking, then this is a great event. Plenty of short cuts if you decide to do a shorter distance.

[LorraineB]

I'm travelling too. Planning on doing the 60k.

[carr16v]

Put the new bike through its paces

[DavidC]

I'm in. Time to pop the ol' Nire Valley cherry. Wooahoo!

[Jonny_Irish]

I'm in for 60 k aswell

[NMcCord]

60k for me . It's going to be Epic . This will be the dryest one yet . Lots of fast single track . Nothing Technical at all .

[Mr Scuttleman]

Great day. Perfect conditions. NVD is class. Not sure whether drop refers to the chances of middle aged fat boys dropping dead especially on that killer 5k climb back upto the feeding station or the beautiful drops. Playing Meatloaf at the start was symbolic of age and size of many of the competitors! While I didn't drop I am not sure that I'll be able to father anymore children! Massive turn out from 795 and 3 from MLS (who have sworn never to come again, just as well that they weren't there last year!).
The day started with everyone gathered around my boot like I was having a car boot sale. Then Jim saying that the Santa Cruz is wasted on me. Next he offered to buy it at the starting line. Clubmates, eh! At least I did the extra 10km loop which was only 6k and a doodle, unlike Jim so maybe I am more deserving! Having said that to my great regret I skipped the Cannonball as the steward said that it was an extra 13km (instead of the actual 2km), I questioned him and he was adamant. At 3pm an extra 13km which would have taken it to over 65km didn't seem like a good idea with an hour of light lost last night. Then we got to the final 7km which was actual 15km. Finally got to the 'final' single track decent "Chicken George' only to find 3 more. Only complaint was that stewards were not only ill-informed but giving out completely wrong information. Hard to fault volunteers who give up their day but it would be easy enough from them to be briefed. Lots of people saying nice things about 795 as they were passing me! Maybe they were being nice to me! Turing on me sounds kept them quiet. I can't imagine that many more clubs had 12 representatives. I suffered from hyperthermia for wearing my club gear.
Great food at the end, especially the soup. Locals to be commended. Looks like the whole village and hinterland turned out to help.
Perfect bank holiday Sunday. Well done to everyone. Thanks for the kudos on Strava, not sure how to return them so writing this!

[carr16v]

An excellent event with great weather. Makes up for last year. Well done to all club members on finishing. Some new bikes on display and well used yesterday. Love this event. Had forgotten about the climbing bit, but there was plenty of drops to make up for it. The last loop for the 55k was very lonely. Had me thinking I had made another wrong turn, but then seen a very welcome red arrow. Was expecting Lorraine to catch me on this climb. Sorry Lorraine for making you rush your sandwich. Lorraine had the legs on me on the climbs but I would catch back up on the drops. The final run down the hill is some buzz. Had to work through cramps at this stage. The soup was the business. Darkness was starting to come in quick with the hour gone back. Roll on next year. Mr Scuttleman looked very warm in that winter jacket But fairplay for wearing the club colours.

[DavidC]

My first NVD and I'm impressed. Event similar in nature to our Mt Leinster Mtb Challenge but more accessible to all kinds of cyclists, not just experienced mtbers. And they seem to have the whole community involved. Great to see so many kids helping out. Thumbs up for the NVD and well done to all the finishers.
Special thanks to Scuttleman for the entertainment. Always a joy to watch his preparatory routine.