by kieran » Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:40 pm
never heard of the tour of waterford, but once about 3 years ago we took the bikes over I cycled in the area with the family. We cycled part of the place Aodan describes in:
"The Mahon Falls climb is the signature climb of this event. A 350m climb, at an average gradient of 8%, and just like all the best climbs, it finishes on a 25% ramp with an official photographer waiting at the top!
Motorists around here refer to a stretch of “magic road” about half way up this climb. The story goes that if you release the handbrake at a certain point the car will roll up the hill. Maybe it’s true, but I definitely didn’t feel the bike rolling effortlessly up the hill. In fact, at this stage every pedal revolution was a struggle and I even found myself looking for a suitable stretch to get off and walk. "
Not easy dragging a tag-a-long. The magic road is an optical illusion caused by differing slopes for the road and surround land.