Marble City 200

Organiser: Patrick Tobin

Address: 4 Hollybank Lawn, Clongowen, Waterford Road, Kilkenny

Entry Fee: €6 (download Event Entry Form). CI license required.

Start Point: IWA Buildings, Kilkenny.

Start Time: 8am, Saturday 2nd April 2011

Facilities: Entries available on the line. Feed stops en route and at finish line. Sit-down lunch for app. €6.

Map

After leaving Kilkenny, the first town that the route will take you through is Bagnelstown and from there we will proceed to Borris. It’s then a scenic route from Borris to New Ross (please feel free to interpret the word “scenic” for “draggy”!). The end of this road runs along side the River Barrow for a few miles before New Ross. When we come to the N.30 junction, we will be taking a right – as this is a busy road and we are taking a right, extra care is needed. We won’t be staying on the N.30 for very long as we will be taking the first right off it, to cross over the ‘Ferrybank Bridge’. We will be having our first control point shortly after this point.

From the first control point, we will proceed to the picturesque town of Inistiogue and then to Thomastown. From Thomastown, we take the road to Waterford until we come to a ‘T junction’, whereby cyclists will take a right to Knocktopher. From Knocktopher we will proceed to Kilmaganny and then to the home of the brilliant Seán Kelly, Carrick on Suir. Please be careful coming into Carrick as there is a railway track to negotiate as you approach the town. Then from Carrick-on-Suir towards Clonmel, where we will have our second control point at “Ikes and Mikes” pub, which is 6km outside Carrick. For those who have paid the additional €6 charge, they will be able to enjoy the tea, coffee and sandwiches at this establishment.

From this control point, we will continue to Kilsheehan, turn off the main road for Fethard (careful as the railway track runs through here). From Fethard we will be going through the Tipperary towns of Killenaule and Ballingarry; our third control point is at the old Ballingarry creamery, which is about a kilometre before Ballingarry village. Then we will be crossing back into the Kilkenny boundaries again and heading back to the city, via Kilmanagh.

All in all, this is an ideal route for someone who wants to travel the 200km distance without doing any major climbs. Although it still would be wrong to call it a flat route!


Long-distance cycling in Ireland