Club notes and weekly spin schedule

By peter@webme.ie | August 17, 2015

Apologies to you all for no update on last Thursday evenings race, I had some technical difficulties with my pc but we are finally back in business again.

Another week has come and gone and on Thursday evening we held the last of our championship races with a 32km road race. We had to change the planned route yet again last minute as we were not 100% sure if the roadworks on the Coolbawn to Puckane road would be finished in time, so in the end decided to go with a new route that started from the picnic area just outside Toomevara, from there it continued to Moneygall, left to Cloughjordan, on to Borrisokane and the finish just before Ardcroney. We had a record number of riders out for the last main road race, with 19 members racing on the evening. It was a relatively flat course with a few rolling hills in the mix but still challenging in a race scenario. It was a very fast race with all groups merging just outside Borrisokane. It came down to a bunch sprint in the end with Dan Hogan yet again taking a fine win on the evening, congratulations on the win Dan. Liam Callaghan crossed the line in second place and Pat Bergin took the last spot on the podium.

Dan sprinting and taking the win in the Championship road race

The group at the finish

Well done to everyone who was out racing on the night. We would like to thank Jan for time keeping as usual, Mike Sheedy our motorbike marshal for keeping the riders safe on the road and to Selina for the photos from the night which you can see here.

On Saturday we had two members taking part in the National TT championships (time trial) in Cong, Co. Mayo. Liam Callaghan competing in the Masters 40 category and John Foote competing in the Masters 50 category. The course was 24km in distance on what was said to be a tough hilly route from the off. The race started on a climb and the road surface was not great. They had a tough headwind to contend with for the last 10km which didn’t make things easy. Both riders completed the course and did themselves and the club proud so very well done to you both for taking part. We hope to find some pictures of the lads in action on line during the week.

Liam and John with their soigneur Eoin 🙂

John and Liam after the Masters TT in Cong in Co.Mayo

On Sunday we had lower numbers than usual for our normal club spin as the majority of people travelled to Dublin to the see the Tipperary vs Galway match. The group completed the planned route on the morning and a good spin was had by all. We hope to see everyone back out next weekend.

Nanno Vuyk took part in this years Étape Connemara which is a fun sportive with a competitive edge. Now in its 3rd year, this cycle sportive helps to raise vital funds for Croí, the Heart and Stroke Charity based in the West of Ireland. This is a 150km route and you are against the clock to complete the challenging, scenic route through Connemara with your finishing time becoming your target to beat the following year and you get an official time! Well done Nanno on completing the challenge.

Nanno after completing the Etape Connemara

Open Racing

On Sunday we had club member David Kyle in action in the A3 National road race championship in Cong, Co. Mayo. You can read David’s race report of his day below.

The A3 National Championship Road Race was held in Cong, Co. Mayo, over a testing 110km distance.

Racing got underway after a 2km neutralised roll out from Cong and it was not long before some bikes started going off the front, but with 110km and most of the principals still in the bunch I was happy to stay put and try to stay out of trouble near the front. After about 15km we started getting time gaps to the now 6-man breakaway and we were holding it at around 45 seconds, so nobody was panicking. We hit the climb full-on and I was in a good position over the top for the descent, which was pretty hairy with some very tight turns in between fast sections. There were some splits after the climb and descent but it came back together shortly afterwards, apart from the break that was still out there. After another few steep drags a bit of pace came back into the front of the bunch and as I was doing my bit to control the break and hovering around the front 5, we came onto a small, left-right skew bridge before another uphill drag. I was sitting in P4 going through the bridge when on the exit the rider in front of me slid out very suddenly and I had to make an adjustment to avoid him; I thought I was going to get through okay but then suddenly my back wheel slid out too and I hit the deck. Concerned that the bunch was going to plough into me, I got up straight away and had to stand in the middle of the road as the peloton negotiated its way around me safely. Once they were through I moved to the side of the road and quickly checked myself and the bike over and, after landing hard all down my right side, was surprised to find no road rash or torn gear. After banging my saddle straight and checking my gears it looked like my bike was okay and with the convoy of team cars still coming through I decided I had a chance of getting back on. I chased hard through the cars and was making good progress getting to within 100m a couple of times and I was sure I was going to get back but I was finding it harder than it should have been to close that final gap. During the chase back I could hear a rubbing noise from the brakes and so I had opened the calipers but that didn’t resolve it. After a 15 minute determined chase I had to let go and watched as the race then disappeared quickly out of sight. I stopped up at the end of the lap and had another look at the bike, I found the back brake was rubbing strongly against the back wheel, explaining to me why I could not get back on when I felt I should have been able to (“Yeah right, that’s what they all say!”). So it was a disappointing premature end to my race, mostly in not knowing how I would have fared when the serious racing started on the second lap and up the climb, but relieved nonetheless to have gotten away relatively lightly from the spill and glad to have got the experience of taking part in a national event.

David Kyle before the A3 National road race in Cong.

David Kyle before the A3 National championship road race in Cong.

Well done David.

Charity cycle for Crumlins Childrens medical and research unit in Dublin

We have two club members, Owen and Selina Hynes who are taking part in a charity cycle event this coming weekend 21st and 22nd of August. They will cycle over 300km over two days from Ringaskiddy in Cork to limerick along with around 180 other riders from the Johnson & Johnson factories in Cork, Limerick and Dublin. Day 1 starts in Ringaskiddy, then on to Macroom, Kenmare, Molls Gap and then to Killarney. Day 2 Killarney, Tralee, Ballyheigue, Ballybunion, Tarbert, Foynes, finish at the UL Arena. This is the third year this event has been run and between all the JnJ companies have raised much needed funds for this worthy cause. Tour de France winner Stephen Roche will be cycling along side them over the two days. Very best of luck to you both with your cycle. All the details of the charity sponsorship can be found here if you would like to sponsor them. Just put their names in the comments box so the organisers know who the sponsorship is for.

Next weeks Club Training rides are as follows:

Tuesday: Club training spin leaving from Moynans at 6.30pm. Avg speed on the evening between 28/30kph.

Wednesday: Club intermediate spin leaving from Moynans at 7pm. Avg speed between 25/27kph.

Thursday: Sees the race season come to an end with the “Championship Flying Mile” In this event you simply cycle a mile as fast as you can! The race will take place on the old N7 Limerick road between the Roundhill and the Yellowbridge with a rolling start. You can sign on at 6.15pm at Moynans bike shop or at the Roundhill. Group departs to the start at 6.30pm and race starts at approx 7 pm. Entry is €5

Sunday: We have the normal club spin leaving from Moynans at 9am.

This weekend we will have our old favourite UL spin. Route: Nenagh – Birdhill – O’Brien’s Bridge – Clonlara – Plassey and we will have a coffee (and cake!! 🙂 ) stop in the UL Arena cafe so bring a few euro along for this. We will then all spin back to Annacotty and then back to Nenagh, a total of 76km. The senior group as normal can add an extra loop at the end or add in a couple of spins up the ramp in Birdhill as they wish 🙂

We hope that you all enjoy a great week.

For further information on any club events or if interested in joining the club, please contact Pat Bergin 087 6744400

Posted in Uncategorized