Fine weather at long last graced us with its company for the weekend. We had begun to forget what the sun actually looked like. It’s so nice to be able at long last to head out for a spin without all the heavy layers making you look like the Michelin man!

Tuesday

The club is now back to a hive of activity as the club race season has finally started back but before I get to that, we had a fine group out on Tuesday evening for our club training ride and by all accounts it was a cracker of a spin with everyone getting a good workout on the evening. The route they took was Nenagh, Toomevara, Dolla, old N7 and back in to Nenagh, a total distance of 47km. They had a strong tailwind on the way back to town so it was full throttle on the way home. Obviously as the evenings are now getting longer they will have more time to get in the extra kms again soon as the season continues. Well done everyone.

Wednesday

As you all aware by now the club has launched “Bike for Life” and Wednesday evening we had a number of members taking part in the bike skills part of the course. It was actually a very educational evening and we learned something new and this is coming from a cyclist of many years experience. Thanks to everyone who was there on the evening.

Thursday

Its club race season again 🙂 I think we’re all really happy about that and we can now see the results of how all our hard training over the winter is paying off. We had the first club race of the season and it always starts with the J Moynan TT1. Not everyone is a lover of TT (time trial) but the beauty is you are only racing yourself against the clock and gives you a good indication of where your fitness level is for the start of the season, but most of all they are a bit of craic. We had a big turnout for the TT on the evening which is just fantastic to see. The route they would all cycle was Roundhill- Fivealley roundabout – yellowbridge, a total distance of 16km. They had a fine tailwind on the outer journey so obviously at the turn back point they were greeted by a not so nice headwind which made it tough but they all managed to get home safe to the finish and set some fantastic times on the night.  Well done to Eoin Woods who set the fastest time on the night and well done to all for racing, Kudos. Thanks to Jan for timekeeping and thanks to Noel and Conor for marshalling on the night.

Members who took part in the J Moynan TT1

J Moynan TT1 Results 06/04/17

Saturday

We had a few members head to the county of Clare to take part in the Cliffs of Moher challenge. Pictured Michael Crowe, Gerry McGarry, Roger Spain, and Pat Carr. They were blessed with the weather and enjoyed the day out. They covered a distance of 125km on the day so very well done to you all. Kudos.

Sunday

Sunday started out that bit gloomier than the previous day but a big turnout of members were there to tackle the testing route that lay ahead.The fine weather ensured a fine turnout for the morning group spin. The 20 strong red group headed off at a brisk pace but it was manageable. It set the tone for the day and as the group turned towards Dolla, 4 riders Rob, Dan, Nanno and Kevin (yip that’s Kevin Byrne, I kid you not 😉 Great to see you back out Kevin!) pushed the pace up the climb, however poor Nanno suffered a puncture near the top. The 4 lads stayed with Nanno who needed to use his old tube to repair the tyre and his MacGyveresque efforts were enough to see him through the spin. The main group passed while the repairs were underway but shouts of “we will catch up” saw them continue ahead, so finally with repairs finished, the four lads pushed on with Dan and Nanno setting a very respectable pace that allowed them re-join the main peloton just after Borrisoleigh. The group rolled over nicely into what seemed like a continuous headwind but they made good time to Templemore and onto Moneygall. Some riders chose to go straight back to Nenagh from Moneygall while the main bunch turned for Cloughjordan. The kms ticked by nicely as the group rolled over into Moneygall. Shouts of “I have an exam to study for” saw Eva take to the front of the bunch and up the pace considerably but her challenge to control the bunch was short lived after a short but poignant physics lesson by Rob (F = M x A) . Pete and Eva turned in Cloughjordan while the bunch faced the draggy road to Borrisokane. It was here that Dan remembered he left the Emersion on or that the cat was in the tumble dryer, whatever the reason his power output to Borrisokane will have the E.S.B tapping into his cranks from now on. Watts of 1727 were recorded by riders sitting on his wheel 🙂  I think you will just be able to manage the Mallorca 312 Dan.  A well-earned latte and apple bun in Borrisokane and the remaining riders faced the head wind home to Nenagh. Rob turned towards Knigh Cross and suffered a similar fate to Nanno with a split rear tyre puncture but this not deter from a great few hours he had on the bike. It was tough at times on route but everyone dug in. A special mention to Trevor who joined the Red group on his first group spin. Meanwhile our Orange group who had set off towards Dolla, 11 riders strong, tackled the Dolla climb but not without firstly agreeing to re group at the top, So with the biggest climb of the day out of the way they enjoyed the long descent into Templederry and on towards Borrisoleigh. Some of the group stretched their legs on road to Templemore where again they regrouped once more making sure nobody was left behind. The wind picked up, so they were happy to stop for coffee in Obama plaza on the way home. At this point their group split in two and one group continued on the original route towards CloughJordan, so those caught for time headed straight back to Nenagh.”There are easier routes we promise you but well done to everyone for taking part on the morning.

Open Racing in Fermoy.

Bike For Life 2017

NTW “Bike For Life” launch 2017.

We are so delighted to run this new fun course that starts this coming Wednesday with NTW.

Our club recognises that there are so many adults out there who own a bicycle and may not have the confidence to join in with other people in a group, so with that in mind we have launched a Cycling Ireland “Bike for life” course which will start this Wednesday evening April 12th. So, if any of you are interested in meeting new friends, having some fun, learning new bike skills and would like to learn to cycle as part of a group, then “bike for life” is for you. This is an 8 week course for adult beginners and we have cycling Ireland trained coaches there each week to give you all the advice and training you need to get started. You can still sign up for this course in Moynans bike shop and when you do you will receive a FREE bike safety check. For more info on this course, please go on to our website www.northtippwheelers.com 

A few photos that we didn’t manage to get published on time for last weekends notes of our lads who finished strong in the Visit Nenagh Classic. Well done to Owen Hynes, Daniel Ronan, Noel Kennedy, Nanno Vuyk, Michael Crowe representing the A4 category and Eoin Woods in the A1/A2 category. Well done lads. Thanks to Selina Hynes and Sean Rowe for the pics.

Club Weekend away 2017

We hope you received full details of our club trip during the week but if you didn’t contact us at northtippwheelers@gmail.com and we’ll send it on to you. To summarise we’re heading up North to Donegal for a club weekend away on Friday 25th August and we’ll be returning on Monday 28th after some fantastic cycling and obviously lots of craic!! We want as many club members as possible to go to make it a great celebration of the club’s 30 years so if you want to book your spot we need to know by the end of the week and a €50 deposit per family dropped into Jan(087 1374354) or Peter in Moynans.

This week’s Club Training spins are as follows:

Tuesday: Club training spin leaving from Moynans at 6.30pm

Thursday: Club road race 1. Sign on will be at Moynans bike shop, Nenagh at 6.15pm and start time is 7pm sharp at the Fivealley after a short warm-up spin and entry is €5.

Saturday: intermediate cycle 40/50km in distance,  leaving Woodies at 7.30am.  Anyone who wants to is very welcome to join in on this spin. You can contact William on 086 2447888 for more details.

Saturday: Use the Whatsapp group to organise a Saturday spin for anyone that wants one.

Easter Sunday:  Leaving at 9am from carpark at Moynans.

Depending on numbers present, we’re going to split into three groups with defined speeds.

The 3 groups are;

1. Firstly a “Green” group that will be for beginners/leisure and that group will be in the region of 20-24kph.
2. The next group will be the “Orange” group which is an intermediate group and will be controlled at 25-27kph average.
3. Finally we’ll have a “Red” group which will do in the region of 28-32kph average.

We’ll split into the different groups in the carpark, with Red leaving first, then Orange and finally Green. The orange and red groups will cover the same route but there is also a green group spin that should only take about 2 hours cycling and includes a coffee stop.

For anyone reading this and sitting on the fence about whether to come out and give it a go, come on out and try it. You’ll be well looked after, just come in and be ready to leave on your bike at 9am from Moynans.

This week’s Green route is: Moynans – Old Birr road – BikePark Ireland for coffee – Ballingarry – Borrisokane – back to Nenagh, 49km. If any of you want to push it on a little further then by heading on to Riverstown after the coffee before returning to Borrisokane would push it out to 66km.

And for the Orange & Red it’s Moynans – Toomevara – Moneygall – Dunkerrin – Milltown – Shinrone – towards Ballingarry – Borrisokane – Carrigahorig – Terryglass – Ballinderry – Puckane – back to Nenagh, 87km. If shorter return home is required then route can be shortened by going to Ballinderry directly from Borrisokane making it 79km or heading back to Nenagh directly from Borrisokane would shorten to 64km. On the other hand, if ye’re feeling like ye don’t want to stop then by heading to Birr from Shinrone, back to Riverstown and then right towards the Ferry Inn before returning via Terryglass and Puckane would push it out to 103km. Decide yourselves on the morning.

Easter Monday: Use the Whatsapp group to organise a spin on the bank holiday for anyone that wants one.

We hope you have a great week everyone and hopefully we’ll see you out and about on the bikes during the week and weekend…