cycling

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  Field of Dreams

  The beauty of cycling is that you get to watch epic battles of the elite, the best of the best as they fight it out on the mythical mountains, and then you get to ride up and down those very mountains as a normal everyday cyclist. Scenery so spectacular that it literally takes your breath away is best viewed from the saddle behind a set of handlebars. You can feel the pain of the savage gradients of the mountains throughout your body. You can taste the salty sweat that drips down along your face. You can hear the marmottes calling to each other along with the deep breathing of those other cyclists fighting the mountain beside you.

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• Catch them and report them!

  At lunchtime today I was out for a quick spin on my bike. As I was coming back towards Clonmel on the Wood road a large truck overtook me. It did the entire process to perfection. The driver indicated and with no oncoming traffic smoothly went right over to the other side of the road…

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  The Sound of Cycling

  Gently pedalling down along the blueway I watched a small branch floating along with the current of the river. It moved at pretty much the same speed as I did and it felt as though I too was floating along the river in harmony with the current and nature itself. A commotion to my left…

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  Gold doesn’t last for ever

  A volunteer at a daytime shelter for homeless women notices a slightly introverted client who is pleasant to everybody and conscientious about helping to clean up when most others have already left for the evening. The volunteer begins to chat and initially the conversation revolves around general pleasantries. The volunteer has a curiosity about this…

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  The Cookie Jar

  You won't find the following in a newspaper supplement, or in very many online resources but for some it might just make the difference between achieving and dreaming when setting your goals for the new year ahead. First, a little background.  As I sat on the couch the other evening, sipping a glass of Baileys…

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  Cycling Heros who walk amongst us

  There has never been so many people cycling bicycles over the age of eighteen in Ireland as there are now. They come in all shapes and sizes. From those who wear oilskins, even in the height of summer, to cycle to work all year round, to those who having discovered the sport in the past…

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  Why would you bother?

  The appeal of the bike for me and many others is not just to get fit, or to go and do specific training. It is to get headspace out in the fresh air. It also offers the opportunity to see parts of life that surround you that become lost in the noise of everyday living. Why would you go out in the rain? why would you leave home in a freezing fog?

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  Random Thoughts of a Recreational Solo Cyclist

  My friend Ger is a recreational cyclist who cycles regularly when not climbing mountains, but has not yet made the step up to clipless pedals and shoes. Here he gives an interesting and entertaining glimpse into one of his average solo spins : You roll out the driveway onto your first bit of road and…

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  From play dough to the An Post Ras

  Like most of my Saturdays the day began with a 7am wake up call from the 8 year old. She is in a coma Monday to Friday at 8am, but miraculously wakes easily at 7 on Saturdays. Breakfast in her Cafe based in the front room followed. I still cant get used to the taste…

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  It’s important to be a bad cyclist

  How do you become a good cyclist? It's a question that is often asked at Q & A sessions. The simple answer is to first become a bad cyclist. Until you start something you can never become good at it. It is very important to do something badly in order to become good at it…

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  Cycling through cornfields and leaves

  This is the moment that you can just head off out on your bike for a cycle with no particular purpose other than to enjoy the simple pleasure of riding your bike in the fresh air whilst taking in your surroundings at this most picturesque time of year.

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  Yes, You can Cycle !

  A number of weeks ago, ten middle aged friends met in a restaurant to catch up for an evening. All are well established in their careers. Most have enjoyed a reasonable amount of proficiency in their chosen sports like Hurling, Soccer, Golf, Rugby, etc. None of the group were cyclists. The food came and went…

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  Making time to cycle

  They have no phones or watches to tell the time. Theirs is natures clock and you consider if you too are within this timezone. Then you remember that extra hour before bed spent surfing the net and your dream of being all at one with nature takes a knock.

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  Cycling and drugs – The real story

  Cycling as a sport is associated with drugs. Tabloid journalists salivate at the merest hint of a cycling drugs story. Even if it is just a professional using prescribed medication to fight illness, with a therapeutic exemption form from the World governing body,  that's good enough to make the front pages. Competitive professional cycling, just…

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  A Cycling Gang – What makes it special ?

  They are your friends who like to watch you suffer but would cycle 20k out of their way to get you home. They will laugh when you fall off but will rush to pick you up. They will slag you off for the smallest infraction but will defend you to the hilt. To a man, and the odd woman, they are the best group that you could ever belong to.

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• The road less travelled

  For over thirty years a training group has left the old ESB offices in Carrick at 9 am every Sunday morning. Some winters that has been put back to 9.30 am in order to allow frosty roads to thaw out. At least 50 out of every 52 Sunday mornings the group heads up the Clonmel…

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• The Big Move !

  Once the ball was rolling it took less than four weeks to fit out the new shop and completely relocate our business . We had a huge amount of help from friends and family and there were some pretty long days put in . A 5am start to a 10pm finish was not unusual . Now that we are getting settled in , it's great to see the reaction of customers who have all been very positive about our new store .

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• Cycling – The real family sport !

  When you are out on the bike you always get plenty of time to think . That is , when you're not hurtling down a steep descent at almost 100 kph when you enter what Eckhart Tolle might call ' The now ' . Yesterday as I rode up over the climb of ' The…

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• Cast your vote !

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• Ballymac – The Kelly Etape

  Today there was uniformity in the group as all were in agreement to fall back on the old reliable , the inspiration for the 100k route of the Sean Kelly tour , the 'Ballymac ' spin . I decided that it was time to up my own training , especially having entered for the Etape…

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