The danger of radio shows highlighting the plight of poor motorists against inconsiderate and wreckless cyclists is that it creates a mood amongst motorists where they see a cyclist and immediately think 'There's another one of those clowns who think they own the road' and the motorists behaviour is affected by their attitude and dangerous situations are created
The 80's and 90's were boom years for Irish cycling. Here are a few images courtesy of Anthony and Dick O'Gormans collection of old images Barry www.thecyclingblog.com
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…
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.
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…
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.
The Silver Tassie Hotel in Letterkenny County Donegal is the first Hotel in Ireland to create Wild Atlantic Way themed rooms. The owner, Rose Blaney is a keen photographer and artist whose works can be seen throughout the hotel. My room was called 'Atlantic waves' and inside along with original photographs and paintings was an…
Speaking to former Cycling Ireland president Rory Wyley one day he suggested that I should join him on one of his training spins to see roads down around Dungarvan and beyond that I may never have been on before. I was delighted to tag along. Rory is always a mine of information about the history…
The sun was shining down upon the Dingle Skellig Hotel as I set off for another day of exploring what the Dingle peninsula has to offer cyclists. The plan was to visit Inch strand and come back via the Connor pass whilst taking in all of the majestic surroundings of the spectacular Kerry coastline. Just…
Upon arriving at the Dingle Skellig Hotel and taking a look at the secure Bike Storage Room, my first instinct was to put on my cycling gear and head out for a spin on my bike. So that's exactly what I did. Dingle is a very picturesque town built around a harbour on…
Just the other day I was cycling along a lonely country road with another cyclist. As often happens when two cyclists ride side by side, alone on the road facing forward, conversations vary from general chit chat to deeply insightful and back within a few turns of the pedals. This guy is a much better…
No matter how much you like your job , your family life or your dog or cat , life can sometimes become mundane . There is only so much of anything that can be done regularly before we loose our enthusiasm . And we all need a bit of enthusiasm in our lives .We all…
There is an article in today's Irish independant about a new initiative in Mayo where 1000 cyclists will be using number plates on their bikes . The reason given is to highlight road safety for cyclists as the number plates are reflective . I think that many cyclists are slightly ahead of the curve on…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf4EMTlkhPE] Barry www.worldwidecycles.com
A new club has recently been formed in Waterford with the sole aim of catering for the non-competitive side of the sport . I think that this is a fantastic idea as most cycling clubs in Ireland tend to be based around the racing side of the equation , which is natural enough . However…
A number of years ago , on an unusually warm summers day , a young 5 year old boy was playing outside his home on the outskirts of Clonmel . Noticing that his neighbours door was open he decided to call in to see if anyone would like to come out to play . Not seeing anybody…
Last Thursday morning I was standing in the shop when an old school friend walked in . He does a lot of running and was in to get a few energy gels . We were chatting or ' shooting the breeze ' as former Discovery team members would say , when he asked me why…
Many Irish people have an unusual way of greeting each other . When passing someone that you know on the street the common greeting is how are you ? , how are things ? how’s life ? etc . And the most common answer is very often ‘ not too bad ‘ which may often…
