What would Mark Pollock do if he was cured in the morning and found himself able to go cycle a bike? Would he let a few drops of water from the sky stop him? Would he laugh at the thought of someone else using a bit of bad weather as an excuse for not using their fully functioning bodies in a way that he could only dream of?
Month: December 2014
Sometimes, I watch way too many youtube videos of cobbled classics and find myself planting the bike in a big gear, sitting off the back of the saddle, loosely gripping the tops of the bars and putting the pedal to the metal on surfaces so bad they can only be described as no surface at all.
[iframe width=”1280″ height=”720″ src=”//www.youtube.com/embed/P4y6gvf1gLQ?rel=0&showinfo=0″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe] Barry www.thecyclingblog.com
When Will Curtin of the Giant Store in Cork announced that he was running a sportive to raise money to help keep The Junior Tour alive, I immediately wanted to take part. Like many of what could be called the ‘baby boomers’ of Irish Cycling, I have great memories of my first taste of real …
One of the most iconic days in Irish Cycling history was the second last day of the 1987 Tour de France. Stephen Roche was about to ride himself into the coveted yellow jersey by that evening. With just the ceremonial spin into Paris the following day he would be all but guaranteed to become the …
Jason O’Brien, who took the fantastic shots of the Nissan Classic going up Seskin Hill in 1985 now shares his experience in words of that fateful day. Myself and a school mate (he can be seen in the bottom right of the Roche pic, red hair grey jumper J ) “excused” ourselves from …
After the post on The Nissan Classic – through the eyes of a teenager, other cycling fans have been kind enough to share some of their memories and experiences, plus some great photos for others to enjoy : Dave Allen had this super photo of King Kelly winning the first stage of the first ever …
‘ The Nissan ‘ as it will always be known, was one of the biggest ever contributors to the growth of cycling in Ireland. It was a platform to showcase the talents of Roche and more impressively , Kelly. At the time, the Nation in general was aware of these two World beaters but it …
On a cold and frosty December morning I looked across at the mountain calling A goal was set A challenge was met I was going Carrauntoohiling ! There is a new phenomenon currently taking hold within the cycling World. People choose a climb and ride up and down until they amass a cumulative total of …
No two days are ever the same, especially on a bike. When surrounded by all sorts of characters form all walks of life, by keeping your ears open you never know what gems of wisdom may be imparted. Some snippets sound like sage advice, and are, whilst other nuggets sound crazy at first but then …
Here are a few simple things that anyone can do to improve your bikes performance : Pump your tyres before every ride to a minimum of 100psi and a maximum of 120psi. Sean Kelly uses 120 in the back and 100 on the front. Wash and degrease your bike often. Here’s how Lube your chain. …