January first is always associated with fresh starts and new beginnings. For some that can mean resolutions broken by mid-day whilst for others it can mean an entire life changing event. This morning in Carrick on Suir, in a town square named after one of the greatest cyclists of all time a cycling club gathered…
As a child I learned how to check the direction of the wind by sucking my baby finger and holding it up in the air. The side that felt cold first was the side where the wind was coming from. Times change and now I press the accuweather app on the screen of my iPhone…
Cycling is a fantastic sport for any child to become involved in. It keeps you fit and healthy, it teaches you independence and discipline, it gives you a sense of identity and you make friends that you keep for the rest of your life. At the height of the Kelly/Roche era Cycling Ireland had a…
It is often thought that there is an added degree of safety in numbers. When walking down a dark side street it certainly makes sense but how true is it out on a bike ? Roads nowadays are busier than ever before. Not just with more cars but also with more people out on…
Life is so full nowadays that we rarely get a chance to take a break from its momentum. For many the day begins with a sleepy arm outstretched whilst a hand searches for a smooth rectangular object. A button is pressed and a screen lights up. Emails are checked for important work updates that just…
Sam Bennett was born with a talent. His family and clubs, teams and coaches helped him develop that talent and this week it all came together. Every cycling fan in Ireland felt the hairs on the back of their necks tingle as their heart rates increased to match the readings on Sams' Garmin as he…
Cycling is the ultimate 'pay it forward' sport. Experienced riders are always willing to give help and advice, sometimes when it is asked for and other times without it even being requested. Soak it all up and ask plenty of questions. Almost every club or training group in the country has a few riders who were good in their day, and many who still are.
Many cyclists have a 'bucket list', a back of the mind list of challenges that they would like to undertake and complete before they 'kick the bucket'. To cycle from one extremity of Ireland to the other extremity is well up there on plenty of those lists. Whilst the record for the cycle from Malin…
The year I started cycling Joe Lonergan brought myself and his son Bernard down to Carrick on Suir for a cycling coaching weekend run by Tony Ryan and Carrick Wheelers. Young cyclists had come from all over the country to learn and many hoped to follow in the pedal tracks of his most successful protegé,…
Just after 10 this morning Fitzy stormed up the driveway in the Subaru. Today was a going to be a long one and families were left behind as we headed off on a lads day out. Whilst other Lads days out might encompass mini busses, matches, pubs, clubs and maybe a little lycra, our Lads…
St. Patrick's day in Ireland is all about Parades, Mass, Shamrocks and hang over creation, but in Carrick on Suir and within the cycling community for the past 59 years St. Patrick's day is all about 'The Paddy's day race'. Over the years many of the country's top riders have been first across the line…
Monday : Cycled the 2.5k to the shop in the morning. Spent the day catching up on repairs from the weekend. Cycled home in the evening by the riverbank and through the Town park 3.5k Tuesday : Cycled to work. Built a few bikes which had customers waiting on them via the cycle to work…
For many years now The Lacey Cup in Tralee on the last Sunday of February has been the season opener for Munster riders. A hard circuit with two tough climbs it always manages to blow out the cobwebs of the winter training regime and also gives people a good gauge of where their true fitness…
(Lance Armstrong in Clonmel during the 2009 Tour of Ireland) Everywhere you look cycling is making headlines at present, and the racing season in Europe hasn't even begun yet. But of course it's not the racing thats grabbing headlines, it's Lance Armstrong and his recent ride up the Col de public opinion…
September 1st 2012 I jump onto the weighing scales to see what the effects of a summer of excess and relative inactivity have had on the twisty turney dial down on the floor. The whirr of the dial shudders forward and backwards before settling on the number 85. That's 85kg or 85 bags of sugar…
Have you ever sat into a car and just gone for a drive ? It's nice every now and again but most times when we sit into a car we have a destination in mind and we go from A to B. Going through life in general or especially life as a cyclist without goals…
Mudguards are only for kids bikes, or so many a battle hardened bike rider might tell you. For years we all heard about training groups in exotic locations like Dublin who wouldn't let you join them in winter without mudguards. But we wondered if this was just an urban legend. Then some of our group…
Today I saw a picture taken at six AM in Dundrum shopping centre of the queue to get into the NEXT sale. Why anyone would want to stand in line to get into a clothes shop at 6 am the day after Christmas day is genuinely beyond my realm of comprehension. My immediate thought was…
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…
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…