Recently I was handed a padded brown envelope. It's contents were unknown before taking a look inside. It turned out to be a treasure trove of cycling memories from Carrick on Suir and beyond. These newspaper clippings might bring back some fond memories for many and also give an insight into the hinterlands that produced…
In January I happened to be staying in the same hotel as the Giant Alpecin team at their now infamous Calpe training camp. The riders and bikes took a severe battering in a very serious altercation with a car and I managed to get an up close look into the internals of Giants range topping…
Today as the riders headed for the Champs Elysees there was a relaxed air of school holidays about the peleton as they rambled along towards those eight laps when the real racing began. This year there was much for Irish cycling fans to be proud of. Dan Martin finishing ninth on GC is the highest placing…
Mizen to Malin, the entire length of Ireland, all in one single day, I wonder is that doable? That was a question that crossed my mind one afternoon last December. Of course it's doable, I told myself, sure haven't a number of others already done it. Yes, but could I do it? I had done…
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…
Out on the bike you get to meet many different types of people and make many different types of friends. The bike is a great leveller, where a doctor and a person on the dole are both just bike riders. You are taken at face value and the only hierarchy observed is how well you…
There are days when the sun shines. Days when the air feels warm. Days when the wind is calm. These days are rare in Ireland, but when they arrive you must get out there and grab them. On these days I like to head off out on the bike without any computer or electronic device.…
A brief snapshot of my last 5 days revolving around bikes, friends and family and bikes. Saturday Quality time with the Queen Sunday Catching the Train to Waterford after leaving the Carrick boys on the road to home. Had hoped for a LUAS but got a TGV instead. Passing the Metalman almost 5 hours into…
On this the night before the 2016 Paris Roubaix, cycling fans throughout the World are restless with anticipation of the battle that lies ahead so here is a short post to help you get through the next 12 hours before coverage begins at 9.30am in the morning. One day we were looking through photos for the…
“Cycling isn’t a game, it is a sport. Tough, hard and unpitying, and it requires great sacrifices. One plays football, or tennis, or basketball. One does not play cycling.” - Jean de Gribaldy, Professional cyclist, Directeur Sportif and mentor to Sean Kelly' Cycling is a sport of many levels but all share the same…
This will be spectacular for cyclists when it is finished
One overcast Saturday morning about a year ago, as I waited for Anthony to come along for a spin, I noticed a flashing beacon far off at the end of the straight. A few seconds later I saw a fluorescent yellow Gillet and saw that it was Anthony approaching. He had just fitted a new…
The first ever Sean Kelly Classic Leisure Tour of Tipperary takes place on June 12th of this year, starting and finishing in Sean’s home town of Carrick on Suir . It also coincides with the launch of National bike week 2016. With a choice of two routes, 50k and 115k, through some of the…
Giant make a range of road bikes than can be basically split into 3 different categories : Defy = Sportive bike TCR = Endurance Race bike Porpel = Aero Race bike Within each range are a number of different options based upon price and varying characteristics. Previously I tested the Defy Advanced SL1 but over the…
It's Friday and as we all get set for another weekend out on our bikes here are a few tips to help you along your way. Eating Off the bike Eat a good breakfast, preferably porridge and some form of brown unburnt toast with tea or coffee. Stay away form the greasy full Irish.…
There are many different ways that any cyclist can go about their training, but in general they can basically be broken down into two, Old School and New School. Old school is all about feel and experience. New school is more about heart rate and power, but how do they differ out on the road?…
Sunday morning, 9am, a group of over forty cyclists depart Carrick on Suir headed for Clonmel, picking up more bodies along the way. Torrential rain begins to fall and already minds were beginning to question the wisdom of getting out of bed this morning. With talk of floods around Clonmel filtering through the group some…
Unless you live in someplace like Southern California you will have to cope with a variety of different conditions when cycling your bike throughout the year. In Ireland this winter has been particularly wet and windy and many have found themselves facing the conundrum of whether or not they should go training and then how…
'Twas the Sunday before Christmas, and all through the house, Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. Gizmo Grylls had awoken, with only one thought, This was the day, when the people of Carrick would say, Gizmo Grylls rode his bike, to victory today' The day began much like any other winter…
You often hear people say that it was a hard day. I say it myself. Out cycling a bicycle was a hard day. Any day you get to cycle a bicycle is not a hard day. It is a good day that was physically demanding. I've met people who have hard days, and so have…