One day in Calpe at the An Post ChainReactionCycles early season training camp I was one of a group of five guests who managed to crest the Col De Rates alongside Sean Kelly and face the steep twisting descent on his wheel. Adrian Hedderman, Alastair Irvine, Paul Butler, Johnny Carroll and I were about to…
Getting to work twenty seconds earlier. Running the red light just to have to stop at another a hundred yards up the road. Weaving from lane to lane trying to get ahead of everybody else on the road. Shouting and screaming at anyone who you deem to be in your way or not moving fast…
Friday evening was spent in Portlaw with the Village Wheelers Cycling Club as they selected the items and sizes for their winter order of Sean Kelly ONDA Bikewear. There's a great atmosphere within the club and I always enjoy each visit. The last time that I was there with Sean we met some of the…
Race against rugby stars Joel Stransky, Paul Wallace, Craig Chalmers, Serge Betsen, cricket legend Allan Lamb and pro-cyclist’s David Millar in the Maserati Team Cycle Challenge. You can either enter your own team of 4 riders or join one of the Celebrity or CygnatureSport teams as an individual! This multi stage 3-day event based out…
Cyclists come in 2 basic forms. Those who love cycling in the hills (Hill-Seekers) and those who don't, and who would do anything to avoid them (Flat-Liners) If you think about cycling as a metaphor for life what does this mean? How exciting are flat things like flat tyres, flat hair, falling flat on your…
Sometimes a spark of imagination sets off a chain of events that can make big differences. Recently at The Sean Kelly Tour I met up with Paul Carroll from Co. Waterford who has come up with, and put into practice a very clever and charitable idea. One day last October, Paul was driving home when…
Your bicycle is more than just an implement to get you from A to B. Many place a higher value upon their self propelled steed than on their car or sometimes even their home. (Trust me, those people are out there) Whilst much focus is placed upon training regimes and eating habits sometimes the…
Everyone who cycles a bike gets so much from the activity that they very often choose to give something back. In a spirit echoing the movie 'Pay it Forward' starring Kevin Spacey, many cyclist choose to help others less fortunate by doing something out of the ordinary. Charity cycles begin at a 10k level and…
Today is Monday September 7th or just plain old 7/9/15. For many the day may go something like this ; Get up, eat breakfast, go to work. Work, drink coffee, work, eat lunch, work, drink coffee, work, go home. Get changed, go training on a road you have been on 1000 times before, shower, eat…
That day came sooner than a fair chance to regain his form would have warranted and Ryan found himself wandering towards the waterfront in Marseille one Tuesday afternoon with a rucksack full of useless cycling gear and a heart full of shattered cycling dreams.
Cycling is a great sport that can be enjoyed at any age and at any level. So where do you start when it comes to getting children cycling and what do you do with them then? Hopefully this may answer some of those questions. Before they have their own bikes you may put them…
A very experienced Businessman once told me that 'any monkey can sell to someone once, it takes a real salesman to build a mutually beneficial relationship that will retain a customer for years'. The same principal holds true when it comes to selling sponsors on support for cycling clubs. Many clubs nowadays have club…
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.
Cycling has a way of bringing people together and nowhere is that more evident than out there in small towns and villages throughout Ireland. Upperchurch is one such village and the cycling club based there which also takes in members from surrounding areas such as Drombane and as far afield as Thurles is a great…
A wise clothing salesman once said that there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. There's a lot of truth in that nowadays with so many new technologies available to us all. One of the advantages of being part of a clothing company with Sean Kelly is getting to test out new…
At 9am this morning, much like almost any other Saturday morning I rolled out and met Anthony for our usual two hour spin. Gauging the wind direction normally decides our route so we decided to head for the Old bridge and continue on for Ardfinnan and Clogheen. However, as we approached a set of traffic…
Anthony Walsh in A1 Coaching is launching a FREE 4 part training series called the "A1 Winter Training System". Check it out here: A1 Coaching Training Smarter Not only are you going to learn some really good stuff, but you also have a chance of winning a FREE 1-1 coaching session from Anthony where…
Entries for this years 160k and 100k Sean Kelly Tour of Waterford are now sold out and plans are well under way to make this years event the best one yet. With over 400 volunteers involved in the event and a full year spent preparing, everything possible is done to make it an enjoyable and…
The Ard Ri House Hotel is already a popular base for charity cycling events such as the Jigsaw Tour d'Galway and many Malin2Mizen challenges, so if you are considering using the hotel as a base for a cycling trip or event this information may be of assistance : Very accommodating staff As a cyclist…
An omelette for breakfast can be the perfect choice for any cyclist when staying away from home. I have sampled many omelettes but the one presented in the Ard Ri House Hotel in Tuam is up there with the best of them. Freshly carved ham from the bone and proper cheese, not just easy singles,…