After the 2008 banking crash and following recession many found themselves taking up cycling for exercise. It became more popular than ever and was determined by official figures in both the USA and Europe to have surpassed golf in terms of numbers of participants. Many of these new cyclists came from the ABC1 demographic that…
The most common spin ever undertaken on the roads of South Tipperary and North County Waterford is a lap of Ballymac. The 100k route gets it's name from the small village of Ballymacarbry, that signifies the point of no return when starting in Carrick on Suir and going through Clonmel then on to Dungarvan before…
This morning was a great morning to be out with the Carrick Dole gang. The Dole gang gained their title during the recession when jobs were scarce in Carrick, but whilst the name remains, most members are now gainfully employed once again. Some now work shifts whilst others work Saturdays in order to have their…
Last Saturday morning Anthony was working so I headed off solo for the morning spin. Not feeling very motivated I decided to take the back road to Kilsheelan for the simple reason that I like to look at the colours of the leaves at this time of year, and there are plenty to see in…
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…
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…
'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…
The day began like pretty much any other Sunday Morning. On the way down the road towards Carrick I met the group coming up the road with their tails in the air as fresh legs enjoyed the wind at their backs driving them along. As I drifted towards the back of the friendly group I was…
8am on Sunday morning. The rain lashes against the bedroom window as an alarm clock bleats nearby. The kids are already up and about. It is the weekend after all and they have probably been mooching around the house since 7am. Tomorrow is a school day and the normal routine of dragging them out of…
A Carrick man standing in the door and calling out before entering 'Are any of ye in handcuffs ?'. The reply came 'not all of us'. As the Carrick entourage entered a Scottish voice called out 'Did ye ever see Con Air ?'
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.
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…
Part of the N24 stretches the 20 kilometres from Carrick on Suir to Clonmel . Since I started cycling in 1986 I have travelled this road thousands of times in both directions in the company of many of Ireland's greatest ever cyclists and also one of the worlds greatest ever. The shared knowledge and sound…
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…
Setanta Ireland are showing a programme called 'Wheel of Dreams ' on Tuesday night next 7/4/09 at 10 pm . The show will revolve around the Carrick Wheelers cycling club and will include footage of events such as The Sean Kelly tour . There will also be interviews and profiles of local legends such as…
Today the sun was out so we took in part of the coast road but were still back in Carrick by 12.15 . This is what it looked like : [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tfr7GepS26A]
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MGM have recently released a film based on the life of Scottish cyclist Graeme Obree . Whilst Obree's story is good what would a big budget film about Kelly be like ? It might be something like this ; Jack Kelly ( played by Gabriel Byrne ) wanders out into a field on a bleak…
Last night , in a simple hotel in the town of Carrick on Suir a small town make up party planner staged a coup which left all of the swish marketing agencies like Saatchi and Saatchi in her wake . For over thirty minutes she gave a good account of all of the different beautifying products…
