thecyclingblog

  • Tip of the week – position

    A few simple ways to check that you have the correct position on the bike ; 1 Knees . If the front of your knee is sore it may be that your saddle is too low , if the back of your knee is sore it may be too high and you may be overstretched…

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  • Tip of the week – punctures

    What to do if you get a puncture miles from home ! 1 : Always carry at least one spare tube along with a few patches and some solution (glue) . Most people will also need a set of two or three tyre levers and of course a pump . 2 : If it is a…

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  • Getting lost in Ireland

    Very often we have people come in to the shop who ask us for directions . Sometimes it will be a delivery driver looking for a particular street in the town or perhaps someone looking for the community partnership offices further down our block . We also get the odd tourist who may be looking…

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  • Le Tour

    Each year throughout the cycling world and beyond millions of fans tune in their televisions each afternoon to view live events at the Tour de France . On the continent sidewalk cafes  fill with enthusiastic supporters every day . Some people even plan their annual holidays in order to watch it live on T.V .…

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  • Visiting the Kingdom

    I have often been to Kerry . Sometimes on holidays or day-trips , other times whilst racing . Every time I go there I have a new experience of where Kerryman jokes come from like ; A Kerryman rang Aer Lingus and asked how long it took to fly from Dublin to London. "Just a…

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  • America’s most wanted teenager

    In a bikeshop , just like many  rural shops you often become a mixture of salesperson , confidante , tourist information officer and directory inquires operator . After seven years standing behind the counter there are now very few situations which would surprise me . This , however was not always the case . I…

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  • The day I had ‘ lunch on Kelly ‘

    A few years ago whilst doing my bit for international relations travelling across America, I spent a few months living in San Diego, California . I worked in that most noble of professions of telemarketing . At the time San Diego seemed to be the telemarketing capital of the world . The first company that I worked…

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  • Where everybody knows your name !

    Working in a bike shop is not like working in most other retail shops . In a newsagents and similar shops people come in , get what they need ,and leave . There may be a brief comment on the weather or just a simple 'thanks' . Transactions are undertaken in a brief business like…

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  • Big Ben strikes again !

    The inclement weather yesterday contributed to a tough hard mans' competition in the Cycleways cup in Navan . During the first half of the race a breakaway group of ten strong men established a commanding lead . Working well together they fended off the pursuit of a well organised group behind which contained the likes…

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  • Geoff Mac is Back

    After returning to a full season of competition last year following a twelve year lay off Geoff Macnamara produced one of the finest performances of his rejuvinated career with an impressive victory in Broadford yesterday . Using his years of experience he out foxed his two junior breakaway companions by telling them that the race…

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  • Sam Speed

    Yesterday in Broadford Sam Bennett once again gave an impression of things to come with another impressive performance to finish second overall and first junior in the race . This was his first competitive outing on his new Ridley Damocles and he really looked like a pro on his new machine . Barry www.worldwidecycles.com

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  • The Breakfast of Champions !

    Anyone who has ever ridden a stage race , whether that be a nine day Ras or two day in Adare has undergone the 'Breakfast dilemma' . That is the option to be like a 'real cyclist ' and have plain pasta or an omelet , or to stick to your normal corn flakes or…

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  • The Season Begins !

    Yesterday in Tralee the domestic racing season got underway with 'The Lacey Cup' . Run on a handicap basis this race always proves to be an interesting but very tough contest . Speculation was rampant before the start as to who would be going off in what group  , as a number of elite senior…

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  • Win the Woodcock and see the World !

    Back in the late eighties and early nineties the Irish cycling season began on the first Sunday in March with the Jack Woodcock Memorial race in the Phoenix park in Dublin . Riders the length and breadth of the country used to train obsessively throughout the winter months to ensure that they would arrive on…

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  • What a difference a bike makes !

    So far this year my training regime has been almost non existent and last Sunday when I decided to go all the way with the group for the spin I suddenly remembered what it was like to really suffer .  The funny thing is that , rather than put me off it only served as…

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  • Too close for comfort

    A friend of mine who works in the  A & E department of  our local  Hospital once told me that whenever there is  a full moon they are sure to have a busy night . There was a full moon over the weekend and they almost had an even busier time with the driving antics…

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  • The rule of three

    Cyclists in general tend to be a pretty superstitious bunch . In the dressing room before a race it is not unusual to see a kit bag being turned upside down with all of the contents being emptied out onto the floor . This is followed by a chaotic rummaging followed by a last resort…

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