Today in the shop Ray, John and I huddled around the small screen of an iPhone hoping that no customer would walk into the shop for the next five minutes. Commercially this is not a good attitude to have, we depend upon our great customers to make a living but normal everyday life was now …
One busy Saturday afternoon these two people walked in separately into our Clonmel bike shop. Whilst browsing through the selection of bikes their eyes met over a set of handlebars and they struck up a conversation. Fast forward a year a half later to September last and a wedding that was initiated in a bike …
Is the Trek Domane (pronounced Doh-Mah-Nay) the perfect bike for Irish roads ? That was the question that I had going around in my head after first seeing one in the flesh last year. The reviews online suggested that it might be. The info and sales pitch on the Trek website were convincing that it …
Cyclists are great for nicknames. The pro’s have Fabian ‘Spartacus’ Cancellara, Tony ‘The Panzerwagon’ Martin, Bradley ‘Wiggo’ Wiggins and Mark ‘The Manx Missile’ Cavendish. Even our local training group has Smiler, Iggy Bock, Nana, Gizmo and of course The King. In the shop we are often an unofficial Tourist information office regularly giving people directions to the …
This week I was fortunate enough to again attend the An Post Sean Kelly Chain Reaction team training camp in Calpe on the coast of Spain. It’s always nice to start the year with a taste of some sunshine cycling and to shorten the Irish winter. There are some new faces on the team in …
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 …