The Plan

Well, how are things, what’s the plan. This is the greeting that I received recently in the peas and beans aisle of Tesco on the by pass in Clonmel. I had popped in to pick up some fresh cream for the Pavlova that Ciara was in the process of making for Christmas dinner at her sisters, and had bumped into a guy I went to school with. Every time I meet him, usually in Tesco, he always leads off with the same greeting, what’s the plan. At this stage it is probably an automatic phrase that he uses. However, I always feel under pressure to have some sort of a vague outline of a plan in place for my future every time I go to Tesco for a carton of milk.

Setting a few goals, or having a plan, is a really good thing to do in general anyway. It’s like the difference between sitting into the car with the intention of going for a drive and seeing where you end up, or sitting in with the intention of driving to Dublin. Chances are very slim that you will end up in Dublin if you don’t plan it.

As a cyclist having races, sportives or events that you are planning to do gives a bit of focus to your training and actually makes life easier in the long run.

So, for you the reader, and also my school friend in Tesco, these are the events that I am planning to do in 2025.

January / February – Carrick Sunday spins with a nice dollop of suffering.

March 9th  – (SUDS)Sarahs Cycle in Thurles. 60 or 90k so will probably do the 90k

March 30th – (SUDS) Odd Socks Cycle in Shannon. 75 or 130k. Might do the 130k depending upon how late a night my friend Robbie has the night before.

April 26th – Mallorca 167

May 11th – Kilkenny (SUDS) cycle. 75 or 100k. I’ll do the 100k

June 8th – Field of dreams cycle in Cork (SUDS) 80 or 140k. Let’s go for the 140k

July 19th – Ring of Clare. 120 or 160k. Most likely the 160k.

August 8th to 11th – Tour de Munster. Highlight of the year. 620k around Munster for 4 days with the most incredible people.

August 31st – Waterford (SUDS) cycle, TBC so it is in pencil rather than biro in the diary.

September – usually end up in Mallorca for a few days.

September 21st – Sean Kelly 3 Counties in Limerick (SUDS). 50 and 100k. Will be doing the 100k and looking forward to the burger and 00 Beer  afterwards.

October – Rhodes from the 11th to the 25th with Sean, Acacio Da Silva, possibly Raul Alcala and a whole host of sound people from Ireland and beyond for a sunny cycling holiday, as opposed to a training camp.

SUDS features quite a bit above and it stands for Saddle Up for Down Syndrome. These events make me feel good about myself and the World in general, so they are always a priority. I would encourage anyone who has not experienced a SUDS event to take part and soak up the goodness that’s in just about everybody whilst enjoying a spin on your bike in nice countryside.

I am now going to print this off and have it with me every time I go to Tesco.

Happy New Year,

Barry