Posts Tagged ‘irish cycling’

First time racers !

Posted: March 22, 2010 in quick tip
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The number of riders turning up to cycle races this year has grown substantially . Each of the new categories has seen a large number of participants enter at every race so far this year . Ideally , there should be a separate race for each category but logistically this can be difficult for race organisers to achieve . Often the A4 bunch will be given a handicap head start of a minute or two , or possible five on the A3 bunch . When both groups merge , which tends to be happen very soon in the race it creates a huge bunch of riders , many of whom may not have experienced riding in a large group before . So what should you do if you find yourself in that position , here are a few examples ;

1 : Find a place where you are comfortable . Try to stay on the inside of the bunch next to the ditch , or else stay at the back of the bunch . Riders are constantly moving up the outside so it is harder to hold your position there . Whilst there is more chance of a puncture on the inside at least there will only be riders on one side of you which halves the tension .

2 : Forget about winning the race until you are at ease in the bunch , or find yourself in a small group near the finish . Trying to get up in a bunch sprint takes nerves of steel and some very good bike handling . Kelly may have won his first ever race , but for most people it’s a learning curve . Aim to finish safely with the bunch for the first few races and then work from there as your confidence and ability grows .

3 : Always be aware of the riders around you . If you are changing position within the bunch , always glance over your shoulder first to make yourself aware of where the rider next to you is positioned . Then point down at the ground to where you intend to move out to . If you just move out without doing any of this you may well switch the front wheel of the rider behind and cause a crash .

4 : Let others know your there . If you do decide to move up along the outside of the bunch shout ‘outside’ as you come up behind riders . This lets them know that you are moving up along their ‘outside’ and hopefully they won’t switch out in front of you .

5 : Make friends in the bunch . Whilst the adrenaline and testosterone are in full flow even the mildest mannered of people can be prone to a little verbal aggression . An English rider in the Ras a number of years ago enquired as to what a ‘ f**king f**k ‘ was after hearing pretty much nothing else in the bunch all week . But it is important not to alienate people within the bunch . If you are seen as basically a nice guy , you will be given space in a line out to move into for shelter , room will be made for you within the bunch , a gentle push to help you hold the wheel in front and many other little dig outs that can make all the difference . More experienced riders will also give you little tips and hints which will speed up your progression in becoming a better rider .

6 : Enjoy it . There is a great sense of achievement to be had in bike racing . Whatever goal you may have set yourself , whether it be to win a race or just finish in the bunch , you know just how hard you have worked to get there when you achieve it . The friends you make racing will be friends for life . You get to see parts of the country you would never see otherwise , before and after the race . You make progress . Even if you are dropped in the first few miles there is always next Sunday and you will find yourself getting stronger each week .

Barry

www.worldwidecycles.com

Sam Bennett on RTE News !

Posted: December 4, 2009 in sam bennett
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Barry

http://www.worldwidecycles.com

The Carrot

Posted: May 11, 2009 in irish cycle racing, irish cycling
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Each bank holiday weekend in Ireland AA road-watch inform motorists to be careful on the roads due to the increase in the volume of traffic . Usually there will also be a traffic warning about a cycle race taking place and motorists will be advised to drive with caution around that particular area .

The 3-day has now become a major focus for all Irish racing cyclists . At Easter there is the ‘Gorey’ and Ras Mumhan in Kilorglan and the Tour of the North . The May bank holiday sees The Tour of Ulster and The Corkman in Kanturk . The June bank holiday has the Ras Dun na Gall in Donegal and the August Bank Holiday has The Suir Valley in Clonmel .

The cyclists themselves enjoy the racing and the buzz of riding a stage race . For many the Ras is a step too far but all of these ‘mini ras’s ‘ afford the average cyclist the opportunity to experience the thrill of riding for a place on the GC ( General Classification ) .

There are always a number of Jerseys to contend for along with the elusive Yellow that everyone sees on the Tour de France . Very often there will be a separate jersey for the leading second or third category rider . Then there’s also the mountains and the points to contend for , along with the stage winners jersey . Not all races have all of these jerseys , but there are always a number of competitions going on within the race .

Some race organisers go all out to create a very professional race with rolling closed roads , photo finish equipment and podium girls . Others tend to have a more relaxed attitude and trust that everything will fall into place on the day .

Both types of race organisation have their place as the more professional set up will prepare riders for The Ras and the more relaxed version will be less intimidating for C’s who are riding their first stage race .

A recent example of the more relaxed version produced some fine examples of what might be termed ‘the Bloopers’ of Irish cycling .

At sign on , one rider asked for a race manual to be told that ‘ we’re not into that sort of thing at all ‘ .

The 3 1/2 mile time trial turned out to be 5 1/2 miles with at least one rider managing 8 miles . How ? you may ask was this possible . Well , this is what transpired ;

The race organisers picked a point on the road to finish the TT , but found themselves without any finish line . They had neither emulsion or gloss white paint . They had no tape in the car so an alternative had to be found . A quick search of the area and the car returned only one possible option . A carrot was produced and a plan was put into action . By dragging the carrot across the road a faint orange line was produced and the remainder of the carrot was laid out pointing at the ‘finish line ‘ .

It was agreed that maybe not all of the riders would spot the line so a chequered finish flag was suggested . However there were not many chequered flags in the area so an alternative had to be found . It was decided that one of the officials would remove his jacket and wave it up and down as the riders approached the finish line .

This , too , worked up to a point although at least one rider who looked up as he approached what he did not realise was the finish line , to see a guy waving a piece of his attire thought that the spectator had been watching too much Eurosport and kept on going . It was only when his bike computer read 8 miles that he decided that he must surely have passed the finish of the 3 1/2 mile tt and he sat up , turned around on the road and headed back to where he had come from .

Irish cycling depends on volunteers . People who are willing to leave their families on bank holiday and normal weekends to help run a bike race . Without them there would be no racing . Whilst most riders would like things to be as professional as possible , professionals get paid , volunteers do not . Very often the races that you will remember are the ones that are slightly quirky . Sometimes it’s best to just enjoy each race for whatever it turns out to be .

Barry

www.worldwidecycles.com

A tale of two races !

Posted: April 27, 2009 in bill hyland memorial, clonmel cc, ray clarke
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Yesterday Clonmel Cycling Club ran yet another very successful series of races . The circuit chosen was good enough to be a National Championship circuit , and as Ray said all week ‘ The strongest rider on the day would win the race ‘ . The days racing began with the underage riders testing out the new circuit . The Under 12 race was won by Michael O’Loughlin whose father Martin was hoping to make it a double in the combined race . Dylan O’Brien won the under 14 race whilst Luke McGuire took the under 16 event .

 
Next up came the Combined race , that is a race where C category seniors , Veterans , Juniors and Ladies are all lumped in together . I even decided to enter this melting pot myself , but more on that later .
The main event was the Elite A/B category race where the local hero put in a terrific performance . With the race doing 7 laps of the Marlefield circuit , and the start/finish line being only 100 metres from the house where he grew up , there was an added amount of pressure on Ray yesterday .

 

 

 
The people of Marlefield were out in force to support their finest sportsman . Ray has won just about everything on the domestic scene as well as some very impressive international results and is recognised as one of the best Irish cyclists of the post Kelly/Roche era . ( I know I am a little biased but I don’t think that anyone would disagree ) . There was a fantastic atmosphere on the barrier controlled uphill finish straight which was added to by the people of Marlefield who brought tea and sandwiches from their own homes out to the spectators . 

 
With local children chanting ‘come on Raymend ‘even when no cyclist was in sight it was easy to see who they wanted to see on the podium . Ray did not dissapoint when with 1 1/2 laps remaining he launched a blistering attack . Two riders managed to get across to him, current man on form Brian Kenneally and another strongman Mick Hennessy from Fermoy . The trio rode well together but it was Kenneally who took the spoils on the day . Ray entertained the crowd as he crossed the line in third position whilst doing a wheelie. The local kids roared their delighted encouragement of ‘Good man Raymend’ .

 

 
Meanwhile , in the combined race I found myself rediscovering many different forms of pain that I thought I had long since forgotten . There is a big difference between ‘Bike fit ‘ and Race fit’ , which I soon discovered . First time up the dump hill I thought that my legs were going to seize up . By the time we had gone through the start/finish and on up by St. Patricks well I thought that I was going to Vomit . It was time for a quick conference with myself to come up with a plan to get to the finish in one piece .

 

 
Plan A was to be first into the bottom of each climb and then to ride up at my own pace . Ideally , by the top of each climb although many riders would have passed I would still be in the bunch . This is called ‘sliding room’ and actually worked pretty well . Like a Green Party advocate ‘energy conservation’ was paramount so to make my way back up to the front of the bunch after each piece of sliding also required a little planning . Up the middle is the most sheltered , but also the most dangerous way . Up the inside is good if there is a stall and a gap . Up the outside is only for use when latching on to another rider who might tow you up to the front . All three were employed .

 
The racing was hot and heavy with many attacks shooting off the front early on . At one stage as I looked at Martin O’Loughlin having a go I wondered to myself what I was doing here . He recently trained 40 hours in one week ( The tour de france is usually won in 88 to 90 hours over three weeks ) . My average weeks training would be much closer to four than forty .

 
On the third lap Leslie O’Donnell (Dan Morrissey ), John Murphy (Fermoy) and Martin Phillips (Limerick) attacked heading out the main road . With 3 strong riders from 3 strong teams this looked like a very good move indeed . A number of riders tried to bridge the gap , but to no avail . The gap grew slowly to over a minute which , as we passed the start/finish for the penultimate time looked to be enough .

 
I was really struggeling at this point and as we passed patricks well for the final time , my sliding room diminished with the ever reducing size of the bunch , my elastic snapped . I was 30 metres off the back as we turned onto the main road for the final time . Then I noticed what was left of the bunch swell out on the road as there was a stall . I dug deep and managed to get back into the safe haven that was the bunch .
There now remained 2 climbs . Dump hill and the climb up to the finish . My goal for the day was to finish in the bunch . If I could make it over Dump hill , the group would be so strung out on the final climb that I would still be in contact .

 
As we approached the sweeping left hand-er that led into Dump hill for the final time I noticed that a rider on the front had been a bit cagey on the corners earlier in the race . I went around the outside and did not touch my brakes . This got me a few precious lengths that may see me over the hill still in the group . I dug deep once more and just managed to latch on as we went over the top .

 
Up ahead John Murphy ( who rides the Etape each year ) was taking an impressive victory ahead of the Limerick strongman Martin Phillips and Carricks Mr. Consistency Leslie O’Donnell .

 

 
Meanwhile we were approaching the final corner up the hill at speed with 7 prizes still up for grabs . A few riders were dangling off the front but it all came together on the final climb. I was on Martin’s wheel entering the corner . A good wheel to be on if you had good legs, which I did not have . He powered on up to finish fifth just behind David Walshe of Wexford Wheelers . I trundled on up the hill accomplishing my mission of a bunch finish in my first race in over 3 years .

 
I had forgotten just how hard racing is , but as I sit here today with sore legs full of lactic acid I have that sense of accomplishment that follows on from doing something less ordinary than most Sunday civillians .

 
Here are the garmin details of the race ( missed a bit at the start ) : http://connect.garmin.com/activity/4350917

 
Jonathan Ryan has some great pictures and a video of the race here : http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanhelsing65/sets/72157617256734641/

Danny Carroll has a more detailed report here : www.clonmelcc.com

 
Barry

www.worldwidecycles.com

Clonmel Race Route !

Posted: March 30, 2009 in bill hyland memorial, clonmel cc, irish cycle racing
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One of the toughest races with the largest prize funds of the season takes place in Clonmel each year . The ‘Bill Hyland Memorial’ has long been considered a tough mans race which always provides  a worthy victor . Over the years the route for the race itself has changed as the roads become more congested . This year the promoting club Clonmel CC have once again outdone themselves to come up with a great circuit for both participants and spectators alike .

bill_hyland_final_small

The race will start and finish in the picturesque village of Marlfield on the outskirts of the town . Marlfield is steeped in the tradition of cycling with it’s most famous son being my friend and business partner Ray Clarke . When Ray won his first All-Ireland title at under-15 level the whole community were out in support as he arrived home . When he won The ESCA international competition in England on his first outing in a green jersey a celebratory home coming was organised . For many years the people of Marlfield would travel to races far and wide to support their friend and neighbour and were there for many of his famous victories including the senior National Championship in 1998 . As this will probably be his last year competing at the very top of the sport you can be sure that Marlfield will be out in force to cheer him on once more . 

The race starts and finishes at the top of the village so the climb up through Marlfield should be a great place to watch the race  .

Enquiries have already been made as to the difficulty of the new course so last Saturday morning before work I went around it and put the following clip together ;

 

And here is the Garmin data from the spin ;

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/2845770

And here is the route on mapmyride.com ;

03/30/2009 Route

For more details see  www.clonmelcc.com

And best of luck on the day :)

Barry
http://www.worldwidecycles.com

Going for a cycle !

Posted: November 24, 2008 in cycling, Cycling diary, ireland, irish cycling, worldwidecycles
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Yesterday afternoon we were in a local supermarket when I bumped into a friend of mine who casually enquired if I had been out for a cycle that morning . I often wonder what image non-cyclists have when they ask that question . Of course it is a conversation piece when they know that you are ‘into the cycling ‘ but the picture that is imagined and the actual ‘cycle’ itself can be two very different things .

I think that people have a picture of a group of fellows on shiny bicycles and tight clothing ambling through the lush green rolling countryside stopping for picnics along the way . Time is whiled away admiring the daiseys on the side of the road and looking up at the robin red breasts in the trees . Polite conversations revolve around the ozone layer and world peace . Perhaps it is time to set the record straight . Yesterday will make a good example .

Nine am. I look out the patio door and see black clouds over the Comeraghs . The trees are bent over and it’s raining . 16 month old Kate is looking dubiously at my attire . She still can’t get used to Daddy in that funny looking outfit . She holds up her teddy bear and says Daaa-deee Teee-deee . She is learning new words every day and I think that it might be nice to stay home this morning and spend the time playing with my children after working all week and not seeing as much of them as I would like but no ,  it’s Sunday morning , the group are on their way up the road and if I don’t go out this morning I will suffer all the more next Sunday .

As I roll down the hill from my house Kevin ‘puncturellie’ Shelly passes and I catch up to him as we head down the by-pass . Then we see someone else up ahead . Brian Alton is clipping along and it takes a while to catch up to him . We are now three and just as we approach Kilheffernan roundabout the group enters from the other side and we latch on the back . There’s a big crowd out with over fifty in the group .

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At first there’s a good hard shoulder so everyone keeps well in and there’s no disruption to traffic but as we approach the Bulmers factory and the new traffic islands , a car decides to take a chance and ends up having to come to a complete stop in the middle of the road as the road narrows to just the width of a car , without fifty cyclists on the inside . This girl learns her lesson but is then overtaken by a confused peugeot driver who thinks that continuous white lines are a monorail for their inside tyres as can be seen below .

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Next came the roundabout which can often be a contentious item for a group of cyclists to negotiate . The problem is that when the front of the group approaches a roundabout and there is nothing coming they proceed to go around and everyone else follows on . But if half the group has gone through and a car comes around should the rest of the group stop or keep going ? In theory they should of course stop , but in practice the correct course of action isn’t quite so straight forward . Most roundabouts are a melting pot of smooth tarmac , spilled diesel and left behind skid and wheel-spin rubber . So in effect they are like ice on any kind of wet or damp day . If someone in the middle decides to obey the rules of the road and stop they run the very likely danger that someone may rear end them . This is exactly what happened on the Bulmers roundabout yesterday as six of the group tasted tarmac . Luckily no-one was hurt and all were quickly back up and on their bikes but I still can’t say if the first rider should gave braked or not .

The next piece of drama came very shortly afterwards at the next roundabout . Some wanted to go towards Cashel , others wanted to do Ballymac whilst more again wanted to do Clogheen . A few shouts , a few more swerves and the group headed in towards town which narrowed it down to Ballymac or Clogheen .

This indecision created some tension between a few riders and ‘ the one who sometimes says too much ‘ found himself in an argument with ‘ the one who breaths fire ‘ and before he knew it he was being invited to settle the matter off the bike at the side of the road . Sensibly he declined the offer even when ‘the one who breaths fire ‘ pulled over and stopped . Less was said by him for a while after that .

Next up came the Dungarvan road junction . More confusion as half went left and half went straight on . The groups were now a more manageable size and the pace was steady-hard on out over knocklofty as the group that I was in headed towards clogheen . What we didn’t realise was that a few of the others had turned and had decided to follow us on and were in pursuit without us realising it . I was at 180 bpm going over the top of Knocklofty and when I hit the front with Geoff after Grange I had to dig deep to keep it going into the ferocious headwind .

Just as we were dropping down into Ardfinnan someone shouted that there was a group coming up behind and we eased up to let them get back on . The chase to end all chases had been going on behind as we rode on oblivious to it . Going out the wood road ‘The Nurse’ Molowney was putting in some savage turns and had the chase group lined out in hot pursuit . Approaching Knocklofty hill ‘Coca Cola Kelly ‘ ( the real thing ) went to the front and controlled it on the climb to get the whole group over together . Just as they crested the climb and ‘ The Nurse ‘ hit the front once more and as he was winding it up again a shout went up from behind . ‘The woodchopper ‘ Cronin was claiming to be getting cowld and was worried that they would never again see home if they didn’t drive it on a bit . This was gristle to the fire of ‘The Nurse ‘ as he dropped it into the twelve and was down so low on the drops that he was almost chewing the stem . He sacrificed himself for the cause and was doing bit and bit with Coca Cola and a few others until he was almost in need of medical assistance himself .

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Things seemed to calm within the enlarged group leaving Ardfinnan as the wind grew wilder and the rain grew heavier . Passing Castlegrace hailstones were added to the mixture and red pockmarks began to appear on the mud-caked faces of all who were present . In Clogheen we turned back towards newcastle and the tailwind launched a few tails in the air as the speed rose to over 45kph . A mobile phone was dug out of a pocket at the rear of the group and a request was made for the number of one of the riders at the front to give him a ring to slow it down a bit . Eventually it took a puncture near Graigue to calm the mood for a brief interlude .

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Newcastle seemed like a blur as we rocketed through and on the drag out of it an observation was made that the first race of the season had come very early this year . The turn back into the wind at the Beehive settled things back down again and I had enough left in the legs to make it back up the hill home in one piece once we were back in Clonmel .

So , whilst ‘going for a cycle ‘ can mean many things to many people , for most ‘serious ‘ cyclists it is a combination of pain , pleasure , suffering and satisfaction and sometimes more entertainment than an episode of Killinaskully !

To see exactly where we went on the spin and how unfit I am click here

Barry

www.worldwidecycles.com

Hair cuts !

Posted: April 21, 2008 in cycling ireland, ireland, irish cycling, racing cyclist
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Back in the late eighties a bike race was a good indicator of what the latest trend in haircuts was . Former National champion and current surgeon in St James’ hospital Dublin , Julian Dalby was the first to sport the dyed blond look complete with a diamond pattern shaved into the back of his head . Both Declan Lonergan and Declan Byrne had pony-tails and Ray had a mullet . Fitzy had the middle parting with the overhang  to the ears look down to a tee , whilst ‘Mellow’ had the longest hair in the bunch .

Then at the Ras or even the Junior tour the likes of Paul Jennings , Richard Wooles and the rest of the Welsh team who were identified by their middle initial as they were all called Anthony Jones , arrived to sign on with hair gel and brylcream which launched another new trend .

These were the glory days of Kelly and Roche and the average age of license holders must have been in or about nineteen to twenty years of age . The smell of hair gel mixed with deep heat was instantly recognisable as the sign of a packed dressing room or back of a van before a race . Cycling was hugely popular amongst teenagers as they all wanted to be superstars like Kelly and Roche .

Fast forward to today however and the haircuts have changed greatly . The most common sight at a race nowadays is a sensible number two or three all over . Or over the remnants of what used to be . A few juniors like Sam and Philip Lavery are keeping the hair gel tradition in force but they are well outnumbered by the number two brigade . The eighties teenagers have grown up , had families , established themselves in their chosen career and are now back on the bike in force . They are keeping up the numbers at races each Sunday .

Nowadays the average age of cyclists in Ireland seems to be well up in the high thirties , which is a concern for the future of the sport . Whilst juniors like Sam give great hope for the future the sheer lack of numbers at underage and junior races seems to reflect the result of the Wii playstation generation . In 1988 we rode the junior tour in a bunch of almost two hundred , with most riders being Irish , last year there were fifty six competitors only seventeen of whom were Irish .

The IVCA is the Association which caters for Veterans over forty and seems to be ten times better organised than Cycling Ireland . They must surely be looking forward to the glut of new members heading their way over the next ten years . But where will this leave the general racing side of the sport  ? The leisure side is going from strength to strength with events like ‘The Sean Kelly tour ‘ anticipating over two thousand entrants in only it’s second year . But race fields are just managing to hold their own ,  mainly due to the over thirty brigade .

For now we’ll just have to wait and see what happens and in the meantime I’m off to the new Egyptian Barber down town to get my hair cut , a number two back and sides , four on top and a bit of hair gel to keep me young !

 

Barry

www.worldwidecycles.com