Better Late than never. Weekly Update.

Dia duit, Hello, Hola and Bonjour!

See that we've gone multi lingual! Flash huh!

Sorry for the delay in last weeks update but sure Tuesdays are boring anyway so hopefully this will cheer you all up!

Another huge week in the Club and the season is really kicking off now, so much so I can barely keep up with the goings on in the club and these updates are getting harder and harder to research.

All this researching though does show what a great state our club is in with really truly active members on all levels.

This week saw the return of the Lanza crew on Wednesday but not before they clocked in some more miles before hitting the plan and coming home to face the music.

Barry McMahon has not been seen since returning as apparently he blunted all his wife’s leg razors before leaving the previous week and is now in full grovel mode!

The Lads also decieded it would be funny to Leave Johnny Finn behind in a bit of a cruel joke having slipped out quietly on Johnny after he had made them attend a strange cinematic presentation of his collection of 80's sports jackets.

This week lots of members have been hitting big numbers on solo spins with too many to mention but some really impressive spins if you have a look through Strava.

The leader board this week is no surprise as usual the Mileage monsters John Sharky and Derry Cadogan have been hovering up road and sit on top of the leader board with huge miles followed closely by John Lynch who got in massive miles while on the “Training” trip to lanza.

Even more impressive if you check out John’s stats and the other Lanza boys was their climbing stats.

Huge numbers over the two weeks with John posting 8665m in climbing on the trip in the 6 days! Some one must have told them there was pints up them hills!

Well done Lads.

Club groups went out Thursday and Saturday this week lead by Frankie Froome Cashman and Paudie Murphy, as usual a good group out on these days with high paced spins.

Sunday saw the graduation spin for the Beginners and the 8.30 Coffee group decided to meet up with them in Ardmore for a huge club spin of nearly 50 riders coming back from Ardmore together.

The Coffee group spin was around 90km with a good pace maintained down to Ardmore, although a lengthy stop for a puncture did mean we had to cut short the mileage in order to make sure we met up with the Beginners in Ardmore.

The Spin from the main road into Ardmore was particularly fun with a pace of 37kmph averaged into town with Yours truly and Tosh sat on the front to make it a real rare occasion! One of us on the front is rare but both at the same time! I know I know you don’t believe it but it happened I swear! Those that were there will be talking about it for years! But don’t worry normal service resumed of me hiding on the way home, Tosh however took more extreme measures!

While we waited for the Beginners group to arrive into Ardmore a few of us decided to let Brendan Hennessy take us on a little site seeing trip down to the beach across lets just say marginal roads! This did unfortunately put pay to Tosh’s day who after another blow out had to call for a collection! Maybe being on the front with me previously was just too much for him? The view however from Brendan’s magical mystery tour was spectacular and worth the climb.

On the way back we stayed together as a huge group to the main road then split with a portion of the beginners coming along with the Coffee group up and over the bypass. There was a decent headwind at times on the way back and all the beginners certainly deserved the term graduation with them not looking out of place. Certainly the people I spoke to and rode alongside were really trucking, David White, Anita and Manus and Aiden Crowley all more than holding their own and I’m sure they can now move onto the Coffee spin if they wanted. Apologies to anyone I didn't mention but there was a lot of new names to remember so I didn't get them all. Well done to everyone on the Beginners spins over the last 8 weeks, its been really pleasing to see the group maintain its size and enthusiasm and I’m loving the name you've developed for your spin from now on “The Picnic Spin”.

Sunday saw racing take place up in Limerick and plenty of Mctc members in attendance. Strong cross winds proved tough conditions with a really high pace being set and plenty of crashes reported. Even finishing this race in tact was an achievement.

Shane Fuller, Lee Palmer, Dominic and Martin Cashman, Leonard Okeeffe ,(Osbourne meats McCarthy cycles) were all racing ,Sean Hughes was still out with a chest infection but will be back soon.

Dominic and Lee were both racing in the A4 Group, Lee was dropped along with plenty of others from the main bunch on the 1st lap of 3 when the bunch turned left on to the main road to Caherconlish and were met with a very strong cross wind which split the peloton.

Lee put in a great effort to chase with a group of about 10 or so and all though they didn't get back on Lee cycled away from them in the last km to the finish to take the sprint from his group. Well done Lee.

Dominic kept with the bunch but got caught up behind a crash were a fella cycled head on in to a car and there was body's all over the ground.

In the A3 race Shane and Leonard lost contact with the main group on Lap 1 of 4 at the same corner that Lee got caught out on , Shane chased back on for 10k finally getting back on just before Caherconlish where the climb began for around 2 km.

After a tough effort to get back Shane got dropped again at the top of the climb and chased for the next 25km full throttle getting in amongst the team cars and within 50 yards of the main group before the main peloton ramped up the pace for the finish leaving Shane to finish the race with a small group just behind. Shane’s Comment “never so wreaked after a cycle” showed what a tough day it was.

Leonard was not feeling the best after a long week of hard training and according to Shane his van looked too tempting as he passed it after falling off the main pack on the tough Caherconlish corner.

Martin finished in the A1 A2 race in the bunch his team leader Paudie o Brian 2nd Having yet again having been looked after by Martin all day. The best result though was all came home injury free which was lucky ,Shane tells me he saw 3 crashes in this race and afterwards it was like a scene from causality, broken collarbones and bandages everywhere. Tim Mahony has apparently capitalised on this information and is now running dado painting lessons for large groups soon.

Ok I know none of you know what i’m talking about there but to a select few thats pretty funny so just go with it!

Well done to all the guys Racing, its great getting the updates from Shane. Keep up the good work.

Ballycotton 10 was Sunday and we had plenty of participants Will Rock, Gary Neff , James Cronin and Brian Shanahan and I’m sure others but your all too shy to let me know so sorry I missed you off. Will and Gary both finished in around 1hr and 8 mins and James in 1hr16 with Brian a little further back but not much. Well done to all Mctc members that raced.

As the summer is going on with so much happening it is going to become impossible to call out all of you for the great runs, swims and cycles you do so I will be looking for volunteers to write up reports on races and spins etc that you do so we can make sure we keep the club up to date and give out deserved credit. As you've all seen Catalina has done a great job with the blog on the beginners spin and Shane fuller sends me great reports on the races. So if anyone else wants to write up reports on races they do Like the Ballycotton 10 please get in touch with me via the Social page on facebook and we will get reports posted on here.

Have a good week and be safe.

Graduation Day, Catalina's Blog

Last Sunday 8th March saw the “last” day of the beginners group. We couldn’t have wished for a better way to finish our stint as beginners. The weather was glorious, I would even adventure and say better even than in Lanzarote! We had a bit of a headwind, but who cares! We still finished strong! But first, let me give you a brief account of week 7 (if you are a bit pedantic, there was no week 7, as all spins got cancelled due to weather warnings, thank god) . Anyway, on our 7th spin, we met as usual at the Courthouse for 9. With a big group of the club lads in Lanzarote, we did not expected a big turnout, but it was as big as ever. Over 20 I recall, despite all the weather predictions by Fergus, who got it spot on. Route decided, we were going to Watergrasshill via Lisgoold, down to Glanmire and home. “Some” climbs, plenty of rain, hailstones, headwinds, you name it! As we were climbing most of the way to Watergrasshil, it was decided that we will regroup at the coffee stop. So off we went. It was obvious from the start that it was going to be a tough day…one of those difficult to forget! One of our ladies, Deirdre, called it a day, as she wasn’t feeling the love for the bike that morning…glad she did, because it was miserable to start with, and you really needed to be in top form! Once we made sure she was safe on her way home, we continue, some of the lads and Teresa, went ahead of us. And Mags, Fergus, Andy, Barry and myself just plod along the hills as best as I could…ie, I was the one slowing them down. There was a downpour at some stage, can’t remember if its was before or after “the twelve balls”, but we got soaked to the bones!! I can’t thank the guys enough for staying with us, as I think we couldn’t have done it without them!! By the time we reached the coffee stop, the “coffee” group has passed us on the other way (the did the same route only on reverse!), and the rest of the beginners had just left the designated stop and went on their way. At that stage, I was told it was only Pat, Teresa, and someone else whose name escapes me. No idea what happened to the rest of the group, as it was over 20. Ollie stayed behind having a chat with us. He was suffering as his hands were almost freezing and not responding well to the cold and wetness, so he also called it a day, and was waiting to be collected. It was indeed a hard day! The shop were we stopped was selling gloves, and some of the guys bough a few pairs t to change, as really our gloves were all useless at that stage. I regretted not having done so. When we went on our way, we felt the cold, as we were after warming up under one of the heaters in the shop, but at least it had stopped raining, and it was mostly downhill from them on!! Wrong!! There were a few hills. But let’s not dwell on that. The descent was brilliant!! I just love the speed of them!!! Andy tried to give me good advice, don’t go to hard on the flat and descent, save your energy for the hills…not sure if it went it to be honest, sorry Andy!!!! Just before we reached Glanmire, Fergus and Andy were leading, and we came to a T-junction, where someone decided to turn as Fergus was just passing….I was not too far behind, and it wasn’t pretty to watch, the car pulling, Fergus having to manoeuvre around the car…it was very scary indeed to watch what could have been a very nasty accident!! By the time I passed, the car was still mid turn, not sure where to go….We regroup just before Dunkettle, and cycle together to Midleton. Andy reported speeds of 40+ at some stage..it was fun ride back home. I had an almost fall coming to stop by Fergus’ car, who had just had a puncture as we came into Midleton (it wasn’t his luckiest day)..but he managed to stop me from reaching the ground! Thanks Fergus!!

After 8 weeks riding in freezing temperatures, ice, rain, wind, you name it, it was nice to wake up on Sunday to a lovely sunny day!! Route for the day was Midleton to Ardmore via Youghal bypass, Coffee stop in Ardmore and back. It was still cold, maybe 8 degrees or thereabouts, but the sun made a big difference. The group stayed together up until the bypass, where some of us still struggle to go up the hill and had to be waited for at the top…but we are getting better, and Ollie again was there to support me, and to his surprise, this time I was able to talk (unlike that time in Cobh )!! Short stop at the top, where we realised there was another Spanish rider among us (and I had just been chatting to him 10 mins beforehand in English and hadn’t realised! ) Nacho was with his brother in law who was visiting from Northern Ireland , he’s been living in Midleton for 4 years, and I might have convinced him to join the club!! Anyway, the trip to Ardmore was great, loved the descent from the bypass, where I recorded a 51kmh speed, and I overtook a good few people that were being more cautious than me!! But I love speed (you should see me driving!) The road to Ardmore wasn’t the best, but at least it was better than the one the coffee group took (They are all blaming Brendan…. ) We met the lads in the shop we stopped for coffee, where the lovely lady there gave us Christmas cake, in March!! Finally got to meet Richie Watkin in person (we email back and forth for the blog updates, but haven’t met till now!) We took a couple of pics of the two groups together, chat to some of the members that were just back from Lanzarote, and it was decided the coffee group will ride in front sheltering us from the wind, and that we just had to do our best to remain with them. Then, the group would split, those who felt like it, went back via the bypass, and the rest, via Youghal! I was sensible this time and stayed behind with Fergus, Gerard, Mags , Deirdre, Adrian and Ollie. John was with the front group, but fell back and joined us before we reached Youghal . We took it easy, we had averaged 25kmh from Midleton to Ardmore, and while we could have gone a bit faster, we took our time. Also, we got stuck in a traffic jam in Youghal, seriously!!! An oil truck was blocking the way, and it was not easy to pass the line of traffic…but we managed, and we regrouped after. At that time, we got into a very funny converstion about how best to wash cycling gear. Believe it or not we got good advice from some of the lads, Adrian said to wash it straight away or use non bio, Gerard said to give it to the wife (mmmm, must get myself one of those wives !!!). The craic we had was mighty!! We continued on our way, having lovely chats with Gerard (it was a pleasure to talk to him!). I found myself at the front for a while, and had to be told by Ollie to slow down a bit, go figure, there was no hills!! We stopped by the lake between Castlemartyr and Midleton, and decided to give ourselves a new name, from now on we are the “picnic group”, and next week we are taking backpacks with baked goodies (according to Ollie I am to provide those….), flask with drink of our choice (some mentioned shots!). I was just a bit conscious of time, as I know they were waiting for me at home (it was 13 at that stage! ) so the way from there I was trying to get a “fast” pace, even managed to stay at the top on the small incline after the “two mile inn”. Ollie was cheering me up, all proud of my progress!! When we got to the turn, I managed to break from the group, as it was cleared for me to go, but they got stuck. That was the end of the cycle, as I was near home, and didn’t meet them again (I was riding fast down hill!!!) But I know in the last 8 weeks, I have met fantastic people who have made me glad to join the club. We are not beginners any more, have to come up with a strategy of who to progress to the coffee group, or even get some sort of “in between” group. But the experience has been fantastic. I haven’t enjoyed as much as I did in the last few weeks in a long time. We are now connected mostly via Facebook, and I know Fergus is trying to put something into place to keep the momentum going. There is the appetite for a group like ours to continue I think, and the faster lads and ladies can join the coffee group if so they wish.

I would like to conclude my writing career (unless you want me to continue boring you every couple of weeks) saying thanks to everyone who has contributed to the success of the beginners group 2015!! Too many names to mention or remember. But you all have made this possible for us!

Go raibh maith agaibh!

Last Sunday 8th March saw the “last” day of the beginners group. We couldn’t have wished for a better way to finish our stint as beginners. The weather was glorious, I would even adventure and say better even than in Lanzarote! We had a bit of a headwind, but who cares! We still finished strong! But first, let me give you a brief account of week 7 (if you are a bit pedantic, there was no week 7, as all spins got cancelled due to weather warnings, thank god) . Anyway, on our 7th spin, we met as usual at the Courthouse for 9. With a big group of the club lads in Lanzarote, we did not expected a big turnout, but it was as big as ever. Over 20 I recall, despite all the weather predictions by Fergus, who got it spot on. Route decided, we were going to Watergrasshill via Lisgoold, down to Glanmire and home. “Some” climbs, plenty of rain, hailstones, headwinds, you name it! As we were climbing most of the way to Watergrasshil, it was decided that we will regroup at the coffee stop. So off we went. It was obvious from the start that it was going to be a tough day…one of those difficult to forget! One of our ladies, Deirdre, called it a day, as she wasn’t feeling the love for the bike that morning…glad she did, because it was miserable to start with, and you really needed to be in top form! Once we made sure she was safe on her way home, we continue, some of the lads and Teresa, went ahead of us. And Mags, Fergus, Andy, Barry and myself just plod along the hills as best as I could…ie, I was the one slowing them down. There was a downpour at some stage, can’t remember if its was before or after “the twelve balls”, but we got soaked to the bones!! I can’t thank the guys enough for staying with us, as I think we couldn’t have done it without them!! By the time we reached the coffee stop, the “coffee” group has passed us on the other way (the did the same route only on reverse!), and the rest of the beginners had just left the designated stop and went on their way. At that stage, I was told it was only Pat, Teresa, and someone else whose name escapes me. No idea what happened to the rest of the group, as it was over 20. Ollie stayed behind having a chat with us. He was suffering as his hands were almost freezing and not responding well to the cold and wetness, so he also called it a day, and was waiting to be collected. It was indeed a hard day! The shop were we stopped was selling gloves, and some of the guys bough a few pairs t to change, as really our gloves were all useless at that stage. I regretted not having done so. When we went on our way, we felt the cold, as we were after warming up under one of the heaters in the shop, but at least it had stopped raining, and it was mostly downhill from them on!! Wrong!! There were a few hills. But let’s not dwell on that. The descent was brilliant!! I just love the speed of them!!! Andy tried to give me good advice, don’t go to hard on the flat and descent, save your energy for the hills…not sure if it went it to be honest, sorry Andy!!!! Just before we reached Glanmire, Fergus and Andy were leading, and we came to a T-junction, where someone decided to turn as Fergus was just passing….I was not too far behind, and it wasn’t pretty to watch, the car pulling, Fergus having to manoeuvre around the car…it was very scary indeed to watch what could have been a very nasty accident!! By the time I passed, the car was still mid turn, not sure where to go….We regroup just before Dunkettle, and cycle together to Midleton. Andy reported speeds of 40+ at some stage..it was fun ride back home. I had an almost fall coming to stop by Fergus’ car, who had just had a puncture as we came into Midleton (it wasn’t his luckiest day)..but he managed to stop me from reaching the ground! Thanks Fergus!!

After 8 weeks riding in freezing temperatures, ice, rain, wind, you name it, it was nice to wake up on Sunday to a lovely sunny day!! Route for the day was Midleton to Ardmore via Youghal bypass, Coffee stop in Ardmore and back. It was still cold, maybe 8 degrees or thereabouts, but the sun made a big difference. The group stayed together up until the bypass, where some of us still struggle to go up the hill and had to be waited for at the top…but we are getting better, and Ollie again was there to support me, and to his surprise, this time I was able to talk (unlike that time in Cobh )!! Short stop at the top, where we realised there was another Spanish rider among us (and I had just been chatting to him 10 mins beforehand in English and hadn’t realised! ) Nacho was with his brother in law who was visiting from Northern Ireland , he’s been living in Midleton for 4 years, and I might have convinced him to join the club!! Anyway, the trip to Ardmore was great, loved the descent from the bypass, where I recorded a 51kmh speed, and I overtook a good few people that were being more cautious than me!! But I love speed (you should see me driving!) The road to Ardmore wasn’t the best, but at least it was better than the one the coffee group took (They are all blaming Brendan…. ) We met the lads in the shop we stopped for coffee, where the lovely lady there gave us Christmas cake, in March!! Finally got to meet Richie Watkin in person (we email back and forth for the blog updates, but haven’t met till now!) We took a couple of pics of the two groups together, chat to some of the members that were just back from Lanzarote, and it was decided the coffee group will ride in front sheltering us from the wind, and that we just had to do our best to remain with them. Then, the group would split, those who felt like it, went back via the bypass, and the rest, via Youghal! I was sensible this time and stayed behind with Fergus, Gerard, Mags , Deirdre, Adrian and Ollie. John was with the front group, but fell back and joined us before we reached Youghal . We took it easy, we had averaged 25kmh from Midleton to Ardmore, and while we could have gone a bit faster, we took our time. Also, we got stuck in a traffic jam in Youghal, seriously!!! An oil truck was blocking the way, and it was not easy to pass the line of traffic…but we managed, and we regrouped after. At that time, we got into a very funny converstion about how best to wash cycling gear. Believe it or not we got good advice from some of the lads, Adrian said to wash it straight away or use non bio, Gerard said to give it to the wife (mmmm, must get myself one of those wives !!!). The craic we had was mighty!! We continued on our way, having lovely chats with Gerard (it was a pleasure to talk to him!). I found myself at the front for a while, and had to be told by Ollie to slow down a bit, go figure, there was no hills!! We stopped by the lake between Castlemartyr and Midleton, and decided to give ourselves a new name, from now on we are the “picnic group”, and next week we are taking backpacks with baked goodies (according to Ollie I am to provide those….), flask with drink of our choice (some mentioned shots!). I was just a bit conscious of time, as I know they were waiting for me at home (it was 13 at that stage! ) so the way from there I was trying to get a “fast” pace, even managed to stay at the top on the small incline after the “two mile inn”. Ollie was cheering me up, all proud of my progress!! When we got to the turn, I managed to break from the group, as it was cleared for me to go, but they got stuck. That was the end of the cycle, as I was near home, and didn’t meet them again (I was riding fast down hill!!!) But I know in the last 8 weeks, I have met fantastic people who have made me glad to join the club. We are not beginners any more, have to come up with a strategy of who to progress to the coffee group, or even get some sort of “in between” group. But the experience has been fantastic. I haven’t enjoyed as much as I did in the last few weeks in a long time. We are now connected mostly via Facebook, and I know Fergus is trying to put something into place to keep the momentum going. There is the appetite for a group like ours to continue I think, and the faster lads and ladies can join the coffee group if so they wish.

I would like to conclude my writing career (unless you want me to continue boring you every couple of weeks) saying thanks to everyone who has contributed to the success of the beginners group 2015!! Too many names to mention or remember. But you all have made this possible for us!

Go raibh maith agaibh!

Patricks Hill 1st assault of the year

This is from a few weeks ago filmed by Martin Cashman. I thought it was worth sharing again. great video