Well what a week that was - sun, rain, wind, snow and the start of the Club League! It couldn't possibly be like that again next week.....or could it? There are plenty of events coming up next week including the first Social event of the year.....

SOCIAL:

The winter spins have ended and there is "a grand stretch in the evenings" so to celebrate why not come along to the first club social event of the year. Join us in O'Dywers pub, Kilmacud on Saturday the 6th of April from 8pm onwards. Some of our club members and their friends will have musical instruments to entertain us - ceol agus craic guaranteed.

Details: Club Social 6th April

 

COACHING/DEVELOPMENT:

If you are interested in the areas of Sports Nutrition and Training then come this is for you! We have 2 fantastic professionals joining us on Monday the 8th April at 7pm in the goat grill.

Arthur Dunne, a sports nutritionist and Conor Gavin, a physiotherapist from SoCo performance clinic will start at 7pm with some key skills for cyclists before and after a spin as well as a presentation: fuelling for a great Spin.

Orwells very own Cycling Ireland coach and the man behind bikefittingireland.com Aidan Hammond will take us through :coaching and training for your best performance for 2019.

All welcome, starting at 7pm, hope to see you all there.

Details:Nutrition & Training Talk

 

CLUB LEAGUE RACING:

For those of you tempted to try out the club league but arent 100% sure yet Dick O'Brien will be running and Introduction to Racing Workshop this Saturday in Corkagh Park. This will be suitable for everyone - new or experienced. Come along and give it a go!

Details: Racing Workshop 6th April

This year the club have left the club league open for entries on the night for the first 4 events. You can come along and try a round for €5 (payable on the night) without committing to the whole league.

Dick O'Brien in snowy Round 1

After a snowy Round 1 TT we are hoping for better weather next week for the first of the Corkagh Park rounds.  As there is still limited light this time of year the races are split over 2 nights. Please make sure you turn up on the right night!!!

R2a Wednesday 10th April: Limit & Semi-Limit

R2b Thursday 11th April: Scratch & Semi Scratch

Racing starts at 7pm sharp and sign on will close at 6.50pm.

Remember that the car park still closes early this month so DO NOT park inside the park - you may end up having to cycle home.

Finally, try not to bring any valuables to the park and when parking your car on the road hide anything of value as there have been several cars broken into lately. We will try and have a marshall on the road watching cars but they wont have eyes on every car!

 

APPLEBY ORWELL WOMEN'S LEAGUE

The Appleby Orwell Women's League kicks off this coming Tuesday (the 9th of April) with the traditional R1 Time Trial opener. The Women’s Crit League welcomes all levels and abilities of women racing from absolute beginners to experienced veterans from all clubs and interested parties. We aim to offer women new to the racing scene an introduction and foundation upon which to develop, while giving more experienced riders a solid platform to progress their race season. There will be separate handicapped races for beginner, intermediate and advanced racers.

The TT will have a slightly different course this year due to the introduction of traffic lights in Batterstown. The start location is "Eagle Motors" on the left hand side of the road just after the village. The course will take us out to the usual turning roundabout but instead of the usual exit we will take the 3rd exit towards Dunshaughlin/Dublin/Cavan. This next stretch of road has a big hard shoulder and a slight uphill to the roundablouts at the M3. We go all the way around the roundabout and back to the start. We will use the same course again in R6 so you can see your improvement over the weeks.

We are looking forward to seeing as many participants as possible - especially those new to racing.

Details: Appleby Orwell Women's League

 

YOUTHS/JUNIORS:

Busy, busy, busy....that sums up our youths and juniors!

We have 2 teams racing in the Youth Tour of Scotland this weekend - a Boys and a Girls team. This is one of the most important youth events on the calendar and consists of 3 days with 4 stages.

The Girls Team:

Caoimhe May

Annie Roche

Katie Reilly

Aoife O'Brien (Guesting from Lakeside Wheelers)

Team Manager: Una May

Team Mechanic: Terry Reilly

 

The Boys Team:

Andrew Ryan

Ronan O'Connor

David Forbes

Ruairi Byrne

Team Manager: Genevieve Sheridan

Team Mechanic: Terry Reilly

Details: YTOS full information

 

And while the youths are in Scotland Lara Gillespie is racing in England on an Irish Junior Team.  Racing in the Witham Hall 2 Day in Lincolnshire the race will start on Saturday with a 2.1 mile prologue time trial followed by 32 mile kermesse in the afternoon. The final stage on Sunday is a 40 mile road race.

With all of the top British riders competing, including last weekend's Gent Wevelgem winner Elynor Backstedt, it promises to be a exciting weekend of racing.

Details:Witham Hall Grand Prix

 

LEISURE:

Training Groups:

This Saturday the Leisure Training Groups begin their 10-week programme.  The focus this year is the 9th June for the Wicklow100/200.  250+ club members have signed up to: five different training groups.  The largest group is the W100 group with almost 80 on board, next is the W150 group with 70.  The W150 is a creative option of bridging between the 100 and the 200 distance.  Then we have three W200 groups: Newbies, Yellow and the Orange group.  There are over 100 between theW200 groups. There is still time to join - log on and put your name on the relevant waiting list on the Forum.

None of the above could happen without dedicated volunteer spin leaders: Tara, Valerie, Gordon, Conor, Stephen, Fintan, Eamonn, Roy, Val and Bryan, Colm A, Colm F, Bernie, Tommy, Paul and Meliosa.

Some of the Orwell Women after the Wicklow 200 in 2018

The Leisure Challenges:

2019's Leisure Programme was launched a couple of weeks ago.

Back again this year are a refreshed set of Leisure Challenges - check out the Sign-up Form for all of the details

This year joining costs € 5 with the prospect of a memento if you complete, so please ensure to pay if you wish to participate.

We think there is a challenge in here to suit everyone regardless of circumstance, ability or level of experience - they are designed to be inclusive.

The Challenges consist of 3 optional personal challenges that can help to provide focus and recognition for your cycling efforts this year.
.
They start on Saturday 30th March and finish on Sunday 1st September i.e. 22 weeks to complete your particular challenge(s) ......................

The Distance Challenge:
Based on the European EuroVelo cycle network there are 3 options to select from for your virtual ride.

The Climbing Challenge:
Ride a selection of our local climbs - a list to selet from is coming soon.

The Randonneur Challenge:
Between March and August inclusive, complete a number of 100km spins. Any spin completed in 1 day counts.

How it works:
Sign-up electronically right here using the Leisure Challenges Sign-up form or check out the "Files" section of the club website home page. The deadline for signing up is Sunday 14th April.

During April / early May a Challenge table is published identifying who has signed up for which challenge(s). This is when your commitment to your challenge(s) becomes public.

Once a month log your progress for the preceding month using an online form on the club's website and also distributed via Whatsapp groups.

The deadline for logging your progress is the 10th of the following month. The first deadline will be 10th May i.e. for logging your April progress and so on.

During each successive month the Challenge table is updated to incorporate your prior month progress as logged by you. There'll be a linked visual table on the club homepage that will let you see how you and your club mates are getting along with your chosen challenge(s).


The boring stuff:
An honour system is used, i.e. you self-report your own progress.
Ideally use Strava to track your progress but manual is okay too though only for distance.
Turbo and spin class miles are deadly but must be excluded for these challenges.
Meeting the deadlines outlined above is a requirement for participation, don't worry though - there will be plenty of deadline reminders.

The "re-assessment" window:
During the 22 week challenges window, your progress might be epic or frustrating or your personal circumstances might change for the better or worse.
Don't worry - during June / July there'll be a window for you to re-assess your preferred challenge(s).

Most importantly have fun and the best of luck.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS FROM CYCLING IRELAND:

RACING:

Waller Cup
Sunday’s road race action in Leinster is centred on Bohermeen CC’s popular Waller Cup promotion on the substantially flat 16.5km circuit.
Support from Cosgrove Electrical Services has made possible a full day of racing in the midlands village which gets under way with three youth races and senior races for Women and A4s beginning at 10.30am followed by A3s, A2s and A1s at 1.30pm.
EVENT WEBSITE: HERE 
CLUB Bohermeen CC
DATE: Sunday, 7th April
START: 10.30am, Bohermeen Community Centre, County Meath.

 

Dungarvan Open Race
Ireland’s oldest, and original, cycling club present their slice of living history on Sunday with the 2019 presentation of Dungarvan CC’s open race promotion.
The club that got the Irish cycle racing ball rolling 150 years ago offer three youth races beginning at 10am and three senior races from 12pm on their O’Doherty Cup card beginning at Modeligo Hall.
The circuit is a challenging 35km including the climb of Colligan Hill before the finish in Modeligo Village.
EVENT LINK: HERE
CLUB: Dungarvan CC
DATE: Sunday, 7th April
START: 12pm, Modeligo Community Hall, X35 KF22

 

Foyle CC Youth Races 
There is racing for under 10s through to under 16s in the popular Foyle CC annual youth racing festival on Sunday.
Sign on at Eglinton Community Hall will be followed by racing from 10am.
EVENT LINK: HERE 
CLUB: Foyle CC
DATE: Sunday, 7th April
START: 9am, Eglinton Community centre

 

OFF ROAD:

Vitus First Tracks Enduro Cup R1
The first round of the Vitus First Tracks Enduro Cup offers an accessible way to enjoy enduro racing in a friendly environment.
Six stages per day are guaranteed throughout the four-event series, though there is no finishing podium so riders can choose whether to compare their times or not. The action gets under way with the under 6 fun race at 10am with racing on all day in Ravensdale.
EVENT WEBSITE: HERE
FACEBOOK EVENT: HERE
CLUB: Chain Reaction Cycles
DATE: Sunday, 7th April
START: 10am, Ravensdale, Dundalk, County Louth.

 

Racing795 K Cap MTB challenge
Racing795 has a thrilling course lined up for 7th April in Bunclody, with some testing climbs and classic singletrack.  The lap is approximately 7km. “A” riders will do 3 laps while the “Bs” will do 2 laps.  Preliminary timings suggest that race duration will be similar to Belmont, i.e. in the ballpark of 1hr 30mins for most riders.
EVENT WEBSITE: HERE
CLUB: Racing 795
DATE: Sunday, 7th April
START: 10.30am, Bunclody, Co Wexford.

 

LEISURE:

3 Peaks Challenge - a tough but great day in the saddle!
South East Road Club's  2019 3 Peaks Challenge starts and finishes at the promises spectacular views to riders crossing two of Wicklow's best known climbs, Slieve Maan and 'Shay Elliott', plus a few more. There are two challenging routes starting and finishing in Arklow.
FACEBOOK EVENT: HERE
EVENT LINK: HERE
CLUB: South East Road Club
DATE: Sunday, 7th April
START: 9.30am, Arklow Rock Parnells GAA Club, Emoclew road, Arklow, County Wicklow.

 

2019 Cliffs of Moher Cycling Challenge - if you liked the SRAC in Tralee last weekend you will like this too - more stunning scenery!
Saturday's sixth annual Cliffs Of Moher Cycling Challenge offers three different routes through North Clare, all containing some of the most rugged and beautiful roads in Irish cycling.
The 40km, 80km and 125km events all begin in Ennistymon at 9.30am.
EVENT WEBSITE: HERE
FACEBOOK EVENT: HERE 
CLUB: Riverside CC Ennistymon
DATE: Saturday, 6th April
START: 9.30am, Ennistymon, County Clare.

 

South Westmeath 100
Rosemount Cycling Club and friends of Westmeath Paralympian hand cyclist Declan Slevin launch his 'Trek to Tokyo' bid on Sunday with a fundraiser bike ride from Moate.
There are two routes on offer: a 65km ride and a slightly more challenging 100km tour.
FACEBOOK EVENT:  HERE
CLUB: Rosemount Cycling Club
DATE: Sunday, 7th April
START: Sign on 9am, The Well, Moate, County Westmeath.

 

Iveagh Spring Classic 2019 - a Spring Classic Sportive? Tempting!
The Iveagh Spring Classic is back with an all new 45-mile Belgian-classic route to suit both the seasoned and the lesser experienced rider.
This year the event supports Mourne Mountain Rescue and hot drinks and food to fuel or refuel your engine will be served including a hot bowl of traditional Stoofvlees (Belgian beef stew) while riders enjoy the Tour of Flanders on the big screen.

Sign-on begins at 8.30am.
FACEBOOK EVENT: HERE
CLUB: VC Iveagh
DATE: Saturday, 7th April
START: 9.30am, Banbridge Rugby Club, Rifle Park, Arderys Lane, Banbridge BT32 3RH, County Down.

 

AND FINALLY

Good luck to all the Scott Orwell Wheelers heading to Belgium this weekend to take part in the Tour of Flanders Sportive. Those I know are going include Dave Fitzgerald, Paul O'Neill, John Lannigan and Liam Rowesome but I'm sure there are many others! Have fun and keep the wheels rubber side down;)