CLUB NOTES

Post date: Nov 22, 2013 7:43:53 PM

Youghal Cycling Club Notes – Sunday 17th November

November 17, 2013 at 9:05pm

Club Spins It was not a weekend for Axel Rose, as there was no sign of the November Rain, but that sure did set us up for a great weekend of cycling. We had groups on the road all weekend covering the roads of East Cork and West Waterford.

The first group to roll out this weekend were captained by Gregg Hill. They left from Lidl at 8:30am on Saturday morning heading into West Waterford and taking in Clashmore, Cappoquinn, Lismore & Tallow before returning to the Rebel County and passing through Conna, Killeagh & Gortroe and getting back to Youghal well in time for lunch. This route covered 105km with 750m of climbing. The group averaged a comfortable pace of 26kph.

Shortly afterwards at 9am the second group rolled out 9am with road captain Jim Wyse. They stayed on the Cork roads and took in a loop that brought them through Killeagh, Dungourney, Mogeely, Castlemartyr, Garryvoe & Clonpriest, before taking the Redbarn Road back into Youghal. A nice 70km route, 450m of climbing at an average speed of 26kph.

With more glorious weather on Sunday morning both groups had planned the same routes. Rather than have us all roll out together, we made a call on safety reasons to give a 5 minute delay between groups to ensure the group size is manageable and to ensure we did not provide too much of an obstacle to the road users and enable them to overtake safely.

The pelotons headed East into Waterford, passing through Clashmore, Knocknaskagh and onto Dungarvan for the crucial tea stop, tyre kicking and banter. They took a similar route home and got back to town in time for lunch with 100km on the legs, 550m climbed and an average speed of 26kph. Road captains were Anthony Keneally and Ina Walsh on the day.

All in all it was a great weekends cycling. While the spins were a little longer than normal for this time of year, the general concensus of the groups were to take advantage of the good weather and get the extra km’s in. As normal the pace was managed and climbing keep to respectable heights to ensure everybody was kept in the comfort zone and brought home in a respectable time and with enough energy to get the last bit of gardening done before the winter sets in proper.

As I said in the notes last week, while it may seem tough to drag yourself out of the house, these spins are really worthwhile and will significantly stand to you in the coming season. If you have targets to do a few sportiffs next year, then start training now!! Get in the steady miles now and you will really enjoy all the sportiffs next year.

We have three separate groups rolling out every weekend. On Sundays at 10am we have a group that will roll out from Moby Dicks and cover a 30-50km route at a very comfortable pace for anyone looking to take up cycling. This group is typically led by Club Chairman Sean Lawlor.

Another group rolls out from Lidl at 10am on Saturday, 9am on Sunday and is led by Jim Wyse. This group does a really good job of introducing people to road and group cycling. They set various sportiffs and weekend training camps as targets. They work the group pace so as all will meet these various targets. At this time of year, they will cover 60-80km routes at an average speed of 25-27kph on fairly level routes. This is a brilliant group for those who want to improve their general cycling capability and enjoy the camaraderie of Club cycling!

Finally we have a group that also rolls out from Lidl at 9am on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Typically this group is made up of the more experienced Club cyclists. As with the other group their objective at this time of year is getting in the base miles for the coming season. Their spins are similar to the other group but just a couple of km faster. So for anyone feeling a little strong in the other groups, this is an ideal time of year to jump across.

Club Merchandise Anyone looking for Club gear is asked to contact Anthony Keneally.