TRAINING
TRAINING Schedule as follows: When you become a member, upcoming route details are communicated through a Whatsapp members group.
GROUP 2/3 Saturday Small Ring Spin, Farrells car park, Summerfield Cross @ 9am.
Winter : Sunday Clock gate @ 9.00am
Spring/Summer: Sunday Clock gate @ 8.00am
GROUP 1 Winter: Sunday Clock gate @ 9am
Spring/Summer: Sunday Clock gate @ 9am
Tuesday and Thursday evening Summmer spins...7.00pm Venue TBC.
CHECKLIST : A hardshell helmet is mandatory to comply with club rules. Spare tube,pump and tyre levers, water and food (eg bar,banana). A refreshment stop is made en route to stretch the limbs and refuel the body along with a bit of banter thrown in.
VISITORS: Visitors to Youghal are more than welcome to join either group to get to know some fantastic scenic cycling routes that the area offers. Cycling Ireland or other International Licence required.
CYCLING QUOTE'S
'Cycling isn't a game, its a sport. Tough, hard and unpitying, and it requires great sacrifices. One plays football, or tennis, or hockey. One doesn't play at cycling.' Jean de Gribaldy (Sean Kelly's Manager).
'When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.' Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
And the great Eddy Merckx gave us the elegant: 'Ride lots!'
Group Cycling
With the massive uptake in leisure cycling, that's cycling for fun or fitness and not competition, Cycling Ireland have seen a massive increase in membership numbers. With total membership over 13000 and the majority being leisure cyclists, it is clear that cycling is becoming a very attractive way for people to get fit and stay fit. So, taking to the bike after maybe not having cycled since childhood is easy right? It's like riding a bike, isn't it? Well of course the basic skills are straight forward, you sit in a saddle and push the peddles! But what if you want to go further and train for one of the many charity cycles or sportives around the country. What should you do then? Well chances are when you turn up for one of these events you will find yourself in a large group of cyclists, you may not have the option to stay on your own, so you may as well feel comfortable in the group and take advantage of it. We have all seen the big Tours like the Tour De France where riders bunch up to help each other move faster and conserve energy. Now you don't need to be an elite athlete to take advantage of this technique, in fact you may be forced into it, so here are some of the rules and conventions you should consider to stay safe in the group, enjoy it and of course benefit from it.
In a group you are responsible for others as well as yourself. If you come down everyone behind you most likely will too.
No sudden braking or moving, remember there are cyclists directly behind you. In the case of a bottle or something else try and avoid it without hard braking. Learning to bunny hop is a good idea too.
Cycle two abreast unless it is not safe to do so or you are restricting traffic. This is the legal limit do not cycle more than two abreast.
Cycle behind the cyclist in front of you. Never allow your front wheel to overlap the back wheel of the cyclist in front of you. The cyclist in front of you must be allowed move laterally without taking you out.
Keep up with the cyclist beside you. Keep a distance between your handlebars but don’t drop back.
Keep close to the cyclist in front but not too close maybe 1-2 wheel lengths. Close any gaps that develop. If the cyclist in front of you is allowing a gap, shout for them to close it.
Keep your concentration on what is happening in front of you, even when chatting to the cyclist beside you.
If you are in front call car down when a car is coming.
If you are at the back call car up to let other riders know there is a car coming and they should take single file if possible.
On busy roads, e.g. dual carriage ways, you may need to stop calling, so everyone must stop talking and be alert.
If you are at the front, point out potholes and any other hazards. For particularly bad holes call them.
When traffic is trying to pass from the rear but cannot, the cyclist at the back should call single file. At this point cyclists should slow down slightly and form a single file to allow traffic pass. Do not signal cars to go by, let the driver make the decision to overtake, but stay in single file until they do.
Be ready for the cyclist in front of you to stand, this will cause his/her back wheel to shoot back slightly.
On descents extend the gap and cycle in single file. Take the descent at the pace you are comfortable with, regroup at the bottom.
On climbs extend the gap and cycle in single file. Take the climb at the pace you are comfortable with, regroup at the top.
It is easy to forget you are on a road with other traffic when cycling in a group so stay alert.
Never wear head phones.
Take your turn at the front. If you are struggling to keep up, settle in the middle or back of the group until you can take a turn at the front. Your fellow cyclists will not mind but don’t leech for the entire ride otherwise you will get dropped.
Moving through the Group - Up and Overs
In order that everyone takes a turn at the front, you must learn how to move through a group. How long people stay at the front depends on the group. For more leisurely spins the front riders should stay at the front for a few minutes. Faster paced groups or racing groups may move continuously never taking more than a few seconds at the front.
The basic technique is that the outside line moves up. The inside line moves down. Think of it as a conveyor belt moving anti-clockwise.
The first cyclist on the outside accelerates and moves in front of the first cyclist on the inside. Make sure you have cleared the cyclist before moving in front.
The second cyclist on the outside moves up to take the lead position on the outside.
Cyclists on the outside simply follow the cyclist in front of them.
Cyclists on the inside automatically fall back one place.
The last cyclist on the inside then moves to the outside line ready to move up.