Lakeside Wheelers Notes

Just in case you missed it, the Irish summer took place on July 27. I haven"t caught so much as a glimpse of the sun since and I can remember that day pedalling into Moate in glorious sunshine in the company of Tom Shaw"s Angels, to be confronted by the sight of the Wheelers A Team outside the Supervalu shop and the B group emerging from the Moate hotel having had their tea break.I had my usual light snack of tea and toast and was surprised to see Martin O"Donnell coming down from the counter holding a plate laden with beans, sausages, bacon and other artery clogging goodies. This was Martin"s first Wheelers" outing in a while and he confessed that the effort of pedalling as far as Moate had made him so hungry.After the sunshine of a couple of weekends ago, normal service has definitely been restored. A summer like this is extremely frustrating from a cycling point of view. I didn"t go out cycling last Sunday and instead sat watching the Olympic ladies cycling road race final in the company of my wife and my youngest daughter. Suddenly, my daughter, who noted I regularly go out cycling, asked why I hadn"t entered the OlympicsI didn"t enter the Olympics for probably the same reason that Ireland hasn"t tried to invade Russia recently - I might find myself ever so slightly out of my depth. It would be the type of venture that gives failure a bad name.But I just sat back and marvelled at the level of performance offered up, particularly by the British team who really have gotten their cycling act together in a big way. They have been hoovering up cycling medals at a humungous rate both on the road and on the track. A few years ago, inspired by the success of Chris Boardman and a few others, UK Sport invested a lot of money in developing an elite cycling squad and they"re now reaping the benefits of that decision.I know that there"s plenty of raw cycling talent in Ireland and wouldn"t it be wonderful to see a few Irish competitors taking part in the cycling in London 2012, but I"m not sure if the coaching or facilities to develop a promising cyclist to Olympic standard even exist in Ireland. A successful Olympic cyclist or two would do wonders for the profile of our sport, and would certainly inspire a lot of people to get out on their bikes.I think it"s this week that Sarah Piner, Charlie Sheridan and a few of the mountain biking enthusiasts in the club are slogging their way through the hills of Wales. I hope to make contact with Sarah if and when they return and I might have some news then.I"ve just received a note from Cathy Flynn about the club team time trial scheduled for August 21.'The team time trial was a great success last year and proved to be more of a social event than a competitive evening. We are hoping that we can build on last year"s event and make this one even better.A team will consist of four cyclists, of similar ability as the time given will be that of the fourth rider across the line. The route will be the traditional route starting from the LARCC centre Ballinalack and finishing at the Rugby Club. The plan is to leave the Rugby club at 6.30pm on Thursday (21st), cycling out to the start at the LARCC centre.Check out the route at http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Lakeside-Wheelers-Team-Time-Trial-2007A few 'responsible adults' have been asked to act as team leaders and to compile a team around them. As it"s holiday time and not all the people asked to be team leaders may be available, I will not send around the list of team leaders until they have confirmed to me that they are available. Please feel free to organise a team of four yourself. Use next Sundays club spin to recruit for your team. Ideally if people could contact me beforehand with their team for the event as it will make easier on the night with handicaps. Don"t worry if you don"t have a team as we will ensure everyone that turns up on the night will be on a team'.Tour of the GlensJoe Duffy had arranged to take a group of us up to Antrim for the annual Tour of the Glens on Saturday, but true to form this summer, the event was postponed for 24 hours due to the weather. Eight Wheelers, including yours truly, duly headed northwards on Sunday morning. We were making good time until we got to Belfast where the main road through the city was closed due to flooding. We spent a pleasant forty minutes or so trying to find our way through until, in the end, a friendly taxi driver led us towards the M2 and on towards Ballymena.The rain held off and we biked through the beautiful Glens of Antrim, starting with a tough climb before an enjoyable descent towards the sea and then along the coast to Cushendall for refreshments. The Antrim coastline is a gem, with the Mull of Kintyre clearly visible across the water. The second half of the tour offered the option of cycling directly up the Glens and back towards Ballymena, or taking a slightly longer route with an additional five mile climb up a notorious hill known as 'The Corkscrew'. Damien O"Brien and Karl Pentony called on me to give The Corkscrew a go, I told them that the only way I was ever going to have a go at a corkscrew was if there was a bottle of claret involved.It was a hard but very rewarding day in the saddle and if the distance covered was a relatively modest 55 miles, there was enough serious climbing to ensure that everyone got a thorough workout. Thanks very much to our gracious hosts in the Broughshane Cycling Club for hosting a great day out. They are an extremely friendly bunch and there is great banter in the peloton with them. Quite a few of them hope to join us for the Into the West trip in just over a fortnight. We look forward to seeing you.I had intended to join Tom Shaw"s Angels on Sunday for a trip to the Slieve Blooms, but with the Antrim trip put back until Sunday, I couldn"t make it. Unlike Padre Pio, I can"t be in two places at once. Tom reported that 10 Angels made the trip, including Aidan and Eileen Gorry on their maiden outing in the Blooms. Aidan and Eileen, for a couple so new to the sport, are showing an amazing level of fitness and cycling aptitude and both completed the trip without any difficulty whatsoever. The bad news is that Blooms Restaurant in Clonaslee, the favoured watering hole of Tom"s Angels while on Blooms duty, has closed its doors and there was no place to sit and enjoy a plate of bacon and beans. I suppose any low flying ducks in the area will just have to look out!Care to join us?Would you like to join us for a cycle? Cyclists of all standards are welcome to come along. We usually meet at the Mullingar dog track at 09.00 on Sunday mornings. Up to four groups now leave from the dog track, including one especially for beginners, or those who may have some cycling experience and would like to see if cycling with a group is for them. Just turn up on any given Sunday, call me on 087 1216 345 or visit our website at lakesidewheelers.ie for information and advice on how to get going.