Lakeside Wheelers Notes

Just as well the Wheelers had something organised to occupy themselves. With the weather putting paid to all hope of getting out on the roads, the last thing the town needed was a bunch of cyclists with excess energy to burn off.I can tell you that by the end of the Turbothon, none of the participants had an ounce left.The Turbothon was the brainchild of Steve and Sarah Franzoni - a 24 hour endurance event staged to raise funds for research into cystic fibrosis. Sarah"s sister, Harriet, died from this disease in 2007 and the Turbothon was staged in her memory. Sarah and Harriet"s parents had hoped to travel from England to attend the event, but the weather made this impossible, but I do know that the effort put in by all of the participants was greatly appreciated by them. I haven"t been told yet how much was donated, but the Wheelers have a great track record in fund raising and I"m sure that the final total will be impressive.Wheelers were invited to join teams of four, with each team member pedalling for an average of 6 hours from noon Saturday through to noon Sunday. For non-cyclists, I should explain that a turbo-trainer is a sort of slightly more sophisticated exercise bike, on to which you hook up your own road bike, and then pedal like a dervish. The "distance" travelled can be measured, but there are none of the welcome distractions that made road cycling such an enjoyable experience - no cooling (or lately freezing) wind, no change of scenery, no moving up and down the peloton - just a mind numbing slog against the pedals. So much of any sport is in the mind, and any cyclist will tell you that a session on the turbo trainer is psychologically much tougher than an equivalent distance on the road.There was a small prize for the team that achieved the greatest "distance" on their bikes and - how about this - the winning team covered the equivalent of 850Km (530 miles) in the 24 hour period. That is an average speed in excess of 35Km/hr (22 mph) - an incredible feat. If you are still unimpressed, think of it this way - to even drive 850Km in a day would require exceptional endurance, let alone pedal it on a bicycle.One other noteworthy aspect of the whole event was the way that so many club members (those sane enough not to take part) rallied round and came down to the event to offer encouragement to the participants. There was live music on Saturday evening, and there was a lovely buzz about the place. Steve Franzoni"s brother, Ian, was due to play with his band on Sunday morning, but the other band members couldn"t get there because of the weather. Steve had suggested that I bring my guitar along and I did throw it into the back of the car, but when I arrived at about 11am on Sunday, most of the participants (those not still pedalling) were sitting around hollow-eyed with exhaustion and, to be honest, they looked as if they had suffered enough already. I left the guitar where it was.Some news items now. Ace C group Wheelette, Claire Malone is off this Friday for a three week holiday in Perth, Western Australia. Apparently the world female mud wresting championships are on there so, good luck, Bonecrusher!After seeing Dermot Hogan"s bike last week, I asked a few of the Wheelerettes if they knew what that sort of blue/green colour, that Bianchi bikes come in, is called. None of them seemed to have any idea, which, bearing in mind that most Wheelerettes could probably name about fifteen thousand different shades of lipstick or nail varnish, seemed a little strange.Now, Robbie has one more favoured us with his pearls of wisdom. Take it away, Robbie:'I"m sure we all do it when we go out on the bike; we lose ourselves and start screeching out a few tunes. For some reason I can"t get 'Slip, Sliding Away' out of my head these days. I wonder will we ever get to sing something from the Beach Boys. 'California Girls' would be nice.Last Sunday came quite close to California Girls not just because of the weather, it was sunny but because of the girly contingent in the A group. Mullingar Girls doesn"t quite have the same ring to it but they wouldn"t look out of place in California either.Sarah was back to more mundane matters of cycling with us mere mortals after her revolutionary exploits in Manchester. Wendy, the first international winner and reigning champion of the club race league, made her debut in the A group. She cycled around with that 'what was all the fuss about ye guys ain"t so hot' look. Then there is Michelle. Now we"ve been trying to keep a lid on Michelle the last few months like she was some nuclear project but she is the one to watch this year. She well and truly blew her cover after last Sunday.There was an east wind and dodgy roads so it was suggested an excursion to Maynooth would be nice. No one disagreed so off we went, all 16 of us. The group was packed with all the talent of the A group for the first time in months so it was a chance to test some form. Two punctures put paid to Maynooth so it was only to Kilcock and back. As said a strong wind on the outward journey left us 'gagging' for the race home and it didn"t disappoint. We rehydrated and 'redonoughted' at the service station in Kilcock and turned for home. The pace was a rock n rollin, adrenaline pumping 40kmh until Kinnegad where it turned into a rock fest. Stuy, Robbie, Paul and Michelle 'danced' on the pedals and slipped off the front; we say quietly others have said slyly ah well that"s the nature of this game. It was the last that was seen of them. Paul and Michelle lost contact with Robbie and Stuy and were swept up by Steve, McQueen, Hurricane H and Dave in pursuit of the two boys. The two escapees stayed away until the finish, the boys lost the wheels of Steve and Michelle who finished 3rd and 4th,the rest of the group rolled in, in ones and twos thereafter.Thanks Robbie.By the way, I"ve been told by Tom Shaw that anyone wishing to come to Mayo for the weekend cycle in June (as outlined in last week"s notes) should book their room at the Hotel Westport (mission headquarters for the weekend) before April 1 to avail of the special rate of €169.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 9am 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.Please remember to check the club message board at http://lakesidewheelers.proboards51.com/index.cgi for details of any last minute changes before setting off.