Mountainbiking Association of Dublin

Our first MTB beginners course of 2008 begins on May 10th. This will be an easy introduction to mountainbiking for first-timers or a chance for people to return to the sport. Please ensure your bike is in good working order and don’t forget your helmet. Check out our Beginners Page for more details on what to wear and bring.

If you have any questions, or if you just want to tell us you’re coming along, drop an email to the committee. The course is open to riders over 16 years of age. Riders under 18 must present a parental consent form to the club committee. Riders under 16 may attend on the condition that a parent also takes part and stays with the group at all times - please discuss this with the committee beforehand.

The first day will be around the Hellfire Club and Masseys Wood on Saturday May 10th. Meet at the Merry Ploughboy Pub at 9.45am, departure at 10am. We’ll aim to finish about 1pm or so.

Dates and locations

The Cycle Inn have invited Giant UK to come over to Ireland on the 1st of May. They are bringing the full range of Maestro suspension bikes in their line up. Mick Jordan is offering a free demo day for riders to avail of this unique opportunity to try out these bikes. Mick and the Giant guys will be setting up a demo day in Ballinastoe on the 1st, so call the Cycle Inn and ask for Mick to book your bike for a test ride.

Phone: (01) 4519202/207
Email: mike@thecycleinn.com

• The Cycle Inn
• Giant MTB range
• Maestro Suspension Technology

The final round of the 2008 K-Capital series took place yesterday in Castlewellen Co. Down. The race, hosted by XMTB, was a fitting end to the league with a top-class trail and excellent organisation.

MAD has done really well this season, winning three of the league categories - Ashling Corkery in Sport Women, Melanie Spath in Elite Women and Oisin Boydell in Expert Men. Ryan Sherlock rode strongly in every race with a fantastic TORQ-fuelled overall 4th place in Elite Men. Fergal J Kilkenny and Steve Scrivener racked up top-10 finishes in Masters and Experts respectively and have their sights set on the podium later this year.  Read the rest of this entry »

This past weekend saw fantastic success for club members Ryan Sherlock and Melanie Späth in Round 1 of the British NPS XC and Marathon races in Thetford, England. Melanie fended off almost everything Britain had to throw at her with superb 2nd places in quality fields on both days, just losing out to multiple British champs Jenny Copnall on Saturday and Sally Bigham on Sunday by a margin of less than 1 minute over 4 hours and 20 mins of racing in the 100km event. Ryan suffered a nasty crash in the XC race on Saturday while running in about 15th place after starting from the rear of the pack and retired early to prepare for Sunday’s 100km Marathon, where he took a fine 3rd place in 3:55:55 while riding under the Torq team banner.

Both riders document their escapades on blogs, which can be found here and here. Pictures of the XC race and Marathon are online here and here.

Congratulations to both riders from all in MAD and we look forward to seeing more success in the future!

Sean

Right folks, this weekend we’re changing the meeting point back to the spiritual home of MAD, The Yellow House pub, at 10am, unless otherwise stated (Directions are on the site somewhere, think of it like a test, if you can’t find it you’re not clever enough for the club!) :

Starting on Saturday with Shane (Stupidly Early) Lavelles spin around Djouce. Meeting at the lower car park at 8:30am. Call or text him on 0863195936

Later on Saturday we’ll be taking a spin around Three Rock and its surrounds for a few hours, taking in all those lovely trails we built last year and generally having a bit of craic. We should be back around 2pm(ish). This will not be suitable for total beginners, but any of you that have been on the normal club spins will be fine.

On Sunday we’re going on a long one, meeting at the same time and place, and heading off down the wicklow way towards Crone, Maulin and Djouce, maybe even sticking on a lap of the KCapital course for fun at the end. To come on this spin you’ll need a decent level of fitness as its a long way and will take quite a few hours (We should be home by 6). Bring plenty of water and food for this one. There are drop out points along the way so if you only want to come along for a bit then thats fine too.

See ye there
Paddy (086 6087046)

Could you help spread word that by completing the online survey at http://www.wicklowleader.ie/outdoorrecreation.php participants in outdoor recreation activities can influence plans for the future development of outdoor recreation in Co. Wicklow?

This survey is a really important stage in the preparation of an Outdoor Recreation Strategy for Co. Wicklow, as it means that the plans will be based on the activities, needs and ideas of the people who enjoy the wide range of recreation opportunities available in the county.

Thanks for your help!

Helen Lawless
Countryside Recreation Officer
Wicklow Uplands Council

Howdy,

WOW a blog post from Dave? What is this you ask?

Well I realised that our illustrious leader hadn’t written about the upcoming weekends biking for a while and neither had anyone else. I’m willing to chalk it down to excitement over the k-caps and all that other racing malarkey. But for those of us who aren’t quite able for the physically demanding and epic cycling that is competitive racing I thought it’d be nice for someone to talk about a weekend of regular biking.

So without further ado (and to stop myself from rambling too much) I present to you:

DAVE’S GUIDE TO THIS WEEKENDS SPINS

*Disclaimer: There will be no desert or army related spins, also that is not me in the pic Read the rest of this entry »

The launch of mountain bike guided holidays by All Mountain Experience.

From May 2008, Irish international Olympic rider, Tarja Owens, is leading mountain bike guided holidays in the beautiful mountains surrounding Lake Garda, in Northern Italy.

If you want a relaxing weekend cycling through the Vineyards of the Trentino Valley, or a weeks specific mountain bike tutoring with an Olympic athlete on some of the best trails in Europe, your holiday will be tailored to your needs.

As a once off, All Mountain Experience is offering you the opportunity to preview this years World Championships Downhill and 4x course. From 2nd until 4th May you can partake in a test-event held on the course. Or perhaps you prefer to experience the thrill of the 2008 World Mountain Bike Championships races in June. All Mountain Experience will organise it all, you just have to book your flight and arrive.

See their site : www.AllMountainExperience.com for exclusive offers, or mail tarja@allmountainexperience.com for details.

Easter Parade At Moneyscalp

This Sunday, 23rd March, round two of the International K-Capital MTB XCO Series will be held at Moneyscalp Forest near Newcastle in County Down. Round one of the series in Bray attracted a record 263 entries. The event is promoted by Banbridge Cycling Club. Confusion has been caused in some circles as to the venue, with Tollymore being listed in the calendar. The race was originally set for Tollymore but on the advice from the NI Forest Service the race had to be switched to Moneyscalp Wood, which in fact is an annex of Tollymore. Read the rest of this entry »

The 2008 race season is upon us already. Round 1 of the K-Capital cup takes place in Kilruddery estate this Sunday. Read Andy Pott’s Preview for the low-down on what to expect. Kilruddery is one of the best XC courses in the country, very varied and challenging and there’s a huge amount of anticipation about this first race.

We’ll have a whole new generation of MAD riders trying out racing for the first time in the Sports category. Several will also be making the leap from Sports into the Expert and Masters categories. Ryan will still be representing us in Elites and will face some fierce competition. The forum is busy with talk of race preparation and gauntlets being thrown.

The MAD committee will be present on both days to distribute licences, collect club dues and solve your personal problems. Find them in the MAD Tent Village.

www.kcapitalcup.com