Folks,

Just been talking to Sean to discover he got taken out by a car while out on the bike today, but thankfully has nothing more serious than bruised ribs and a whole lotta cuts, grazes, bruises and interesting patterns.

I know from personal experience how quickly this can happen and how painful it can be, so be careful out there and keep those helmets no matter how short a trip you’re doing.

Just think we should all join in wishing him a speedy recovery cos hes had a long time off the bike already, and we were hoping to finally having him back on the bike at races rather than randomly flinging water bottles from the sidelines.

Paddy

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. 

Other notable riders include Richie and Conor, locked in an eternal battle for supremacy; Jackie and Rachel racing XC for the first time; Ollie thrown into the deep end of the Expert pool; Graham and Paddy carefully balancing self-destruction and top-level racing; the grimacing trio of Arek, Piotr and Cormac; not to mention Liam, Shane and Barry, soon expected to make the big leap up from Sports.

The race season continues this weekend with Round 1 of the National Point Series in Ballinastoe, organised by Sorrento CC. Lets get down there and show why we’re Ireland’s Premier Mountainbiking Club™.

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)

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

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

Saturday 29th

Dave’s Spin of DOOM - 3rock

Time: 10.00am (Leaving at 10.15am)
Place: Taylor’s Carpark
Pace: Easy/Annoyingly Slow

Admittedly this spin will be a lot less doomfull then the title suggests but should be a bit of craic anyways.

Sunday 30th

Shane’s Sunday Morning Spin - Larragh/Scarr/Glendalough

Time: 8.45am (Leaving at 9.00am?)
Place: Larragh Triangle
Pace: Moderate/Achingly Slow

Scarr is tough but fun and if you don’t mind being up at about 6 to get there then this is the spin for you!

Mel’s Ladies/Beginner Spin - Ballinastoe

Time: 1pm

Place: Ballinastoe
Pace: Nice & Easy

Well ladies and gents that’s it from me, my first and possibly last blog-post depending on how YOU the public think I did.

Have a good weekend,

Dave

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.

Better known as a Downhill venue, Moneyscalp’s MTB trails where born in 1994 with the Forest Service providing a venue for the growing sport of MTB. The site included a couple of purpose built XC trails which added to the existing DH track. Over the years the XC trails lost their popularity as no maintenance was carried out on them, they became overgrown and in many cases blocked by fallen trees. Enter Banbridge CC. Over the past two months, a small but very dedicated team from the promoting Club has worked tirelessly to open up much of the old trail network in order to construct a course worthy of K-Capital status. Last weekend the course was completed as torrential rain lashed down on the venue on Saturday. The rain damaged much of the back (bridge) bridge section of the course with the result that the organisers may only use part of this section on race day.

On a brighter note, the entry for Round 2 is looking good. Due to other commitments the BCF Squad, who enjoyed the trip to Round one, are unable to make the trip, however their place has been taken by top Belgian MTB Squad, Team Barracuda. Leading the team is Patrick Gaudy, 8th ranked Elite rider in Belgium. He is joined by Cedric Gaudy, winner of the prestigious Wallonia Cup in 2007. The youngest member of the team is Jorgen Flion, 6th ranked U-23 Belgian MTB rider. The presence of the Belgian squad will certainly bring a truly international flavour to the event. The entry also includes Welsh rider Lee Williams who produced a superb ride in round one to pace himself to third place. Adrian Lansley (Pedalon) is a great supporter of Irish MTB and he makes the trip to Moneyscalp after securing 5th place in round one. Another exciting entry is that of Paul Beale of Team Orange Monkey, Paul will be making his Irish debut.

For the Irish Elite riders this will be another chance to pit their talents against strong visiting opposition. For Robin Seymour (Team Worc), Niall Davis (IMBRC) and Conor McConvey (McConvey Cycles) it will be part two of the ‘race to Beijing’, the trio chasing the Irish MTB ride at the 2008 Olympics. In round one Robin finished second to British Champion Oli Beckingsale while Niall finished sixth. Conor was forced to miss the first round after sustaining a broken shoulder in an accident, though he finished a brilliant second in a road race last Saturday. The rider who scores the most points over the first three K-Cap races gets the Irish ride at the Olympics.

The Moneyscalp course measures roughly 5km in length. The start line will be situated at the bottom of the main Moneyscalp fire road climb. From the start the course goes uphill, passed the finish line and feed/tech zones, after 500m the course turns right into a descent that provides the riders with their first section of single track. On the exit from this loop the course rejoins the fire road for a gentle climb to a smaller single track loop which veers off to the left then crosses the fire road to the right for another fast single track loop. Exiting this loop the course rejoins the fire road climb with the riders reaching the top of the climb and the open expanses of the harvested section of Moneyscalp Wood.

The course remains the on fire road as riders get a great view of Northern Ireland (weather permitting) and also gives the chance for speed and overtaking. This section ends with the course veering left down an embankment into what has been termed the ‘mud pit’. This is the section that was damaged by the rain. The organisers will wait to Friday to see what the weather forecast is and also consult with the UCI Commissaire before making a final decision on this section. However it is likely that only part of this section will be used which will be a pity as around 50 hours of work went onto the building of bridges. The exit of this section brings the riders back onto the fire road for a short sprint down to the main single track section on the course. The course turns into the forest on the left side of the road at the point where the downhill course enters the trees. A new section has been cut for the XC race but still includes the exciting rock garden. The course leaves the top of the DH section and crosses into the main forest area for a fast flowing single track experience. This section features a few descents and a couple of short and sharp uphill challenges.

This part of the course follows the old XC trails built by the Forest Service, and brings the riders near to the opening climb from the start. From here the course turns back across the Moneyscalp slope using parts of the old DH course. This brings the riders down the slope to within sight of the finish area with the next challenge being a rocky section which features riding along a ledge and then down a rocky drop off. For the faint hearted an alternative route will be provided. From here the course follows a grassy single track section across the slope to the bottom of the main DH course. Riders exit this section close to the main entrance and continue up the fire road towards the finish. But then comes the sting in the tail! Before the finish the course veers right at the bottom of the hill onto a fast single track section that begins the final loop. This loop maybe fast but the end of it includes a short but tough climb that brings the riders back to the fire road and the short sprint to the finish. Riders please note that when you are practicing, the single track that you see at the bottom of the hill will be the last section on the course, not the first.

Sign on will be located at the main gate with toilets also provided. Car Parking is not permitted on the road for safety reasons however the organisers gave hired a field for parking. This is located just up the road from the main entrance to the Forest and just across the road from the main entry to Tory Bush Holiday Cottages. Please be aware that the Circuit of Ireland Rally will be based in the Newcastle area over the weekend so it is advisable to plan your route to Moneyscalp avoiding both Newcastle and Castlewellan. The favoured routes would be Banbridge/Rathfriland, following the Castlewellan Road to Kilcoo and veering right up the hill, a road which will bring you directly to Moneyscalp. Travelling from Newry the best route is to Hilltwom then follow signs for Castlewellan. This route will proceed to Kilcoo, again take the road off to the right which goes uphill. Another route is exit Hilltwon and follow signs for Newcastle/Killkeel/Spelga Dam. Approx 4 miles out of Hilltown a left turn is made onto the Newcastle road, this leading to Moneyscalp.

Of course Sunday is also Easter Sunday, so please remember that local shops may not be open so bring any essential supplies. The weather for Sunday at present gives wintry showers so please bring suitable clothing. Details of race times and entry fees can be found on the K-Capital website http://www.kcapitalcup.com/. Finally as it is Easter Sunday, the roads will be busy, so set off for Moneyscalp in good time.

Downhill riders please note that the Downhill course will be out of use from 2pm-4pm on Saturday and from 10am-4.30pm on Sunday. Banbridge CC applogises to all DH riders.

– Andy Potts