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.  (more…)

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 (more…)

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. (more…)

This is a great offer - I’ve often had over 4grands worth of bikes on the back of my car and always hope no uninsured eejit runs into the back of me, or hope no one steals my bike from a race venue etc.. as has happened before - this offer will set my mind at ease!

Fergal

Click on the image below to view the offer.

The Mountain Biking Ireland AGM will take place at Kilfinane, Co Limerick on Saturday March 1st. The itinerary for the weekend is as follows:

10am - meet main forest car park for a spin around the new trails (3 hours)
1.30pm - lunch/showers
3pm - AGM Ballyhoura forest lodges, Ballyorgan
5pm - Dinner/Social evening

On Sunday there are two events nearby, a duathlon in Limerick city or an XC race in Tracton wood, or another spin around the trails.There is accommodation available in the Ballyhoura forest lodges at €55 - €65 per person for two nights accommodation. Everyone is welcome.
There are plenty of B&B’s also available locally.

The agenda for the AGM is as follows :

MBI AGM Agenda

1. Chairman’s report
2. Update for regions - regional reps
3. Proposed structure for MBI
4. Presentation on organisations who can impact trail development
5. Ratification of officers
6. AOB

Contact Elizabeth.mccluskey@dit.ie with any questions.

The new MAD website went live today. It doesn’t look very different, but the new site will make it much easier for us to keep our information up to date and add new articles. There’s also a new discussion forum where you can express your deepest thoughts. Let us know how you get on with the new setup.