Mountainbiking Association of Dublin

Hi all,

This may or may not have been sent around before, but it’s worth saying again:
If any riders under the age of 16 are planning on doing the beginner’s ride, they’ll need to download our “Underage rider form” here: Underage rider consent form

Both they and their parent must sign the form, and the parent must accompany the rider to the meeting place to meet us and hand over the form. The Parent must also return to collect the rider at the appointed time, to be agreed with the ride leader on the day.

If anybody has any trouble downloading the form, email me and I’ll email it on to you.
If you have any other queries, just drop me a mail or a call to 086 3354576.

See you all on Saturday,
Sean

The MAD MTB Beginners Course kicks off on Saturday September 2nd. We’ll meet up in the Hellfire Club car park at 10am (directions below). Sean and Morgan will show you how to check your bike over before the ride and how to set it up properly. We’ll then have an easy ride around Masseys Wood for about two hours.

Helmets are compulsory on these rides - no exceptions under any circumstances. Check here for a list of what else to bring.

There is no cost for attending these rides but anyone continuing to ride with MAD afterwards must join the club (€20, +€35 Cycling Ireland membership). Sean also likes Jaffa Cakes.

Hellfire Club Directions
From the Yellow House in Rathfarnham take Willbrook Road south
Continue along Ballyboden road until you reach the Ballyboden Roundabout
(you can also get to the roundabout from Grange Road to the east, or the Ballycullen exit of the M50)
Go straight through the roundabout and take the first right
Take the first left, up Stocking Lane
The Hellfire Car park is 2km along, on the right.

Map Link

Richie Byrne, Cycling Ireland’s underage development officer is running two underage beginner spins on Saturday mornings in May.

May 6th Meet at Dalkey Hill Car Park, Dalkey, South County Dublin 10.00..
May 20th Meet at St Annes Pk, at the Black Gate, Raheny , North County Dublin 10.00

These are introduction/progression spins for underage riders. Senior riders are welcome once they bring an under 12,under 14 or under 16. It will be very easy with an emphasis on fun and skill development and will last for about an hour.

You will need:

• a helmet
• Gloves
• A water bottle

You can contact Richie on 087 63760565 and richie.byrne@gmail.com

Hello gach duine,

We’re having a nice easy spin on Saturday so we can get some of the beginner/newbie folk out. Everybody is welcome…..yes that’s EVERYBODY. Come along, it will be a good spin! If you don’t think you are able for it then we’ll prove you wrong.

10am Yellow House, Rathfarnham - map available on website. Any queries then give me a shout.

Nigel
087 9335 403
poloholemint@gmail.com

Underage beginner spin Saturday 28.01.06
For riders aged 16 and under. We will just be riding some singletrack and giving some gentle instructions.
Adults are welcome to attend provided they bring an underage rider along. I also want at least one volunteer to assist me.
The Venue will be Djouce Woods middle car park at 10.00.
Djouce woods can be found just South of Enniskerry on the old long hill road.
As its the first of one per month it won’t be more than one hour.
The riders will need a decent bike with working brakes and gears, a helmet and gloves.
They must be accompanied by an adult (no abandoning of children please, the moms or dads can wait until we come back) - we won’t be long.
Don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have.

Richie Byrne
MTB Commision Underage Development Officer
087 637 6065
richie.byrne@gmail.com

After the sucess of last weekends beginners day, the second one is being held this Saturday (10th).

The same idea as the last time. Meet at the yellow house at 10am or ticknock carpark at 10:45. For details of what to bring with you check out our beginners section on the website.

The two most common questions i’ve been getting are:

Q) Can i come along?
A) Of course … its a beginners day … everyone welcome.

Q) What should i bring?
A) Check out the beginners section (link above). It has all the details.

If you’ve any *other* questions or anything then email me or call (086 6087046)

Paddy

Saturdays beginners day was a fantastic success with something like 25 people showing up for the fun. Some had been out with us once or twice before but for most it was their first offroad experience. We split the group into more manageable groups of 3 or 4 riders and then started out by climbing up to the ariels and then heading down the boneshaker, before turning left and heading off through the trails in Ticknock forest. We took our time on the first run, teaching people how to get over the various difficult bits and then headed back up for a final mass run down the same trails.

After that it was time for the newly formed, MAD aerial display team (Bjorn, Sean, Nigel and Steve) to show off their fancy jumping skills. Morgan got a bit confused and did the jumps without his bike for some reason, while some others decided that it looked like fun and started practicing their jumping skills as well. All the newcomers did really well with some of them even hitting the jumps at the end (very impressive for people who had never been offroad before).

A big thanks to all who showed up to help out, Thomas, Morgan, Mick, Steve, Sean and Nigel (sorry if i missed anyone). Hopefully the weather will be as good next weekend as well.

Pictures are up in the gallery (though it may be a few hours before they get approved). Steve has posted the following videos and picture for us too.

http://media.putfile.com/Mad-beginner-spin-1-009
http://media.putfile.com/Mad-beginner-spin-1-008
http://media.putfile.com/Mad-beginner-spin-1-007
http://media.putfile.com/Mad-beginner-spin-1-006
http://media.putfile.com/Mad-beginner-spin-1-004
http://media.putfile.com/Mad-beginner-spin-1-003
http://media.putfile.com/Mad-beginner-spin-1-002
http://putfile.com/pic.php?pic=9/24513362434.jpg&s=x4

(Thanks to Sean for the following report and steve for the videos and pic)

Sean jumping
Nigels crazy jump
Steve riding a drop

Another fine turnout today, with 8 in total; newcomers Ivan, Dan and Eamonn and regulars Nigel, Dylan, Steve, Conor and myself. With an overcast sky we climbed the road to Massey’s, some were finding it difficult going once the road pointed upwards.

Once in Massey’s, we took the singletrack climb as far as the main track at the bridge, which then provided some welcome incline-free relief. Up into Hellfire we headed, for some views of Dublin in the sunshine and some jumping practice for everyone, off the kicker beside the house, before heading down the singletrack right to the bottom. Several of the guys had a look at the bombhole, but I think some people were a little overwhelmed by the sudden drop into it, so nobody was de-virginised (bombhole-wise!).

Next, back into Massey’s, for some playtime. Again, many of the guys took the opportunity to try something new, with Dylan in particular progressing quickly as he confidently tackled the big drop and followed up with some more jumping practice off a kicker on the slope down from the picnic area. Indeed most of the group had a few goes at this jump, we will have a MAD aerial display team going by Christmas!

This slope was to be the site of the best and worst moments of the spin, with me showing how to jump off the up-ramp onto it, then Nigel going one bigger (to the ooohs and ahhs of the assembled group) and (almost) landing a huge jump off it, before eating dirt (to the gasps of the group). A little scraped, he staggered to his feet.

Then Dylan offered him an anti-septic wipe and we were ready to roll again. Ivan, Eamonn, Conor and Dan looked suitably impressed, Dylan may have muttered that he wants a go next time.

One last obstacle, the steps in the garden, proved no trouble to anyone before we hit the last bit of singletrack and headed for home, with permagrins on all faces.

Hopefully we’ll see all of the group out again soon.

Videos and pictures to follow, hosting thanks to Steve.

Sean

The response to our suggestion of a beginners day has been overwhelming, from all levels of riders - those who’ve been with us before, those who haven’t been out for a year or so, and some people have never been offroad before. Either way, it all bodes well for the future of the sport.

In order to suit as many as possible we’ll run two beginners days! We’ll start with one on the 3rd of September, and another on the 10th. Both will be held in Ticknock, so we’ll meet at the Yellow House at 10am or Ticknock carpark at 10:45. Don’t forget, the more the merrier so spread the word and bully all your friends into coming along too! New people can check out our beginners’ section for details of what they needto bring along.

We’ve run a number of beginners spins recently for which we’ve had a very impressive turnout, especially of people who are totally new to the sport, and people who are coming along very well and getting faster and more confident all the time. It is getting a little unmanageable though (in a good way) since we generally have no idea about whether any total beginners are coming out or not so tailoring the rides to suit everyone is getting quite difficult. Its also quite apparant that new people are sometimes too timid in terms of shouting out when they need a break, and worrying that they’re spoiling it for everyone else by goign too slow. They’re not of course … thats why we call them beginners spins! We want new people coming out and we want to grow the sport for everyone involved, from those starting from new to those starting to race (such as me).

So, i’ve been thinking of having a beginners/learners day at some stage in the next few weeks. The basic idea of this would be to get as many people out as possible (especially total beginners). We’d start off messing about in the woods for a couple of hours teaching and encouraging everyone to ride all the different obstacles there are such as the bombholes, cornering on berms, rocky uphills and rocky downhills etc. Then after that we’d go back up to the top and ride down all the way and hopefully everyone will be able to clear the whole trail or at least all the bits they’re comfortable with riding.

Theres two dates which look good at the moment, Saturday 3rd or Saturday 10th of September. Could anyone interested in taking part in this please let me know which of these dates they can make. We may do it both days or just one depending on levels of interest. Please mail me and let me know how this suits so it can be organised well. I’ll also expect the more experinced members who are available to be there to help out. That way we can each take smaller groups which will work better.

Paddy