Author: william parnell

General News / News

All roads lead to Wicklow this Sunday

All roads lead to Wicklow this Sunday, as Ireland’s Premier Sportive, the IVCA’s Wicklow 200, takes to the by-ways of Co. Wicklow. After more than 30 years, the Wicklow continues to stand out as The One that cyclists look forward to completing. It ain’t easy, but that’s what makes it special.

What also makes it special for riders is the support and good humour they encounter from the IVCA marshals along the route. We are delighted with the response and willingness from IVCA members to help out again this year.

Here are a few pointers for those of you who will be out on the roads guiding the riders through:

  • Our key organising this year from Global Endurance Events are Alan Heary, Emmet Roche, Mary Nolan and Lorraine Lewis. These folks have planned everything to a ‘T’, so if they have a particular request of you, please assist them – they know the big picture and they also appreciate the support they are getting from the IVCA members.
  • As a marshal, your job is to direct the riders to follow the route, to make sure they are stopping at Stop signs, and to warn of any upcoming hazards. You are not empowered to stop traffic.
  • The plan is to provide all Marshals with a high-viz vest and a goody-bag with refreshments as the lead car goes around the route. We would ask you to bring your own hi-vis vest with you, if you have one, just in case any riders reach you before our car. Make sure to bring plenty of your own water with you also – it’s to be a humid day.
  • Not all marshal points are at junctions, some are at hazard points on the route. At these points, we would ask you to warn the riders of the upcoming hazard and try to slow them if you feel they are traveling too fast.
  • If you have a track pump, please bring it along and leave it visible at the side of the road next to you for riders who might need to use it.
  • A small number of members do not appear to have received e-mails advising them of their marshalling points. If you are one of those members, please be assured that your help is still needed. You should turn up in the Shoreline Centre before 7 am on Sunday and you will be assigned a job.
  • If you are a designated cycle marshal, a moto marshal or are driving a (IVCA) support vehicle during the event, please have a chat with Emmet Roche at Shoreline before you set-off.
  • Finally, the CycleSuperstore have provided three €50 vouchers for a draw for all those who marshal on the day. Winners will be notified in due course.

Good luck to everyone on Sunday. Thanks for helping out, and above all, have fun!

 

 

News / Road News

IVCA 2-Day

Today saw the first leg of the IVCA’s 2-Day event.  Hard racing in warm weather brought fine wins for Sean Bracken, Aidan Delaney, Aidan McKenna and Jim Morahan.

The second leg of the 2-Day takes place in Kilcullen on Bank Holiday Monday.  Total points accumulated over the two days will decide the winner of the Australian Shield.  This Shield was presented to the IVCA a number of years ago by Len Laycock, a good friend of the late Donal O’Connell.  Although Len was living in Australia, he kept in regular touch with events in the IVCA through the Chaingang News bulletin and made a generous donation of the prize that is now competed for in the 2-Day event.

Our accompanying photo (courtesy of Brendan Culleton) captures what makes the IVCA special (it’s not  all about the bike!).

General News / Leisure News

Mind the Gaps Tour report

The Mind the Gaps Tour – the 5th round in the Dick O’Brien Leisure League – took place on Sunday, 8th May.  A report from Tony Pearson on this tough 100K+ challenge is available to download.  Well done to the members who took part.

The next event in the Leisure League is the Wicklow 200 on 12th June.

[gview file=”https://theivca.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Mind-the-Gaps-report-2016.docx”]

 

General News / Leisure News

Mind the Gaps Leisure Tour

The Mind the Gaps Leisure Tour is scheduled for this coming Sunday, 8th May, commencing at 9 am.

The event will start from the Cycle Superstore in Tallaght. Car parking space will be available either in the carpark or on the public road opposite the shop. Please note that the Superstore has moved premises since the start of this year and is now located on Airton Road in Tallaght. A map of their location is at the following link:

https://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewContent.asp?idpage=1

We have no Touring Secretary this year and no-one has volunteered to organise this event, so the route is not marked and there will be no organised back-up support.

However, the usual route for this event has been Tallaght – Blessington – Hollywood – Left at Hollywood towards Glendalough – Laragh (opportunity for tea stop) – Glenmacnass (take a left immediately on leaving Laragh on the Roundwood Road) – Sally Gap – Manor Kilbride – Tallaght.

A map of this route (using The Square as a reference point) is attached.

The route is a little over 100Km. Care is advised on the descents, particularly off the Sally Gap. This is a tough mountainous cycle, but an ideal preparation for anyone planning to ride the Wicklow 200/100 in June.

The Board would be delighted to hear from anyone who would be willing to take the lead in co-ordinating the remaining Leisure Tours (other than the WW 200 which is already in hand). This does not require you be a member of the Board.

[gview file=”https://theivca.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Mind-the-Gaps-tour.pdf”]

CHAIN GANG

Summerhill Race Results

Full results of races in Summerhill on 24th April are available on the Race Results page. Victory in the four races went to John Shortt, Mark Burns, David MacNeaney and Jim Morahan. The top 10 finishers in each race are shown in finish order; all other riders receive two League points and are shown by race number. Well done to all. Many thanks, as ever to all the marshals and everyone who helped out on the day.

Picture of Eddie Scully and Des Howe courtesy of Brendan Culleton

CHAIN GANG / Road News

Road Results of Kilcullen races, 17th April 2016

Full results of Kilcullen races, 17th April, are now available on the Race Results page of the website. You can click on the tabs to review the results of previous races also.

Congratulations to the Kilcullen winners, John Brady, Mark McGarry, Brian Kilbride and Jim Morahan. Many thanks to all who helped make it another great day’s racing – drivers, motor bike marshals and static marshals – and our Race Director, Tom O’Connell.

News / Road News

Race day at The Curragh – DMS 10th April 2016

t was cold, it was wet, it was windy and it was carnage as three of the four races at The Curragh exploded to pieces with very fast racing from the off.

Victory went to Sean Bracken (Race 1), Mike Claffey (Race 2), Eoin Delaney (Race 3) and Jim Morahan(Race 4). Some epic rides were put in by many others, including Barry Swan, who finished second to Bracken after being away on his own for a lap and a half, and Sean Lally, now in his 70s, but finishing an excellent third in Race 2.

Well done again to all our marshals, outriders and lead cars for their efforts on such a cold and damp day. Thanks also to Tom O’Connell, our Race Director, Brendan Culleton, our photographer, and our paramedic. You can view the photos of today’s race on Brendan’s Facebook page.

Race 1
Seán Bracken 741 Usher IRC G 12
Barry Swan 706 Smart Lamp G 11
Patrick Deegan 736 IVCA G 10
Joe Christian 720 Gorey CC G 9
Brian Byrne 605 IVCA F 8
Dylan Rafter 713 IVCA G 7
Mark Kiernan 729 Kilcullen CC G 6
Mark Mearns 748 LCRC G 5
Diarmuid Collins 712 Orwell Wheelers G 4
Jonathan Grimes 623 McNally Swords CC F 3
Race 2
Mike Claffey 538 Bray Wheelers E 12
Mark Burns 536 McNally Swords CC E 11
Seán Lally 451 Smart Lamp D 10
Adrian Byrne 402 Garda CC D 9
Mark McGarry 436 Sorrento CC D 8
Malcolm Kell 535 Smart Lamp E 7
Rodney Joyce 447 St Tiernans CC D 6
Jason O’Toole 524 McNally Swords CC E 5
Arthur Ebbs 501 Orwell Wheelers E 4
Eddie Mongey 424 IVCA D 3
Andrew Bartley 407 Donadea Wheelers D 2
Race 3
Eoin Delaney 315 LCRC C 12
Graham Synnott 319 Donadea Wheelers C 11
Aidan McKenna 301 Bray Wheelers C 10
David MacNeaney 309 Bray Wheelers C 9
Sean Dunne 332 Bray Wheelers C 8
Paul Atkinson 328 McNally Swords CC C 7
Ned Costello 215 Sundrive Track B 6
Gerry Jameson 318 Blanch Wheelers CC C 5
Willie McDonald 337 Carlow CC C 4
Declan Weldon 311 Clonard Road Club C 3
Aidan Richardson 201 Velo Club Dynamic B 2

Leisure News / News

Next Leisure Event – 10th April

The next round of the Dick O’Brien Leisure League takes place next Sunday, 10th April, starting from the Grasshopper Inn, Clonee @ 10.00am sharp.

This event is the Liam Horner Memorial Tour, with the route taking in Summerhill, Hill of Tara, Skryne, Ratoath, Kilbride and back to Clonee. Distance approx 75K. All are members are welcome.

Liam Horner was one of the great domestic riders in the late 1960s and 1970s. He was a national champion and highly respected international, who passed away in 2007 at the age of 59. He won many big races during his cycling career, including the prestigious Manx International in 1967 and the Tour of Ireland in 1972. He also competed in two Olympic games. Liam was the first Irish rider to forge a relationship with Herman Nys, with whom Sean Kelly lived for many years at the start of his professional career.

News / Road News / Road Racing

Monasterevin Results

[gview file=”https://theivca.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Monasterevin-Race-Results-3-April-2016.xlsx”]It was a day for the ducks, or maybe a day for crazy cyclists! Notwithstanding the weather, we had a great day of racing in Monasterevin, with victory in the four races going to Mark Kidd, Mark Burns, Declan Weldon and Eddie Scully. 119 rider participated across the 4 races.

A special mention must be made of all those who helped marshal the event in appalling conditions, and especially the motorcycle marshals who provided a great service in ensuring all the side roads were covered along the route. Chapeau gentlemen.

Full results are attached (click the little arrow in the top right-hand corner if the file doesn’t open fully initially).

Leisure / Leisure News

50 in 4 Report

IVCA-Dick O Brien Leisure League 2016 Round 3 – 13th March 50 in 4.
Report by Tony Pearson
50 years ago today, the 13th March 1966, the first spin of the Irish Veteran Cyclists Association was held. With this backdrop it was a privilege to have the opportunity to organise the 3rd Round of the Dick O’Brien Leisure League. This is thanks to Gay Farnan, through his leadership qualities, guided and supported many touring ‘apprentices’ and afforded them opportunity to organise an IVCA event.

The 3rd round of Leisure League commenced at the new start point of Clonee with sign on commencing at 8:30 for a 9:00 start. The weather forecast was favourable with temperatures of 6 degrees with dry roads and even some blue skies in the horizon.

A total of 29 riders signed on which accounted for 24 IVCA members and 5 guests. Before setting out on the newly planned route the group were issued with a route map and reminded of the safety rules. It was agreed to keep the group together until the tea stop at Summerhill on the return leg of the tour and then break into two groups.

Before starting Seamus Brennan informed the group of some local news and advised that the Patricks Day Parade was taking place in Dunboyne and a detour may be required on the home run, he also advised the group to take extra care on the Maynooth Road. The group set out in the direction of Dunboyne at a steady pace however as the group moved up the road towards Summerhill the pace increased and some riders found the pace challenging. Noting this the group adjusted the pace to ensure all riders stayed together as agreed.

On the approach to Summerhill a quick thinking Arthur Ebbs went up the road to make arrangements with the local coffee shop ‘Bernie’s Cafe’ for the coffee stop on the return trip.
The group stopped for a minute in Summerhill to ensure all riders were together before heading for Knightsbrook. On the approach to Knightsbrook Philly Newton with a smile on his face moved to the front and was half wheeling yours truly. There was plenty of banter in the group as we rounded the corner heading for Mayne. The group continued at a steady pace until the well earned tea stop in Summerhill.

The pre planning by Arthur proved dividends with pots of tea and coffee ready on arrival with a selection of pastries on offer, not to mention the pancakes which Jimmy and Brian made disappear.

After the tea stop the group split in two and made their way back through Kilcock, Maynooth, on the road to Dunboyne Jimmy Murphy noticed he was losing air from the back wheel and decided to keep going to the finish in Clonee where Philip Brogon came to his aid with a track pump. As Jimmy decided that a tube change was not necessary at this juncture he headed for home with Brian from TCC. Just to be on the safe side the TCC number 2 support car was dispatched which provided support to Jimmy and Brian on the home run.
The total distance of the tour was recorder as 80.9K.

A note of thanks to all who participated and in particular to fast group who stayed with the main group until the tea stop as agreed.

The next tour is the Liam Horner Memorial scheduled for the 10th April at 10:00am starting in Clonee. (check the IVCA web site closed to the day to confirm)

Tony Pearson.