Leisure League Calendar 2018
The 2018 Leisure League Calendar is provided below. The Leisure League is open to all IVCA members and provides a great training base, as well as a social cycling outlet, for members.
ivca-leisure-league-2018
Category: Leisure News
50 in 4 next Sunday, 5th March
Next Sunday, 5th March, the IVCA’s 50 in 4 Tour takes place, starting from the Grasshopper Inn, Clonee.
Completing 50 miles in 4 hours is one of the classic touring trials and forms the first part of the trilogy of events for those looking to earn a silver Touring Medal this year. The Touring Medal is awarded to members who complete the 50 in 4, Wicklow 200 and 100 in 8 in the same year.
The 50 in 4 is also the third round of the Dick O Brien Leisure League. Sign-on is at 8:30 am for a 9.00 am start. The route is shown below (click on the image for a larger view). All IVCA members are welcome to come along on this spin.
North Dublin Tour, Sunday 12th Feb
Round 2 of the Dick O’Brien Leisure League takes place on Sunday 12th February, starting from Eurocycles, Airside Shopping Centre, Swords at 10.00am sharp.
The tour will head for Ratoath, through Curragha to the Ashbourne Road. A right turn at Kentstown Cross brings the cyclists straight through Duleek to join the Old Belfast Road at Julianstown.
There will be a short tea stop at Apple Green on the lefthand side of the road before heading home through Stamullen and Balscadden. The outward journey is mostly flat and there is a relatively easy climb over Balscadden on the way home. The distance is 85km.
It would be great to see a good turn-out again for this event following the very successful first touring event in January.
To get to Eurocycles go straight down Airside and take right turn at Airside Ford, then first left and left again (for location, click here).
Leisure League – Round 1 report
The first round of the 2017 Dick O’Brien Leisure League took place on Sunday 15th. January. It was great to see a good turn-out for this event, with 18 IVCA members taking part. Jimmy Murphy’s report of the tour is below. The next round of the League will take place on Sunday, 12th February, starting from Swords. Further details will be posted on the website shortly.
[gview file=”https://theivca.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Jan-Tour-Report.pdf”]
East Kildare Tour, 15th January 2017
The 1st Round of the 2017 Leisure League will take place on Sunday 15th January.
The event will start at 10.00am, departing from Wheelworx Bike & Triathlon Store, Unit 48, Fonthill Retail Park, Lucan, Co. Dublin. There is plenty of parking available on site.
The distance will be approx 75km with a tea stop planned for Clane.
For Wheelworx location map click here: http://www.wheelworx.ie/opening-hours
For a route map of the tour, which follows the same course as 2016, click here: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/954625837
Wise Mr. Brennan takes the Joe Hoare event
Long-time supporter of the IVCA’s Leisure League, Seamus Brennan, took the silverware in the Joe Hoare Reliability Trial on Sunday, 9th October.
Riders were asked to nominate their estimated completion time for a 38 mile route that started from the Grasshopper Inn in Clonee and travelled through Dunboyne, Batterstown, Scurloughstown, Summerhill and back to Clonee via Dunboyne. All computers and watches were put away for the duration of the event, except for the timekeeper’s.
When Jimmy Murphy and Eamonn Newton both completed the route 8 minutes faster than their estimated time, it looked like the trophy would have to be shared for the next year. But the wily and experienced Seamus Brennan coasted in just 3 minutes down on his forecasted time to win the event.
In the overall Dick O’Brien Leisure League, Tony Pearson and Philip Brogan had the same number of overall points starting out the day, so it was down to the rider closest to his estimated time to lift the overall League title for 2016. In the event, Philip was closer to his estimated time than Tony and so takes the Leisure League for this year.
Well done to both Seamus and Philip and thanks to all who made the League such an enjoyable event by organising different events throughout the year.
Next Event – Joe Hoare Trophy
The final round of the Leisure League, the Joe Hoare Reliability Trial, takes place next Sunday, 9th October, at 10 am. Please note that the starting point for this event has been changed to the Grasshopper Inn, Clonee, to avoid the increasing traffic congestion around the Phoenix Park.
The Joe Hoare cycle is a tour where the route is only announced at the start of the event and participants are asked to nominate their estimated time for completing the course. The trophy is awarded to the rider with the time closest to his/her estimated time. The route is typically 35-40 miles in distance.
All IVCA members are welcome to join in this end-of-season spin.
New route, new start for West Wicklow
The West Wicklow 100k tour takes place next Sunday, 11th September, with a brand new route taking in Blessington Lakes, Hollywood, Dunlavin and back via Eadestown and Kilteel. We will have the usual tea-stop in Dunlavin.
This event has traditionally been an opportunity for racing and non-racing members alike to wind-down at the end of the season. The event is also open to non-IVCA members.
The course this year is slightly hillier than recent years, with a few stings towards the tail-end.
Due to the unavailability of the National Basketball Arena, this year’s event will start from the AstroPark on the Greenhills Road, Tallaght. The AstroPark is close to the Cycle Superstore, as shown on this map.
Sign-on is from 8.30 am, with a 9 am start. Entry fee is €10.
Leisure League update
The 100 in 8 took place on Sunday, 7 August and we’ll bring you a short report on that event soon. In the meantime, attached is a report on the previous round of the Leisure League, held in July. The report is courtesy of Tony Pearson.
[gview file=”https://theivca.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IVCA-Round-7-20161.docx”]
100 in 8
The IVCA’s 100 in 8 tour takes place next Sunday, 7th August. With road racing taking a break this weekend, we’re hoping for a good turn out for the touring event. Even if you only want to ride part of the way, our touring members would be glad of the company and shelter from the wind as they take on this challenge. Remember though – it is a tour and not a race.
Covering 100 miles in 8 hours is one of cycling’s major standard touring challenges and has been a feature on the IVCA events calendar for many years. An engraved Silver Medal is awarded each year to any member completing the 50 in 4, the Wicklow 200 and the 100 in 8.
This year’s event will start from the Grasshopper Inn in Clonee (not the Phoenix Park as indicated in the published calendar, out of safety considerations). Sign on is at 8:30am for a 9:00am start. The route will go in the direction of Bracetown, Ratoath, Kentstown, Navan, Athboy and on to Delvin for a tea stop. The return journey is through Killucan, Ratharney, Rathmolyon, and Summerhill to Clonee.
A map of the route is available here. Thanks are due to Jimmy Murphy and Tony Pearson for arranging this route and marking the major turns along the way.
The cost of the tea and sandwiches in Delvin will be in the region of €5.00.
We would ask as many members as possible to support this tour in our 50th Anniversary year.
