Category: CHAIN GANG

The 3rd Round of the Dick O’Brien Leisure League was scheduled for the 3rd March to facilitate members taking part in a sportive taking place on the 10th.

The prospects of a good turnout was not good due a change in weather conditions and prior notification from members who had holidays planned at this time. Sign on commenced at 8:45 for a 9:00 start.

A total of 6 riders signed on and one additional rider joined the group a short distance up the road. Before setting out a route map was made available for all members although by now most of the group were familiar with the route. The weather forecast was for heavy rain and low temperatures which would prove challenging as the kilometres clocked up.

Before setting out a group photo was taken by a passerby after which a short discussion took place regarding the route and weather conditions, no time for hanging about as the rain started and the low temperatures were already noticeable.

As we cycled out the group remembered Gay Farnan our touring director who passed away on the 29th March 2017 and who is always in our thoughts and especially on our tours. I was wondering if Gay was with us would he have embarked on the challenge ahead, then I remembered a tour of past when Gay was considering starting or cancelling due to weather conditions and he posed the question and the answer was “Ah sure it’s not a bad as the weather we got on the 2011 Wicklow 200 when it poured rain for eight hours solid”. Needless to say the tour went ahead.

As the tour commenced the banter focused on the weather and the route for the first few kilometres, the group then set the pace keeping everyone together heading in the direction of Dunboyne and onto Summerhill. As we approached Summerhill the rain eased a little and the decision to proceed on the net leg of the planned route was agreed.

With this in mind the group set a steady pace past the Church and proceeded in the direction of Knigntsbrook with Evelyn Doyle and Brendan Johnston on the front. As we approach the quarry climb the group stretched out a little however the decent allowed the group to take its form again and continue to the roundabout where we turned left. The riders on the front rotated to keep the pace up as the cold and heavy rain was taking its toll. The temperature starting out was 3 degrees not taking account of the wind chill and it was getting colder and colder. At this juncture the taught crossed my mind “are we polar bears are you sure we’re not polar bears” then it struck me we’re not because we were starting to freeze. (did I say it was cold). What comes to mind is that famous quote ” It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”

Back to the script……, We proceeded in the direction on Mayne where we turned left and onto Rathmullan continuing to rotate on the front to keep the pace up despite the rain. The road was getting shorter as we could smell the coffee waiting for us in Summerhill. As we approached Summerhill the group stayed together unlike other years when we had a competitive sprint finish. The group stopped in Summerhill for a well earned coffee break at the cycle friendly Londis Store. Normally we would meet other cyclists here but not today as we seemed to be the only group on the road. Thanks to quick thinking Evelyn Doyle who got a couple of old newspapers to help dry out our gloves which were soaked.(from the freezing rain).The banter was good and spirits were raised with a few jokes and hot coffee, however no hanging about and no time for a photo, the focus now was on getting back to Clonee in the shortest possible time.

Evelyn Doyle and yours truly set the pace out of Summerhill with the group catching up, the group were really feeling the cold as a result of the additional wind chill and the heavy rain. With this in mind the pace gradually increased with the strong riders rotating on the front. The pace increased to race speed for the remaining 25K and only stopping in Dunboyne at the traffic lights where the pace picked up again all the way to the finish.

All riders finished safe and refreshed with no mechanicals. A note of thanks to all who participated and in particular the unknown passerby for taking the photo.
The next tour is the Liam Horner Memorial scheduled for the 7th April at 10:00am starting in Clonee. (kindly check the IVCA web site closer to the day to confirm details)

Report: Tony Pearson.

The Leisure Committee is pleased to announce that Round 3 of Dick O’Brien Leisure League takes place this Sunday, 3rd March starting in Clonee at 9.00am.

Please see route map below.

It was a cold, bright morning when the group assembled at Euro Cycles, Airside Retail Park, Swords for the 2019 North Dublin Tour. Nine riders in total signed on for the tour. There might have been ten, but Philip Brogan, one of the league’s regulars, arrived at Airside with a slight back injury. Needless to say, it prevented him from participating in the tour as a rider, but he agreed to marshal the tour as a back up driver. Everyone agreed that it was a noble gesture of Philip to show up on the day and offer to do this, despite his injury. So, thank you Philip.

When it was deemed that all participants had arrived, the usual briefing was carried out by yours truly, during which, one of the founding fathers of the leisure league, Gay Farnham, was remembered. A note on observing the rules of the road, and looking out for one’s fellow riders, should they get into difficulty was made.

Following the briefing, the customary round of group photographs was carried out, mainly by the leagues unofficial, yet competent photographer, Tony Pearson. His handy work can be seen as part of this report.

At approximately two minutes past ten, the group of nine set off from its starting point and made its way through the Airside Retail Parks roads to the junction with the old Belfast road, whereupon it turned left and headed towards the Stockhole Road roundabout, took the third exit and emerged on the eastern perimeter of Dublin Airport. This proved to be the toughest part of the course, despite being so early in the tour. This was because of the exposed nature of the airport, the low temperatures and the fact we were heading into an icy wind. At one point along this stretch of the route two riders fell behind but the rest of the group halted a bit further on until the everyone had regrouped.

After this difficult stretch of the tour the group headed towards St. Margaret’s and more sheltered roads. The tour then headed north west on R122, then turned south onto the R121 towards and through Wards Cross roundabout. The tour then turned right towards Hollystown and followed this road for a few kilometres, after which it turned left and headed south towards the Bracetown Business Park. The tour was now in Co. Meath. The tour then headed over the M3 motorway via roundabouts until it reached the old Summerhill road. This was followed for a couple of kilometres and the tour then veered right and headed towards Batterstown at which a well-deserved coffee stop was had by all riders.

Following the break, the riders remounted and the tour headed south east along the R154, then north along the R155 heading in the direction of Ratoath. At this point in the tour it was remarked that the cold wind of the first half of the day was now generally at our backs and the temperature of the day was slowly rising. Having negotiated the intricate streets of Ratoath, and some slightly heavy traffic, the tour headed towards Curragha. The tour then headed south east towards Ashbourne but took a sharp left and headed north on the Ballymadun Road. The tour then headed east on scenic country roads towards Ballyboughal. After this the tour headed south on Harlockstown Lane and Balheary Road towards Swords. A quick jaunt on the now traffic busy old Belfast Road led the tour back to its starting point in Airside Retail Park.

In all a total of 80KM was cycled and all agreed it was a successful days cycling. A big thank you to all who participated and especially to Evelyn Doyle, Pat Murphy and Sean Prender who had cycled the route days before to ensure its suitability. Two league points were awarded to all participant members for this tour.

The next tour in the Leisure League will be the 50 in 4 tour from Clonee on March 03rd.

Report: Brendan Johnston

IVCA Leisure League Round 1 – East Kildare Tour – 13/01/19

Sunday Jan 13th was a damp and windy morning as 12 riders signed on at Wheelworx car park for the 1st round of the 2019 leisure league. The only benefit weather-wise was the mild temperatures of about 9/10 degrees. Following all the friendly greetings and “Happy New Years”, a short briefing was held to outline the route, reminder of safety rules, warning about roadworks, etc. It was also noted that I first met a lot of the people in this group exactly 10 years ago, as my first spin with the IVCA was the Jan Tour 2009. It was also my first meeting with the late Gay Farnan RIP of whom we all have fond memories.

The Group assembled at Wheelworx

We headed out into a stiff westerly wind and soon got a nice steady pace going which everyone was comfortable with. A few rotations took place within the group to allow much needed shelter from the wind, as we made our way through Newcastle, Lyons Estate, Ardclough and Straffan. Following Bodenstown Cross Roads, the group made steady progress up and over the short climb before descending into Sallins. A very short section on the main road was followed by a left turn onto the much quieter Millicent Road and up to the turn for Clane, where a much welcomed refreshment stop was enjoyed by all.

Following the break, we headed up the main road towards Kilcock, past Clongowes Wood College before turning onto the minor road and through Rathcoffey. From there we made our way through Maynooth, Celbridge, Hazelhatch and past Peamount Hospital. To avoid roadworks on Nangor Rd, a slight change of direction was made to the normal route, bringing us through Adamstown. A short section of 2-3km of Bus Lane brought us all back to Wheelworx safe and sound. Thankfully no punctures or mechanicals were had. The total distance was 73km.

Many thanks to Philip Brogan who was feeling unwell, but kindly drove behind the group as backup. Thanks also to Tony Pearson for the photos.

Hopefully everyone enjoyed the first tour of the year, and are looking forward to the Feb tour which takes place on 10th Feb at 10.00am departing from Airside Retail Park, Swords (further details to follow).

Report by – Jimmy Murphy

The Group at Clane