Kilrush Cycling – celebrating the past and present

There will be plenty of choice for cycling enthusiasts this weekend in Kilrush. The town will host the inaugural Kilrush Tweed Ride on Saturday and will be the starting point on Sunday for a slightly more strenuous event.

The West Clare Cycling Club will host its annual leisure cycle to Loop Head from Kilrush on Sunday. The event has now been running for 24 years but this year will mark two firsts for the event.

In previous years, the cycle has always circled the Loop Head peninsula in a anti-clockwise direction but this year’s event will be heading around in the opposite direction. It will be travelling along the picturesque Shannon estuary coast to Kilbaha and on to the lighthouse and then returning by the stunning, rugged Atlantic coastline. This year the route will also extend to Doonbeg before returning to Kilrush. Sunday’s cycle will be 92km in length though there will be opportunities to take a shorter route back to the finish. The second ‘first’ is that the traditional stopping point at the iconic Loop Head Lighthouse will this year find the attraction open to the public, coinciding with it’s final opening day of 2012.

Loop Head Lighthouse has attracted over 17,000 visitors to the area since it was officially opened by An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny on May 18, 2012.  Visitor services at the Lighthouse were enhanced for the 2012 season with the addition of a new interpretative exhibition.  Loop Head Lighthouse will be open on Sunday from 10am – 5.30pm

The West Clare club prides itself on the fact that cyclists of all standards are catered for on the Loop Head cycle, through route selection and pace setting levels.

The leisure cycle sign-on is from 9.30am, with a start time of 10.30am from the Town Square. There will be parking and changing facilities available at the Creek Lodge Adventure Centre, where food and refreshments will be provided at the finish.

For further information visit www.westclarecc.ie or at the West Clare Cycling Club’s Facebook page. More information can also be obtained from Paul Edson (086 7726790), Michael Gleeson (087 2942984) or Senan Burke (086 669 2234).

Meanwhile, the first Kilrush Tweed Ride will be held in Kilrush on Saturday from 1pm. It will be a fun and leisurely town cycle through the streets of the town. Cyclists are to gather at 1pm in Kilrush Square and after a cycle through the towns main streets, they will head to the Vandeleur Walled Garden for light refreshments and the prize giving for the most dapper lad and lassie.

This event is modelled on the Tweed Run, first organised in London in 2009 and now a popular annual event in many towns and cities across Europe and North America. This cycle aims to recreate the spirit of a bygone era, focusing on style and conviviality, expecting cyclists to wear tweeds, caps, leather shoes and other traditional garments. No lycra, tracksuits or specialist sport clothing will be permitted. Any bicycle will be acceptable but vintage bikes are encouraged.

The aim of this event is to promote and celebrate cycling as an environmentally friendly, healthy, sociable and stylish means of ordinary, day to day transportation.

It also hopes to enhance the image, community spirit and liveability of Kilrush. For more information contact 087 9802695.