Tag Archives: cycling

John Galvin WHEN Peter O’Connell’s first action as the new editor of The Clare Champion was to send me to Ballyvaughan to cycle 60km early on a Saturday morning, I feared for our future professional relationship. I don’t do mornings, particularly on bank holiday weekends. There were extenuating circumstances, as this was no ordinary cycle. It was a cycle led off by none other than the legendary Seán Kelly. Suddenly, I was interested. My brothers and I grew up through the era of the twin cycling supernovas. Kelly and Stephen Roche divided the spoils between them seemingly at will through the ’80s. While Roche won the big one, the Tour de France and got to meet Charlie Haughey on the Champs Élysées, in our house, it was the quiet man from Carrick who was the big hero. Although he started with the reputation of just being a sprinter, he became a consummate all-rounder, able to lead a breakaway or power …

THE first all-female duo cyclists to compete in the ultra-endurance Race Around Ireland are expected to arrive in Clare on Wednesday next. Lisa Jacob, former Irish international hockey player with 139 caps, and Nikki Dorey, a pilot with Aer Lingus and competitive triathlete, are competing in the gruelling ultra-distance 2,150km non-stop race. The pair will alternate cycling three hours on and three hours off for 132 hours, or five and a half days straight, starting this Sunday. They are expected to arrive in Clare on Wednesday, travelling through Doolin, Lahinch, Spanish Point, Ennis and Sixmilebridge. Both girls are strongly passionate about mental health, so they are also fundraising €100,000 for one of Ireland’s leading mental health charities, Suicide or Survive. Also very prevalent, especially with the recent referendum on gay marriage, is the closely related association between mental health and LGBT equality, especially in the youth demographic. The girls are in a long-term relationship and have a personal understanding of …

THE 2014 International Junior Tour of Ireland cycling race gets underway in Clare today and continues over the next five days in venues around the county. The world’s longest junior (U-18) stage event will see more than 80 cyclists compete over 532 kilometres of road. The Junior Tour represents the biggest opportunity young Irish cyclists will get to compete against some of the best junior cyclists from the United Kingdom, United States and across Ireland. For many it will dictate whether they decide to pursue cycling with the aim of going professional. Previous winners of the prestigious international bike race include professional road cyclist Nicholas Roche and Sam Bennett, who now rides as a professional with German team Netapp Endura.  The defending champion is Eddie Dunbar from Banteer in County Cork who will have the rare opportunity to line out again this week in a bid to become the first competitor ever to retain the title. The International Junior Tour …

JASON Ryan has got to know almost every back road in West Clare in recent months. The Kilrush man, who is a retained fire fighter in the town, has been partaking in four hour early morning training stints as he prepares for a five day, 2,100km (1,350 miles) cycle around Ireland. The cycle starts at 3pm in Trim on Sunday and is due to last five days. Jason, who is fundraising for the West Clare Cancer Centre in Kilkee and the Clare 250 Cycle, is confident that he is in physical shape to cycle up to 500km daily. “I’ve been out most mornings, nearly every morning, for the last couple of months. I’ve been clocking up between 80 to 100km at least four mornings a week. When it was brighter I was heading out at 5 or 5.30am but for the last few weeks it has been about 6.30am,” he told The Clare Champion this week. Once he leaves his …

  HAVING cycle lanes and footpaths right beside each other is causing problems in Shannon, with some elderly people afraid to walk to local shops. That was the message delivered at last week’s meeting of Shannon Town Council last week after independent councillor Cathy McCafferty put down a motion asking for details of any measures that would be taken to “address the anomaly of so-called ‘shared use footpaths’ put in place by the local authority given that the Department of Transport has confirmed its intention to introduce fixed charge notices for various cycling offences, which are likely to include cycling on a footpath.” However, she was told the introduction of these fines wouldn’t be relevant to the shared use paths/lanes. “The shared-use foot/cycle paths currently in place in Shannon are signed and lined for shared-use and as such would not be subject to these fixed charge notices. Cyclists are allowed to use marked cycle paths and mixed-use pedestrian/cycle paths, but …