Spring update

OK, it might not feel like spring just yet, but as the days get longer and the start of another season of cycling looms, here’s a quick post on what’s been happening and what Dromara members can look forward to over the coming months.

For the road racers in the club, the season started this weekend with the Annaclone GP.  As is quite often the case for this event, the weather was rather less than spring-like (actually  torrential rain and high winds), but that didn’t put off most of the DCC hardcore race guys, who were itching to get out and see if all the secret winter training and new bikes would give them the edge against the competition.

The spring off-road race calendar also started at the weekend with the XMTB spring series in Ormeau Park on  Sunday.  This year instead of the 3 races we have become used to, there was only one event, but the Ulster XC series will be kicking off in early April.

You can read more about how our riders got on in the first weekend of racing thanks to Neil and Richard who have compiled this report, and we wish all our open racers the best of luck for the incoming season, and look forward to plenty of DCC riders on podiums in the near future.

Sticking with the competitive side of things, Darren McCann and Brian Wilson have been busy planning our own club Road and MTB league competitions. 

On the MTB league, Brian has published a calendar of 12 off road races, 4 of which will be Enduro type events to add a bit of variety to the races.  To help spread the workload and mix things up, each race is being organised by a different member of the off-road group.  There are a series of 3 “race fit” sessions in the lead up to the start of the league proper, the next of which is on Sunday 17^th March. These are intended as training for the regular racers but also an opportunity for new members or those who haven’t done the MTB league before to meet the group and get a flavour of what is involved.

For the Club Road League, we are once again taking part in an Inter-club league with neighbours Dromore CC and West Down Wheelers, however the number of shared events is reduced this year to help keep things more focused.  There will be 12 inter-club events, 4 of which Dromara will be hosting. Darren has set up a Facebook page specifically for these rounds here.  In addition to the 12 inter-club rounds, we will be holding 5 further rounds of our own.  The first of these is a team time trial on Thursday 28^th March, just before the clocks spring forward.  Rather than mixing up the teams with riders of differing abilities as has been done for this event in the past, this year we are encouraging riders to team up with others of similar ability (max 5 per team).  It is hoped that this will help make the event more useful for all taking part, but still an opportunity for riders of all abilities to get involved at the start of the league.

David Broome has taken the lead in organising a road race on the evening of Tuesday 6^th June which will be one of the club league rounds. The race, which will feature as part of the annual Dromara Festival week, will be a showcase event for the club and I would ask all our members to support it if possible.  The event is being co-ordinated by David on behalf of the mountain bike members, who are going to help run the race so that our road racers have the chance to take part.  In return it would be great if the road racers could volunteer a couple of hours of their time to help out at the club’s open MTB race (date and venue to be confirmed).   I hope this “olive branch” will be treated in the spirit it is intended, and will encourage more co-operation between the on and off-road riders for the benefit of everyone going forward.

Away from the racing scene, plans are already underway for our Coastal and Hilly leisure rides.  The Coastal, on May 12^th, is being run with the support of the Downpatrick Third World group, instead of holding their separate event earlier in the year.  I’d encourage all of the Dromara members to keep the day free, and either help out with the running of the event, or take part.  These events are invaluable as a source of funds for the rest of the club’s activities, as well as supporting worthwhile charitable causes, so lets all get involved!

Off the bike, one of our goals for this season is to get club members interacting and meeting up more often, with at least 4 social events or meetings throughout the year.  To this end we are holding a pre-season social night in the form of a Table Quiz, at 7pm on Friday 15^th March in the Laganview Arms, Dromara.  Please come along, bring a few friends or family, and enjoy a nights craic!

In the meantime, our regular club runs continue on Saturdays and Sundays, and our riders will be out and about taking part in sportives, races and reliability runs.  Keep an eye on the Facebook members group for details, and if you are heading out at other times, please post up in the members group to let others know.   Likewise, if there is anything going on that I have not mentioned, please let me know or post it up on the FB page.

Stay safe!