Road cycling update
The weekend of the 15th & 16th June was again packed with local events for both leisure and road racing cyclist. On Saturday the recent monsoon season continued, and most of us went shopping or stayed in bed. Not so our hardened racers Nathan Mullan, Gavin Magowan, Aaron Watson and Ronnie Smyth who braved the deluge to tackle the Tommy Givan road race hosted by Maryland Wheelers around the well used trangle course between Anahilt and Hillsborough. Local ace Lindsay Watson took the win and Nathan managed 8th place, a superb result given the conditions and the strength of the field. Chapeau to him and all the lads for racing in those tough conditions.
On Sunday the rain took a few hours off and the clouds dispersed, giving us what felt like a long overdue glimpse of summer. The road racers had another top billing local event to get their teeth into, in the shape of Banbridge CC’s Noel Teggart memorial held around the Banbridge, Gilford, Scarva circuit. Nathan, Ronnie and Gavin were all back for a second day’s punishment, but the efforts from the previous day had taken their toll. Neil Armstrong and David Henderson were also in action in the A3 category. No placings for the Dromara riders unfortunately, but in a tough race controlled by large Newry and Banbridge teams, just hanging in with the bunch was an achievement in itself.
As part of the event, Banbridge also held a series of youth races over a one-way course from Scarva up to Banbridge. James Armstong raced in the U12 and finished 5th. A fantastic result, especially as he has another year in this category, well done James.
On the leisure cycling front, Dromore CC hosted their annual “Twelve Kings” sportive around a fairly challenging route that took in Dree Hill and a few other climbs around Dromara. Despite the absence of our road racers and other absentees who had Fathers Day commitments, a decent group of Dromara CC leisure members turned out to support our neighbours event. They were rewarded with an superbly organised sportive; big thanks to Dromore CC for such a great day out.
Three of our members decided that 60 miles around the Dromara hills wasn’t enough of a challenge. Martina Hawkins, Michael Hamilton and Alan Campbell joined 200+ other mountain goats to tackle the Man Of Sperrin. 70miles, 6200ft of climbing over 5 peaks. Stunning scenery, amazing descents, good road surfaces and mostly traffic free roads. Hours of tranquil cycling without meeting a single car! A ride everyone should put on their bucket list (as long as you don’t mind hills!). Well done to all involved!
This week there aren’t any club road league events, just to give everyone a breather. To fill the empty slot on Thursday (20th), there will be a moderate pace club run leaving Dromara square at 6.30pm. The aim will be to do 30 odd miles at around 17-19 mph average, possibly with a short coffee stop, to get back before 9pm. If we get enough numbers we can have two groups, but either way no-one will be left behind.
