ncc winter '12 membership newsletter - issue 1

7/30/2019 NCC Winter '12 Membership Newsletter - Issue 1

1/12

NCC MEMBERSHIP

NEWSWinter 2012

Welcome to the rst Winter edition

of NCCs MEMBERSHIP NEWS.

The idea behind this Newsletter is to

keep the growing club membership

informed and updated with all thats

happening in Naas Cycling Club.

With over one hundred and thirty

members expected to join in 2013,the club is expanding rapidly and

communication between members

has never been more important. We

already have an excellent website

and the Club Facebook page is also

very active. This Newsletter is just

an extension to that and will be

emailed on a quarterly or seasonal

basis to all members who have

supplied an email address to the

club secretary Pat Spillane.

If you have any suggestions for

content or pictures that you think

might be of interest to other

club members please email TrishMcGuane, NCC PRO at:

[email protected]

As we come to the end of 2012 we can look back with

pride on the last year where the club has continued

to ourish. With a membership of 120 spanning all

categories and cycling abilities, we have progressed

beyond all recognition in a few short years.

This coming year, 2013, the club is celebrating its

twenty-fth year. This is milestone in the history of

any club or organisation. As some of you will have

seen from our Christmas window in the Moat Mall,

Naas, many different jerseys and sponsors have

played a part over the years. I am happy to note that

John Boyle, Hirequip and John from Cahill Cycles are

still involved in the club and its events. We intend to

organise a celebration as part of the anniversary and

hope to hold a BBQ after the Wicklow Peaks on June

30th in the Friary Road Car Park. After the successof our Christmas Social I am condent that our social

team will again put together another great event.

We have a dynamic club, full of renewed enthusiasm, a

club encouraged by the new faces in the membership

and 2013 committee. We welcome your ideas, support

and suggestions to make our twenty-fth year a very

memorable one.

Wishing you all a peaceful Christmas, enjoy your time

with family and friends and I look forward to meeting

you all on the road in the coming year.

CHAIRMANS COMMENT

1

Hugh Durnin


2/12

PRO/SOCIAL UPDATE

What a great night we had on Friday night with

over 70 people at our rst Christmas get together

in the Osprey Hotel. Great to see everyone out

of lycra, nails painted and high heels (sorry only

ladies I think!!). Seriously, a good night was had

by all with lots of members saying we should

do this more often. I hope to organise a table

quiz in February and I am relying on you to bring

friends and family. It will be a fundraiser for our

club. I hear you ask, sure what do we need money

for? Well we need to purchase banners, ags etc

to promote our club at events, training courses for

different aspects of our club activities such as youthdevelopment etc. While some of this may not apply to

you if you only go out for a Sunday spin, the club as

a whole is growing and I hope you will support us in

events such as the table quiz.

Next year is the 25th Anniversary of the current

club as we know it. We hope to have a perma-

nent window in the town, similar to the one we

currently have for Christmas, displaying more

of the history of the club over the years. More

on this later along with our plans for our annual

BBQ.

One of our members suggested that we as a club

twin with another club in France or Spain, this is

an excellent idea and one I will certainly follow

up on. It would add a new dimension to the club, we

would invite them over to stay in our homes, cycle with

us, and they in turn would invite us over. Needs a lot ofrming up but a great idea. On that note if anyone has

any similar ideas I would love to hear from you.

Funding is becoming a problem for a lot of sports clubs

and we are no different, we have fantastic people in

our club who are passionate about it and with 25 years

under our belts the future is looking great. I can be

contacted at any time on 086 1925 292. I wish you and

yours a very happy and peaceful Christmas.

PS: Dont forget if you know someone that would like

to join NCC and you are stuck for a Christmas pressie,

why not buy them membership, starting at 40.00 for Trish McGuane

2

an introductory membership. Or for

members, why not get decked out

in our club gear with a NCC voucher

(available all year for birthdays etc).Would love one of them under my

tree!


3/12

WOMENS GROUP UPDATE

The Womens group was set up in January

2012 to cater for the beginner/improver

cyclist and has since gone from strength

to strength. It now has a membership of23 and rising. Mentored spins take place

on Saturdays leaving from LIDL Carpark

at 0930. Distances vary from between

35 and 45 KMS depending on the ability

of the cyclist, there is a coffee break

about halfway. Cyclists are taught the

skills and etiquette required to cycle

safely within a group.

We have a very active social element, Any

excuse for an evening together and well

organise one! Weekends away during

the sportive season are organised. This

summer we travelled to Killarney for the

Ring of Kerry, Dungarvan for the Sean

Kelly Tour and Glengarriff for the Rebel

Tour. We intend adding to this next year.Eleven months on, it is beyond

encouraging to see how the group has

grown, partaken in numerous sportives

and integrated and ourished within

the B and C Groups of the club. Not to

mention Trish our hard working club

PRO, who is an original

member of the Womensgroup.

Maeve Quigley

3


4/12

Naas Cycling Club will be holding

their annual Membership Night from

7-9pm next Monday, 17th December,

in Trish McGuanes Ofce, over SwansFruit & Veg Shop, The Green, Naas.

This is to allow riders to sign up for

licences for the 2013 season, pay club

and CI fees, and ask

any questions of more

experienced members.

All new members are

encouraged to attend

as it will give them

the opportunity to

be advised on what

the most appropriate

licence is for them.

Joining will allow

everyone to continue

to participate in club

activities, including

Sunday spins, as

Cycling Ireland (CI)

insurance only permits two guest

spins before an individual has to

become a member of CI.

The fees table for the club is above,

and 2013 Membership Forms will be

available on the night and are also on

the main website under Downloads.The club accepts cash and cheque,

no credit/debit cards. Membership of

CI entitles you to take part in certain

events (depending on your licence),

Pat Spillane - (087) 211 1259

SECRETARY UPDATE

and gives you insurance on your bike covering personal

accident, public liability and professional indemnity.

CI have changed their procedures and are trying to

encourage members to pay their registration on lineusing a card payment, to this point they are offering

some monetary incentives for clubs whose members

register on line. If you are in a position to do this then

I suggest that you

access the CI website,

cyclingireland.ie and

login in using your

own password. This

is also a good timeto review and edit

your prole, take

time to make sure all

is correct, especially

your address, as

your new CI card will

be sent directly to

you. There is a help

video on the site to

assist. I must stress

that this is only the

CI Membership and not Naas CC Membership. I will

be collecting Naas CC subs at the Membership Night.

Once you have applied for renewal I will receive a mail

asking me to approve which I will do. You then have

to go back on to the CI site and nish the process by

paying. The whole process should take a day or two.

Regarding Club Gear, this is ordered twice yearly, once

in January with delivery expected in April and again

in June with delivery expected in August. Order forms

for Club Gear will be sent to all members on the 14th of

December and anyone wishing to order should return

the completed forms with full payment by Monday 07

Jan 2013.

If you require any further assistance please feel free

to contact me by mobile. I will also be available at theMembership Night - see you there!

4


5/125

:-

)

Editor can be contacted at: [email protected]


6/12

B GROUP UPDATE

Ever since I became Captain of the Bs, I have

tried each week to be as creative as possible

when generating a route for the group to ride

on the following Sunday. Not too difcult whenyou have some great experience to draw upon

from some of the more seasoned members.

However, it can now be said that some of these

members have now travelled down roads for

the very rst time over the last two months.

Our weekly spins have on average fourteen to

sixteen cyclists and the plan is to grow this

number to exceed twenty and add in a fewmore new routes in the process.

Winter cycling is prov-

ing to be very chal-

lenging but rewarding

as a few of our trips

have been exception-

ally wet and cold. The

bikes really do take

a pounding on these

days so best advice

to keep the tyres in

good order, well in-

ated and the chain-

set well oiled and

clean. As some of us

know punctures, and chain breaks are a realpain. No need to mention mudguards!

As Christmas is now upon us I would like to

wish you all and your families a very Happy

Christmas and remember we will work off the

indulgences in the new year!

A GROUP UPDATE

I would like to thank all members of the A

Group for showing me their support both

at the recent AGM and more importantly

on the road. A number of us may be

considered seasoned cyclists and with that

in mind have our own ideas and ways of

riding.

The A Group is currently going through a

metamorphosis with a number of riders

joining from other groups in the club.

The group will now be concentrating on

training riders for participation in distance

sportives over the 2013 season. With this

change in focus in mind the group charter

will be geared towards a different set of

performance objectives.

Our current club spins have been inconjunction with the racing group which

has beneted all with consistent pace, good

conversation and sharing of the workload.

We will remain in the relative safety of

good roads until early spring when we will

seek to stretch our climbing legs and feast

our eyes on some spectacular scenery.

I look forward to enjoying cycling with you

all where ever the road lead us, up hill,down vale or to a well earned coffee!

Colm AlleyGraham Custerson

6


7/12

C GROUP UPDATE

Its great to see the return of the

Newsletter to give the members a

regular update on what is going in

the club.

The C Group is alive and well and go-

ing from strength to strength.

As we are now in the throws of Win-

ter its probably a good time to reect

on the summer and what a good time

that was for our cycling.

We decided at

the start of sum-

mer to have an

organised cycle

on a Wednesday

evening which

proved very suc-

cessful. It was dif-

ferent from the

Sunday spin in

that we did not

have the same

constraints as re-

gards speed and

pace because we

attracted mem-

bers from the Bs and As to come

out with us. Consequently the speed

went up and it was great fun.

So successful in fact that we decid-

ed to meet again on a Monday eve-

ning, for a wind down spin after the

Sunday. This however turned out tobe one of the fastest nights. I never

quite gured that one out!

The Cs also took part in a lot of tours

around the country and in a lot of cas-

es we had a considerable presence.

Wicklow, Kerry and Waterford, where

we made a very enjoyable weekend

out of it. We did charity events in

Portlaoise and Baltinglass where we

had a large contingent of club mem-

bers from all groups.

The C Group got a lot of new mem-

bers this year. Some who joined us as a return to cy-

cling, some who were training for their own special

events and some who wanted to learn the skills and

the camaraderie of riding in

a group. We were patient andencouraged riders by practic-

ing the skills and staying to-

gether. My Vice Captain Mick

Brosnan and on occasion,

Johnnie Bennett were very

good at keeping the groups

together at the front while I

was free to fulll my role as Rear

Admiral leading from behind!

As is normal in clubs, there were

people who stayed and people who

went. Some stayed and got more

skilled and wanted to move up to

the other groups and some who for

whatever reason went away. Its al-

ways sad when people go and we

like to still keep contact with our

members who are shining their

lights in different groups and thosewho stop cycling. Maybe we will get

them back too. The hard core that

remain in the group all contribute to

making it a fun group, where we dont take things too

seriously and have a bit of a laugh and a banter. So

thanks to all the members of the C Group for that.

Thankfully we had few accidents or incidents and

thats a credit to us all in the group and long may it

continue. Unfortunately someone broke their collar

bone on their rst trip with us, and have yet to comeback, but we keep her in the loop and she knows what

we are at, at all times. Hopefully she will come back

in due course.

The Summer and Autumn cycles are now over and we

head into the deepest of Winter with all the austerity

around and all the doom and gloom for the future.

We still have our bikes! We still have the open road!

We dont need road tax, or petrol! We dont pay prop-

erty tax on it and it dont need welfare! All the bikerequires is a little bit of cleaning and polishing. So

forget all the other stuff and enjoy your cycling.

Be safe.... its dangerous out there. John Boyle

7


8/12

RACING UPDATE

It looks like Naas CC will have a signicant presence on

the racing scene in the coming season. Following the

successful staging of the 2012 Cahills Cycles Inter-

Club league, it is hoped to repeat the formula in 2013.

Details will emerge in the late spring but a variety of

members, from experienced veterans, through to la-

dies, juniors and rst season-racers, may take their

rst steps into the competitive ranks. For a club like

Naas, league races, especially those in Mondello, are

a brilliant outlet for club promotion and team spirit.

And with the explosion of interest in cycling gener-

ally in the country, there is a strong view in racing

circles that new cyclists need to hone their skillsin league settings before moving on to tougher

Open Race territory. Very few clubs in Ireland are

lucky to have a facility as good as Mondello for

this, so hopefully the co-operation in this area

will continue in 2013. The racing members are

thankful for the assistance of Terry Logan es-

pecially in this regard.

The recent coaching day with Paddy

Doran, aimed primarily at the growing in-

terest in racing in Naas CC, was extremely

useful in providing focus for a vast range

of riders. Once again, many thanks go to

Youth Ofcer Tom Noone for all the work

on this. Without doubt, the day reminded

all cyclists that training, tailored to suit

your aims and your lifestyle, is an abso-

lute must if you want to make that commitment next

season. A number of the experienced racing mem-

bers have been open to providing advice and support,

mostly around Paddys guidelines, to those interested

in taking up racing, or to simply improve their cycling

performance. Contact the racing captain anytime: jk@

naascbs.ie if you need some direction.

Though as yet unconrmed, the club may have a team of

up to 10 riders in the Gorey 3-Day race at Easter. A sig-

nicant effort is under way by these lads to make their

presence felt in the countrys second biggest stage race.

3-time Ras Tailteann competitor Ken Conlon will likely

lead a team

that will mix experience,

youth and rst time entrants. More

news as the spring training picks up

from Jan. 6th onwards. Evan Cun-

ningham remains on target for the

2013 Junior Tour of Ireland and will

continue to build to the summer,

while mixing his training with Leav-

ing Cert studies.

On a practical note, those looking foropen race licences are encouraged

to register as soon as possible with

Cycling Ireland so as to allow the

processing of their applications at

head ofce, especially if deciding to

upgrade in 2013. (The upgrade am-

nesty is extended to April 1st 2013).

Club Secretary Pat Spillane will send

further details regarding club mem-

bership fees/insurance etc in the

near future.Joe Kelly

8


9/12

YOUTH GROUP UPDATE

9

Five juniors attended the Paddy Doran coaching day

and enjoyed it immensely. Two of the parents, who

themselves are active club members also attended, and

this was fabulous as they are key to the development

and enjoyment of their sons cycling. The feedbackfrom the parents of all the members of the youth

section has been very positive and all youth members

and their parents are very happy with what we are

doing.

We had a cycling skills

course in Punchestown

racecourse recently and it

was very useful. The youth

members really enjoyed

it and we will look to do

this again. Many thanks

to John Cahill for his work

on this.

In 2013 we hope to build

on the success of the

youth spins and we aim to

recruit new youth members. Our Youth Recruitment

and Development group have met already to discuss

the structure, rules, guidelines and basic principles ofthe Naas Cycling Club Youth section and this meeting

was very successful. This group of club members

have done great work and it is wonderful to see the

enthusiasm and goodwill towards the youth section of

the club. Many thanks to the club committee for their

great encouragement and support of what we are

trying to do.

We intend to develop a progression chart and youth

development structure to help all new members and

their parents. We will introduce an awards scheme too

in order to encourage our members and give them

achievable and challenging targets.

We would really appreciate any help, so if you feel like

a nice enjoyable spin on a Saturday morning just come

along. If you would like to help in any other way then

feel free to ring me.

The Saturday morning youth spins

are proving to be a huge success. On

average we have at least ve youths

every Saturday and sometimes as

many as eight or nine. Many thanksmust go to the volunteers and

helpers and John Cahills shop. Many

volunteers are happy to turn up on

a Saturday that suits them and help

out with the two adult

volunteers who are

listed on our rota. We

really appreciate this

extra help

Our group ranges

in age from 13 to 16

year olds and all are

enjoying the spins

and returning on a

consistent basis. The

routes range from

at to a little hilly and

we normally cover between 20 and

35 km. Although, many in the groupare more than capable of completing

distances over 40km and we will look

to the Spring and warmer weather to

achieve this. Our usual cruising speed

is 13.5mph or 21kmh, again many in

the group are capable of more. We

try to keep it fun and we try to keep it

leisurely and everyone is helped and

encouraged.

Coffee or Coca-Cola stops with mufnsor buns are a regular feature of our

spins. We try to impart one piece of

valuable cycling advice every week

and we try to teach the youngsters

good habits, condence and a feeling

that they too have control and input

into their group. Tom Noone - 085 7533791


10/12

WINDOW DISPLAY

Meet the membership is when we aska club member a number of questionsand then expect some interesting andentertaining answers... no pressure therethen! What better way to start than withour new 2013 Chairman HUGH DURNIN,a long standing NCC member and clubvolunteer.

1. How many years have you been cycling with Naas CCand what was your introduction to cycling?I was invited to join NCC when I reached forty by JohnBoyle. I had been running track, cross country andmarathon with Clonliffe Harriers and Naas Athletic Clubsince I was twenty one. My competitive career had cometo an end, time for other challenges and adventures.

2. What type of cycling do you do and what do you enjoymost about it?I like road cycling on a attish road, no serious climbs, ina group at a steady pace where the comhra and craic islively. A tailwind on the way home makes the day.

3. What advice would you give to any newcomer to thesport?Take it steady, buy the best you can afford at the time,listen to the wisdom gleaned from other members, enjoythe spins.

4. What bike(s) are you currently riding?

Winter bike is a Giant, orange which was co-ordinatedwith earlier club colours. The summer bike is a white Lookwhich blends nicely with our current club colours - whosaid cyclists arent posers?

5. Favourite cycling location, route or road?Favorite route would include Kildare-Athy-Baltinglass-Colbinstown-Naas.

6. Where is your favourite coffee stop?Costa lotta coffee. Cotardo and Belgian Chocolate Tart.

7. Who do you admire most in cycling, (not necessarily a

PRO rider)?I admire the stylish pose, tenacity and poker face ofCormac Durnin. Hiding behind his shades, he is inscrutableand focused, yea I am biased!(Just a tad - Ed:)

8. What would you consider your cycling strength andweaknesses?Too heavy to climb, too windy to descend. My strong pointwould be my ability to drag a group across bog roads inhowling winds.

9. Any major objectives for this or next season?To stay in B Group, do the Club League in the 5+++++

category and complete the Wicklow Peaks.10. Tell us something we dont know about you alreadythat you dont mind everyone now knowing?Thats a difcult one - at times I like my own company, butmaybe that isnt news to anyone.

MEET THE MEMBERSHIP...

The Christmas display shop in the

Moat Mall, off Naas Main Street.

Dressed by Trish McGuane,

assisted by John Boyle and

Hugh Durnin. Call in and have a

look at your club history. Lots of

interesting photos and historical

club jerseys. Also, a nice Trek bike

kindly loaned by club member

John Cahill from Cahill Cycles,Fishery Lane, Naas.

We will be highlighting some

cycling related internet websites

every issue. We will start with

these:

www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?forumid=410

www.cyclingtipsblog.com

www.velonation.com

www.velominati.com/the-rules

www.ridewithgps.com

www.redkiteprayer.com

www.fatcyclist.com

CYCLING THE WEB

10


11/12

TOURING UPDATE

Now is a very quiet time of year on the

Club Touring front but the following is a

brief summary of the three tours that

NCC were involved with or organised this

year.

First up was the 4th Annual KARE

TOUR DE FOOTHILLS which took place

on Sunday 15th April 2012. As in previ-

ous years there were three routes: 20,

50 and 100km. 589 cyclists registered

generating over 13,000 for KARE. The

routes were unchanged and we received

good positive feedback from participants

afterwards and we will soon be meeting

with KARE in January to prepare for the

2013 event.

THE WICKLOW PEAKS CYCLING

CHALLENGE IN AID OF SAPLINGS

SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN WITH AU-

TISM IN KILL took place on Sunday 1st

July 2012. There were 2 routes: 50 and

120km. 220 cyclists registered generat-

ing over 5,000 for the Saplings School.

This is a considerable improvement onthe 2011 gures and the money raised

will be put to good use as Saplings are

in the process of moving schools in Kill.

The routes were unchanged from the

previous year but we decided to move

the event back by one week to avoid a

clash with the very popular Ring of Ker-

ry. The event was promoted successfully

via the Club Website and dedicated Face-

book event page. Online registration wasavailable on the Club Website. We will

provide some more incentive next year

to encourage online registration prior

to our events, probably in the form of

a price reduction. This would take away

some of the risk attached to poor atten-

dance on the day due to bad weather.

Overall there was positive feedback from

participants afterwards on Boards.ie A

possible third route in 2013 to include asupported 100km, ie back to Naas from

Laragh over the Wicklow Gap and Val-

leymount is being considered. This may

encourage more cyclists

to participate as Shay

Elliott, Slieve Maan and

the lumpy road back

via Glen of Imaal is not

for everybody. It was al-

ways an option but not

promoted or ofcially

supported on the day.

The Wicklow Peaks may

never reach the partici-

pation levels of the TdF

or the TOK but the event

will get bigger every

year if the club continue

to support and back the

event fully. About one

third of the membership took part this year so more member

participation next year would be appreciated.

Finally the TOUR OF KILDARE WITH MARTIN EARLEY IN

AID OF THE MARIE KEATING FOUNDATION took place on

Sunday 12th August 2012. As usual there were three routes:

20, 50 and 100km. 597 registered generating over 16,000

for the Marie Keating Foundation. Actual participant break-

down was 428 (100km), 135 (50km) and 34 (20km). Approxi-

mately half of the club membership took part. Routes were

changed from the previous year in order to facilitate a newfoodstop at the halfway point of both the 50 and 100km

routes. Weather was not kind but it did not appear to dampen

the spirits of those taking part. Again, the event was promoted

professionally with advertisements in the Sunday and Daily

Mail and a dedicated event page on Facebook which reached

over eleven thousand people at its peak. Online registration

was available via a link on Club Website to the MKF Website

and uptake was double previous years.

To summarise, the three Naas Cycling Club Leisure Tours

raised nearly 35,000 for the three charities in 2012. Con-

sidering the nancial climate and the amount of events now

on the leisure calendar, this is a very satisfactory outcome.

However, the only way to maintain and improve on this for

2013 is to improve the standards of our events. This means

providing better promotion, organisation and safety and giv-

ing all the participants better value for money. 2013 will see

the leisure cyclist increasingly pick and choose the events

they want to do. Naas CC and the charities involved will have

to ensure that they do everything possible to keep the Tour

de Foothills, Wicklow Peaks and Tour of Kildare as must do

events on the 2013 cycling leisure calendar.

Chris Keenaghan via Lance Connolly

11


12/12

www.largrifnart.com

2013 LEISURE TOURS

The dates for the three Leisure Tours that Naas CC are involved with or organise have been

set and are as follows: KARE Tour de Foothills takes place on Sunday 14th April, the Wicklow

Peaks Cycling Challenge is on Sunday 30th June and the Martin Earley Tour of Kildare is on

Sunday 11th August 2013. More about these events in our Spring Newsletter.

ncc winter '12 membership newsletter - issue 1

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