Park spins this Sunday (16/01/11)

Fast, Medium and Step-up spins will be moving Northside this Sunday, so it's beginners only from Joe Daly's.

Alongside the usual faster spin Arthur Ebbs will be taking a medium group out from the Park, so if anyone has been worrying about keeping up with the fast bunch there'll be an Arthur and Romano paced group to go with.

The Step-up group is also moving Northside, and from this weekend we're going to start throwing in some skills and race drills. They'll be starting off easy but building up rapidly between now and the start of the season (only six weeks away!), so if you're thinking about the Club League or 4th Cat. racing this is the group for you.

Park spins meet at the Pope's cross and depart about 9:30. Because there are fewer groups they tend to get going a little quicker than the Dundrum spins, so if you show up late you'll probably be on your own.

If you've been thinking about giving the Northside spins a go or just want to try out some different routes you won't find a more suitable Sunday to take the plunge.

Anyone who wants company on the ride over to the Park can meet me at the KCR. I'll be leaving there at 9:10 a.m. sharp.

Well that was a toughy and no mistake- well done to anyone who survived that spin today.

52 riders set out from the Pope's cross, of whom 35-40 are still believed missing, scattered to every corner of Louth and Meath. The riders who made it back recorded varying distances anywhere between 95 and 135 kilometres, and arrived back in Dublin in ones and twos by every conceivable route, so in summary it was an absolute roaring success.

Winter training is most definitely over, pre-season training is here already (for five more weeks, each more wonderfully pain-filled than the last!).

150.5km on the Garmin when I got back to Dun Laoghaire. Getting on for 50% longer than my next longest spin this winter... Wrecked at 120k but came round a bit towards the end (when the pace dropped!)
Great spin. 12 in our group, nice steady pace, great weather and excellent company. Great to see such a turnout at the park.

Absolute epic. 140k for me door to door. Throw in a mix up about the directions and two punctures to give one of my longest Orwell spins. Arriving home at 2.30 didn't help negotiations for watching the Munster match.

Great route Dave. It's good to get a change from the lakes and Wicklow. The Park is alive and well.

Sounds like it was an old school Orwell spin, back before we had Dave to map out the winter routes for us!
But I do remember nearly passing out on the bike after 6+ hours on the back roads of Meath so it's probably a good thing...

Great day, Great spin,Great route,Great weather, we even had a young lady hitting the ground.
Yes hello Northside.
ps Julia hope your Bum is not to sore today.

Arthur Ebbs wrote:

Great day, Great spin,Great route,Great weather, we even had a young lady hitting the ground.
Yes hello Northside.
ps Julia hope your Bum is not to sore today.

I have to say fair play to Arthur for running a great spin- it seems to have gone down very well, I've had good reports back from that group.

He has since offered to lead that same level of a spin each Park Sunday til the start of the season for anyone who hasn't been scared off the Northside.

I also have to say well done to both Luke and Nicole, who each beat their previous best distances by over 50%.

Even if it did take them nearly six hours to complete the spin they were both still buzzing from it today!

Arthur Ebbs wrote:

Julia hope your Bum is not to sore today.

Thank you Arthur, I have received no permanent damage from my slightly unexpected and totally ungainly dismount. The north side roads seem to be lined with fluffy pillows. I highly recommend them.

Great spin. 112km door to door. Apologies to Charlotte and Barry who I sprinted away from on the way home. A bathroom break was called for. Stupid bib tights.

j.

[/quote]

Apologies to Charlotte and Barry who I sprinted away from on the way home. A bathroom break was called for. Stupid bib tights.

j.[/quote]

Best excuse for a winning attack, ever!

Maybe Julia could volunteer with the Step-up group for next weekend.

"Surviving a crash" and "making a race winning break" would be good additions to Dave's race drills.

It was great to observe these drills from a distance on Sunday. I recognised "missing the turn". Also, "getting dropped" seemed popular.

I even decided to practice this myself. There's a lot to be learned from seeing the group disappear into the distance.

I feel like a mere toddler - I only had 104km on my clock when I got home.

What's this rumour I hear of one group ending up on the motorway in Ashbourne? Was this an early bid to establish an unassailable lead for cowgirl of the year? (again)