Author Archives: admin

  1. Conal Higgins – A Tribute

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    Conal Higgins

    We lost our friend and clubmate Conal Higgins on June 16th 2021.

    A former Mountain Bike Secretary of the club, his membership of Sorrento Cycling Club dates back as far the very early 1980’s.

     We will miss Conal. In truth we have been missing his company on club activities in recent years as he battled illness. 

    When Conal was present on club spins or social events you knew he was there. His force of nature personality and his infectious laughter left no doubt about his presence.

    Conal liked to feign a rough, tough exterior but below the surface there was a big, soft, golden heart. If you were in trouble or had a problem, sometimes even before you knew you were in trouble or had a problem, Conal was there beside you to help.

    Through the mid to late 2000’s Sorrento had regular underage MTB spins and events. These were made safe, possible, productive and fun by Conal’s presence. Among his repertoire of skills was a strong sensitivity to the feelings and needs of the young people who took part in these activities. Conal was highly effective mentor to these youngsters and solid dependable coach. He had an incredible 6th sense for anticipating and eliminating problems before they occurred.

    Whatever Conal did, riding a bike, helping a mate, organising a round of the MTB  National Points Series, or even going for a few pints , he gave it 110%.

    Through the late nineties and into the 2000’s Conal raced both on the road and in Cross Country MTB. He was regularly placed in open Masters MTB races. In both disciplines he was a tough tenacious rider.  On the road and MTB he was a highly skilled bike handler and frighteningly fast descender.  

    He relished his time on the bike and wanted others to enjoy their cycling as much as he did.

    I was privileged to not only share my cycling time but also to travel, race and work on events with Conal on many occasions. He never failed to make me laugh. His irreverent, often politically incorrect humour and his hearty laugh would regularly have me in fits of laughter and shortened many car journeys.

    It is Conal’s unbridled joy in riding his bike, the big smile on his face, the laughter, the kindness, the friendship and the humour that must have enhanced the lives of so many people who knew him.

    If we remember him this way we wont have lost him.

    Rest in Peace Conal.

    Aidan Ryan

  2. Shaw takes his place

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    A damp evening did not put off a flying return from Aubrey Shaw who has been missing from our start lists for a couple of years but put his name firmly back in the winners circle with maximum points on the Tomriland circuit.

    He led a small group comprising of Aidan Ryan, Danny McDermott and Suzanne White across the line with Aidan Ryan gaining 10 points and putting him on top of the league after race of this 11 race series.

    Next Thursday we move to Gregory’s Garage, Newcastle, for a chase pursuit race over 33km(3 laps) @7.30pm.

    Looking forward to seeing a bigger field competing next week.

    Race Result – L2 Filterbeds 36kms 24th June

               
    Name Hcap Time Actual Time Place Points  
    Aubrey Shaw 1.04.45 1.06.45 1st 11  
    Aidan Ryan 1.04.45 1.06.45 2nd 10  
    Danny McDermott 1.06.45 1.06.45 3rd  9  
    Suzanne White 1.06.45 1.06.45 4th  8  
    Mark McGarry 1.03.50 1.15.40 5th  7  
    Roy Bowden 1.03.50 1.15.40 6th  6  
    Stephen Healy 1.03.50 1.15.40 7th  5  
    Paul Cullinan 1.01.13 1.17.43 8th 4  
    Dave Peelo 1.03.20 1.19.50 9th  3  
               
               
               
               
    Timekeeper: G O’ Rorke        
    Chief Marshal:  P’O Donoghue, A MacCarthy,P Murray, E O’Sullivan,  
    C McCormack,M Wildes, D Donohoe, K Thomas    
               

     

    RIDER L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 C1 C2 C3 C4  
    Aidan Ryan 6 10                   16
    Paul Cullinan 11 4                   15
    Roy Bowden 9 6                   15
    Mark Mc Garry 7 7                   14
    Dave Peelo 10 3                   13
    Stephen Healy 8 5                   13
    Danny McDermott 3 9                   12
    Aubrey Shaw 0 11                   11
    Suzanne White 2 8                   10
    Cathy McCormack 5 1                   6
    Mark Prendergast 4 0                   4
    Aine MacCarthy 1 1                   2
    Denis Donohoe 1 1                   2
    Eileen O’Sullivan 1 1                   2
    Cearbhall Guilfoyle 1 0                   1

  3. Racing Calendar

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    SORRENTO CYCLING CLUB

    CLUB ROAD RACING CALENDAR 2021
    ID Date Race Start Event Venue Circuit Laps Dist
    L1 Thursday 10 June 7:30 pm Prologue NewtownmtKennedy Gregory’s 1 5.8 km
    L2 Postponed 7:30 pm CP1 Filter Beds Tomriland 3 36 km
    L3 (C1) Thursday 24 June 7:30 pm 10 Mile TT Ch Cloghogue Beehive RAB 1 16 km
    L4 Thursday 01 July 7:30 pm CP2 Gregorys Newcastle 3 33 km
    L5 (C2) Thursday 08 July 7:30 pm 25 Mile TT Ch The Tap Kilmacurragh 3.5 40 km
    L6 Thursday 15 July 7:30 pm CP3 Filter Beds Corncrake 3 30 km
    L7 (C3) Thursday 22 July 7:30 pm Road Race Ch Beehive Ballymurrin 5 40 km
    L8 Thursday 29 July 7:30 pm CP4 Filter Beds Tomriland 2 24 km
    L9 Thursday 05 August 7:30 pm H/Cap TT Gregorys Newcastle 2 22 km
    L10 Thursday 12 August 7:30 pm CP5 Beehive Kilmacurragh 3 30 km
    L11 Thursday 19 August 7:30 pm CP6 Filter Beds Corncrake 2 20 km
    L12 (C4) Thursday 26 August 7:30 pm Hill Climb Champ TBC      

    *Remember also in advance of any club event all members must register their intention to participate on the CI booking system. Please do not turn up on the day without pre-booking using the app. It is also recommended that you might wish to carry a buff or mask, make sure you wear your new free Sorrento mask…

  4. Out of Wicklow at the Giro

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    Out of Wicklow: Chris Juul Jensen, the Danish rider who was born in Ireland and spent his childhood in Wicklow, on the attack in the finale of yesterday’s Giro stage 2 with Rein Taaramäe just behind him (Photo: Fabio Ferrari)
     
    Chris Juul Jensen, the Danish international who was born in Ireland and grew up in Co Wicklow, spent stage 4(Tuesday 11th May)  of Giro d’Italia off the front ay only to see his bid for glory ended with less than 5km to go.
     
    Born in Ireland to Danish parents who emigrated to Wicklow in the 1980s, he followed his father and brother into mountain biking with Sorrento CC. As a schoolboy he was good enough to get a place on the Irish ream for the Youth Olympics in Italy in 2005.
    By the time he was 16-years-old he decided to go to Denmark for transition year at cycling school in Aarhus – on Denmark’s Jutland mainland – where developing in the sport was given the same priority as studying. That led to him declaring for Denmark.
     
    He turned pro in 2012 for Saxo-Tinkoff after spending four seasons at Danish Continental team Glud & Marstrand-LRØ Rådgivning. His biggest wins to date include overall victory at the Tour of Denmark in 2015, the Danish national TT title the same year and a stage of the Tour de Suisse in 2018.
    The 31-year-old is now riding for Team BikeExchange and got clear in the 25-rider breakaway on the Giro yesterday. The group had a gap of seven minutes at one point on the wet and cold 187km stage from Piacenza to Sestola.
    “It was certainly a harder day than I expected, but I also did not expect to be in a position to fight for the stage win,” Juul Jensen said.
    “It was a hectic start, many attacks and wet conditions. After 30km I was away in a group of 25 riders and made sure to spend as little energy as possible. Our only goal was to have a rider represented in any big groups.
    “As the stage rode into the mountains, I stayed close to the front and was well positioned on the descents which resulted in me opening up a good gap with two Wanty riders 50km from the finish.”
     
    Juul Jensen continued: “From then on it was a matter of managing my energy as I knew there would be a chance of riding for the stage win as Rein Tararamae was mainly interested in taking the pink jersey.“Unfortunately, the last climb proved to be too hard and our gap too small for me to pull off the win. Obviously, I’m disappointed; I would have loved to have taken a win for the team so early in the Giro.
    “Nevertheless, I gave it my best effort, such is life and cycling that you often lose more than you win, but that doesn’t mean you give up and don’t try again the next day.”
     
    Juul Jensen winning the overall at the Tour of Denmark back in 2015 when riding for Tinkoff-Saxo
    After the first categorised climb of the day yesterday Juul Jensen flew down the descent and broke clear of the breakaway with Rein Tararamae and Quinten Hermans, both of Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux. Hermans later dropped back, leaving Tararamae up front, going for the leader’s jersey, and Juul Jensen with a stage win on his mind. However, on the last climb, deep inside the final 10km, the two leaders were caught by the remains of the breakaway.
     
    In the end Joe Dombrowski (UAE-Team Emirates) pressed on to win the stage from Alessandro De Marchi, with the Israel Start-Up Nation rider taking the race lead for his efforts. Juul Jensen just about held off the best of the general classification riders to take 10th on the stage, some 1:36 down on the stage winner.

  5. Back on the Road

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    Great news with the easing of restrictions that all our groups are back out with significant numbers eager to be part of the group spins in the first week.

    We are back fully running with;

    • A midweek MTB spin
    • A Saturday training group spin
    • At least two groups every Sunday

    Keep an eye on the website for further information as well as our weekly email, facebook, twitter and of course our up to date posts on whats app for our various member groups.

    We are also taking in new members and great to see new faces on our tours on weekend one…

    If you are interested in joining a Wicklow based cycling club, learning the ropes from our great bunch of coaches and leaders, meet new people and see new places why get in touch by emailing, sorrento.cycling@gmail.com and we will get back to you straight away.

    Remember Wicklow is our playground.    

        

  6. The March Hare

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  7. Sorrento Coaches using Zoom Online Training

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    As we are unable to do our normal Wed Night Road Training sessions for the time being, we have with the great support of our two coaches Aidan and Dave, been able to get a training session together on Zoom(as well as Zwift).

    The virtual training sessions on Wednesday nights have proved a huge success( at least 18 riders mos weeks) and is set to grow as more members take part each week. The group was made up of riders from across all our weekend groups…so no need to be shy as some of your mates will be taking part…  

    The great enthusiasm shown by the coaches made the session even more valuable and with the hour built in blocks allowed for even those whose fitness levels have been challenged by the lockdown.

    The terrific part of this session was that no-one is dropped as could happen on the road and each rider can work on their fitness by building up weekly as we progress in the comfort of their home.    

    The sessions take place each Wednesday night and next week the session will start  commencing at 6pm(every Wednesday ). Each member will use their home trainer(or spin/exercise bikes/rollers) and can join through a Zoom meeting for which Aidan will send out an invite in advance.

    He also sends out a Zwift Meet Up invite for those who have this app and smart trainers(only to those using this platform).

    Any club member of any level of ability can participate as you will be within your own home and can tailor each session to your own pace:

    Contact the club email to be included – sorrento.cycling@gmail.com.

  8. 2021 Club Zoom and Zwift training News…

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    Sorrento CC Wed Night Virtual Training Jan 2021

    For ALL members

    As it looks like we wont be able to do our normal Wed Night Road Training sessions for some time Aidan is suggesting that we do a virtual training session each Wed night commencing 7pm Wed 13th Jan for an initial 4 week period. Each member will use their home trainer and join a Zoom meeting for which he will send out an invite in advance.

    He will also send out a Zwift Meet Up invite for those who have this app and smart trainers.

    Any club member of any level of ability can participate as you will be within your own home and can tailor each session to your own pace:

    You will need:

    An internet/Wifi connection

    A home trainer of some description

    Smart phone/ tablet / lap top

    Not strictly necessary but very helpful and enhancing for the session would be:

    1. A subscription to Zwift (free trial available).
    2. A second device on which to play Zwift
    3. Smart Trainer compatible with (and controllable by) Zwift
    4. Heart monitor compatible with Zwift
    5. A filled large bidon – electrolyte tabs recommended
    6. A towel to place over stem top tube to catch sweat – highly corrosive
    7. A fan and/or open window
    8. Knowing your FTP or Heart Rate Zones
    9. A mat below home trainer (to absorb sweat)

    The sessions will be structured quality sessions similar to our previous outdoor Wed night sessions. The virtual sessions will be shorter – 45 min approximately – than on-road sessions as warm up is considerably reduced and we won’t need to stop to explain each exercise. 

    If you are interested please email me  jaidanryan@gmail.com  before 8pm Sunday 10/1/21 to let me know and so that I can email you Zoom invite.

    Also

    If you have a Zwift subscription please send me a follow request so that I can send you a Meet Up invite. There is more than one Aidan Ryan on Zwift. I am the one whose profile photo is a Cycling Safaris jersey.

    Aidan Ryan

  9. Happy New Year but no cycling yet again…

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    Happy New Year to all our members and friends.

    As you will be aware our event planned for the first weekend of the New Year was disrupted by national events but we carry on regardless. The chairman’s spin will hopefully take place when this lockdown eases and will also allow us to present the racing league prizes.

    Our winter training is temporarily halted but hopefully will have the green light in due course.

  10. Christmas Turbo Training Sessions

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    With the lockdown in place our chances and options to ride outside are quite limited so our esteemed coach, Aidan, has put together the following article on turbo training. Thanks Aidan!!

    Turbo Training Sessions Dec 2020

    Now that weather and daylight are confining us, home turbo trainers, rollers, wattbikes etc will be important to our mental &b physical health. If you have an interactive machine you can get endless entertainment with racing and training sessions available. However if you don’t have this technology below are some suggested sessions you can use.

    You can of course make up your own session by mixing up elements from each of these.

    Remember to keep hydrated as your fluid loss will be much higher than when out on the road. 

    Short Strength Session

    Warm up well on a low to medium resistance for at least 7min

    Then increase resistance to very high and reduce cadence to almost stopped 

    Sitting in the accelerated as hard as you can against the resistance for 6-8sec

    You should not be able to get the gear revved up in this period (if you can go to higher gear/resistance) concentrate on trying to get power into pedals through out the rotation. Keep upper body still.

    Ride easy for 2min

    Repeat this sequence 6 – 10 times (6 X 6-8sec big gear seated accelerations with 2 min recoveries)

    Warm down for 5-10min on low gear high cadence & stretch afterwards

    Strength Endurance Session

    Warm up well for 7 -10min on low to medium resistance

    Increase resistance/gear so that you are at Threshold/FTP Watts or Heart Rate when pedalling @ 60 -70 rpm cadence sitting in saddle

    Hold this cadence & power out put for 6 min

    Keep upper body relaxed & concentrate on smooth rotational pedalling

    Ride easy  on low gear for 6min

    Repeat this sequence 3 – 6 times

    (3-6 X 6min @ FTP on big gear with 6 min recoveries in between)

    Warm down on low gear for 6 – 10 min & stretch afterwards

    Threshold Variation Session

    Warm up well 7 -10min on low to medium resistance

    Gradually bring resistance/gear up to just reach Threshold/FTP  @ 80 -90 rpm cadence

    Hold this for effort for 2min

    Increase cadence to raise watts 10 – 20% & hold for 30sec

    Keep repeating this sequence 5-6 times

    (5 – 6 X 2min @ threshold/FTP & 30sec @ 10 – 20%above threshold)

    Then ride easy on low gear for 6min

    Then do another 5 – 6 X 2min @ threshold/FTP & 30sec @ 10 – 20%above threshold

    Warm down on a low gear for 6 -10 min & stretch afterwards

    Speed Session

    Warm up well 7 -10min on low to medium resistance at a cadence slightly higher than normal.

    Then do 3 min as if you were doing a 2km time trial.

    Go max for this duration so that you are only just beginning to fade as you hit 3 min.

    Use a gear/resistance which allows you to pedal @ 85 – 95 rpm cadence 

    Recover riding easy on low gear resistance for 8min

    Repeat this sequence 2 – 4 times (2 – 4 X 3min max with 8 min recoveries)

    Warm down on a low gear for 6 -10 min & stretch afterwards