NCC MEMBERSHIP

Winter 2012

NEWS
CHAIRMANS COMMENT
As we come to the end of 2012 we can look back with pride on the last year where the club has continued to flourish. 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-fifth 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 success of our Christmas Social I am confident 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-fifth 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.
Hugh Durnin

Welcome to the first 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 Trish McGuane, NCC PRO at: pronaascc@gmail.com

PRO/SOCIAL UPDATE
What a great night we had on Friday night with over 70 people at our first 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, flags etc to promote our club at events, training courses for different aspects of our club activities such as youth development 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 permanent 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 of firming 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 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!
Trish McGuane

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 of 23 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 flourished 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 Womens group.
Maeve Quigley

SECRETARY UPDATE
Naas Cycling Club will be holding their annual Membership Night from 7-9pm next Monday, 17th December, in Trish McGuanes Office, over Swans Fruit & 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), 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 line using 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 time to review and edit your profile, 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 finish 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 the Membership Night - see you there!
Pat Spillane - (087) 211 1259

:-)
Editor can be contacted at: idareya@eircom.net

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.

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 difficult when you 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 first 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 few more new routes in the process. Winter cycling is proving to be very challenging but rewarding as a few of our trips have been exceptionally wet and cold. The bikes really do take a pounding on these days so best advice to keep the tyres in good order, well inflated and the chainset well oiled and clean. As some of us know punctures, and chain breaks are a real pain. 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!

Our current club spins have been in conjunction with the racing group which has benefited 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!
Graham Custerson

Colm Alley

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 going from strength to strength. As we are now in the throws of Winter its probably a good time to reflect on the summer and what a good time that was for our cycling. We decided at the start of summer to have an organised cycle on a Wednesday evening which proved very successful. It was different from the Sunday spin in that we did not have the same constraints as regards speed and pace because we attracted members 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 decided to meet again on a Monday evening, for a wind down spin after the Sunday. This however turned out to be one of the fastest nights. I never quite figured that one out! The Cs also took part in a lot of tours around the country and in a lot of cases 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 members from all groups. The C Group got a lot of new members this year. Some who joined us as a return to cycling, 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 and encouraged riders by practicing the skills and staying together. 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 fulfill 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 always sad when people go and we like to still keep contact with our members who are shining their lights in different groups and those who 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 first trip with us, and have yet to come back, 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 property tax on it and it dont need welfare! All the bike requires 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

RACING UPDATE
It looks like Naas CC will have a significant presence on the racing scene in the coming season. Following the successful staging of the 2012 Cahills Cycles InterClub 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 ladies, juniors and first season-racers, may take their first 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 generally in the country, there is a strong view in racing circles that new cyclists need to hone their skills in 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 especially in this regard. The recent coaching day with Paddy Doran, aimed primarily at the growing interest in racing in Naas CC, was extremely useful in providing focus for a vast range of riders. Once again, many thanks go to Youth Officer 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 absolute must if you want to make that commitment next season. A number of the experienced racing members 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 unconfirmed, the club may have a team of up to 10 riders in the Gorey 3-Day race at Easter. A significant 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 first time entrants. More news as the spring training picks up from Jan. 6th onwards. Evan Cunningham remains on target for the 2013 Junior Tour of Ireland and will continue to build to the summer, while mixing his training with Leaving Cert studies. On a practical note, those looking for open race licences are encouraged to register as soon as possible with Cycling Ireland so as to allow the processing of their applications at head office, especially if deciding to upgrade in 2013. (The upgrade amnesty is extended to April 1st 2013). Club Secretary Pat Spillane will send further details regarding club membership fees/insurance etc in the near future.
Joe Kelly

YOUTH GROUP UPDATE

The Saturday morning youth spins are proving to be a huge success. On average we have at least five youths every Saturday and sometimes as many as eight or nine. Many thanks must 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 flat to a little hilly and we normally cover between 20 and 35 km. Although, many in the group are 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 muffins or 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, confidence and a feeling that they too have control and input into their group. 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 feedback from 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 of the 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.
Tom Noone - 085 7533791

WINDOW DISPLAY

MEET THE MEMBERSHIP...

Meet the membership is when we ask a club member a number of questions and then expect some interesting and entertaining answers... no pressure there then! What better way to start than with our new 2013 Chairman HUGH DURNIN, a long standing NCC member and club volunteer. 1. How many years have you been cycling with Naas CC and what was your introduction to cycling? I was invited to join NCC when I reached forty by John Boyle. I had been running track, cross country and marathon with Clonliffe Harriers and Naas Athletic Club since I was twenty one. My competitive career had come to an end, time for other challenges and adventures.

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.

2. What type of cycling do you do and what do you enjoy most about it? I like road cycling on a flattish road, no serious climbs, in a group at a steady pace where the comhra and craic is lively. A tailwind on the way home makes the day. 3. What advice would you give to any newcomer to the sport? Take it steady, buy the best you can afford at the time, listen to the wisdom gleaned from other members, enjoy the spins. 4. What bike(s) are you currently riding? Winter bike is a Giant, orange which was co-ordinated with earlier club colours. The summer bike is a white Look which blends nicely with our current club colours - who said cyclists arent posers? 5. Favourite cycling location, route or road? Favorite route would include Kildare-Athy-BaltinglassColbinstown-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 of Cormac Durnin. Hiding behind his shades, he is inscrutable and focused, yea I am biased! (Just a tad - Ed:) 8. What would you consider your cycling strength and weaknesses? Too heavy to climb, too windy to descend. My strong point would be my ability to drag a group across bog roads in howling 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 already that you dont mind everyone now knowing? Thats a difficult one - at times I like my own company, but maybe that isnt news to anyone.

CYCLING THE WEB

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 10

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 previous 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 AUTISM IN KILL took place on Sunday 1st July 2012. There were 2 routes: 50 and 120km. 220 cyclists registered generating over 5,000 for the Saplings School. This is a considerable improvement on the 2011 figures 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 Kerry. The event was promoted successfully via the Club Website and dedicated Facebook event page. Online registration was available 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 attendance 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 a supported 100km, ie back to Naas from Laragh over the Wicklow Gap and Valleymount 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 always an option but not promoted or officially supported on the day. The Wicklow Peaks may never reach the participation 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 breakdown was 428 (100km), 135 (50km) and 34 (20km). Approximately half of the club membership took part. Routes were changed from the previous year in order to facilitate a new foodstop 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. Considering the financial 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 giving 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

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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.

www.largriffinart.com

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