Saturday 30th, Sunday 31st and Monday 1st

Hey,

3 spins to look forward to this weekend!

Saturday - Martin's beginner spins continue in the Leadmines, Kilternan. Meeting at Palmers Golden Pub at 10am. Beginner pace!

Sunday - Yellow house 10am. We're gonna have another crack at the Tibradden spin from St Stephen's day. Hopefully the weather will hold up a bit better this time! Intermediate to Fast pace. Come out and give it a lash!

Monday - Magical Mystery Spin. Meeting at 11am at the Yellow House. Everybody welcome!

Any questions - email me at poloholemint 'AT' gmail 'DOT' com, or call me at 087 9335 403
Nigel

MAD spin Thurs 28 Dec

Tom the Hero will be leading this medium paced spin to a
mystery destination (a mystery to Tom also)
The spin is departing from the Yellow House at 10am
Rules of this spin:
You must cheer enthusiastically when you see Tom.
You also must applaud him whenever he says or does anything cool.
Tom may also make up some new rules as the spin progresses....

Hope to see ye there

Night Spin Leadmines Thurs 21 Dec

Lovely crisp dry weather means more speed and fun on night spins!
Hopefully we will see a few of ye along tonight for a few laps of the course out at Barnaslingan/Leadmines.

We'll depart for the spin from Palmers Golden Ball pub at 7:30 sharp.
Don't forget your Long Johns!


note: if you click on the link, you'll need to zoom-out a few steps to see the map.

St. Stephen's Day Spin - Tuesday 26th December 2006

Hey everybody,

A St. Stephen's Day Super-Happy-Fun-Time Spin will take place on Tuesday the 26th! Everybody is welcome to come along - especially beginners. It's time to show off your newly acquired skills! This is a great opportunity for new members to meet existing members also.

We will meet at the Yellow House in Rathfarnham at 11am. We will be leaving no later than 11.15am, so if you are running late then please call me so we can wait or meet you along the way. The pace will be very relaxed

The planned route is up to Ticknock Carpark and then onto Fairy Castle, down to the Wocca Woccas and then down through Tibradden. We will finish with a blast down through Masseys Wood and then home via the road.

If you haven't been out with us before, there is a map available here: Yellow House

If you have any queries then please contact me at this email address - poloholemint AT gmail DOT com (edit yourself) or call me on 0879335403.

It is also time for those interested in joining the club to fill in a membership form and bring it with you on Tuesday along with the membership fee of €20. Forms are available here: Membership Form
Generally people will be asked for membership if they are planning on continuing to come with the club after a few spins with us.

Merry Christmas
Nigel

Weekend Spins

Hello,

We've got two more great spins lined up for this weekend.

On Saturday, assemble at Old Bawn Shopping Centre at 10 for Martin's Uphill Camp #2, up Old Court Road and Stocking Lane past the Hell Fire Club.
Directions here.

On Sunday, meet at the Yellow House for a regular ol' Sunday Spin.
Weather's not looking great so it won't be anything epic.

Remember, you MUST have:
-Helmet
-Rainjacket
-Food & Water
-Tools
-Spare tubes
-Pump

for all spins.

Sean
Email
086 3354576

Night Ride with the Captain Tues Dec 12th

Attention passengers!
Your captain on tonights night ride will be Mr Patrick O'Brien.
Departure time will be 7:15pm GMT from the southern uphill runway at Taylors Pub.
Alternately, meet at Ticknock airfield at 7:30pm.
Please keep your helmets on until your bike has come to the fully stopped position.

Please stow all hand tools securely in your saddle-bag (you too captain!!)
Do not unclip your SPDs until we have acheived cruising altitude of approx 1495ft above sea level (that's the aerials elevation you know!).

Bring your own refreshments as there will not be any short-skirted flight attendants on this trip (sorry captain!).

Thank you for travelling with MAD spinways!

Rides this weekend (December 9th, 10th)

This weekend sees the start of the MAD Beginners Uphill Bootcamp with a ride from Tallaght, up the Embankment to Slade Valley and back. This will be an easy-ish start with a gentle climb, mainly on the road. Be sure to bring all the essentials for a mtb ride - it seems people have been turning up unprepared. As with all our beginners spins the pace will be set by the slowest rider so don't be worried about holding people up.

Meet at AOL Citywest (car parking available) at 10am (Citywest map, AOL map)

Also on Saturday, a few people will be heading out to Kindlestown for a spin - contact Judith for details.

Our Sunday spin will be around Djouce and Crone wood. This will be tougher than the Saturday ride and not suitable for beginners. Meet at the Djouce middle car park at 10am. If that car park is closed we'll meet at the first car park instead. Lifts will be available - contact the mailing list to arrange something.

Finally, if you're feeling competitive, the Leinster Cyclocross Champs takes place this Sunday in Tymon Park. We're expecting great things from the MAD cross team at this event so come along to race or support.

Keep an eye on the MAD Calendar for details of all upcoming spins.

Club Champs Report

Thanks to careful planning and amazing foresight the MAD club champs took place just before the storms of last weekend. We had 20 racers and a few spectators too, not to mention a huge amount of snacks. There were some great costumes on show, from the traditional to the scary to the disturbing. Everyone was in good form as we undertook some challenges in the Happy Valley - seeing who'd ride down and if it was possible to ride back up. Then it was on to the race course where we previewed the new track. The new section is a blast to ride - very fast and flowing.

The mass start from the car park quickly spread out on the first climb as the serious racers sped off while others took a more leisurely, seasonal approach. The fireroad climb was hard work against the wind but the descent easily made up for it (we all went back for another go after the race). There were some spectacular crashes (Martin) and costume malfunctions on the way down. Riders arriving back after their first lap were presented with mince pies and not allowed to continue until they were finished. This led to some changes in position as fast riders were let down by their inferior eating skills. Shane was allowed to substitute half a packet of Jaffa Cakes due to a mince allergy.

Determining the winner was a complex affair taking race results, fancy dress, riding experience and more into account. In the end the award for Club Champion 2006 went to Brown Santa himself, Nigel Shekelton.

Overall Results

1. Nigel Shekelton
2. Oisin Boydell
3. Fergal J Kilkenny
4. Hamish Keam
5. Shane Geoghegan
6. Morgan O'Connell
7. Sean Downey
8. Cormac Ahern
9. Steve Scrivener
10. Ciaran Corson
11. Mark Cromie
12. Martin Lynch
13. Carsten Schicht
14. Conor Conneff
15. Brendan McGee
16. Stephen Haines
17. Barry McNamara
18. Brian Linton
19. Judith Maguire
20. Barry O'Brien

Well done to everyone who came along to take part. This was a real highlight of the year and we're looking forward to even better things in 2007.

MAD Club Committee 2007

After the club AGM the new club committee for 2007 is as follows.

Chairman/Ruthless Enforcer	Morgan O'Connell
Secretary	Fergal J Kilkenny
Treasurer	Paddy O'Brien
Beginners Rep	Martin Lynch
Race/Training Coordinator	Sean Downey
Committee member	Nigel Shekelton
Committee member	Mick O'Dowd