MAD Club Champs 2007

You voted, we listened, and Saturday Dec 1st will be the day for the ultimate MTB & mince pie event of the year! Meet at Taylors car park at 10.30 for a leisurely ride up to the race venue.

Checkout the Race Route here

The event will consist of a wickedly handicapped race with various challenges afterwards. Fancy dress is encouraged and will be worth your while. Anyone who shows up on an incorrect bike (BMX, shopper, recumbent etc.) will also be richly rewarded.
We will then be retiring to Taylors Three Rock pub for some finger-food (food made from real fingers) and refreshments.
After we've been cocktail-sausaged-up, we'll be having our AGM, where we'll be reviewing the year, previewing next year, and of course, handing over the Club Champs trophy to the worthy winner, we'll also be giving out prizes for various 'acheivements' throughout the year.

We look forward to seeing you there on the day, and on the night also, when we'll be meeting in the Bull and Castle pub at approx. 8pm for a night of talking about how most of us were crually denied our opportunity to be Club Champs and othersuch guff.

Offroad Commission AGM

The AGM of the Cycling Ireland Offroad Commission will take place at 1pm on December 9th at the Glenn Cormac Inn, Kilmacanogue, Co. Wicklow.

Any club wishing to submit a motion to the AGM must do so in writing or by email. Motions must be received by the chairman at least one week prior to the AGM (Saturday 1st December).

The proposed agenda is as follows

1. Chairman’s welcome
2. Minutes of 2006 AGM
3. Matters arising from 2006 minutes
4. Off Road Commission Reports
5. Questions regarding reports
6. Elections
7. Motions
8. AOB

See the full announcement and minutes of last years meeting below.

Before the AGM. All attending are invited to take part in a ride out to celebrate the opening of the new trails at Ballinastoe. Anyone interested should meet at the car park at 10am.

Last Minute Weekend News

Hi,
I'm sure many of you will be resting and conserving your energy for next weeks exertions. But if you're planning on tapering later in the week here are a few things to keep you going.

• On Saturday there is a road training spin. This will go from the Phoenix park to Celbridge, Maynooth and Leixlip. About 2.5 hours at 25kph. Meet at the Parkgate St. entrance at 9am.
  
• Ben will be leading a MTB ride around Three Rock, meeting at Taylors at 10am. Cait is gathering a group at the Gala shop at the same time so they'll probably all meet up at some stage.
  
• On Sunday, Shane Lavelle is leading another of his early-morning excursions. The route is up Scarr and around Glendalough. Meeting in the triangle in Laragh at 8am.
  
• There are also rumors of a secret spin around the new Ballinastoe trail later on Sunday. However, I can say no more at this stage.

New Coillte Outdoors Website

It's been a long time coming but the Coille outdoor recreation website went live today. Probably the most interesting thing for us are the details of the new "official" mtb trails - the first in the country. There is currently only one MTB trail on the site - Ballinastoe - but the others should be available soon. There are also dozens of hiking trails maps which cover some familiar locations. The site itself seems well put together and should be a really useful resource.

http://www.coillteoutdoors.ie.

Quick Weekend Update

Hi,
There are no spins planned for Saturday. If you have excess energy get up to Three Rock to help Fergal with the trailbuilding.

On Sunday there will be a ride around Djouce - mostly following the route of last weeks Djouce Challenge but at a more manageable pace. Meet at the lower car park in Djouce at 9.30am. Colm will be leading this one.

If you can't get up that early on Sunday there will be an alternative spin around Three Rock, leaving from Taylors at 10am. Contact Dave for details. The pace will be easy and beginners are welcome.

Off Road Duathalon, November 18th

Trailbuilding for Club Champs: Sat 17th Nov

New section added by Richie and Fergal today - think we'll call it "satellite run" after the dish we found there:

It's just down from the upper aerials, veer into the right as you approach the large aerial and over the hump and into the left.
We did some work on an existing section just down from this new section - cleared the trail a bit and added some hardcore in soft areas.
If anyone is looking to do some trailbuilding over the weekend - the lower trail could do with some more hardcore in the muddy areas, also the "satellite run" trail could do with some hardcore added just near the end of the singletrack where it soft/muddy.



Howdy all,
Part 2 of our trailbuilding escapades sees us prepaing a course section for our Club Champs. Appreciate if you can make it out for a few hours, we got a great two sections done the last time so hopefully we'll add another option or two to the list.

Tools:
Mostly strong/yard brushes and rakes.
Spade, loppers also useful.

I'll be up there from approx 9am

Put a post here or text me on 087-792-7730 if you can make it out
Thanks
Fergal

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Lumicycle night lights for sale

Sold most likely due to the infinite power of Ireland's premier club.

For Sale is a set of Lumicycle night lights. This will be their second full winter so they are in excellent condition. Specs are:

• Lumicycle over-volting gives around 40% greater Lumen output
• High quality Sanyo NiMH batteries give 30-50% more performance than Ni-Cads
• Average 300 charge / discharge cycle battery life
• Bottle cage battery is great for rapid removal
• Quality machined aluminium lamp units
• Gold, anodised finish

• Non-scratch Phillips / GE / Osram glass lamps
• Lamp units mount and release in seconds
• Lamp units rotate horizontally and vertically
• Optional Q/R Cam Lock lamp mounting brackets
• Bottle battery and two lamps weigh 840 grams

Also includes: Brand new 35W flood and 12W spot bulbs fitted last week. Smart charger. Light system is the exact same as this picture except with pimping gold lamps. Cost me over €275 new. Sell at €200. Contact on here or: stephen_scrivenerATyahoo.co.uk
Check out the excellent reviews from trusted members of our committee if you're in doubt! http://www.madmtb.com/night_rides.html

No Excuses This Weekend

Another week, another excess of cycling options to choose from...

There are a few possibilities on Saturday.

• First off, Richie will be out at the crack of dawn for a fast ride around Three Rock. Leaving Taylors at 8.30am
• Next there will be a road-training spin at about 9am. This will last around 2-3 hours at a steady pace. If anyone is planning on racing seriously next year, now is the time to start building your base fitness. Contact me for details.
  
• At 9.30 on Saturday, Oisin will be leading an absolute-beginners ride. This leaves from UCD Sports Centre and will be around the Three Rock area. Everyone is welcome to come along.
  
• Finally on Saturday, Conor will lead a spin around Djouce and Ballinastoe. Meet at the Djouce lower car park at 10am. The pace will be reasonable, but won't suit beginners. Give Conor a call on 087 2939837

The highlight of the weekend is the new Djouce Trail Challenge which takes place on Sunday. This isn't a race - just an opportunity to enjoy 18km of new trails in the Djouce area - fully marked and supported. We're expecting a great turn out from MAD so I hope to see all of you there. Check the link above for further details.

Winter Weekend of Wonderment

Winter has arrived but for some reason it's warmer and drier than the summer. Rather than worry about climate-change we're just going to organise some fantastic spins to take advantage of the perfect trail conditions.

On Saturday Sean will lead a spin around Three Rock. This one will be suitable for anyone and beginners are particularly welcome. Meet at Taylors at 9.45am for a 10am start.
Alternatively, for a faster spin, meet Richie (086 8201549) at Taylors at 9am for a quick blast. Or you could head out on Rach*a*els park spin at 10am too.

On Sunday there will be a harder spin with Oisin taking charge. "The route will be up the Kilmashogue hill climb (or alternatively the standard way up Three Rock) then over to Glencullen via the wocas, along to Prince Willies and then continue along that trail above Cloon woods to the Glencree side of the featherbeds, then back along the road but cutting over the bog on the right hand side to decend down through Cruagh woods. I'd like to keep this a fast pace with minimum stopping." Meet at Taylors at 10am for this one too.