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NCC MEMBERSHIP
NEWSWinter 2012
Welcome to the rst 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 TrishMcGuane, NCC PRO at:
As we come to the end of 2012 we can look back with
pride on the last year where the club has continued
to ourish. 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-fth 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 successof our Christmas Social I am condent 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-fth 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.
CHAIRMANS COMMENT
1
Hugh Durnin
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PRO/SOCIAL UPDATE
What a great night we had on Friday night with
over 70 people at our rst 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, ags etc
to promote our club at events, training courses for
different aspects of our club activities such as youthdevelopment 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 perma-
nent 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 ofrming 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 Trish McGuane
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!
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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 of23 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 ourished 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 Womensgroup.
Maeve Quigley
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Naas Cycling Club will be holding
their annual Membership Night from
7-9pm next Monday, 17th December,
in Trish McGuanes Ofce, over SwansFruit & 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),
Pat Spillane - (087) 211 1259
SECRETARY UPDATE
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 lineusing 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 timeto review and edit
your prole, 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 nish 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 theMembership Night - see you there!
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:-
)
Editor can be contacted at: [email protected]
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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 difcult whenyou 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 rst 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 fewmore new routes in the process.
Winter cycling is prov-
ing to be very chal-
lenging but rewarding
as a few of our trips
have been exception-
ally wet and cold. The
bikes really do take
a pounding on these
days so best advice
to keep the tyres in
good order, well in-
ated and the chain-
set well oiled and
clean. As some of us
know punctures, and chain breaks are a realpain. 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!
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.
Our current club spins have been inconjunction with the racing group which
has beneted 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!
Colm AlleyGraham Custerson
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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 go-
ing from strength to strength.
As we are now in the throws of Win-
ter its probably a good time to reect
on the summer and what a good time
that was for our cycling.
We decided at
the start of sum-
mer to have an
organised cycle
on a Wednesday
evening which
proved very suc-
cessful. It was dif-
ferent from the
Sunday spin in
that we did not
have the same
constraints as re-
gards speed and
pace because we
attracted mem-
bers 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 decid-
ed to meet again on a Monday eve-
ning, for a wind down spin after the
Sunday. This however turned out tobe one of the fastest nights. I never
quite gured that one out!
The Cs also took part in a lot of tours
around the country and in a lot of cas-
es 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 mem-
bers from all groups.
The C Group got a lot of new mem-
bers this year. Some who joined us as a return to cy-
cling, 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 andencouraged riders by practic-
ing the skills and staying to-
gether. 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 fulll 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 al-
ways sad when people go and we
like to still keep contact with our
members who are shining their
lights in different groups and thosewho 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 rst trip with us, and have yet to comeback, 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 prop-
erty tax on it and it dont need welfare! All the bikerequires 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
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RACING UPDATE
It looks like Naas CC will have a signicant presence on
the racing scene in the coming season. Following the
successful staging of the 2012 Cahills Cycles Inter-
Club 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 la-
dies, juniors and rst season-racers, may take their
rst 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 gener-
ally in the country, there is a strong view in racing
circles that new cyclists need to hone their skillsin 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 es-
pecially in this regard.
The recent coaching day with Paddy
Doran, aimed primarily at the growing in-
terest in racing in Naas CC, was extremely
useful in providing focus for a vast range
of riders. Once again, many thanks go to
Youth Ofcer 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 abso-
lute must if you want to make that commitment next
season. A number of the experienced racing mem-
bers 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 unconrmed, the club may have a team of
up to 10 riders in the Gorey 3-Day race at Easter. A sig-
nicant 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 rst time entrants. More
news as the spring training picks up
from Jan. 6th onwards. Evan Cun-
ningham remains on target for the
2013 Junior Tour of Ireland and will
continue to build to the summer,
while mixing his training with Leav-
ing Cert studies.
On a practical note, those looking foropen race licences are encouraged
to register as soon as possible with
Cycling Ireland so as to allow the
processing of their applications at
head ofce, especially if deciding to
upgrade in 2013. (The upgrade am-
nesty is extended to April 1st 2013).
Club Secretary Pat Spillane will send
further details regarding club mem-
bership fees/insurance etc in the
near future.Joe Kelly
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YOUTH GROUP UPDATE
9
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 feedbackfrom 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 ofthe 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.
The Saturday morning youth spins
are proving to be a huge success. On
average we have at least ve youths
every Saturday and sometimes as
many as eight or nine. Many thanksmust 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
at to a little hilly and
we normally cover between 20 and
35 km. Although, many in the groupare 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 mufnsor 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, condence and a feeling
that they too have control and input
into their group. Tom Noone - 085 7533791
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WINDOW DISPLAY
Meet the membership is when we aska club member a number of questionsand then expect some interesting andentertaining answers... no pressure therethen! What better way to start than withour new 2013 Chairman HUGH DURNIN,a long standing NCC member and clubvolunteer.
1. How many years have you been cycling with Naas CCand what was your introduction to cycling?I was invited to join NCC when I reached forty by JohnBoyle. I had been running track, cross country andmarathon with Clonliffe Harriers and Naas Athletic Clubsince I was twenty one. My competitive career had cometo an end, time for other challenges and adventures.
2. What type of cycling do you do and what do you enjoymost about it?I like road cycling on a attish road, no serious climbs, ina group at a steady pace where the comhra and craic islively. A tailwind on the way home makes the day.
3. What advice would you give to any newcomer to thesport?Take it steady, buy the best you can afford at the time,listen to the wisdom gleaned from other members, enjoythe spins.
4. What bike(s) are you currently riding?
Winter bike is a Giant, orange which was co-ordinatedwith earlier club colours. The summer bike is a white Lookwhich blends nicely with our current club colours - whosaid cyclists arent posers?
5. Favourite cycling location, route or road?Favorite route would include Kildare-Athy-Baltinglass-Colbinstown-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 ofCormac Durnin. Hiding behind his shades, he is inscrutableand focused, yea I am biased!(Just a tad - Ed:)
8. What would you consider your cycling strength andweaknesses?Too heavy to climb, too windy to descend. My strong pointwould be my ability to drag a group across bog roads inhowling 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 alreadythat you dont mind everyone now knowing?Thats a difcult one - at times I like my own company, butmaybe that isnt news to anyone.
MEET THE MEMBERSHIP...
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.
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
CYCLING THE WEB
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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 previ-
ous 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 AU-
TISM IN KILL took place on Sunday 1st
July 2012. There were 2 routes: 50 and
120km. 220 cyclists registered generat-
ing over 5,000 for the Saplings School.
This is a considerable improvement onthe 2011 gures 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 Ker-
ry. The event was promoted successfully
via the Club Website and dedicated Face-
book event page. Online registration wasavailable 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 atten-
dance 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 asupported 100km, ie back to Naas from
Laragh over the Wicklow Gap and Val-
leymount 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 al-
ways an option but not
promoted or ofcially
supported on the day.
The Wicklow Peaks may
never reach the partici-
pation 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 break-
down was 428 (100km), 135 (50km) and 34 (20km). Approxi-
mately half of the club membership took part. Routes were
changed from the previous year in order to facilitate a newfoodstop 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. Con-
sidering the nancial 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 giv-
ing 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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www.largrifnart.com
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.