Coaching Day with Ciarán Power

Coaching Day on Saturday 11th February

Following the success of last year's Coaching Day , retired professional cyclist Ciaran Power has agreed to cross the county border again this February to share his hard-earned wisdom with us. Ciarán will no doubt make his mark when he returns to racing with Comeragh CC this season, though he will be better known for having represented Ireland internationally, including being a Double Olympian. While our personal goals may be a little more modest, they can only benefit from some advice on targetting our training regime / improving our cycling technique.
 
The format of Coaching Day will be similar to last year, though less formal.

This is to allow people more opportunity to have their particular questions answered.

Provisionally, the plan for Saturday 11th Feb., is:

9am - 9:15am       Sign-on at Hotel Kilkenny

9:15am - 9:45am  Route plan. Briefing from Ciarán Power

10am - 1pm          Spin (approx 3 hours) *

1pm - 1:30pm       Shower in First Active Gym of Hotel Kilkenny / at home (if preferred!)

1:45pm -               Reconvene for Lunch in Hotel Kilkenny, followed by.....

- 4:30pm           .....informal Q&A session with Ciarán Power.

* The spin will be 70-80km, & there will be hills. The plan is to complete the spin in under 3 hours, so, taking pauses (for Ciarán to lecture us) into account, the pace will be around 27-29kmph, think "fast" Sunday group in other words.

Given the "Q&A" format of the latter part of 'Coaching Day', if you have any queries relating to your cycling this is your chance to put them to a former professional. It might be worth bringing pen & paper to scribble down key notes.

For insurance purposes anyone wishing to attend the Coaching Day must have Cycling Ireland membership, and, since the Coaching Day will be part-subsidised by MCC it is open to current club members only. But it's never too late to join, check out the Link to Membership Form on the right! The cost to members (Coaching, showers, lunch, Q&A) is just €25, this will need to be paid in advance to ensure people who express an interest do actually attend, & as previously, numbers will be limited.

Since 11th February is less than 3 weeks away, please text Fiona (086 8146607) asap to reserve a place.

Club News Week Ending 22/01/12

The fine weather continued so our members enjoyed some great cycling over the weekend.

On Saturday we had a group of 10 out who did a route taking in Callan, Mullinahone, Killenaule, Ballingarry and Kilmanagh. This was a total distance of 103kms and took the group 3hrs30mins to complete.

The main spin on Sunday saw a large group of 22 riders gather at the Castle Gates at the usual 10am start time. This group headed north of the city on a circuit which took in Freshford, Urlingford, Johnstown, Durrow, Abbeyleix, Ballinakill, Castlecomer. The group was given the option of splitting in Durrow so those that wanted to get extra miles in headed on to Abbeyleix whilst others headed straight back to Kilkenny.

Some Pictures taken on this Sundays Club Spin.

Reminder: If you haven’t renewed your club membership you should do so now. We’d also like to encourage any new participants in our club cycles to become an official member of the club.

Tip of the Week: Point out Hazards. When cycling in a group it is very important to point out any potential hazards on the road, e.g. potholes, parked cars etc. Communication is key, you should simply shout out where the hazard is (left, right, middle) and if possible also point to where it is. The onus is on the rider(s) leading the group to point out the hazards but everyone in the group should relay the message back through the group to ensure everyone’s safety.

Marble City Cyclers meets for club spins every Saturday and Sunday @ 10am outside Kilkenny Castle Gates.

Club News Week Ending 15/01/12

While there was a bite in today’s weather, the crisp dry morning of 15^th January made it a lovely morning for a spin.  Today was the first Sunday that we tried our new format, to split the spin into two groups, the “steadier group” and the “faster group”.  The increase in participation of the Sunday morning spins allows us to do this, so many thanks to those who are consistently turning up (and also many thanks to the mild weather we are experiencing of late!), we hope this new format will allow us to address the needs of most people attending on the morning.

The fast group went to Thomastown, Inistiogue, over the Ferry bridge, then on to the Borris road but turned  off for Graiguenamanagh then to Gowran and back to Kilkenny.  The group covered 90km in 28.8kph.  Present on this spin were Ronan Meally, Gerry McGovern, Joe Ryan, Mick Burke, Eugene Mullally, Patrick Tobin, Ashley, Packy Fitzgerald, Neil Butler, Colin Feely, Denis Keogh, Martin Coughlan, Frank O’Dwyer, Ger McLoughlin, James O’Leary and Mick Barron.

The steady group, lead by John Britton, covered 50km and covered the route of the Festive 50 i.e. Kilkenny - Bagnelstown - Gowran - Thomastown and back to Kilkenny.

It was great to see the numbers back up to where they were before Christmas.  As when trying out new ideas and formats, a few things need to be tweaked as they are being put into practice, and perhaps explained better!!  The “steadier group” is just that – a group going at a steady pace – it’s not a slow pace, or even one for those starting out in cycling – the beginners’ Monday evening spin in April will cater for that group.  It’s more a continuation of the Sunday spins as they were, particularly before Christmas.  It will be the “faster group” that will be changing the pace and will be upping it! The new format is to help more people get the most out of the weekly club spin and not to have a ride that is too slow for some and too fast for others so hopefully you will bear with us as we try to introduce this new structure. 

To make it easier on those who are unsure which group they belong to on future spins, we decided that the two groups will stay together until a point decided before the spin.  After that point, the faster group will be upping the pace while the steadier group will continue with that pace and may also divert to a different route - hopefully each cyclist will know by that point which group is more suitable for them.  The “steadier” group will also be covering a distance longer than 50km, perhaps 60km to 75km.

On Saturday we had a group of 9 out made up of Denis Keogh, Eoin Hogan, Fiona Cooke, Mick Burke, Clive Dunne, Mick Barron, Dave Williams, Niall Butler and Joe Ryan. This group did Kilkenny - Waterford - New Ross - Thomastown – Kilkenny. This was a total of 112kms in 4 hours.

Club Spins leave the Castle Gates at 10am on weekends. Non Members are always welcome to come and try it out.

Tip of the Week: Set Your Goals for the Year: We’re already in the third Sunday of 2012, so at this stage you should have an idea of what you would like to achieve in 2012.  If not you should pick one ASAP!  You might want to tackle the Tour de Kilkenny for the first time, lose a stone or two or even improve your times in the Club Time Trial series, whatever it is it really helps if you have a focus and something to aim for. Without a goal, there could be a lack of objectivity and focus to your training, which is a very inefficient approach to your training!!