Wheelers Kick up a Storm

Mullingar Lakeside Wheelers notes

Lakeside Wheelers members were in party mood last Saturday night despite the threat of cancellation due to Storm Darragh. The Annebrook House Hotel was the place to be as the great and the good from the club gathered to bring down the curtain on another great year’s cycling and to celebrate the Christmas period.

The annual awards were presented by club Secretary, Eugene Duffy assisted by President, Mark Horohoe.

This year the recipient of Best Racer went to Padraig Moran for some outstanding performances which saw him upgraded to A1 or, as it is now known under the new Cycling Ireland categories, C1. Padraig also took part in the Rás for the first time and acquitted himself very well so hopefully 2025 will bring him more success.

Best Newcomer went to Yvonne Hayden who had a great year cycling with the D Group and really enjoyed the social aspect of the Saturday morning spins.

Most Improved for 2024 went to Ian Kenny who after spending a short while honing his group riding skills with the B group very quickly moved up to the A group and is more than holding his own in that company. Onwards and upwards Ian in 2025.

The final award of Club Person of the Year went to Martin Nally who really deserved this accolade after a year of volunteering to assist at every event the club promoted and also being a constant presence on the weekend spins. Well done and congratulations to all prize winners and best of luck for 2025 with your cycling goals.

Following these formalities all in attendance went on to enjoy a night of great music, chat and food as well as some rehydration of a kind they wouldn’t be used to normally.

Cyclocross

The cyclocross season is well and truly under way and last week it was the turn for the big guns to show their skills at the UCI World Cup event in Dublin. This is the third year this prestigious event has taken place in Ireland and once again it was a great spectacle with some of the best exponents of the sport in the world taking part in the ladies and men’s events last Sunday.

As a warm up event there was racing also held on the Saturday and Lakeside Wheelers was represented in this by Richie Lenehan, Steve Franzoni, Fergal McCabe and Neil McDermott. The four lads all had a great day out and raced very competitively on what was recognised as a very difficult course but the dry day made it possible to get around and finish. Well done to all.

Don’t forget, next Sunday December 15th is our own big day with the Belvedere Cyclocross races promoted by Lakeside Wheelers. If you are not racing please come out and support this event and if possible, help out with marshalling etc. Contact Paul Gibney on 087 9858511 if you are free to volunteer or simply turn up on the day. Racing starts at 09.00am and there will be races for all categories including a great schedule for kids of all ages to get a taste of this very safe cycling discipline.

Membership

Please remember to renew your membership for 2025 which can be done by logging on to the Cycling Ireland website and follow the pathway of the Membership portal.

Turkey Trot

The final date for the diary this year is Friday, December 27th as the annual Turkey Trot spin will be going ahead if the weather permits. This medium distance social spin is a great excuse to get out and blow off any excess that may have befallen you over the festive period.

There will be more details next week but the start time will be 10am from the clubhouse.