It was a return to Castlewellan Forest Park for the 2017 Ulster Cross-country Mountain Bike Championships with Banbridge Cycling Club taking on the task of event host for the second year in a row. As per last year the race village was centred on the grassy slope in front of the Castle with the main course setting off from the bottom of the hill, on the flat, meadandering its way…
Expressions of interest are sought from Youth riders (Boys & Girls) interested in being considered for selection for the Inter-Regional Mountain Bike Competitions which will take place on 22-24 September 2017 at Hadleigh Park, Essex. This event is for Ulster riders in the Under 14’s or Under 16’s age categories. Ulster will be up against 13 other regions from across Great Britain. Riders must be able to travel over to the…
Drumcairne Forest in County Tyrone was the venue for the 5th and final round of the 2017 Ulster Cross-country Mountain Bike Series. This is the second year that host club Island Wheelers has used this venue as part of the series and there was clear evidence of how much extra work they had put into the venue from last time. This quiet forest just outside Stewartstown was part of a…
The Cycling Ulster Off-road Commission is hosted a summer of youth training events on Monday evenings. These are aimed at Under 12s and will focus on off-road skills. Hosted in different locations the scheduled times would be 7 pm to 8:30 pm. No need to pre-register and kids can show up any week they can. Dates would be: 3, 17, 24 and 31 July, 7, 14, 21 and 28 August….
Slade Valley in County Wicklow may be well known for its golf courses but it was Saggart Woods which was the attraction for mountain bikers from across Ireland who headed along the narrow roads to where Round 2 of the Irish Cross-country Mountain Bike National Point Series was taking place. Host club IMBRC are regular users of the venue and have been busy developing and testing the trails in the…
Castlewellan Forest Park was the location for Round 4 of the 2017 Ulster Cross-country Mountain Bike Series. This round was hosted by Shimna Wheelers and was orchestrated by Race Director Michael Clarke. The park is a popular destination for all types of leisure users with its excellent camping and recreation facilities. Thanks must go to the Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, Forestry Service and Mourne Heritage Trust for their…
Wow! What a glorious day. Wall to wall blue sky with warm sunshine and temperature around 24 degrees. When you see the hot air balloons flying you know the conditions must be good. Hopefully the good weather will appear often during the rest of the summer.
All headed south to the Irish Riveria for the first round of the 2017 Irish Cross-country National Point Series. MBCC hosted the event in Tracton Woods which is located around 25 km south of Cork City.
The second round of the British HSBC XC NPS Round 2 took place over the weekend of 22-23 April at Wasing, Berkshire. Cycling Ulster had entered a team of 3 riders: John Buller from Banbridge CC, Thomas Creighton and Craig McCarthy both from McConvey Cycles. Accompanying them was Gareth McKee who was acting as Coach, riding for Cycleology Racing in the Elite category, and Simon Curry as Team Manager.
Ormeau Park in Belfast was ablaze in spring sunshine for the third and final round of the Xmtb Spring Series. The daffodils had lost their flowers but the trees were now in leaf which hid some of the action on the course from the spectators but provided a more intimate and closed in feeling along the sections of single track for the riders. The course was bone dry and very…