Cycling Weekly — February 08, 2018

(Jacob Rumans) #1

Meet the club


Andrew Chivers:
“It provides support for
young riders in areas such as
development, and organises
skills workshops.”

Philip Dickenson:
“I joined to aid my health
and weight loss goals. The
camaraderie and support
is just amazing.”

Johnny Webb:
“Since joining 10 years ago
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed
trying just about every
cycling race discipline.”

Contact http://www.northdowncc.com | Twitter @northdowncc | facebook.com/north down cc


Ruth Hamill:
“The earlier start time suits
me and there’s great craic
and support from the other
riders. I love the kit too!”

Tickled pink: teeing up
a sip of the good stuff

Enjoying the craic
at the cafe stop

Three of North Down’s
finest, and a tribute to
a fallen comrade...

are races for all ages and
categories on the closed-
road circuit with over 100
riders each night. On the
other Wednesdays we have
a popular open-road time
trial series so there are
always opportunities for club
members to test themselves.”
On the road the club is
easily recognisable thanks
to its distinctive pink club
kit earning them the name,
‘the Pink and Blacks’. “Pink
kit is our trademark and
we’ve recently made it more
fl uorescent to help make us


more visible to other road
users,” explains club chairman
Micky Forbes. Rider safety
is paramount for the club
since the tragic death of club
member Gavin Moore during
a training ride in 2017. “Since
Gavin’s death we are heavily
supporting the Police Service
NI safe cycling campaign
#seethecyclist and it’s
something we’re all passionate
about,” says Forbes.
Our route around the Ards
Peninsula covers a lot of
the roads used in the club’s
annual Coastal Challenge

charity ride and open road
race and it’s easy to see why
both are so popular, with the
stunning coastal roads and
fl at parcours.
Heading back to Ballyholme
it’s fl at all the way bar the
climb of Bradshaw’s Brae but
today most avoid it. There’s
a wealth of quiet fl at roads
here making it perfect for
any cyclist, not just those
chasing fast Strava times. And
with a club as good as North
Down CC it’s easy to see why
cycling is so popular here and
the club doing so well.

Cycling Weekly | February 8, 2018 | 51
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