Waterford CC?

thebouldwhacker

thebouldwhacker is on the move again, I'll soon be whacking blouldly in Waterford City and as it looks like I'll be there for the foreseeable future I'm looking to join a local cycling club.
I have done a bit of research and they all look great but I guess you just cant beat the old personal recommendations.
Sportif Waterford CC looks interesting as they seem to have interest in both road and mtb.

So what can my brothers & sisters of Blaa recommend?

Thanks

Quigs Snr

It depends on what you are looking for.

Sportif is where it's at if you are a leisure rider or especially if you want to do MTB. Comeragh CC is for the most part a road club. We are about 50/50 in terms of racers/leisure riders (and our age profile is around 25-55), but even our leisure riders/vets would be pretty strong as they train with the racers - some of whom are very strong and aiming for the RAS.

If you are interested in racing or doing well in some serious sportif's like the Etape then Comeragh is the club for you. If you are at a reasonable level and want to improve then Comeragh is great for that too, riding with stronger riders e.g. former pro Ciaran Power, tends to do that and for me thats a big plus, but it's not for everyone.

If you want to just ride your bike, do a few sportifs, maybe the odd race and enjoy it whilst getting a decent workout with a decent bunch then the Sportif club is for you. Comeragh bunches tend to be a mix of A1,2,3,4 and the local Tri clubs, whilst there is a far bigger variance in abilities in the Sportif bunches with strong riders and total beginners mingling (although they do usually have multiple spins catering for the different abilities). Also some of their rides would often stop for a coffee during a spin which is a benefit depending on the type of riding you want to do.

I have noticed that Sportif seem to get a smaller turnout in Winter, but have huge bunches for the rest of the year. Comeragh would have a larger winter turnout, which might be a factor if you are the type of rider that trains religiously all year long.

I am with Comeragh and am their website admin so if you have any questions let me know, but I have done a few rides with Sportif, the other half is joining Sportif and my next door neighours are on Sportif's committee. Both very good clubs catering to different markets really and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend either. There are a few Sportif riders on boards, so I am sure one will be along soon ....

gman2k

Quigs Snr wrote: »

I am sure one will be along soon ....

There are a few Sportif's on here

Hello!
Here's the link to SWCC blog!
There are a few members in the club who race under the SWCC also!

thebouldwhacker

Thanks for the replies guys.

@ Quigs, thats some review of cycling in Waterford City 2011!
Thanks a very much for that, I'll keep piling up the miles till I get settled in and see what the best option is for me. My main aim and focus so far this year is Audux but its only February so you never know what the year will bring, do ye have mid week spins per chance?

Quigs Snr

A few of the Comeragh do have a midweek spin under lights on wednesdays. During the summer we have a racing league handicapped for all levels (i.e. non-racers get up to a 12 minute start on a course that takes 50mins). Once the league is over we tend to have a Tuesday night interval session. Apart from that we all train in ones and twos or even small groups which is generally best if you are following a training program.

Sportif have some more conventional club rides midweek in the summer as well which cater for various levels. I am not sure but I am thinking Tuesday and Thursday, maybe Gman will confirm.

By the way, typical Comeragh spin is 85-105k, and tends to be slightly longer in winter (our riders aiming for the RAS for example might add on another hour or two either before or after the spin bringing it up to 160k)

roco71

Quigs has given a very detailed and fair overview of both clubs. As a committee member of SWCC I thank him for that.

SWCC run club spins every Tuesday & Thursday evenings (bright evenings permitting) from the Ramada Hotel on the Cork road at 6.30pm, usually about 40-60k depending. Keep an eye on our web site for details.

We have all year round spins on Saturday & Sunday mornings, normally these cater for our group 2 & 3 riders; Starting from Woodies on the Cork Road, routes normally the same and pre-advised in advance on club blog. Group 1 (beginners) are catered for also at 09.30hrs from Woodies on the Cork road.

Group 1: (normally 9.30am) starting again shortly, these spins cater for people who have done some light cycling on their own and want to now join a group or complete beginners. These spins are controlled by experienced cyclists and the pace is relaxed to ensure that newcomers enjoy the experience.
Group 2: (normally 9.30am) 50k to 80k @ average of 23-26kph
Group 3: (normally 9am) 50k to 80k @ average of 25-28kph

As you will appreciate these distances will vary depending on what sportifs etc are coming up and what training is being put in for same.

Welcome to Waterford by the way.

Muckers

Hey thanks Quigs for giving us Sportif lads a decent mention. Good to see that both Comeragh and ourselves can promote each others clubs in Waterford.

@roco71. Well said Bob

michael196

Muckers wrote: »

Hey thanks Quigs for giving us Sportif lads a decent mention. Good to see that both Comeragh and ourselves can promote each others clubs in Waterford.

@roco71. Well said Bob

comeradery in the comeraghs ......

thebouldwhacker

Hmmmm, sounds like the competitions authority should have a sniff about.... all very pally if you ask me;)

Quigs Snr

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

Hmmmm, sounds like the competitions authority should have a sniff about.... all very pally if you ask me;)

Well, for me it's pretty simple. I don't care what you do, or who you do it with, as long as you like riding and/or buying expensive carbon parts for your bike then you are alright with me no matter what colour jersey you wear. A wise man once told me that cycling was a brotherhood and he wasn't kidding. I went to Australia in 2007 and all it took was a few emails to a Sydney cycling club (to whom I was a complete stranger) and before I knew it I was being met at my hotel door by a bunch of riders and setting off to do a 100 mile charity ride in the belting rain around Sydney the day after arriving there on a 3 day visit using an expensive bike belonging to one of their club members. It's like being in the freemasons or something.

In Comeragh we are pretty accomodating too. Last weekend for example we had Carrick Wheelers jerseys, Waterford Tri Club, Carrick Tri club, plus quite a few neutrals from no club at all in the middle of our bunch. That would be pretty typical for us, everyone is welcome, we train the way we do and if you are ok with that, then member or not you are more than welcome. The carrick/clonmel groups often comprising members of more than half a dozen clubs have a similar thing going on and I am sure it's the same all around the country. Likewise, I slotted in to a couple of rides with the Sportif club in the last couple of years with similar ease (indeed one of my most enjoyable rides the season before last was a spin out to hook head complete with food stop at the lighthouse with the Sportif club group 2 spin, I was considering throwing in the towel that year, struggling to get back to race pace and generally feeling sorry for myself whilst recovering from crash related injuries and that was a spin that reminded my of why I started to cycle in the first place - a couple of months later and I was able to race again).

Comeragh was the only option for the better part of 2 decades in Waterford and is very successful at what it does (there were half a dozen clubs in 1987 in Waterford when Comeragh was formed - as a junior and leisure club incidentally - and it deserves respect for being the only survivor from those heady golden days of the late 80s and for keeping the torch burning for cycling in the city).

That being said, it's great to see a club like Sportif come along to offer something different. They tend to attract a far more diverse bunch from the hybrid and helmet on backwards brigade - you know who you are! (this is coming from a guy who turned up at his first Comeragh ride in bootrunners, GAA knee socks and a born to ride tshirt tucked into a pair of cycling leggings sawn off to look like shorts - in my defence the edges looked straight until I put them on and they stretched out for a more Robinson Crusoe look) - , right up to racers and everyone in between. They have gotten a lot of people involved in organised cycling that otherwise would not have had the chance. The result is far more riders out on the road and a greater interest in cycling in the region in general. Sure the bike scheme and the Sean Kelly Tour have played a part, but overall, Sportif was the right idea at the right time and we have all benefitted from it, a fact borne out by the large membership of the Sportif club and the fact that my own clubs membership has pretty much doubled in the last 2 years. The resurgence has been such that even in these troubled times the local bike shops were able to expand and we were able to attract some pretty decent sponsorship in the last while (e.g. Columbia no longer sponsors HTC but it it does sponsor Comeragh CC !)

Long may it continue.

imola94

Lads
Can anyone tell me when do the Sportif Waterford evening spins start up again on Tuesday and Thursday evenings?

Deisetrek

imola94 wrote: »

Lads
Can anyone tell me when do the Sportif Waterford evening spins start up again on Tuesday and Thursday evenings?

I've only recently joined the Sportif club myself , I've copied and pasted the following from the Sportif member's forum ........



"Our midweek spins will kick off on Tuesday and Thursday next at 6:30pm from the Top Oil service station, adjacent to the B&Q roundabout on the Cork road. The reason for the new start and finish point is because Top Oil Holycross are now club sponsors, so we felt it was only right to give them a little business in return."

This help with your enquiry?

imola94

Deisetrek wrote: »

I've only recently joined the Sportif club myself , I've copied and pasted the following from the Sportif member's forum ........



"Our midweek spins will kick off on Tuesday and Thursday next at 6:30pm from the Top Oil service station, adjacent to the B&Q roundabout on the Cork road. The reason for the new start and finish point is because Top Oil Holycross are now club sponsors, so we felt it was only right to give them a little business in return."

This help with your enquiry?

Thanks for that. What's the proceedure for joining the club? In order to download an application form from the site, it says you have to be a member?
Do you know what distances are covered on the mid week spins?

Deisetrek

imola94 wrote: »

Thanks for that. What's the proceedure for joining the club? In order to download an application form from the site, it says you have to be a member?
Do you know what distances are covered on the mid week spins?

imola94 , if you email sportifwaterfordcc@gmail.com you will get all the information you require from secretary Paul Mooney . I've only recently joined myself so I can't confidently answer some of your queries.

imola94

Deisetrek wrote: »

imola94 , if you email sportifwaterfordcc@gmail.com you will get all the information you require from secretary Paul Mooney . I've only recently joined myself so I can't confidently answer some of your queries.

Ok will do, thanks

Quigs Snr

The Midweeks are about 40k, perhaps up to 50k from what I have heard..

aquanaut

Hey Whacker, only just saw this thread - didnt realise you were in Waterford now, hope to see you out on the road - im only just building up my speed / distance now, but will probably join up with cc myself after TDC. Got passed the 50km psychological barrier today so feel like ive made a big breakthrough. See you on the road!

kayaksurfbum

This is one of the spins we used to do mid week.

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/30904116

henboy

Swcc also has A racing section who meet on Tuesdays and thursdays evenings at 6.30 at the Holy Cross bar . Distance prob 45 km Avg anything from 37kph to 40kph .

We had Quigs with us on his TT bike last week , I suffered but think he enjoyed it .:eek:

jmdsk

Good Thread

Both good clubs by the sound of it. Offering something different.
Do you both cater for juniors? And what milage/ speed would they be doing.

jmdsk

I take it juniors aren't really catered for then.

gman2k

jmdsk wrote: »

I take it juniors aren't really catered for then.

You should contact the club directly. There are underage and junior riders afaik.
They are probably not boardsies.

kayaksurfbum

There are Juniors in the club.

Send a mail to sportifwaterfordcc@gmail.com

jmdsk

kayaksurfbum wrote: »

There are Juniors in the club.

Send a mail to sportifwaterfordcc@gmail.com

Thanks will do, Do the Comeragh Cycling club have juniors.

Quigs Snr

Comeragh don't really have a junior section. With Comeragh if you are able to ride with the seniors then you'll still be welcome. But no... there is not a specific junior section although we do have juniors who train with us.

jmdsk

Quigs Snr wrote: »

Comeragh don't really have a junior section. With Comeragh if you are able to ride with the seniors then you'll still be welcome. But no... there is not a specific junior section although we do have juniors who train with us.

Thanks sounds daunting probably should give sportif a go first.

aquanaut

Im hoping to do the newbs thing with cc this weekend if anyone else is. Unfortunately all the normal days dont suit with kids doing hurling etc. and already comitted to Sunday spins in the Commeraghs - and also, Andreas - if your on here please PM me.

imola94

aquanaut wrote: »

Im hoping to do the newbs thing with cc this weekend if anyone else is. Unfortunately all the normal days dont suit with kids doing hurling etc. and already comitted to Sunday spins in the Commeraghs - and also, Andreas - if your on here please PM me.

Would've liked to do the newcomers spin on Sat also but am already committed to something else. Let us know how you get on, am hoping to join the club in the next couple of weeks myself.

aquanaut

Will do! Have to get permission first!

smalltalk

Hi,following on from the discussion, Sportif Waterford cc have an introductory club spin on Sat morning next. All welcome.
http://sportifwaterfordcc.blogspot.com/
Just scroll down the page for info.

TheBlaaMan

Did a Waterford Sportif CC run go ahead last night? I was a bit late, and didn't get there till about 6:40, so I expect I missed them...............there was another small group at the Holy Cross pub, but looked like the Comeragh CC guys ?