Clubs for night owls near Dublin?

vedrafjord

I'm at the point where joining a cycling club seems like the logical next step, but looking at the various club websites it seems the group rides all start between about 8.00am and 9.30am on weekend mornings.

I'm an extreme night owl (I was diagnosed with a sleep disorder when I was two) and if I join one of these clubs I'll probably end up never going. Are there any clubs in Dublin or north Wicklow that have their activities at weekends a bit later?

Or does it matter that much if I'm mostly interested in racing? I noticed the Club League is on at the much less antisocial time of 7pm. I can probably put up with the odd early start (the Wicklow 200 this year started at 7am and I managed it on a few hours sleep although I felt pretty jetlagged for a few days after) til I get settled in.

Plastik

Just because you're in a club doesn't mean that you have to turn up and ride their weekend spins. There are plenty of lads in our club that I rarely see throughout the year other than at open races or club league - Bray Wheelers.

General weekend spins at 10. A faster group at 930 usually. No requirement to join either though. Club league at 730pm when it kicks off.

LpPepper

Plastik wrote: »

Just because you're in a club doesn't mean that you have to turn up and ride their weekend spins. There are plenty of lads in our club that I rarely see throughout the year other than at open races or club league - Bray Wheelers.

General weekend spins at 10. A faster group at 930 usually. No requirement to join either though. Club league at 730pm when it kicks off.

Clondalking Cycling Club do weekday spins at 7pm on Tuesday and Thursday. Weekend spins are usually 9/10am though

RobFowl

Coppers is probably a better bet for regular rides late at night ...

Qualitymark

Nice idea, though, an early-hours-of-the-morning cycle club run up through the Dublin Mountains, when the deer and the wabbits and the hares and the foxes are out and the moon is bright and the night air is fresh.

Hunterbiker

Qualitymark wrote: »

Nice idea, though, an early-hours-of-the-morning cycle club run up through the Dublin Mountains, when the deer and the wabbits and the hares and the foxes are out and the moon is bright and the night air is fresh.

Or just a load of lads 're enacting scenes from Love Hate...

Qualitymark

Hunterbiker wrote: »

Or just a load of lads 're enacting scenes from Love Hate...

:eek:

vedrafjord

Plastik wrote: »

Just because you're in a club doesn't mean that you have to turn up and ride their weekend spins. There are plenty of lads in our club that I rarely see throughout the year other than at open races or club league

Good point - I guess I thought otherwise because most club websites tell newbies to turn up to the weekend spins and don't mention the other stuff so much, and also because I know someone in Orwell CC who I think does the weekend spins exclusively.

Right now I'm leaning towards St Tiernan's as they seem a bit more race focused, and when I see members in the Wicklow mountains they always give a nod or say hi Orwell might be a bit too big.

RobFowl wrote: »

Coppers is probably a better bet for regular rides late at night ...

I've had the misfortune to witness a couple of late evening rides in summer cycling around the Featherbeds. The worst was at the layby opposite Upper Lough Bray because the road is about 15% there so they probably thought I was slowing down on purpose. Haven't seen any group rides yet...

Hunterbiker wrote: »

Or just a load of lads 're enacting scenes from Love Hate...

Aren't there still two paintings stolen by Martin Cahill that were hidden up the Wicklow Mountains and never recovered? Maybe I'll start bringing a shovel with me. A 200 gram carbon fibre aero one.

dragratchet

vedrafjord wrote: »

Right now I'm leaning towards St Tiernan's as they seem a bit more race focused, and when I see members in the Wicklow mountains they always give a nod or say hi Orwell might be a bit too big.

Hi vedrafjord. at the moment and for the forseeable future Tiernans are running intro spins on sunday mornings around 9:30 to get prospective and new members into the swing of group riding. People either stay in that group for a bit or move into one of the sat morning groups that leave at 9:30 as well. members who cant make either day due to other commitments often organise alternative non official spins on the club page which in time might suit you better for touching base with other members. we definitely have a good crop of racers out training these days so if that a focus of yours you'll be in good hands. i started with them last year and enjoyed a full summer of club league and open racing after a winter of training.

vedrafjord

dragratchet wrote: »

Hi vedrafjord. at the moment and for the forseeable future Tiernans are running intro spins on sunday mornings around 9:30 to get prospective and new members into the swing of group riding. People either stay in that group for a bit or move into one of the sat morning groups that leave at 9:30 as well. members who cant make either day due to other commitments often organise alternative non official spins on the club page which in time might suit you better for touching base with other members. we definitely have a good crop of racers out training these days so if that a focus of yours you'll be in good hands. i started with them last year and enjoyed a full summer of club league and open racing after a winter of training.

Thanks, the runup to Christmas is my busiest time of the year in work but I'll hopefully make it along on a Sunday some time in the next few weeks and then I'll have loads of time after Christmas. Having unofficial spins for people who missed the main ones is a great idea.