Cycling Ireland Best Leisure Event Award 2018 and so on

Mercian Pro wrote: »

Based totally unscientifically on the number of positive mentions so far, the Reservoir Dog tops the list followed closely by the Mick Byrne with the Orwell Randonee and Tour de Kilkenny in joint third position.

Interesting that none of these have even been on the CI shortlists over the past three years. Are we all out of touch or are they?

I just came across this thread now - a bit belatedly. I was a bit preoccupied at the time. - more anon... Thank you very much for the votes for the Reservoir Dog Sportive and the nice comments. Not being on the Cycling Ireland awards list for best Sportive doesn't bother us at all. What really motivates us is putting on the best sportive we can and knowing that people enjoyed it so much is a real thrill for us. It is never going to be a huge event in the mould of the Great Dublin Bike Ride or the Wicklow 200 because we deliberately limit the numbers. This years Reservoir Dog Sportive is on Sunday 2nd September. The venue is Russborough House again. We have the wheels turning in the background already making arrangements for what we hope will even be a better event this year. Watch this space - we hope to launch the Reservoir Dog website and registration link much earlier this year than previous years.
About the 'preoccupied' bit above. On the October Bank Holiday Sunday last, I am pretty sure that I saw Mercian Pro whizzing down the Sally Gap near Lough Bray as I struggled my way up. I think I shouted 'Hi' at the time. My memory is a little hazy on that. If you thought I looked like I was struggling, that's because I was! I had a heart attack further up the climb and ended up in Tallaght Hospital Cardiac Care unit later that day. But I lived to ride another day thanks to the brilliant care I received in Tallaght Hospital. You posted the results of your poll here the following day. Sorry I missed it at the time...it would have cheered me up, I'm sure

Corker1 wrote: »

About the 'preoccupied' bit above. On the October Bank Holiday Sunday last, I am pretty sure that I saw Mercian Pro whizzing down the Sally Gap near Lough Bray as I struggled my way up. I think I shouted 'Hi' at the time. My memory is a little hazy on that. If you thought I looked like I was struggling, that's because I was! I had a heart attack further up the climb and ended up in Tallaght Hospital Cardiac Care unit later that day. But I lived to ride another day thanks to the brilliant care I received in Tallaght Hospital. You posted the results of your poll here the following day. Sorry I missed it at the time...it would have cheered me up, I'm sure

Delighted to hear that you are well again, I just happened to be at a physio yesterday with an on going back issue. The physio is my age bracket, just turned 60 and also swims, cycles. He advised me to go to a cardio specialist and get a cardio scan , purely precautionary to have the arteries checked in light of the activities we are involved in, and our age. He did one last October when he turned 60 and all was fine, definitely on my "to do list".
Are you back cycling ?

secman wrote: »

Delighted to hear that you are well again, I just happened to be at a physio yesterday with an on going back issue. The physio is my age bracket, just turned 60 and also swims, cycles. He advised me to go to a cardio specialist and get a cardio scan , purely precautionary to have the arteries checked in light of the activities we are involved in, and our age. He did one last October when he turned 60 and all was fine, definitely on my "to do list".
Are you back cycling ?

Thanks Secman. I am back cycling but have to take it real easy and keep the heart rate fairly low on medical advice. So it's flat roads and short spins for me for the time being. Before my heart attack, I had signed up to do the Mallorca 312 in April this year but that is not going to happen now. But Hey..I can still get out on the bike so all is not lost. A gang from the club are still going to do it so I will do support for them maybe - if they are nice to me
Yeah, it's always worth keeping an eye on your health. I am 49, non-smoker, very active, good diet (if a little fond of cakes). So it was a bolt from the blue for me. The big take away is for me is for people to listen to their bodies and if you have any worrying symptoms while exercising, call an ambulance or get checked out by a medical professional at the earliest opportunity. I do not want to stray into the realms of giving medical advice here, which I know is not permitted but check out the Irish Heart foundation link here https://irishheart.ie/heart-and-stroke-conditions-a-z/heart-attack/#section-symptoms Don't forget that syptoms will vary in every case. If you experience these symptoms - act fast.

Surprised to not see the Orwell on there. I think it's the best sportive that I've done. Re MTB i presume the reason the Cooley thriller is not on there is that it's a non CI event. It was a fantastic day out on the bike.

Mercian Pro wrote: »

Almost a year to the day since my original post and here we go again.

This year's nominations exclude all the great events mentioned above but include the GDBR......

That's difficult to believe considering the swathe of negativity regarding the traffic fiasco with the GDBR around the western section of the route this year! Is Humphrey Appleby involved in the selection?

Mercian Pro wrote: »

(Mods - can 2017 be dropped from the thread title or changed to 2018?)

done

vote link here
http://www.cyclingireland.ie/cycling-news-item/membership-awards-now-open-for-voting-cycling-ireland-awards-night-2018-tickets-now-on-sale/22187

Thanks for the kind words and recommendation Mercian Pro. As it happens a CI Leisure Commissionaire assessed The Reservoir Dog Sportive this year. They actually participated in the event, cycling the 125km route and issued us with a very positive report and feedback afterwards. I'm not sure how we will fare in the awards against some of the much larger events that are sure to attract more votes. But while it is nice to have been shortlisted, ultimately for us it's about giving the riders the best day out on the bike possible while raising funds for local charities. We hope to launch the 2020 Reservoir Dog online in a few weeks so watch this space.