Cycling Club for Teens - Skerries/Balbriggan

The Hill Billy

Hi folks:

Does anyone know of a cycling club in Skerries/Balbriggan that would suit a starter in their early teens? Anything coming up in my searches seems more geared towards oul' fellas like Beasty & RobFowl.

Cheers!

neris

Swords have a youth group from 12 years up, probably best bet

Carawaystick

They're (Swords CC)also going to have starter spins for beginner/intermediate cyclists from Sept3rd onwards.

Beasty

THB

I've been running a couple of starter sessions at an off road track at Corkagh Park just off the N7 on behalf of McNally Swords. I'm thinking of doing another possibly in a couple of weeks. My own kids aged 11 & 13 are just back from their hols and they along with a few more from the area take part in the sessions.

I'm planning on starting some road spins perhaps once or twice a month for kids over the winter starting at perhaps 20-25km

The club offers free membership for u18s. Cycling Ireland membership would be required for thea road spins as that provides insurance. That's only a fiver for u14s.

What type of bike does your kid have?

The Hill Billy

Cheers Beasty. Appreciate the info - will chat to him about it over the weekend.

He has a road bike rather than a racer.

Beasty

Is that a bike with drop handlebars (and gear levers/brakes at the front) or flat bars with gears you twist?

The Hill Billy

He has flat bars with twisty gears.

RobFowl

Hurts me to say it but VCB not really ready for teens/underage riders yet.


Swords cc have a good range of starter spins aimed at beginners/young riders and that would be the best option locally.
Something we should look at in the locality in the medium term though.

PS auld fella's..... My solicitor will be in touch

Beasty

Knowing a few of them they do strike me as a bit more of an "Old Man's Club" whereas Swords is more for the youthful and energetic.....


:pac:

Beasty

(A little!) more seriously I do know quite a few of the guys at Velo Club Balrothery and would recommend to anyone who is interested in joining a club in the northern part of DCN

Breda1975

Hi guys,
I know this thread is a few years old, but I am hoping that you can still help me,
I just bought a bike for myself and my daughter, our fitness level is zero and we are both slightly overweight, to be honest the bikes have gears and i really and so novice i don't know how to use them, its been 25 years since i was on a bike!!!!!
can you please advise on any clubs that might be suitable for ourselves ( i am 41 and my daughter is 10) I have looked but can only find experienced clubs

We are in Balbriggan,

thank you in advance

Breda

Beasty

Breda

The formal clubs like McNally Swords (I am heavily involved with this club) and Velo Club Balrothery (Robfowl's club) will largely cater for individuals with some basic cycling ability. That said if you drop me a PM I could probably give you a little bit of a steer to get you up and running. You may surprise yourself. I only took this up seriously in my late 40s and managed to drop from over 20st to under 14st over a couple of years (pretty much all by commuting on a flat handlebar hybrid bike). I took up racing aged 49 and entered my first World Championship (Masters against people of similar age) 3 years after that

For a 10 year old, although I would encourage you to think about taking her out and giving her some experience on quiet local roads if she feels confident to try them, I think the better option is to give BMX a go. There is a fabulous club in Ratoath that caters for all ages, and can provide bikes for youngsters as well as older riders to give it a go. BMX is all about fun, and their races are typically less than 400m. The bikes are quite small and there is a bit of "rough and tumble" about it, but kids typically love it.

I think if you can get out on the road a bit yourself and start building up, and your daughter could give the BMX a go, in a couple of years you will probably both be much more able, and perhaps considering joining a club like my own

Just to add to one of my earlier posts, my youngest is now 13, and he started with some BMX, then I took him out on the road a few times. I then took him down to our outdoor velodrome in Dublin (the Crumlin area) last year to get him accredited for racing there. He did one set of races last year and most of them in the first youth league of this year and he managed to win that league. I take him out a lot more now, but equally we have a couple of 10 to 11 year olds turning up regularly to race at the velodrome. Again I can provide more detail if you are interested

Dow99

Beasty wrote: »

(A little!) more seriously I do know quite a few of the guys at Velo Club Balrothery and would recommend to anyone who is interested in joining a club in the northern part of DCN

Slightly off topic, I'm in Balrothery and would be interested in joining for a few spins if there's a "leisure group"?

RobFowl

Dow99 wrote: »

Slightly off topic, I'm in Balrothery and would be interested in joining for a few spins if there's a "leisure group"?

There is a sportif group going from the national school at 0830 every saturday