Youth may be wasted on the young, as they say, but as Fred Astaire used to remark, ‘old age is like anything, to be good at it you have to start young’.  Therefore it was great to see so many young cyclists out at our Tour on Sunday……having said that, we DO have the current junior road race county champion, second best county junior time triallist, fourth best under 12 road race cyclist and second best under 12 time-triallist in the county, in the club at the moment….take a bow Mikey, Billy and Tom.  Well done to the Creans’ for all taking to the road, and not forgetting Caoimhe Moriarty who made her debut also.  Remember, all the greats started when they were young….I recently came across this  photo of  Jan Ullrich when he was starting out.

Mol an óige, agus tiocfaidh sí!

Unfortunately Slí Trá Lí  was  something of an ordeal as the good weather of the last few days deserted us. Gusting side-winds, and showers made for an unpleasant cycle. However all riders seemed to be very happy with the tour, and Tralee Bay Wetlands Centre proved to be an ideal base for operations.  The soup and sandwiches was a big hit, so congrats to David and staff at the restaurant, and to Joanie and all at the centre for their support.

The official launch of The Kingdom Alliance Sportive, next years mammoth 3-day 300 mile leisure cycling tour of Kerry was a low-key affair.  The stage maps were available for viewing and a promotional flyer was handed out to all competitors with their certificates for completing Slí Trá Lí.  The commemorative t-shirt and medal were also on show.  Well done to Billy Casey, the Crean clan and of course, the Moriartys’ who all showed that the future is bright for the club when the youth are encouraged.

Thanks to Kieran Griffin and Horans Fruit and Veg for helping with refreshments; to Aidan Blackwell for the use of the T.L.I. van, and to the Red Cross for providing medical support. Thanks to our drivers, Noel, Pete and Stephen, and to Mike for taking photographs, and of course to Gerard McCarthy and Aidan O’Dowd for the efficient management of affairs at sign-on and after the event.  Last but not least, thanks to all who braved the weather and participated on the day.

Following an incident on a recent training spin which included one high speed decent from ‘the short mountain’, a meeting with Le Directeur was arranged and it was agreed to upload some information regarding the very unpleasant, and highly dangerous phenomenon called ‘Speed Wobble’.  You might experience this at some stage, and it is important, if you want to keep your bike between the hedges, and your face off the tarmac, that you read this, and store it upstairs for retrieval in the event of such an emergency.

Regardais le wobbly dog ici

Its confirmed……the big news is……drum roll please……Bacon Buttees WILL be available at the Moriarty house tomorrow.  Yeeeaaahhhh

Ssslluuurrrppp

Oh by the way (yawn) other much less important news is that Mikey won a silver medal in the Junior County T.T. Championships today, and not to be outdone, his brother Tom, competing in his first ever competition, for Tralee CC, matched that performance in the Under 12 T.T. race. I guess we’ll just have to set up a website, just for the Moriarty Clan. www.baconbuttee.com?

Seriously though….well done to both Mikey and Tom on behalf of all at Tralee CC.  Only one problem for the two boys is that dad Seanie, mom Maura and sister Caoimhe are all making their debuts for Tralee CC at tomorrows Slí Trá Lí…….that means enjoy the congratulations for the next few hours boys, because tomorrow you’ll both be yesterdays news!

For details of Slí Trá Lí, our annual Leisure Tour, check out the Events menu above, or click on the link here.