Temple - athletes TT (26th April 2016)

Enda Marron               29.54

Paul Hetherington      30.03

Mark Hanna                 30.13

Fergal Sherry              32.02

Steve Begley               32.10

Frank Sharkey             32.18

Peter McGuicken        34.08

Desi McHenry              35.32

Ramesh Rana             35.42

Carl King                       36.46

Shane Quinn                41.57

Gary Hazlett                  43.32

Chris McKeown            LOST

Emma Sharkey            32.56

Emma Wilson               33.46

Emma Kerr                    35.12

Geraldine Sharkey       35.45

Heather Bamford          38.06

Timekeepers Conor x2 

Cold blustery evening at Temple and not a disc or aero lid in sight.

Things were tight at the top of the male leaderboard with less than 20 secs separating the top 3.

The first time we have had a podium of Emma's this year.

Frank Sharkey paid homage to the true nature of the athletes tt by riding a vintage frame complete with downtube shifters.

Navigational error of the evening  went to Chris McKeown as he did take the left coming into Sainftfield, unfortunately that left was the Middle road.

Carryduff - league#2 (19th April 2016)

A decent April evening greeted 19 riders for the first Carryduff TT of the year. Some regular faces with new skinny bodies made their first appearances of the season.

A few weeks ago, just before the start of the TT's, a recce ride of the courses took place. The intention was to show "newbies" the routes so no-one would get lost on a Tuesday night! Gary Hazlett attended this and completed the Killynure and Temple courses but skipped on the Carryduff course in favour of an Ulster Fry! Unfortunately this proved to be a costly breakfast when Gary missed the Ballygowan turn and ended up in historic Saintfield. By the time the cold realisation washed over Hazlett and course correction effected the damage was done.

Mechanical of the night went to Mr Rafferty whose chain jumped and got stuck between cassette and wheel.

Most frustrated of the night was Purnell who had plenty of time to carry out a road traffic survey while en route.

Although early in the season there are some potential candidates shaping up for the coveted award categories at prize giving!

Results

XY

Mark Kane          26:02
Mark Millar        27:28
Enda Marron        28:22
Gavin Browne       28:52
Ronan Kernan       29:59
Conor Preshaw      31:20
Fergal Sherry      31:34
Paul Hetherington  31:44

Stephen Begley     33:19
Desmond McHenry    33:29
Chris McKeown      35:09
Ramesh Rana        37:38
Peter McGuckin     37:51
Gary Hazlett       53:30
Bill Rafferty      DNF
Vaughan Purnell    SBT

XX

Julie Stewart      34:03
Emma Wilson        35:02

Geraldine Sharkey  37:37

*SBT = Stuck Behind Tractor

Thanks to timekeepers Emma Kerr (first time without any disaster) and Pete Williamson.

Ballynahinch out and back (12th April 2016)

It was dull and damp conditions for the Ballynahinch out and back course. Riders set off at 1 minute intervals towards Ballnahinch and a 30min turnaround.

It is really superb to see so many new faces this year coming to the TT; and with a great attitude. For those new to TT use these sessions to experiment with tyre pressure, gear choice, riding hills standing and seated, cadence and trying out new bike gear. Ask questions from those more experienced; there is a wealth of knowledge in this group with years of training and racing experience. Don't be put off my Mr Kanes rather fast times, be inspired instead; he has a natural advantage of having some rather good genes. Also good to see is a strong ladies league forming.

Mechanical of the night goes to Williamson who punctured 10mins before the start.

The new clipboard, as mighty an object as there ever was, was blown away this week by Enda's megaphone. As well as making the results very audible it had the added the advantage of looking, from a distance, like a speed radar gun and effected many a car slow down. Result!

Good work from all.

Finally a mention for Wes, the Warhorse (where have all the nicknames gone?),  that we are thinking of him and wish him a speedy recovery.

Results

Mezzo Sopranos

Emma Sharkey      16:54 18:57 35:51
Emma Wilson       18:10 19:10 37:20
Julie Stewart     18:31 21:00 39:31
Heather Bamford   18:23 21:22 39:45
Geraldine Sharkey 19:26 21:17 40:43

Tenors

Mark Kane         13:24 14:47 28:11
Vaughan Purnell   14:44 15:48 30:32
Mark Hanna        14:32 16:06 30:38
Pete Williamson   15:01 17:09 32:10
Ronan Kernan      15:39 17:00 32:39
Paul Hetherington 15:30 17:54 33:24
Fergal Sherry     15:54 18:36 34:30
Conor Preshaw     16:28 18:17 34:45
Stephen Begley    17:17 18:23 35:40
Frank Sharkey     17:31 19:08 36:39
Chris McKeown     18:00 20:36 38:36
Peter McGuckin    18:25 20:40 39:05
Ramesh Rana       19:24 22:07 41:31
Gary Hazlett      20:37 25:08 45:45

Thanks to timekeepers Enda, Desi, Bill and David M. This is the toughest course from a mathematical point of view.

Killynure - league#1 (5th April 2016)

Back. Week 1. Never Mind. Get The Party Started.

Well done to Fergal, Ramesh, Gary and Geraldine on their opening night. Watch those future performances improve over the coming weeks.

Keeping with the theatre theme we also had a shiver of Sharkeys in the show. Expect numbers from the Sound of Music next week.

Most riders however missed the star of the show tonight - a (double) rainbow climbing high and smiling over the sky.

"If you want the rainbow, you've gotta put up with the rain"
 - philosopher Dolly Parton and they say she.....

Finally, Preshaw's preening and leg shaving paid dividends, giving him the 2 seconds needed to crush McGandy!

Next week expect a complete blog on the new waterproof Olympicesque clipboard.

Results

Boys

Mark Hanna          20:29
Enda Marron         20:40
Pete Williamson     21:17
Paul Hetherington   21:18
Conor Preshaw       22:42
Conor McGandy       22:44
Fergal Sherry       23:07
Glen Pollock        24:05
Frank Sharkey       24:07
Peter McGuckin      24:25
Desmond McHenry     25:58
Ramesh Rana         26:38
Gary Hazlett        31:50

Girls

   
Emma Sharkey        23:29
Emma Kerr           25:53
Joanne Bingham      26:21
Geraldine Sharkey   26:23

Thanks to timekeepers Vaughan and Julie.