Leisure

The Orwell Wheelers will be having a night out for club members on Saturday February 6th at 7.30pm. The event will take place in Dublin’s hippest new wine bar ‘The Cavern’ on Baggot Street.

Following up from his 0 to 200 article where Joe Fitzpatrick recounted joining the club and setting his stall out to cycle the wicklow200 the following June, Joe tells us about the many adventures and challenges in his first year in Orwell Wheelers

Andrew Potts joined Orwell Wheelers in October of last year and put in a very consistent sportive season to finish third in the rookie competition of the Leisure League. Andrew takes us through his first full season in Orwell Wheelers.

As well as Eugène Dillon’s audax ride, another 23 Orwells undertook the Raid Pyrénéen with the help of Marmot Tours. Siobhain Duggan stepped up to the challenge of trying to summarise the five days of cycling and cols, as well as the fun and camaraderie! Have a read below!

After successfully topping the Leisure participation competition for 2015, Eugène Dillon was presented with his winner’s jersey last Saturday night. Below, he recounts sealing the win with his independent attack on the Raid Pyrénéen.

One of the participants in the women’s beginner spins had her own special reasons for doing so. Last Sunday she completed the Great Dublin Bike Ride, and below Bridget Cullen shares her motivation.

Best of luck to the 25 Orwells heading off to tackle the Raid Pyrenean next Monday. With over 700km to cover in under 100 hours, over 18 cols and nearly 13,000 vertical metres!

Participants in this year’s Marmotte faced temperatures nearing 50°C, leading to many dropouts along the way. Tom Weymes shares his struggle through the day, when many others would have given up far sooner, he battled on!

Ten Orwell riders took to the start line in this year’s l’Étape du Tour. Paul O’Neill tells their story.

Ever wondered how a classic Tour de France climb like the Col de la Croix de Fer or the Alpe d’Huez (both on this year’s tour) compare to the likes of the Wicklow Gap or the Conor Pass? Or how a big Alpine sportive like L’Etape du Tour compares with say the Wicklow 200? Read on, and have Derek Handley let you know what’s in store!

Bonne chance to everyone riding L’Etape du Tour this weekend! Click through!

James O’Callaghan took a spin down to the Sierra Nevada to take on Europe’s highest paved road in extreme heat. To put you in the mood ahead of the Marmotte, have a read!

Best of luck from the club to all those taking on the challenge this weekend! Click through!

The Joe Daly Memorial Charity Cycle Rally will be held on Sunday 28th June. Proceeds in aid of Simpson’s Hospital. Updated: now with photo from the day!

Eamonn Eaton and a merry band of Orwells braved the conditions of the first ever Giro d’Italia Gran Fondo, and wrote a short and sweet account of the day. Updated with extra that never made it to the first draft!

Coming in at under 2,000 words, this is one of Billy Parker’s shorter novellas, but a worthy read nonetheless! He takes us through his multi-faceted Orwell experience of this year’s Wicklow 200. Accompanying his written account is Eileen Byne’s wonderful video composition. Have a read and a watch!

Geoff Bailey joined Orwell this year with a view to repeating David Fitzgerald’s Stelvio trip from last year, and undertook it last weekend. He writes about his Alpine adventure below!

For many cyclists, completed a metric century is an intimidating challenge. Several Orwells signed up at the start of the year for a training group to tackle the Wicklow 100, and Rory Rutledge narrates a successful day out and its lead-in below.

“Slow for a Porsche but not bad for a couple of rookies.”Two of our newer members took on the challenge of the Wicklow 200 (along with many others) last Sunday, and Joe Fitzpatrick has written a great account of his day with Andrew Potts below.

Eugène Dillon has been cycling on the continent once more, tackling the climbs of the Ardennes again – have a read below!