The organisers of Sunday’s  Bangor Coastal Challenge Charity Cycle are asking road users to exercise caution and patience when a thousand cyclists will take to the Ards Peninsula this weekend.

The Challenge is one of the biggest charity cycles in the country and this Sunday (16th) some 1000 cyclists plan to leave Bangor Sportsplex on the Old Belfast Rd from where they will along the seafront and esplanade before joining the Groomsport Rd from Sheridan Drive to embark on a clockwise circumnavigation of the peninsula.

The Coastal Challenge has been a vehicle for the Club to put something back into the community through cycling and last year the event raised over £13,000 for local charities including Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) and the Make a Wish Foundation who again will be the main beneficiaries this year.

North Down Cycling Club’s co-ordinator, Tim Johnston, said it is hardly surprising that more and more people are taking up sporting activities such as cycling due to the Government’s recent push regarding the importance of a healthy lifestyle and such has been the growing popularity of this event that the organisers have had to limit the number of entrants to 1000, with many being turned away disappointed.  Entrants have not been confined to the North Down locality with scores coming from all over the island of Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales.

To mimimise the congestion on the roads, the event is held on a Sunday morning and it is hoped that motorists will be patient as the participating cyclists make their way around the Peninsula during the morning and early afternoon.  The group though large, passes quickly.  The cyclists will leave Bangor’s Sportsplex at 10am and proceed via the Old Belfast Road, Rathmore Road, Bryansburn Road, Grays Hill, Seacliff Road, Ballyholme Esplanade, Millisle, Ballywalter, Ballyhalbert, Portavogie, Cloughey, Ardminnan and Portaferry.  Returning via Shore Road, Abbacy Road, Deerpark Road, Rowreagh Road, Portaferry Road, Newtownards, Bangor Road, Rathgael Road, returning to Bangor Sportsplex from 1.30pm onwards.  The first cyclists should reach Portaferry around 11.30am however, most of those taking part will fit into the category of being simply “cyclists for one day” and they will take much longer to complete the journey.

Despite the poor weather in the early part of the year, last weekend local cyclists were glad to see the first evidence of the better weather promised by the Met office for June.

Paying particularly close attention to the forecasts are the club members responsible for organising the annual running of The Coastal Challenge on Fathers day, Sunday 16th June, when NDCC invite cyclists from all over the country to come and join them for a relaxed tour of the peninsula in the company of 1000 likeminded individuals.

Organising committee chairman, Tim Johnston, expressed his delight that, despite the poor weather over the last few months, entry levels were good and he fully expected the entry list to be filled to quota before the event.

Sign on will be at the Bangor Sportsplex on the old Belfast Road where entrants waiting for the off will have the opportunity to browse the latest equipment from Scott, Meridia and Trek who will be attending with trade stands along with the event’s main sponsor, Podium4sport.

After leaving the Sportsplex,  entrants follow the picturesque (and reasonably flat!) coast road around the Ards peninsula with a stop for a welcome bowl of stew and other sustenance at Barholme in Portaferry before heading back to the Sportsplex to receive their commemorative t-shirt and have a chat with their fellow cyclists over tea and coffee.

As well as being an excellent day out for cyclists of all abilities from nervous beginners to hardened veterans, over the years the Bangor Coastal Challenge has supported a number of charities and last year some with around 1000 entrants taking part the event raised £13000 was donated to various charities.

This year the main charities which will be supported are one again CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) and the Make-A-Wish foundation, both of whom do excellent work locally.

So for anyone who fancies a grand day’s cycling, sign up online at Coastal Challenge and do some good, both for yourself and for worthy causes.

As befits the jewel in the Ulster Road Racing crown we sent a strong squad of riders to the Paris – Katesbridge. Three of our finest non club sponsored riders turned up at the Katesbridge Orange Hall for this legendary event on a fine Saturday morning. This event has been won before by North Down and it seemed like it was time to bring the trophy back home again.

Paul Ferguson, Shane Farren and Noel Boyce were the men in question at the A3 event with a new course to sort out the men from the boys. A steep climb into Rathfriland has recently been added to spice up the finish with only the strongest riders having the legs to contest the uphill sprint.

The action started on the second lap with a break getting away. Shane Farren was in the move and they soon had a good advantage over the bunch. Realising that this would be THE break of the day Paul Ferguson soon bridged across to join them. They all worked solidly together opening the gap up to over a minute. The pace was high however with weaker riders soon being shelled out the back whittling the once large group down to eight riders. Two of which were North Down men.

It wasn’t long before the survivors in the break hit the steep ramp up to Rathfriland and Shane Farren looked determined to take the spoils at the top. Unfortunately cramp put an end to his chances leaving Paul as the last North Down rider standing. Paul grasped his opportunity and had it not been for a small group getting off the front he would certainly have been on the podium. As it was he finished a fine 6th place making this his third sixth place in row!

Noel Boyce came home safely in the bunch having had a quiet race due to two men away in the break.

With the Bobby Crilly coming up in a couple of weeks this should set up our riders for a good ride in one of Ireland’s finest one day races, famous for it’s summit finish on top of Divis mountain.

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