Despite an exceptionally cold start to the day North Down sent a large turnout of riders to contest Round 5 of the ‘cross series in Ormeau Park. Always a popular event due to it’s scenic surroundings and close proximity to the City Centre.

Unfortunately the cold weather did nothing to improve the conditions of the course however and thick mud was the order of the day. Bound up wheels, broken rear mechs and slippy tree roots made for a challenging course which, combined with a few interesting sections of singletrack, made for a course that would test man and machine alike.

Although, strangely, there were no riders contesting the “A” race the “B” race was dominated by North Down riders. Taking 5 of the top 6 positions you could say that North Down “owned” the “B” event. Heading up the athletes was unsurprisingly our ‘cross master Colm McLarnon with Steven Watty coming close behind with another excellent result in his debut season. How long before these two top riders are fighting it out in the “A” race?

Alison McMullan

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Last weekend, before heading off on their various regular Saturday morning club runs, members of the North Down Cycling Club (NDCC) took a few minutes out to present cheques totalling some £13,000 to four local charities.

The money had been raised during the summer through the Club’s major sportive event of the year, “The North Down Coastal Challenge” when over 1000 cyclists spent an enjoyable day making their way round the Ards Peninsula including a well earned lunch stop in Portaferry.

Over the years NDCC has donated money raised from the Coastal Challenge event to local charities and this year was no different with donations being made to four different groups including: Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) Northern Ireland which provides cardiac screening services for  young people, sponsors research and provides bereavement counselling for families devastated by the loss of a child from Sudden Death Syndrome: The Make-A-Wish Foundation which last year in Northern Ireland made magical wishes come true for 59 children and young people aged 3-17 fighting life-threatening conditions, creating dreams and memories that last forever for the wish child and their family: Friends of Compass School and Creche which helps the people of Kikuyu, Kenya by raising funds to feed, educate and medically assist Orphans and Underprivileged Children, many  of whom have HIV and who, without the charity’s help would inevitably not survive: Portaferry RNLI whose work will need no further explanation to residents along the route of the Coastal Challenge.

Speaking afterwards, Club Chairman Ian Blayney expressed his sincere thanks to those who had made the event possible including the club members who assisted on the day, the PSNI who helped ensure the safe running of the event and, of course, the event sponsors Bike Dock. He went on to say it was a real pleasure both to be able to support such worthwhile causes and to see Coastal Challenge event grow over the years to become one of Ulster’s most popular cycling events, attracting an eclectic mix of participants who find the event both long enough to provide a good run for club cyclists yet short enough to provide an achievable target for the novice rider.

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The club AGM was held on 10th October to a now customary packed club house. It was good to see such fantastic support for club from the membership.

Ian Blayney opened the meeting highlighting the growth of the club over 2012, achievements, charity work and drew attention to the increased membership of youth and female riders. He also announced that the club was to commit to supporting an all female team through the 2013 season.

Myles Geddis took over in his role of treasurer announcing that the club would be awarding £13,000 to charity thanks to events run throughout the year. A fantastic amount that everyone in the club should be proud to have helped achieve.

The official posts for 2013 remained largely unchanged with the exception of touring secretary being taken up by Clare White, Open race secretary by Matty Blayney and club race secretary by Martin Piper. Many thanks to Patrick Bertenshaw, Tom Henry and Eric Blayney who have performed these roles with such dedication during recent years.

New members elected onto the committee are Paul Ferguson, Shane Farren, Jan Stevenson, Michael McMullan and Keith Humphries. The club in indebted to these volunteers who selflessly and altruistically give up their free time to support the club and it’s members.

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