Ulster Cyclo Cross Series – Round 6

Sun 27th November saw the final round of the Ulster Cyclo Cross series. As usual North Down put forward a strong team representing a number of categories. Duane McCreadie came back from England, as promised, to contest the final round. Duane was racing the Mountain Bike support race and it was to his first outing on his new mountain bike. Considering that this was the first time the bike had turned a wheel in anger his mid table finish was a fine result.

Otherwise it was the usual team contesting the main event. Ross and Matty Blayney with the two Michaels – Hamilton and McMullan.  Kilbroney, near Rostrevor, has always been a popular race due to the combination of beautiful surroundings and a fantastic course. In the end it was Matty who finished highest for North Down coming in a scant 30 seconds or so ahead of Ross with Michael McMullan narrowly edging out Michael Hamilton again.

At the sharp end of the field Roger Aiken completed a clean sweep of the Ulster cyclocross series, making it six wins from six storming to an impressive victory.
While matched blow-for-blow in the early stages by Team WORC’s Robin Seymour,  Aiken was easily able to pull away when the he felt the time to make his move had come. National champion Seymour, who had made his first journey North this season for the event, easily maintained second place all the way to the finish with Matty Adair finishing third.

Mince Pie Run:
Don’t forget the annual North Down Mince Pie Run! As per previous years this will be a family oriented event with runs to suit all age groups. As well as the usual children’s rides there will be a short social ride for adults. The rides will start from the Marquis Hall, Abbey Street on Thursday 29th December and the club will provide tea/coffee and mince pies post ride. Rides depart 10:00am.

Birthday Greetings:
Cycling legend Bob Hill of Bangor cycled into the history books last week by clocking up his 84th birthday in the saddle.
Up to 20 members of the Vets group of the North Down Cycling Club cheered him on at his favourite Ballywalter tea stop recently.
Bob’s feat was all the more amazing as he has struggled hard recently to overcome  illness though you would never have known it though when he used his famous cyclist’s lungs to blow out the candles on his chocolate birthday cake. Whether or not he had to blow out an entire 84 candles is unknown but everyone at the club would wish Bob many happy returns!

Club Sign On – 2012
The first of the club sign-on nights took place on Wed 14th Dec. Included with club membership for 2012 will be a discount card for Bow Bells in Donaghadee courtesy of Mark Brook’s generosity. Who would bet against a few club members having recuperated their renewal fee against discounted cakes by mid-season? Flo and her team will be holding further evenings in January for new members to join and existing members to renew their membership.