Cycling all the way to Australia!
Paul Quinn, preparing to cycle to Australia
On Sunday over 100 cyclist turned up to support adventurers and long-distance cyclists in the making, Paul Quinn of the Island Wheelers and companion Aidan Murphy, in their Cycle to Australia Charity fundraiser.
The event was a huge success and over £1000 was raised on the morning alone for The Irish Cancer Society, and The Alzheimer’s Society.
The event started at Hayden’s Bar, Rock and took in the towns of Pomeroy, Omagh, Cookstown, Coalisland, Dungannon, before returning back to Rock.
The riders had a choice of a 30 mile route led by Aidan on the bike he’s cycling to Australia with, or a 60 mile route lead by Paul who was also on his touring bike.
The fine weather, well-placed feed stations and a lead car all helped ensure that everyone had a safe and enjoyable days cycling.
Paul and Aidan were delighted with the support and good wishes they received and they’d like to thank everyone who turned up and also everyone who was on hand on the day to make sure everything ran smoothly
On September 1 Paul and Aiden will depart Ireland on one epic cycle to the land down under to raise money for Irish Cancer Society and Alzheimer’s Society.
Their journey will take them through 18 countries and over 15,000km before they reach Australia seven months later. Everyone from the Island Wheelers would like to wish the pair a safe and enjoyable adventure.
To follow their life-changing expedition and find out how you can support them please visit their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/cycletooz and every penny raised will go to the two charities and they’ll be extremely grateful for whatever you can donate.
McKeown win i
It has been a very busy, and successful week of racing for the Island Wheelers. Last Tuesday evening saw Wheeler, Alan McKeown take his first win of the season at round 18 of the Inter-Club League.
Alan rode strong throughout the race and got himself into the decisive four man break on the last lap and took the hard fought sprint at the line.
Alan’s form has been gradually improving over the last few weeks and hopefully it serve him well going into the final few races of the season.
The next round is a time trial along the Armagh Road, starting at 7p,m with the final road race along the Derrymacash circuit on August 28.
The Island Wheeler who has the most points in the League will be presented with a new trophy Seamus Devlin has generously provided. It is a replica of the original Maguire Cup and will also be called the Maguire Cup. We thank Seamus.
Thursday evening saw Clann Éireann CC host an open 10mile TT along the Dungannon Road.
Conditions for testing were poor due to the strong winds and rain, however that didn’t slow down James McLaughlin who clocked a fantastic time of 24.15 to take third place overall.
Barry Hayes, and Sheena O’Neill of the Island Wheelers were also in action and both riders posted good times considering the difficult conditions.
A number of Wheelers were also in action at the Burrows Engineering Road Race League hosted by ETCC.
Round eight of the league along the Cement Works circuit saw Dermot Donaghy and Owen Campbell both put in a good performance and the pair finished well to take 9th and 10th at the line.
Paul Daly Wins takes MTB glory in Castlwellen
There was also success for the Island Wheelers on the MTB stage over the weekend. Last Sunday saw Paul Daly and Cathal McGuigan race the Ulster Championships in Castlewellen. The course itself was very technical with a number of drop offs and rock gardens but Paul Daly used his excellent bike handling skills to take a fantastic first place in the senior four category race making him the first Island Wheeler to stand on top spot of the MTB podium, so well done Paul. Cathal also put in a great ride and finished a fantastic 5th place, and was unfortunate not to be on the podium alongside Paul as he was help up at the finish.
It was only a few weekends ago at round five of the XC League in Garvagh, Paul Daly had another excellent race, this time third, with Barry Kirkland coming another great seventh place and Cathal M Guigan a super tenth. These positions are in the senior 4 category with 40 starters.
Conor Boyle also did really well in the youth section and at one stage was second but took a wrong turn on the course and missed out on a podium this time.
The MTB evenings will be starting back in the next few weeks so please contact Aidan if you want to join in, all levels welcome.
Our weekly runs continue as follow throughout the year with new members always welcome.
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Weather for Dungannon
Thursday 23 May 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 4 C to 9 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 4 C to 12 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North
