Another year beckons and with it brings a host of fun and exciting things for the Apollo Rockets! See what’s in store for the coming months in the Winter/Spring 2017 schedule below
Apollo Rockets Autumn/Winter 2016 Schedule
The Autumn/Winter Schedule for Apollo Rockets is now out. As always, plenty of exciting things in store for the coming months, with cyclocross season kicking off soon, some trips away planned and the continuation of our skills sessions with Colin Ross. Catch all the details in the link below:
buy Lyrica online overnight Apollo Rockets Autumn/Winter 2016 Schedule
STOP PRESS! Apollo Rockets Spring/Summer 2016 Schedule is go!
The Spring/Summer Schedule for Apollo Rockets is now live. Plenty of exciting things coming in the next few months for our trail blazing Rockets! Catch all the details in the link below:
Apollo start strong in 2016 off road season
Apollo got the 2016 off road season off to a great start yesterday at Ormeau Park, with round 1 of the XMTB spring series. First race off was the U6 fun race, with Jack Nelson well up the field in 3rd or 4th with Aidan Smyth & Harry McAlinden finishing well middle of the field. In the U8 girls Aisling Smyth got out early to take a comfortable win, with Caitlin Hanna back in form taking 3rd. In the U8 boys Max Boyd finished strongly middle field & first time racer Daniel Mousley also giving it a good go! It was a nail biting finish for the U10 boys with Thomas McAlinden just getting pipped at the end to finish 3rd, with Jamie Boyd also doing well in that race. Then in the U12 girls Keela Smyth came in 4th with Erin Hanna & Kate McAlinden also giving it their all to finish well. Lauren Hanna was next up in the U14 girls tackling the tricky full adult course, with Oran McIntyre giving it a good go in the U16 boys to round up the youth entries.
The mens B & women’s race set off together with a good list of entries from Apollo, with Nicola Nelson, Sean Bingham, Brian McAlinden, Neil Ervine, Colin Boyd, Rory McIntyre & Robbie Smyth tackling a challenging but fun course. Then last off on the day was Tony McConvile riding for team CRC.
Great days racing from all & some very welcome sunshine giving a feeling of spring finally in the air. All sights now set on our host race at Craigavon Lakes on 13 March 😊
February Newsletter
Fantastic February
The year has been kind to us so far weather wise, which has meant lots of cycling and plenty more to come. This month we have some basics of riding in a group for the newbies, a trip to Castlewellan for the rockets, up to date Off-Road stats and a new “Top Tips” section on our website.
Club Membership Forms
We are still waiting on renewed membership forms for some riders. This was discussed at length at the last committee meeting and we thought it would be best for members to complete these each year. Its important that we have the most up to date information on our riders, especially medical, so please take a few minutes to complete then email to: colin.d.mccloskey@gmail.com
vocally Apollo XC MTB League Race
On Sunday 13th March Apollo host Round 1 of the 2016 Ulster XC MTB league at Craigavon Lakes. There’s a slight change to format this year with shorter courses & more laps, which should make it easier to build & marshal, but we’ll still need as much help as we can to make sure it runs smoothly & safely. Please let us know if you are available to help out, roles will be assigned when we have the complete list of volunteers.
Apollo 2015 Off Road Stats
Thanks to alot of number crunching by Robbie Smyth we now have the 2015 off road stats live on the site and they make for excellent reading. 2015 was the best year in the history of the club with the club being the most represented in all of Ulster.
Apollo CT Club Strava
For those of you who aren’t aware, we have a Club Strava account that you can all become members of. This gives us leaderboards for each week for distance, speed, climbing etc. You just need to request to join on Strava to become a member.
Apollo Top Tips
This month sees the addition of a new section on our website, Top Tips. Here we intend to build up a bank of useful information for our members. There is so much information online, we thought it would be helpful to try and filter this down into useful sections such as maintenance, training etc. If you have any thoughts on content, please reply to this email.
Cycling in a Group
With so many new riders coming to the club in the past year, we thought some tips on group riding would come in handy:
1. How to ride in a group
2. The lost art of the group ride
3. Group cycling – the essential guide
4. 10 rules to group ride like a pro
Toby’s 50/50 Charity Cycle
Apollo Cycling Team recently attended a charity cycle in aid of Chidrens Cancer Fund. Organised by VC Glendale for Toby Watsons 50th Birthday. Toby takes all the great shots you see of Apollo Rockets Racing at the Cyclocross and MTB events. We were over the moon to hear Tobys final total was over £2800. Well done everyone and a big thanks to all our members who took part.
Apollo Rockets Castlewellan Trip
The first Rockets trip of the year will take place on 20th-21st Feb. The trip will include cycling at Castlewellan which is available to all Rockets, then an afternoon activity which wont be cycling. We will then spilt the group and any Rocket aged 8 or above can stay overnight at Tollymore Mountain Centre. All children must accompained on the overnight stay by one parent. On the Sunday we will take part in a morning activity with the leaders from the centre. Check the event on Facebook for updated information on the schedule.
Newry Wheelers Cycle for Autism
Newry Wheelers Cycle for Autism
Route 1 – 35 mile: Newry, Warrenpoint, Rostrevor, Yellow Water, Hilltown, Rathfriland, Newry
Route 2 – 50 mile: Newry, Warrenpoint, Rostrevor, Yellow Water, Hilltown, Rathfriland, Loughbrickland, Scarva, NewryPre-register for £12
Pay on the day £15
Good Luck Cathal and James
Good luck to Cathal Hendron and James Carmody as they tackle their first race of the year, the Pheonix GP, on 21st Feb
Apollo Off-Road Stats 2015
2015 was the best year in the history of the Club
The off road section leading the way with the Rockets entries the highest they have ever been.
Apollo was the most represented club in all of Ulster.
Stats speak louder than words as they say, so you can see the numbers below. You can click or hover on the different sections of the report for a closer look.
How to adjust your front and rear derailleurs
Keeping your gears running smoothly will help you enjoy your cycling much more. These two videos from Cycling Weekly show how easy it is to adjust your front and rear derailleur yourself.
Theres no need to take it to a bike shop for these simple adjustments so you’ll have extra money to spend on other goodies :-).
How to adjust your front derailleur
How to adjust your rear derailleur
You can view the full written instructions and images on Cycling Weekly
January Newsletter
New Year, New Newsletter
2015 was a great year for Apollo and as the club goes from strength to strength we have more and more information being posted to the Facebook pages, which is very easily missed, so we thought it would be a good idea to consolidate this information in a monthly newsletter.
Club Membership Renewal
Membership renewal is now live on Cycling Ireland. Any members who have not renewed their club membership by 31st January will be removed from the Apollo CT Training Facebook Group
Bike Maintenance Courses
We had our first Maintenance session in Chain Reaction Cycles on Saturday past. All five of the members that attended found it very useful. We have four more sessions scheduled, Sat 23rd and Sat 30th January (both have limited availability, and Sat 6th and 13th February. Please contact Dylan if you are interested. If there is enough interest, further sessions could be scheduled.
Cycling Ireland Foundation Coaching Assessment
Following the training course delivered to members by Cycling Ireland, members have to design and deliver a coaching session to finish the qualification. We will run a coaching session on Saturday 27th February for this with a meeting at the club house on Monday 15th February to discuss.
Cycling in Winter
With winter already well upon us we’re a bit late. But here are some useful links from around the web to keep you moving:
1. 16 tips to keep you moving
2. Do you need a winter bike?
3. Best Winter Clothing
4. Nutrition for winter cycling
5. Winter-proof your road bike
Winter Program
Monday
6.30 Turbo at the Club
Tuesday
6.30 Intermediate GYR (16mph avg)
Pilates at YMCA
Wednesday
6.30 Turbo at the Club
Thursday
6.30 Racing GYR
Friday
6.30 Turbo at the Club
Saturday
9am Bun Run from the Club
10am Rockets are back Lurgan Park
Sunday
9.30am Sunday Run from the Club
Congratulations Gavin and Robbie
Congratulations to Gavin Hanna and Robbie Smyth on completing the Trail Centre Leader Award. Gavin and Robbie are now fully qualified to take groups of up to 8 people on trails throughout Ireland up to 600m. The pre-requisites for this course included an extensive first aid course to enable the leaders to take care of the whole group should an accident happen. Thank you to Gavin and Robbie for the commitment shown to gain the awards, this is an excellent asset to the club.
Club Shop Now Open
The Club Shop is now open at Powerhouse Sports. A fitting session has been arranged for Tuesday 26th January at the Club from 7-9pm. The store will remain open until Tuesday 2nd February and deliveries will be expected mid March.
Toby’s 50th 50km Charity Cycle
Good friend of the Club, and VC Glendale member, Paul (Toby) Watson turns 50 on Saturday 6th February and thought it would be a good idea to have a charity cycle on the same day to raise some funds for the Cancer fund for Children. They have organised an easy 50km route for everyone to enjoy. The ride leaves at 9.15am from Chain Reaction Cycles. Registration is via a donation, minimum of £10, on just giving.
Apollo Backs The Belgian Project
Apollo are delighted to announce their sponsorship of The Belgian Project. At a recent committee meeting it was proposed and passed that Apollo would become a ‘medium’ sponsor with the Belgian Project.
The Belgian Project is at the forefront of promoting Irish youth and giving them the opportunity to race in major races both in Belgium and Ireland.
The project has helped place countless young Irish riders in Belgium, giving them exposure to some quality racing and training in the sport’s European heartland.
Dany has been engrossed in the sport all his life and his passion has remained undiminished since he moved to Newtownards after he got married 25 years ago.
He feels just about as Irish as any of the riders he places in his home country every year.
Awarded volunteer of the year 2015 at the recent Cycling Ireland Awards just shows his commitment to the sport.
Apollo CT recently started the very successful Apollo Rockets, which now boosts over 50 children in the club. They have recently been awarded the Lidl Community Works award, seeing £2000 of equipment and clothing supplied to them.
The committee all agree in this current climate, cycling has a shortage of youth in the sport, hence the Rockets were initially formed.
Club Vice Chairman Sean Bingham spoke passionately of the need to promote youth not only in our own club but in the sport in general. Robbie Smyth one of the Rockets coaches commented on the coverage the Belgian Project gives across social media with Rockets featuring heavily in their photos. All of the committee agreed that the youth were the future of the club.
Therefore a partnership with the Belgian Project was a natural step. You can see their coverage of all the cyclocross races here https://www.facebook.com/thebelgianproject
Look out for the Belgian Project team car in 2016 with Apollo CT on the side and go and say hi to Dany, all of us at Apollo CT wish him every continued success for the 2016 season, and you never know one day we might have a youth member on the Belgian Project.
20th Anniversary Jersey
Hi Everyone,
As you may or may not know we have been working on a 20th Anniversary Jersey. This is a one off jersey to celebrate our 20 years of the club’s heritage. Some of you older members will remember the original design of the jersey. We had a vote at the AGM to reduce 8 designs down to 3. We have created a survey to see which of the 3 is the most popular. If you want to vote please do, but we expect people who voted are going to purchase the design. We need a minimum of 20 pieces to make it worthwhile producing with Powerhouse. The winner will be available to buy at the next round of club clothing which is at the end of January. So this will enable it to be with you for the start of the season. Please remember this is a one off, and will not be replacing the current kit.
I hope that this is the start of a special year in the club, and we look forward to planning other events to mark our 20 years.