Messages

1

General Discussion / Re: Assistance with cycling tourism thesis

« on: February 13, 2013, 07:39:40 am »

Hi Guys,

My survey is ready. Here's the link https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/88M552Z

It takes about 10 minutes depending on your answers. If you could find time to answer it over the next few days that would be great.

There is an open question at the end so please feel free to make any comments you feel are relevant and may have been missed by the other questions.

Also please feel free to pass it on to anybody who you think may be able to help.

Thanks for your help.

Emmet

2

General Discussion / Assistance with cycling tourism thesis

« on: January 27, 2013, 01:15:13 pm »

Hi,

My name is Emmet. I'm a former racing cyclist and one of the organisers of the Race Around Ireland ultra-marathon race. I'm currently in my 4th year of BSc in Tourism Management at Dublin Institute of Technology. My thesis is about the suitability of the cycling infrastructure for tourists in Ireland. As part of my research i'm hoping to get feedback from a wide variety of people. I was wondering would anybody here be willing to answer a questionnaire in the coming weeks?

While i'm interested to hear from anybody who has ever had a cycling holiday, i'd be particularly interested in people who have had cycling holidays in Ireland, Denmark, The Netherlands or Germany

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

If you would be willing to help could you email me at emmetcycling@gmail.com or message me here.

Thanks

Emmet Roche

3

Cycling Events / Race Around Ireland 2010 - Route

« on: March 18, 2010, 05:05:26 pm »

The Route for the 2010 race is available to view now.
http://www.racearoundireland.com/race-route.asp

Some parts of the route have been changed form 2009 for various reasons. The most notable additions are new sections in Counties Down, Clare and Wexford. The Race will still include some of the hardest roads in the country with nearly 25 major climbs, including Gap of Mamore, Gap of Dunloe, St. Patricks Hill, Mt. Leinster and Drumgoff.

4

Cycling Events / Race Around Ireland 2010

« on: January 27, 2010, 12:08:26 pm »

September 12th 2010 is set to be the date that the Race Around Ireland Challenge will kick off for its second year. This 2100 km Non-Stop cycling event was a huge success in 2009 with World Champions taking part beside weekend warriors as all set out on a great adventure around the Country.

The Ultra Marathon Cycling Association (UMCA) has sanctioned the event and has included it as part of their World Cup series which includes other huge endurance races such as The Race Across America. The Race Around Ireland will again loop around the entire country passing some of Ireland’s most famous landmarks, taking in magnificent scenery and crossing the countries highest mountains.
   
Unlike other cycling races such as the Tour de France or the Giro d’Italia, the course is in no way roped off with no marshals controlling traffic flow, and there are no planned rest stops or stages in this event. In The Race Around Ireland, once the clock starts in Navan, Co. Meath, it won’t stop until each rider reaches the finish line at the end of the 2100 km circuit.

The 2009 event saw 70 cyclists take part with supporting crew of over 200. 6 countries were represented with the ladies and men’s Ultra Marathon World No.1’s both taking part. The men’s solo race was won by Derry rider Joe Barr and the ladies solo race was won by Canadian World No. 1 Caroline van den Bulk. The fastest ladies 4-person team was the Bikedock Belles and the winning men’s 4-person team was Team No Prior Experience which was led by Sky Sports presenter Graham Little.

The Race Around Ireland organisers have added more categories to the event for 2010 with cyclists being able to take part in the Solo (ladies and men’s), 2-person (ladies, men’s and mixed), 4-person (ladies, men’s and mixed) and 8-person (mixed) divisions. Teams will cycle in a relay format day and night to finish the event in less than 4 days. Solo riders will spend up to 22hours at a time on the bike to be competitive. So far there have been entries from the USA, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Canada, UK and Ireland.

The route is being redesigned by Joe and Emmet Roche and once again they have included the Ring of Kerry and The Wicklow Mountains as well as Malin and Mizen Head. Some changes have been made to the route and it will be available to view on the Race Around Ireland website by March 2010. As well as passing through countless towns and villages the race will also pass through a number of major cities and national parks. From rolling farmland to steep mountain climbs to rugged coastlines, the route will prove to be just as spectacular as 2009.

Some teams will be extremely competitive in this event and for others it will be an opportunity to take part in an adventure and an amazing experience to raise funds for charities that they have chosen. The Race begins in Navan Co. Meath with the Solo riders setting off at 8pm on Sunday 12th September and the Teams starting at 8pm on Tuesday 14th September.

The Race organizers can be contacted at:
info@racearoundireland.com
www.racearoundireland.com

5

Cycling Events / Race Around Ireland update

« on: June 18, 2009, 07:59:53 am »

With less than 3 months to go, things are moving along well with the first ever Race Around Ireland.

So far we’ve had entries from all over Ireland, along with the UK, USA, Canada and Germany. The racers are quite a mixed bag of individuals with everything from road racers to mountain bikers to marathon runners to adventure racers to leisure cyclists and everything in between.

So far there are 17 solo riders entered. Amongst these are
•   Caroline van den Bulk who is ranked World No. 1. She recently won the 1185km Race Around Slovenia.
•   British rider Mark Pattinson who last year finished 2nd in RAAM.
•   Stephen Bugbee from the US who also competed in RAAM last year. (His photos from RAAM have to be seen to be believed!) Stephen recently set a new record for North to South in the State of Maine. Read his account of this on our website.
•   There’s also the director of the Kelloggs Tour of Ireland Sportive, Joe Barr who rides for Team Merckx-Tuttosport. He is the former holder of a number of records in Ireland, including the End to End.

We also have 12 4-person teams and 2 8-person teams. Among these there are
•   Team Geoff Thomas Foundation which is representing the former England players charity
•   Team No Prior Experience which is led by Sky Sports presenter Graham Little. Graham has previously represented Ireland at Elephant Polo, Sumo Wrestling, Synchronized Swimming and Nettle Eating to name but a few!
•   We also have a team led by one of Ireland top coaches Padraig Marrey

Our website has been updated with a page dedicated to the charities supported by the racers and some articles written by Race Director Alan Heary discussing preparation for an event like this

The route has been finalised and there’s a link on the website to our mapmyride page which has maps for the majority of the sections.

The Time Stations are:
   TS01 Ballymascanlon, Co. Louth
   TS02 Belfast, Co. Antrim
   TS03 Giants Causeway, Co. Antrim
   TS04 Malin Head, Co. Donegal
   TS05 Letterkenny, Co. Donegal
   TS06 Sligo Town
   TS07 Westport, Co. Mayo
   TS08 Clifden, Co. Galway
   TS09 Oranmore, Co. Galway
   TS10 Limerick City
   TS11 Tralee, Co. Kerry
   TS12 Sneem, Co. Kerry
   TS13 Mizen Head, Co. Cork
   TS14 Kinsale, Co. Cork
   TS15 Cobh, Co. Cork
   TS16 Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary
   TS17 Aughrim, Co. Wicklow
   TS18 Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow
   TS19(Incorporating the Penalty Box) TBC

Finally, one of the most exciting aspects of the race is the alliance we’ve made with Dublin City University. They will be working very closely with us before, during and after the race, on some seriously ground breaking research. Details of this will be published in the next two weeks.

Visit our website for information on all the above and more

www.racearoundireland.com

6

Cycling Events / Race Around Ireland 2009

« on: March 26, 2009, 06:36:59 pm »

September 2009 will see the inaugural Race Around Ireland Challenge taking place.  This is a 1,350 mile (2,170km) non-stop bicycle race that loops around the entire country, passing some of Ireland’s most famous landmarks, taking in magnificent scenery and crossing the country’s highest mountains with 23,000 metres of lung busting climbs. It will be the ultimate test of endurance, strength and mental toughness for elite and leisure cyclists alike.

The race is a registered Cycling Ireland event and has been sanctioned by the Ultra Marathon Cycling Association (UMCA), who have been suitably impressed, to place the race on their International World Cup Series. It is in fact the second longest event in the series, after the legendary Race Across America.

The race will consist of solo riders as well as 4 and 8 person relay teams. Some of the top Ultra Marathon Cyclists in the world have already signed up, however the inclusion of relay teams, means that the event is fully accessible to leisure cyclists also.

The Race Around Ireland organisers see this event as a tremendous challenge for all competitors, no matter what the fitness level or cycling experience.  It is designed to test each rider and team, and to bring out a sense of camaraderie and feeling of accomplishment second to none.

The course will start and finish in Navan, Co. Meath in the beautiful Boyne Valley and travel through no less than 22 counties. Some of the highlights of the course include Newgrange, Giants Causeway, Derry City, Donegal, Connemara, The Burren, Limerick City, Ring of Kerry, Cork City, Carrick on Suir (Sean Kelly’s hometown), Waterford City and the Wicklow Mountains.

Further details can be found on www.racearoundireland.com

And www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=65259278668&ref=mf

Or by contacting info@racearoundireland.com