Road Club membership hits 'ton'

Once again the club will be represented right across all the categories from under 14 youths right through to veterans.

The club's under 14s are Adam Kerr, Chris Surgeoner, Adam McCullough and Emma Gordon while Declan Kelly is the only under 16 registered so far.

The club will have a strong junior team for 2010.

Steven Carruthers is due to move up from the under 16's and he will join newcomer Harry Thompson along with Sean Kelly and Matthew Brennan. This should give Ballymena a great chance to win team medals in the various championships during the forthcoming season.

Our senior line up will include: Conor and Leo McAllister, David Dougan, Hall Booth, Chris Beattie, Mark McCullough, Neil Millar, Colin Scullion and newcomer Stephen McNeilly along with our top lady competitor Louise Fullerton. Several other seniors have still to register.

The club too will have a strong veteran (over 40) squad which so far includes: Sean Wright, Tommy Wilson, David McClean, Adrian Kerr, Martin Ruddy, Alan Blair, Ronnie Grant, Ryan Currie Clifford Grant, John McAllister and Jim Burns.

All the above riders have "open race" licences and they will be joined by a panel of another 22 riders who have taken out club race licences.Thirty one members are "non racers" while another 11 are associate members.

The next registration meeting will be held on Monday, March 1, at Rex Bonar House following the monthly meeting that night.

A recent year's record total of 152 cyclists joined the club in 2009 and there is no reason why these numbers cannot be reached again this year.

Fees are similar to 2009 as Cycling Ireland hasn't increasing their charges and the Ballymena Road Club part of the overall fee too hasn't been increased and this is thanks mainly to the continued support of the club's main sponsors – Northstone NI – and other generous financial backers.

Any cyclist who takes part in the club's weekend touring or training rides should, by now, have joined the club so as to benefit from Cycling Ireland's third party insurance cover.

As well as the essential insurance benefits there are also numerous advantages to be had by joining a club such as Ballymena Road Club.

BRC members have excellent club house facilities and the use of their Events' Vehicle mini bus. The club has a comprehensive calendar of mid week club race events and also plenty of touring activities for those who do not wish to race competitively.

Each weekend club members may take part in a choice of club runs on both Saturday and Sunday mornings with rides to the North Antrim coast often on the agenda.

There are a range of membership categories on offer depending on the aims of each individual applicant.

BRC treasurer Richard Wilson asks club members to pay by cheque which should be made out to Ballymena Road Club.

TOUR OF NORTH

Ballymena riders will again take part in the P&O Irish Sea Tour of the North International stage race which takes place over the Easter weekend, now just over eight weeks away.

Entries are currently being taken for the four day race which will get underway at its traditional starting point at Stormont on Good Friday evening 2nd April.

Two 75 miles road stages will follow at Castlereagh on Easter Saturday and Limavady on Sunday while Ballymena will host the final stage in the town on Easter Monday.

Overseas teams are showing keen interest and squads from Belgium, Holland and Germany are expected in the 100 rider field. Last year's winner, local man Martyn Irvine is expected to return to defend his title, as is three time winner Ryan Connor from Ballymena who has won the event in 2004, 2006 and 2008.

2010 is Commonwealth Games year and this means that local riders will be out to impress in the Tour in the hope of catching the selectors eye in the run up to Delhi in October.

The big demand for entries will mean that senior category four and first year juniors will not be permitted to ride.

TRAINING DAY

Ahoghill’s Ryan Connor, who heads the Cycling Ulster Road Commission, has announced details of the Under 23 and Junior Training day scheduled for Sunday 21st February.

The day will begin at 9am sharp at Ballymena Road Club premises Rex Bonar House, Railway Street with the group cycling the Ballymena stage of this year’s Tour of the North. There will be a support vehicle carrying wheels and spares.

Showers will be available followed by a talk with the juniors about their plans for the season and Cycling Ulster's expectations from all squad riders. This will take place in the clubhouse and a similar informal chat will take place with the Espoirs at a Coffee Shop in Ballymena.

All those interested in attending should confirm with Ryan Connor.

Those with aspirations of competing on the Ulster squad but who are unable to make it to the training day should similarly contact Ryan with their CV's and racing plans for 2010.

Ballymena riders who have confirmed their attendance to date include: Espoirs: Conor McAllister, Leo McAllister, Philip Bremner and Mark McCullough, and juniors Matthew Brennan and Steven Carruthers.

CLOTHING ORDER

An order for club clothing will be placed with the manufacturers this week.

Those wishing to order clothing should contact Richard Wilson asap on 07808 865 688. Racing jerseys and training tops will be available although very few “extra” items will be bought for stock because of the difficulties funding their purchase. Please therefore make your requirements known or risk being disappointed.