Mountainbiking season kicks off in Ballinastoe
REPORTER DAVID MEDCALF CAUGHT UP WITH NIALL DAVIS OF BIKING.IE AT THE START OF THE MOUNTAIN BIKING RACE SEASON AS MORE AND MORE CYCLISTS HEAD TO THE HILLS FOR SPORT AND FOR FITNESS IN THE FORESTS OF COUNTY WICKLOW
DEEP in the woods, something was stirring on a Sunday afternoon. Just off the road which runs between Roundwood and Enniskerry a scrum of parked cars was a sign that an event was taking place.
The crisp highland air carried a smell of fried food from a takeaway van, borne on a light breeze from a clearing in the pines. A line of temporary toilets had been installed to deal with the crowd.
Enthusiasts milled around in the shadow of the trees chatting with friends or queueing up to register and receive their race numbers. It might have been a gathering of hill runners or orienteers maybe, but these athletes brought their two-wheelers.
Yes, the first leg of the Coillte sponsored mountain biking blitz series was under way. Where the GAA has Croke Park and The Curragh is Mecca for horseracing, on this day at least the focus of mountain biking in Ireland was the townland of Ballinsastoe.
The organisers catered for every age and ability, from fresh faced under eights who looked as though they should have stabilisers, up to hardened seniors with their lean and hungry looks.
They needed to be lean too, as carrying extra weight on the climbs up stiff forest gradients would be a lung bursting handicap. The premium in this sport is on cutting down the kilos.
Some of the bikes on show in Ballinastoe that day were ordinary off-the-peg models but the serious contenders had invested thousands in high-spec machines so light you could pick them up with one finger.
The races were contended over well marked tracks, with slopes and bends and humps through the gorse and trees, testing stamina on the way up and then riding skills on the descent.
Mountain biking also demands a degree of bravery, with first corner pile-ups all but obligatory in true Formula One style, while downhill cornering is a true test of nerve.
The 2018 event in Ballinastoe marked the start of the eighth annual blitz series run by Niall Davis and his Biking.ie organisation, with further stages to come in Limerick, Galway and Ticknock over the next few weeks.
A past champion, the quiet spoken Glencullen native remains fit and competitive at the age of 32. He was delighted to welcome competitors from all over the country to the track which is next door to his home.
And he was particularly pleased to note that Wicklow riders were well in contention in many of the races, including Brendan Conroy from Rathdrum, who dominated the under 14 event.
‘I have been racing since I was seven,’ revealed the young winner – son of Colette and Richard Conroy – after seeing off all his rivals, ‘and my brother David has represented Ireland.’
The older sibling was not present to witness the triumph as he has moved to Belgium for the moment to spend some time in full-time training as a cross-country cyclist.
Crowds in some parts of the Continent are as big as those at football matches, with 45,000 turning up recently at Limburg in Holland where David Conroy was joined in the Irish delegation by teenager Adam McGarr from Blessington. Back home from his travels and present in Ballinastoe, Adam set about posting the fastest lap of the day in the 30 kilometre senior event, though less than half the age of most of those taking part, while his brother David McGarr lined up in the under-16 race.
Another local name to conjure with is Ronan Dunne who hails from Enniskerry.
Niall’s wife and business partner, Tarja Owens from Delgany, was in action too, finishing second of the women who participated, the ladies going shoulder to shoulder with the men. Husband and wife must balance the pursuit of fitness with the demands of their two young children.
On this occasion, there was no sign of Bray legend Robin Seymour who dominated Irish mountain biking for two decades but now takes part in ‘masters’ events. Ireland’s most successful ever exponent of the art, he retains the tactical awareness that makes him a formidable racer to this day.
After the excitement of the blitz, Niall was available for a chat, recalling that when he acquired his first bike at the age of around 12, his first thought was to head for the hills.
He realised that his new purchase would allow him to explore places off-road that few other people ever reach and, though also happy on the Gaelic football field, he was soon addicted to biking. His talent earned him a place on Irish teams which headed off to race in World Cup series, taking him to slopes and circuits in Canada, Russia, Greece, Lithuania, France and Switzerland – to name just some.
Mountain biking is on the Olympic roster and Tarja had the privilege of representing her country Down Under in Australia at the Sydney Games.
The biking became more than a pastime
as he and his wife were drawn to the e infinitely picturesque Lake Garda in n Italy where they used their skills to o guide cyclo-tourists through the Alps. s.
Niall took a degree in mechanical al engineering at the institute of technollogy in Tallaght but he never practised d as an engineer.
Instead, the couple decided to start their own enterprise, using their Italian experience as a model – but this time in their own backyard.
‘We set it up on a shoestring with a trailer full of bike – and it was Ballinastoe from the start. We attracted mainly Irish customers at the time but bike tourism has taken off.’
These days, it is no novelty to hear American or Continental accents in this neck of the wood.
Forestry company Coillte controls thousands of acres of woodland across the Republic acknowledges the demand for cycling.
They have developed around 300 kilometres of purpose-built and signposted mountain bike trails across their empire.
This one near Roundwood provides Niall with his headquarters, renting out machines on site 364 days a year – allowing himself a day off on December 25 only.
There is also a mechanic to hand for repairs and sale of parts such as special mountain-going tyres, which offer extra grip on tough surfaces.
The company has a second base just across the county border in Dublin at Ticknock, where Niall’s brother Gareth is the man in charge.
Niall observes that cycling is growing – both as exercise and in competition. He loves introducing youngsters to the joys of pedalling through the pines.
‘It was an old man’s sport but the kids are coming along. The likes of Adam McGarr represent the younger generation. The future is bright for mountain biking. Once you have your bike, it is an inexpensive sport. I’d say that €500 would get you more than started.’
He admits that the bike bill can be on the steep side for those with the money to spend, as a carbon-fibre frame complete with electronic gears can cost anything up to €10,000 – that is the price for eight sleek kilos of the best technology.
Those special tyres may cost as much as a car tyre many times the size. At least there is no requirement for mud guards.
Whatever the price, County Wicklow is a magnet for mountain bikers, many of them coming from Dublin to enjoy the woods.
While Ballinastoe is the principal loca- tion, t a track at Glenealy was used for the past three t years as a spectator friendly venue for the t Enduro World Series.
That event is taking a break in 2018 but an alternative crowd pleaser is in the diary for the weekend August 25 and 26.
That is when the Irish national championships s are set to be contested on the slopes of Djouce, a short spin away from Ballinastoe in the Enniskerry direction.
‘Wicklow is terrific because it is easy to get to t – great trails on the doorstep and you can ride r all year round,’ stresses Niall.
One aspect of the season opening race which impressed him was the number of new names that showed up in the queue for registration. At least a third of the 300 or o so people who took to the saddle on the day d were making their debuts.
‘Now they are involved,’ he mused, confident d that most of them will show up again. He is working on plans for a mountain bike youth club.
In the meantime, he encouraged this newspaper’s not-so-young reporter to give it a go on a borrowed bike. ‘Just follow the red disks’ was the advice at the start of the 10-minute taster.
I discovered that cycling on rough surfaces surely s demands concentration.
Freewheeling from the high point back to base along a thin trail was a thrilling experience, though not for the fainthearted. h
One reaction: I wish I had found out about this exhilarating pastime 50 years ago. Second reaction: if you want to look at scenery, take a walk.