Good luck from Orwell Wheelers to Jonny O’Reilly who flies to Switzerland today (Wednesday) together with his accomplice Patrick O’Dwyer to prep for the Alpenbrevet Platin Tour this Saturday 23rd August. A mere 276km with 7031m of climbing. Click through for the profile!

Bonne chance to everyone riding L'Etape du Tour this weekend! Click through!

Jamie Busher and David Bradley completed Granfondo Milan San Remo on June 8th, following the same route as the Classic itself. They've written two great accounts for us, and there's a video as well!

Good luck to those tackling L'Étape du Tour this weekend!

Best of luck from the club to all those taking on the challenge this weekend! Click through!

Best of luck from the club to all those taking on the challenge this weekend! Click through!

The Joe Daly Memorial Charity Cycle Rally will be held on Sunday 29th June. Proceeds in aid of Simpson's Hospital.

The Joe Daly Memorial Charity Cycle Rally will be held on Sunday 28th June. Proceeds in aid of Simpson's Hospital.

Updated: now with photo from the day!

Just when you think the season is over, Eamonn Eaton makes another foray into the world of leisure cycling - this time to Bray and the Joe Loughman. Take a read of his account of the day below!

Those familiar with Billy Parker's writings know he's not one for brevity, but he has outdone himself. Clear your schedule to digest this emotional rollercoaster of a ride up and down the Tourmalet, a skirmish with hypothermia, and (hopefully!) the final ascent of the Hautacam!

Welcome to the Leisure section of Orwell Wheelers

With over 650 members Orwell Wheelers caters for a huge variety of cyclists of all experiences and ages. The ethos of the club is to enjoy being out on the bike and to have lots of banter along the way.

The Leisure season is roughly divided into three parts:

Winter (October to March)

During Winter, the club organise formal training spins each Sunday during these months. The spins are categorised into four main groups based on ability and experience. These spins cater for everyone from beginners/improvers to racers, and everyone in between, looking to build up a good base for the season. So there is literally a group for everyone. As the saying goes “Winter miles, Summer smiles”.

Spring/Summer (April to September)

In 2017, we introduced Summer Saturday Spins, these are similar format to the Winter Spins. Please see the Side Bar and the Forum for the routes and spin leader information.

The Summer, this is the business end of the year for most cyclists, whether it is to get out and enjoy a leisurely cycle in the country or to complete a certain sportive or overseas event or take part in a Summer Saturday Spin.

A key aspect of this part of the year are the training groups: Training groups are set for the various sportives: Wicklow 100/200 – Mount Leinster Challenge, and or overseas events, e.g. Marmotte or the Dolomites. If you are interested please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Leisure Challenges (April - August)

There is a Leisure Challenge in here to suit everyone, we think! The Challenges comprise of three optional personal challenges that can help to provide a focus and recognition for your 2017 cycling efforts. The challenge window is between 1st April and 31st August inclusive, i.e. 20 weeks. So it’s you choice: 3 or 2 or 1? How does it work?

Distance Challenge

So challenge yourself to cycling over 20 weeks the equivalent of 7, 12 or 16 Milan-San Remo distances.

Climbing Challenge

So challenge yourself to climb over 20 weeks the equivalent of 20, 30 or 40 Alpes d'Huez.

Additional Training Spins

These are predominately informal but there are typically spins each week on both weekdays and weekends. These are usually all advertised on the Club Forum's Spins Topic so keep an eye out, or advertise your own.

Randonée

The Orwell Wheelers Randonnée is the club's sportive, and also a fund raiser for the Dundrum Arch Club. With nearly 2,350m of climbing over 150km it is a real challenge. For more on this great event see the Randonée page.

Spirit of Leisure

The club would not exist without its members and there are some legends in Orwell Wheelers. To acknowledge the great work of certain individuals people can nominate the person who they believe deserves recognition for helping, encouraging or otherwise improving the experience of people taking part in Orwell Wheelers.

We can be contacted with comments, queries, requests, etc. at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Before the heavyweights of the Marmotte share their war stories, here's a warm-up piece from Brian McArdle on his first taste of the Ring of Kerry experience.

Sinéad Kennedy was one of the select Orwell crew who travelled to France to face the intimidating Marmotte, and inspired by a giant tortoise, she faced the challenge with heart and strength! Read on for all the details!

The Leisure cyclist of the Year 2014 participation based event kicked off this weekend with the Ardattin 200, as well as several randonée events around the country. Greg Farrell shares his first audax experience below!

While the race reports will be slow to come in from tired riders, one Orwell member recovered well enough from her weekend efforts to share with us the tale of the Étape Rás Mumhan - Ann Horan's account is below!

A summary of our current initiatives on the Leisure side for the 2017 Winter Spins.

On Sunday June 8th 2014 under overcast and threatening skies 79 Orwells, 2 support crew and 1 sticky bottle began assembling from 6.30a.m. for the Wicklow 100 and 200 events – truly one of the iconic events on the leisure rider's calendar. They aimed to complete in times from 5 hours (for the 100) to 11 hours (for the 200).

Orwell leaders refresher training for existing and potential new leaders. Wednesday 6th November Goat grill 7 to 9 pm. To register and see full details please see the forum

Update: the Randonnée is full!

The time has come again to see if you are up for the challenge of the Orwell Randonnée and to see if you can add your name to the coveted list of successful participants. In keeping with previous years this year promises to be the event not to be missed!

2018 saw the introduction of the Pathways course for new Scott-Orwell members. A hardy bunch of 33 braved one of the coldest, wettest and windiest winters in recent memory to graduate the course and join the club. Here some of our newest members have shared their experiences, taking us through how they got on and where they hope to go in their cycling. Keep an eye out for this enthusiastic bunch on club spins and don’t be shy to say hello.