The weekend was a busy one despite the lack of a St Patrick's Day race, and a very successful one - with two top ten finishes and a magnificent 6th overall for Tom Blennerhassett in Rás Maigh Eo, and Philippe Bourdarias taking 4th on the final stage. In Slane, Orla Hendron stayed out of trouble in the women's race to take 4th, and Mark Mulcahy earned 5th in the A4s. Off-road, the club had two top ten finishes in Ticknock with Jamal Ahmed and Eric Downey.

The June bank holiday marks the first long weekend of the summer, and this year marked the first edition of the Deenside Cup in Kilkenny. Ciara Kinch, Aideen Keenan, Rachael Kaye-Mellor and Bryan Geary all came away with prizes, while in the north-west of the country, an Orwell contingent was ripping up Glengesh, with a star turn from newly minted sprinter Fionn Sheridan.

It was a week for the testers, as the Club 10TT Champs clashed with the Nationals, with some outstanding results in both - Dick O'Brien dominating the former, and Claire McEntee setting a blistering time in the latter. Corkagh Park saw first a Horan haul, then an Orwell clean sweep, while three of the men completed the National Road Race Champs on Sunday.

Róisin Kennedy once again topped the TT results for the StickyBottle.com Women’s Crit League, but when the dust settled, it was Sandra Fitzgerald who took the overall, while Eimear O’Reilly claimed the B title.

A month ago today, the Giro d'Italia came to Ireland, with the Grande Partenza taking place in Belfast, and a sprint finish in Dublin. Orwell were all over the race, and we've included three tales below - thanks to Aideen Collard, Ivan O'Brien, and Brian McArdle.

With today being the date of the very open Women's Commission AGM, it seems a fitting occasion to publish this one from the drafts folder! For at least the fourth year running, Orwell fielded a strong team in the An Post Rás na mBan. With four club members in Aideen Keenan, Ciara Kinch, Ann Horan and Claire McEntee, and a guest rider Lydia Gurley, the team took home the Top Irish Team prize, 9th overall, 2nd and 3rd county riders and a combativity award! (Photos to follow!)

As the more official leisure rides wind up for the year, it's fitting that our final report comes in from none other than Orwell's hard-working leisure rep himself, Stephen Ryan. He was blessed with fantastic weather, scenery and company for the Rebel Tour in the southwest, read on to see all the photo evidence alongside the account!

Aidan Collins brought home the best results of the weekend for the club, with a 4th in the Stamullen GP on Sunday, and an unplaced prize on Friday. Odhrán Connors and Stephen Barry also featured in Stamullen, while the Orwell women were active in Nenagh, with a TTT win, and placings for Ciara Kinch and Monica Marconi.