Breda Brady

Post date: Apr 17, 2021 1:45:35 PM

When I first joined the Lakeside Wheelers Cycling Club beginners group, we were trained up by the infamous Gerry Wallace. Gerry & Tom Carolan helped us progress onto the D group. This is where I met some great people & now good friends. In 2020 the C group was reformed and so I progressed into the C's, with our lovely leaders Pat Liddy & Ulrika Maher. The C group is a great mixture of lads & girls, we also get great support from As & B's who sometimes join us on our Saturday morning spins, we always have a great laugh & if I have the odd off-day there's always someone to lend a hand ....to push me up that last bit of the hill, if needs be. My father Phil Brady still cycles most days at 84 yrs of age, so here's to another few years in the saddle for me hopefully.

I hadn’t cycled since I was in my late teens. It's one of the best things I’ve ever done, I love cycling and have made some great friends. Like everyone else I’m sure, I really miss our group spins. With the weather being poor during the last few months, I decided to take up some turbo work, and wanted to challenge myself to get more ‘bike fit’. I tend to be the type of person who works harder when I am pushed and supported by others, so I’m loving Cycling Ireland’s new #bikelikeme program, which began late last year during lockdown.

The program caters for beginners and intermediate levels. I joined the intermediate class which is currently on every Wednesday evening and the class tutor is Eve McCrystal, she’s brilliant, very down to earth and tells it how it is. She’s very supportive. The classes are online on zoom, and once you are registered with Cycling Ireland there is no charge and they send out each week's session beforehand by email. They are now into the second program which is designed by Jamie and incorporates Strength & Conditioning training (optional). The classes are recorded every week so if you don’t want to follow it on paper during the week you can just do it with a replay.

I have a regular turbo, it's grand, does the job. For me personally I feel a lot stronger now from joining the classes, and getting in a few sessions during the week on top of that, the current #bikelikeme program is designed for ladies who want to race, I will never race but that didn’t put me off as I feel I can still benefit from it. The sessions are on for average 60 mins, they are very varied, Eve explains all the way through on how to manage your gears etc and how to manage hills, long spins, and she’ll talk about clothing, nutrition etc

Ladies if you are thinking of joining it's well worth it, there are women of all fitness levels online together, because it's zoom you can choose to turn your video off, no one cares about what speed anyone is at, it’s a great workout and there’s no pressure to feel you need to keep up with anyone else etc. If you want to check it out just go onto cycling Ireland website or follow them online. #bikelikeme. Looking forward to seeing everyone again on our Saturday spins in a few weeks, take care & stay safe y’all, Breda...