I joined the club in November 2008 at which time I was a forty-something busy working mum, a smoker and not particularly fit.  I had been cycling on my own for a few months  in preparation for a charity leisure cycle which I’d done at the end of the summer.  I’d always thought I wasn’t fast enough, fit enough, strong enough, young enough etc. to join a cycling club, that was just for elite racing cyclists!!..  A friend was joining around that time – we’d heard that Dromara was a really friendly club and I agreed to join the club with her, wondering what I was letting myself in for. 

The first few weekend runs out with the club I struggled to keep up, but they were really very good and patient, slowing down to my pace, and it was no time until I felt comfortable with the pace of the group.  Trying to get up the hills, puffing and panting on a bike is a great motivator for giving up the nicotine, so I gave up smoking fairly quickly.

Since then I haven’t looked back and within 6 months of joining the Club I’d completed a 4 day cycle from Mizen Head to Malin Head, which is almost 400 miles, and less than a year on from joining the Club I’d done the Dromara Hilly 125.  On that first Sunday run in November there’s no way I would have thought that either was possible.  If I can do that, anyone can.

Apart from the cycling and the obvious benefits of getting fitter and stronger, it’s great to get away from everything and get out at the weekends in the fresh air and the elements and to make new friends. It’s also an opportunity to see all around the countryside and go to places you’ve never been.  I would recommend it to anyone.