Reliability Trial Info

Monday, January 16, 2012

The annual Ballymena Road Club - Northstone – Reliability Trials will be held on Sunday 29th January when it is expected that cyclists from all over Northern Ireland will assemble at Rex Bonar House for the 10am start.

Registration will commence at 9am with an entry fee of £10 being charged for the event. The entrants will divided into two groups with a choice of two distances of 53 miles and 75 miles.

The racing men’s group face a 75 miles ride, which will take in Antrim, Greystone, Templepatrick, The Longshot to Ballyrobert, then Mossley, Greenisland, Woodburn, Kilroot, Glynn, Larne and the pit stop at Ballygally.

Then it is on around the coast road and home via Glenarm, Carnlough and Glencloy before the fast run in through the Braid to Broughshane and back to base, where hot showers and post event refreshments await.

The touring section’s  53 miles has a target speed of 16mph and their route will take them out the Larne Road towards Glenwherry and then right on to Ballynashee road and on to Ballyeaston and the Lower Ballyboley road to Kilwaughter and on to the pit stop at Ballygally, where toilet facilities are available. Anyone who doesn’t want to ride as slowly as 16mph are advised to go with the "A” group which last year averaged 19.5mph.

Incidentally the first event of the season took place when Apollo held their RT last Sunday from the Goodyear factory in Craigavon. Their 64 miles route took in Portadown, Richill, Armagh, Caledon, Dungannon, Coalisland, Maghery then back to Portadown and the finish at Craigavon where refreshments were provided.

I noticed, from the Cycling Ulster website, that riders, who were intending to take part, were required to have already applied for their 2012 Cycling Ireland membership. Those who hadn’t received their membership card (and that would probably be everybody) were requested to present a letter from their club secretary stating that they had applied for their licence. In recent seasons the racing licences haven’t usually been received until the first weekend of the racing in late February, so little hope of having them in time for the pre-season reliability trials.