Tír Chonnail Gap CC – From Humble Beginnings
The Tir Chonaill GAP Cycling Club was founded in February 2011 at a community meeting involving a group of 40 people from all areas of South West Donegal. After a informative talk from Marian Lamb of Cycling Ulster, a committee was formed to carry out the running of the club and events.
Since then the club has gone from strength to strength, growing in numbers, adding regular events and introducing a mountain biking group and a thriving youth section, with some very exciting young talent coming through.
The Club is NON Exclusive and welcomes any members regardless of gender, race, religion or cycling ability.
Road Biking
Several of our top road riders have taken part in the Race the Rás, a gruelling charity cycle which takes the same route as the An Post Rás. There’s no let up for the amateurs, they ride the same 1200km over the same hills on the same 8 days as the professionals.
But it’s not about being the best, it’s about a love for our sport. Sunday spins start at 9:00am at Glenties Community Centre, and there are routes for all abilities and fitness levels. Like most clubs, our unwritten motto is “Nobody gets left behind.”
There are also midweek spins during the summer evenings, or if you fancy something a bit tougher, there’s always interval training.
Mountain Biking
Thanks to the kindness of local landowners and the vision and hard work of our mountain bikers, we can now boast our own fantastic trail in the hills above Glenties: a playground for some, a training ground for our superstars.
Our mountain bikers meet every Wednesday throughout the year at 7:00pm. The meeting point changes each week to give us a chance to ride as many different local hills, mountains and trails as we can. The changing seasons create new challenges, with the dark, snow and even the odd blizzard all adding to the fun.
Keep an eye on our facebook page for the latest week to week announcements.