SUNDAY 8TH FEBRUARY
13 Cyclists turned up for training this morning. Leaving the Aura we headed for Glenswilly and then for the Meenaroy climb. There was a nice steady pace to the foot of Meenaroy, where everyone took the hill at their own pace. Taking the descent towards Fintown everyone re-grouped before turning back towards Brockagh. Now faced with a head wind the group worked well together, and waited for the back makers, myself included. We then cycled to Welshtown and took the back road to Stranolar. Hard run but well controlled . Thanks to Weegee and big Adrian for the push on the hill. Good to see Ray back out again. Was a lovely morning so would like to see more out from now on.

SAT / SUNDAY 30/31ST JAN
Due to very poor weather conditions Four Master CC decided to cancel all training spins both days over the weekend, we appoligise for any inconvience caused, however it was done for riders safey. Training as normal next Saturday / Sunday morning leaving aura @ 10am , everyone welcome. Keep training enjoy the miles.

SUNDAY 24TH JAN
BALLYMENA ROAD TEST........jason eddie sean jason,headed to ballymena for a road test over 75miles,weather conditions were very very wet and cold,yet approx 50/70 riders signed on .the pace was hot from the off with each rider comming through for there turn up and over spending approx 2 min at the front and back to recover,the terain was rolling with gradual climbs and drops built in,the route took us to belfast from ballymena out past jordanstown university and on towards to larne by the coast road where the headwind put manners on us,we continued through some unknown villages ,with approx 20miles to go the group was reduces to 30 riders ,where we met a five mile cat3 climb things really boiled over as the pace was very aggressive from the 15 first cats lead out by mark kane ,all formasters riders rode very well and were there at the summit ,approx 20 riders were left to fight out the final 15 miles.where all 4 fourmasters riders got into the break and handled the pace well ......average speed was 22.5 mph and the club can be proud of a very good showing for the fourmasters club.the good winter training programme is paying off......futher tests to be posted and all riders please make them selves available........ as these tests will really improve ur cycling level....

SATURDAY 23RD
fourmasters cycling club have decided to increase club training time ,by introducing sat mornin training sessions (SUNDAY MORNING IS STIIL ON SAME PLACE SAME TIME) both leaving AURA at 10 am SHARP.so saturday last seen 7 riders head off from letterkenny towards bridgend ,derry and back to letterkenny.the run was mixed with different level cyclists,but as the club has requested all riders stuck together ,the spin had enough speed/power for all levels ,nobody was dropped and sprits were great.the sat spin has proven very benefical to riders looking to ride with support and looking to get in extra training miles,can all avilable riders attend this extra session as fitness /power will really improve .....sunday 24th sees club riders heading to termon to support a charity spin,sign on @ 10am (40 mile spin)....4 of the fourmasters team are heading to ballymena for a 75mile test.

SUNDAY 13TH DEC
oh what a day ,very cold to start but beautiful sunshine all the way ....................great spin 50 miles done both groups toured together ,done ramelton fanad over shanky mt down to kerrykeel stopping for hot coffee and bikys ..great job..on to milford over to kilmacrennan,churchill and flat at 30mph home to aura..........great 2 ride as a club great to c young guys enjoy the spin cu all next week as its our xmas spin santa hats on and maybe a wee hot tottee after ?????????????....cya aura 10am sharp


sunday 6th december
its with regret that professional cervelo team rider philip diegnan couldnt join todays training spin ,due to a knee injury he picked up on friday "nothing major" but physio advised him not to train,which we respect.he appoligises,and hopes to get out with the club very soon


GREAT NEWS ALL
THIS SUNDAY THE 6TH DECEMBER FELLOW FOUR MASTERS CYCLIST,AND TURNED PRO CREVELO TEAM RIDER "PHILIP DIEGNAN" WILL BE JOINING OUR SUNDAY MORNING SPIN @ 10AM ,PHILIP IS JUST ABOUT TO RETURN BACK TO TEAM TRAINING CAMP ON TUE NEXT ,BUT BEFORE HE DEPARTS WILL JOIN US ,THIS IS AGREAT OPPERTUNITY FOR ALL ESPECIALLY OUR YOUNG UPCOMMING CYCLISTS TO AS ANY TRAINING/RACING TIPS OR JUST ASK HIM HOW THE PRO CIRCUIT IS.....DONT MISS THIS RARE OPPERTUNITY TO RIDE WITH 75TH TOP RIDER IN THE WORLD ........SEE YOU ALL 10AM@ AURA SUNDAY..ALL FOURMASTERS TEAM CLOTHING TO BE WORN PLEASE.

Sunday 8th November
16 cyclist turned out for todays training on what looked to be a morning of dark skys and heavy rain. However after the light shower before we left the Aura the sun came out and turn the morning into a lovely winters morning with no breeze. 3 of the elite cyclists of the club headed for Doohary and Glenveagh while the rest of us more moderate cyclist headed for Lifford, Ballindrait, Raphoe, Convoy, and back home via Drumkeen. Covering a distance of app 37 miles in 2.5 hours a nice steady pace was held all day, with everyone re-grouping again at the top of any hills. Today average speed was 15.5mph.
For next week we would ask ALL CYCLISTS TO PLEASE FIT A MINIMUM OF A REAR MUDGUARD TO YOUR BIKES. It keeps you drying and also means the guy riding behind you is not getting mouthfuls of dirty road water.

Sunday 1st November
LET ME SET THE SCENE ,SUNDAY MORNING 10AM ,DARK GREY,NO SORRY BLACK SKYS OVER HEAD A RAIN,NO SORRY FLOODS AND FLOODS OF RIVERS .
15 OF FOUR MASTERS LOYAL RIDERS SPOOKTACTULARLY TOOK TO THE HIGHWAY,AS NUMBERS AGAIN WERE LOW AGAIN WE DECIDED TO BATTLE TOGETHER.THE ROUTE CHOSEN WAS LKENNY>BRIDGEND>DERRY>KILEA>NEWTON>LKENNY.
GOOD PACE ON WAY OUT WITH TAIL WIND AND DID IT RAIN ,IT RAINED RAINED AND RAINED ,THE YOUNG RIDER WERE GREAT .HEAD WIND ON WAY BACK AVERAGE SPEED 16 MPH....NOT MUCH MORE TO REPORT ONLY JUST GLAD 2 C THE SHOWER...C U ALL NEXT WEEK ........
Sunday 25th October

Approx. 15 cyclists met at the Aura, given the less than perfect weather and the fact that the number of riders was less than usual it was decided that there would only be one group for the duration of the cycle. Aided by a very strong tail wind the group headed towards Ramelton and then on towards Rye Bridge, from Rye Bridge the group headed back towards Milford and the tail wind was now replaced by a very strong headwind, some cyclists found the going tough due to the strong nature of the wind but the group remained together and made their way towards Kilmacrennan and then Trentagh, some attempts were made to get some "up and overs" going but these did not prove successful, this is something that the B Group should practice on every session to get used to riding in a group and get comfortable riding close to the cyclist in front, this can be intimidating to begin with but with practice it soon becomes second nature. From Trentagh in towards the Aura it was "flat out" and everybody gave a good account of themselves. The group covered approx. 40 miles at an average speed in excess of 16 mph. Well done to everybody and hopefully we will see everybody again next Sunday, thanks also to Seamus for doing the support car.


Sunday 18th October

Over 20 cyclists met at the Aura on Sunday morning at 10 a.m., this was a great turn out given the weather. From the Aura, the group headed up the Cullion Road, at this point the two groups separated, indeed by the top of the Cullion Road the B Group had also fragmented, after a few minutes and a bit of organising the B group reformed and headed towards the Kilross junction, the pace was steady with everybody doing their turn at the front. From Kilross the group turned towards Convoy, from there until Ballinalecky the group encountered a strong head wind. The group maintained a good tempo and the miles flew by with the usual good banter. From Ballinalecky the group headed back to Letterkenny and in the final few miles the pace increased nicley and in no time the group found themselves safely back at the Aura. The group covered approx. 32 miles at an average speed of just under 16 mph, perfect for this time of year. A special mention to the new cyclists who turned up this week and managed to ride with the group at a good tempo the whole way round, I believe one or two had only been on the bike for a few weeks, so watch out! Again thanks to Seamus for driving the support car, it really is great to have club members who give of their time like Seamus does every week. Hopefully we will see everybody next Sunday and maybe the rain will keep away too.


SUNDAY 11TH OCTOBER
met as normal @ 10 appox 15 riders.weather light showers and gusting winds from the nw.set off towards churchill as a complete group,turned right before churchill routing towards kilmacrennan,left towards muckish mountain.all together at this stage and group b choise to route back to lk,group a contiuned to muckish ,we tackeled the climb agressively and all regrouped at small shrine at top,at this stage pace was good and controlled ,new members to the club delt with the climb and indeed spin with great attitude,complements must go to the more seasoned club members for holding up and allowing regrouping "congrats".at the sumit at muckish we turned and head for churchill,"more climbs".on the return leg the pace really increased,yet not enough to bust riders.
churchill was tight and agressively tackeled and once again we regrouped.as we approached the TT course we really turned it up to 30 mph "as usual".and fantastically the new riders hung in and finished as a bunch at aura.....time in saddle..3 hrs ,average spped 17 mph " good considering the head wind on way out to muckish.....approx distance covered 50miles .hilly training spin ,but in donegal where isnt.up and overs worked well and we must continue to work on this.....over all weather fine no rain ,light showers head wind towards muckish tail windish on way home.if all riders would continue to encourage others & new members to club spin every sunday at 10 sharp,it would be greatly appricated...............

Sunday 4th October
Approximately 20 cyclists turn out today for the clubs Sunday training spin. Leaving the Aura the group headed for Kilmacrennan via Churchill and Trentagh. Splitting into the A and B groups on the Trentagh road the A group cycled ahead at a steady pace. ( Full report on the A group to follow shortly).
The B group cycled on towards Kilmacrennan where we plagued with a few punctures on the course. First to punctures was Liam Devenney ( nice to see you out again Liam) and second to be hit was Micheal Curran. The B group then headed for Ramelton and back towards Letterkenny where we all had to stop at Gary Mellon's request for a nature review as he collected conkers for his wee man.
Great ride by the two young guys Conor and Ciaran. Average speed for the B group was 15mph.

REPORT A GROUP.............as above group split approx trentagh rd routing towards kilmacrennan the pace nicely picked up with regular up and overs at the front ,routed through kilmac towards milford where again pace increased to a nice endurance pace ,again regular up & overs applyed ,right in milford strong climb out of town ,regrouped
and turned left at whats called mickadoos corner ( dont ask) and routed towards rathmullan,at this stage all group together and all riding very well "espec new riders"welldone.along this road group turned left towards ray wind farm where a nice bit of climbing began ,not 2 serious yet enough for winter work ,turned right at wind farm down through ray and on to the main rathmullan rd ,routed 2 rathmullan good steady pace 18/ 20 mph approx, turned in rathmullan and headed back to letterkenny by rathmelton,tight wee climb out of rathmelton and regrouped at top and onwards home "2 hr spin ",key features of spin good steady winter pace ,good honest riding "up & overs",and regrouping by the group.dont know average speed approx 18/20 mph??....welldone on turn out, encourage more out next week ,all levels very welcome.......thank you to seamus in the service car (eating his fryed chicken) for giving up his time to ensure rider backup.....c u all next week please mail your preference for next weeks route/s.........


Sunday 27th September
Approximately 15 cyclists were in the A Group on Sunday, the route upon leaving the Aura Leisure Centre took us over to Oldtown and then up the Cullion Road, from there we went to Kilross junction, Convoy, Raphoe, St. Johnston, NewtownCunningham and then back to Letterkenny. The pace was fairly gentle until Kilross and then aided by a tailwind it gradually increased as we headed towards St. Johnston. We were once again blessed by a dry mild morning and the miles flew by quickly. As we turned for home at Newtown we were presented with a fairly strong headwind but everybody took their turn at the front which eased the burden considerably. I am not entirely sure of the avergae speed as my speedo was on the blink but the pace remained fairly comfortable and steady throughout. I believe in total we covered approximately 50 miles. Thanks again to Seamus O'Donnell for his support, it is very much appreciated by all members.


Sunday 20th September
Approximately 30 cyclist turned up at the Aura Leisure Centre this morning for the second Four Masters training club run of 2009. Keeping to the same route as last week we heading for Ramelton with a nice tail wind pushing us up the hills. Finding the pace a bit hard some of the new comers were taken a shorter route by by a few club members. This group cycled from Ramelton to Kilmacrennan, to Churchill and back to Letterkenny covering a total of 21 miles.
the main group lengthened today's run by traveling over Carradoan and into Kerrykeel before turning for Milford and Kilmacrennan.
With an average speed of app 17 miles the pace was well controlled.
Thanks to everyone who turned up and special thanks to Seamus O Donnell who travelled behind in the club car ensuring everyone was ok.

Sunday 13th September
What a morning to start the "Winter" Sunday morning training runs. Possibly one of the best days weather wise we had this year. Well 12 Four Masters members left from the Aura Leisure centre , and were joined by another cyclist as we went through Letterkenny.
Starting of with the climb on the Ramelton road we lost one of the gang, with Micheal's Knee playing havoc once more leaving him with no option but to turn back. With not a breeze to be felt, and the sun splitting the rocks we headed into Ramelton and on for Rathmullan.
Altering the route slightly we cycled into Rathmullan before turning back and cycling to Milford. The first punchure of the day hit on the Kilmacrennan road, but it was not long to all were back together again. Going through Kilmacrennan we headed for Churchill were the lack of training started to take it toll on some off us, but in true Four Masters style the fitter members held back to give a push and a few word of encouragment.
A real enjoyable ride and looking forward to next Sunday already. Anyone wishing to join us on the Sunday runs, be at the Aura Leisure centre and ready to leave at 10am on Sunday mornings.

Average speed was 15-16mph


If you would like to join us but you are not sure if you would be able or what you need, go to our Frequently asked questions page