Lakeside Wheelers AGM well attended

Lakeside Wheelers members turned out in great numbers on Sunday evening for the 2025 AGM held in Caffery’s Bar on Mount St. This was the first time the meeting was held on a Sunday and it proved to be a welcome change with record numbers in attendance.

The meeting was opened by club Chairman Pearse Murphy who gave a brief review of the events and occasions the club was involved in over the previous twelve months. Pearse thanked all members for their contribution to the club over the year and paid tribute to the committee for its dedication and hard work getting all the big events run off smoothly and successfully.

Following this the various officers of the club delivered the annual reports covering areas such as finance, administration, road and off-road racing, Sprocket Rocket, leisure cycling and finally, there were reviews of the Tour of the Lakes, Mullingar GP and the Elite National Time Trial Championships which the club ran in August, the second time Lakeside Wheelers has taken on this big task.

With the coming year marking the club’s 50th anniversary, club PRO, Shay O’Toole gave a presentation on some of the events already in the planning to celebrate this big milestone. Shay outlined the details for the Golden Anniversary weekend cycle taking place on April 18th and 19th 2026 which is almost booked out but the meeting was assured that everyone wishing to be part of it will be catered for. There will be more information about this event in the coming weeks.

Another initiative is the addition of a 50th anniversary commemorative jersey which was revealed to the members in attendance. This is not a change of club kit, it is simply a new jersey to mark the 50th celebrations and while it retains the core club colours of yellow, red and blue, it is a very different design to the normal club jersey. The committee put a lot of thought into this jersey and it was very well received by the members at the meeting. This piece of kit will be available to order after Christmas with the intention being that, weather permitting (as it is mainly white), every member taking part in the Golden Anniversary cycle next April will wear it.

The next item on the agenda was the election of officers and committee members for the coming two years. While most of the current committee are staying in place there was one newcomer with Adrian Dorr welcomed into the fold as joint treasurer. Paula Connolly has stepped up from committee member to joint secretary and the newly elected President is Jack Nugent.

Following this there was some very interesting discussions on a few topical issues which were very well debated and will be carried forward for action by the 2026 committee.

The meeting was brought to a close by Pearse Murphy who thanked everyone for attending and wished all members a very safe and healthy 2026 on the bike.

Cyclocross

While this time of year is traditionally quiet from a competitive point of view there were a few hardy souls clearly inspired by the recent Lakeside Wheelers cyclocross in Belvedere. A few of these headed to Oldcastle last weekend to race another round of the Leinster CX league. It was a trip worth making for a relative newcomer to the club as Nick Vorwoerk took his first result in Lakeside Wheelers colours claiming the 2nd spot on the podium at the Co. Meath venue.

The club was also represented yesterday at the Navan CX race in Blackwater Park with the younger brigade faring excellently and making the podium in two races. Kate Horohoe finished 2nd in the U12’s while Siobhan Marshall took 2nd in the U14’s. Well done to both girls who are really showing great progress. What was really fantastic to see at this event was the participation of some of the young riders coming through from the Sprocket Rocket programme which is a great sign for the future. Well done to Finn Franzoni, Ben Molloy, Padraig Savage, Eoghan Savage and Ruairi Horohoe.