Event Update

Just a quick note to let you all know how things are going in respect of the 2010 event.

For those of you lucky enough to secure the first 55 places, the Committee has booked all flights and hotel accommodation. Linda will be contacting you all in the very near future in respect of Passports & Medical/Insurance issues and jersey sizes.

A schedule of upcoming ‘Cycle Sportives’ is currently being prepared and will be available on this website in the coming week. It is hoped that we can ride some of these events as a group, in preparation for our main event in September 2010. These will include events such as the  ’Wicklow 100 & 200‘ and the the ‘Ring of Kerry‘, to name but a few.

In advance of riding these events, all Tour de Force participants will be provided with a Cycling Ireland ‘Leisure Cycling Licence’, which allows them avail of certain discounts on event entry as well as limited insurance cover. These licences are being provided via the Garda Cycling Club and Kieran will be forwarding you all the relevant correspondence in the coming week.

Fundraising Events

If any of you are organising fundraising events, please e-mail me at contact2010@tourdeforcecycle.com and I will advertise your event on the website.

Weather Warning!!!!

Unless you’ve been on Mars for the last two weeks, you’re sure to know just how dangerous things are out on the roads!!!!

Under  normal circumstances we should all be out on the road, getting in those vital winter miles. If that’s not the case for you, make sure you get to the gym or pool on a regular basis. If you’re lucky enough to own a ‘turbo trainer’, make sure you dust it off and get riding. I know it’s as boring as hell, but it’ll keep the legs turning and might just help to keep you sane and free from the dreaded  ’cabin fever’.

A large number of January ’sportives’ have been cancelled due to the adverse weather, but please back soon to check out our listing of ’sportives’ for late January & February.

Seasons Greetings

A very Merry Christmas to all our cyclists, helpers, sponsors and charities. We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Please check back in the coming days for details of the New Year ‘Reliability Trials’ which will help you all loose those extra pounds (or stones) and kick start your training for the 2010 trip to New York.

Tour de Force 2010 – Registration

Following the advertising of the 2010 Tour de Force Cycle on the Garda Portal, places are filling up quickly. If you are interested in taking part in the 2010 event you should immediately e-mail Linda at linda.farrell@garda.ie to register your interest. On receipt of your e-mail, Linda will make direct contact with you and forward a briefing pack. You will immediately be required to pay a €200.00 non-refundable deposit. Check out our Route 2010 page for further details on the route.

REMEMBER – Only 50 places are available!!!

“IF YOU’RE NOT IN, YOU CAN’T SPIN”

Tour de Force 2010

It’s that time of year again!!! The committee of Tour de Force recently met to decide on the location for the 2010 Tour de Force Cycle.

Following a number of years of ongoing contact with our colleagues in the NYPD, it has been decided that the 2010 Tour de Force cycle will take place in conjunction with the Tour de Force (New York) 9/11 Memorial Bike Ride.

The 2010 event will take place from the 11th September 2010 to the 14th September 2010 and will take the riders from the US Department of Defense HQ at the ‘Pentagon’, Virginia to New York City, where we will finish at ‘Ground Zero’, the site of the site of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre. The 50 Tour de Force (Ireland) riders will join with 150 colleagues from the NYPD, FDNY along with representatives of other US police forces.

All participants in the 2010 event will be required to raise funds which will go directly to the nominated Tour de Force (Ireland) charities. In addition, all participants will be required to pay their full travel and accommodation costs, as well as making a contribution to the Tour de Force (New York) fund.

Registration for the 2010 event will commence shortly and all previous participants will be contacted in writing in the coming days with a full briefing pack. Other persons interested in taking part in the 2010 event should email Linda at linda.farrell@garda.ie, to be added to our mailing list.

Registration for the 2010 event must be made via Tour de Force (Ireland) and not via Tour de Force (New York).

For full details in respect of the Tour de Force (New York) event, please visit their website at www.tourdeforceny.com.

REMEMBER!!!!!! Only 50 places are available for the 2010 event, so get registered immediately and have a deposit ready for the full registration, when open.

Any further queries can be directed to contact2010@tourdeforcecycle.com.

Tour de Force 2009 – Event Report & Photo’s

The 2009 Tour de Force cycle took place from the 21st to 25th September 2009 and took the participants from Lisbon to Albufiera on the Portuguese Algarve. All funds raised in respect of the 2009 event will go directly to AWARE’s “Beat the Blues” programme.

The 2009 cycle was a truly remarkable event, the memory of which will stay with all participants for years to come. From start to finish the event proved to be one of our best cycles yet!!!

From the moment the participants touched down at Lisbon Airport, our colleagues in the Portuguese Police were at hand, and to say that they were wonderful would be a major understatement. They humbled us all by the assistance they provided from the start to the finish of the cycle.

The event covered approx 120kms each day, and gave all the participants the opportunity to experience the beautifully scenic inland and coastal areas of Portugal. This was greatly assisted by the exceptionally hot and dry weather, which we experienced daily.

Thanks to our Portuguese colleagues, we covered the total distance of 600kms, without once stopping at a set of traffic lights or road junction.

With the 2009 event being so successful, it now leaves the Committee with the very difficult task of deciding on a venue and charity for the 2010 event. With this in mind, the Committee will meet in the coming weeks to decide on the location and charity.

The following are a brief selection of photographs. More will be available in the coming days.

World Police and Fire Games 2011

The World Police & Fire Games are scheduled to take place in New York City from 26th August 2011 to 5th September 2011. This will coincide with the tenth anniversary of the 911 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. The 2011 championships are guaranteed to be one to be remembered!!

The Garda Cycling Club intend sending a team to take part in all cycling events, both road and track. If you are interested in taking part in the 2011 Championships as part of the ‘Garda Cycling Club’ team, please contact us via secretary@gardacyclingclub.com, and further information will be provided.

Check out the event website at www.2011wpfg.org. The following is a short excerpt from the official website:

“The World Police & Fire Games are coming to New York City August 26 through September 5, 2011. Come join us for ten days of sports competition and specially planned events, which will respectfully coincide with the ten year remembrance of September 11, 2001. The New York City Police Department, The New York City Fire Department, The Port Authority Police Department, and the New York City Department of Corrections are inviting you to experience our City and participate in the most memorable World Police & Fire Games ever. Spread throughout the five Boroughs, the city that never sleeps will be the setting for the world’s largest multi-sport, Olympic style event. As many as 20,000 full time firefighters and law enforcement personnel from 70 different countries are expected to compete in 65 sports. Bring the family and experience it for yourself. See the lights on Broadway, the neon signs in Times Square, Central Park, Wall Street, Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and so much more. Life is not a spectator sport and neither are the 2011 World Police & Fire games in New York City.”

Garda Cycling Championships 2009 – Results

Congratulations to all participants in the 2009 Garda Cycling Championships, which took place on the afternoon of the 16th September 2009. A special congratulations to Tour de Force participants Tom Barber & Gerry McGrath, who featured in the medals. Hopefully more Tour de Force riders will take part in next years event !!!

The event was a 16.8 mile individual time trial on the very testing Batterstown – Dunshaughlin – Dunsany – Batterstown  route. It was particularly great to see some new (and some old) faces at the event this year. The following are the main results from the event:

Coiste Siamsa Cycling Championships (Nationwide)

1st Senior (& Overall) – Thomas LAVERY Jnr

1st Veteran – Karl GALLAGHER

1st Intermediate – Andy TUITE

1st Beginner – David O’CONNELL

1st Lady – Sandra FITZGERALD

Coiste Roinne Cycling Championships (DMR Region)

1st Senior (& Overall) – Niall O’LEARY

1st Veteran – Andy TUITE

1st Intermediate – Tom BARBER

1st Beginner – David O’CONNELL

1st Lady – Sandra FITZGERALD

Thanks to all those who turned out to assist in marshalling and a special thanks to our colleagues in Dunshaughlin and Trim Garda Stations for their valuable assistance in controlling traffic. Without your help, the holding of events like this would not be possible.

Tour de Force 2009 – Jersey’s Delivered

The 2009 Tour de Force jersey’s have arrived!!!! The above photo shows the launch of the 2009 gear, which took place  at Kevin Street in the past week. The launch of the gear was made with the assistance of Assistant Commissioner Al McHugh, DMR region.