The 3rd round of the Leisure League took place on Sunday last 22nd of March from the Papal Cross Car Park in Phoenix Park at 9.00am.
A great turn out of 60 riders assembled at the start and after signing on with Theresa Murphy the group left and headed into a slight head wind towards Castleknock. There was a slight change to the planned route due to the closure of the railway bridge at Sterling which added only slightly to the distance. The intention was to have an easy to follow route, the only difficulty being the amount of road works in the Co Meath area and the need to avoid as much as possible the main roads with a large group. This meant a bit of secondary roads before the group could settle into a reasonable rhythm.
As pointed out at the start that it was not a race the group was very well behaved and stayed at leisure pace for at least the 1st half of the route. There were a few punctures called and the group stopped but later as the group spread out it was not possible to call a halt and as result there were a few stragglers left behind. Apart from this everyone made it home safely within the 4 hours.
There was one item raised later that must be addressed and that is the privacy that must be observed during toilet breaks on long cycles. Although there was no official break planned there was the opportunity to stop as the group slowed on a quite section and one participant asked that the group hold back while they went on. However the then leaders did not respect the request and kept going which could have lead to an embarrassing moment.
It will not be an easy subject to address but future route planners should try to include a suitable stop where adequate privacy can be observed.
The next round of the League is the Liam Horner Memorial Tour on Sunday 19th April. Further details will be available nearer the date.
3 points were awarded for the 50 in 4 event.

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