Louise showed massive improvement this season and her performances earned her a new ladies’ club record in this competition.

Louise recorded 11 minutes 50 seconds for 5 miles on 24th June on the Woodgreen to Ballee course. This was followed up by another personal best time of 24 minutes 06 seconds for 10 miles on 12th August on the Woodgreen to Dunsilly course.

Overall Louise established a new record average speed of 25.124 mph which beat Amanda Scott’s 1995 record, which had been 23.340 mph.

Louise also won the Gardiner cup 10 miles time trial on 8th July when her then PB time of 24.14 won the handicap section.

She explains: ”My season started this year with the Tour of Malta in March. It was a great experience and I was delighted to have been selected for the Ulster team, though my feelings were it was too early in the season to have any real form.

”Then there was the Ulster Women’s Association league in its inaugural year which was very successful with a lot of new comers to racing mixing it with some of the experienced girls. I finished joint fourth overall with Hannah Francis (Ards), and I won one of the races, the Groucho GP, in Richill. I also had a third at the Ronnie Smyth Memorial race in Hillsborough, held by Dromara CC.”

”My time trialing was definitely much better this year, and I took 3 minutes off my 10 miles and 7 minutes off my 25 miles times.

“I won the bronze medal for the 10mile Ulster Championships at Woodgreen on June 11th with a time of 24.53. Although this wasn’t my personal best, I was delighted to have beaten experienced riders such as Kay Hack and Ann McFarland, against whom I would have had no chance at the beginning of the year.”

”My club events saw some improvement with each race, I had a second place to none other than Sammy Kerr, who took me at the line in the first event of the season, the Broughshane - Sheddings 11 miles Australian pursuit.

I won the ladies BAR Rose Bowl for time trialing and I really enjoyed all the club events, taking part in most of them, and I'm looking forward to next year to see what I can achieve.”

Louise will receive her awards at the Ballymena Road Club prize presentation dinner and dance which will be held on Friday 27th November.

As well as racing herself, Louise also finds time to help organise events for other women cyclists and she informs me that, following the success of the women’s training day at Newtownabbey on 10th October, two more events have been arranged, the first this Saturday, November 7.

“We will meet at Ballymena’s Seven Towers leisure centre at 9 am and then join the Ballymena Road Club –Scott Roof Tiles fun tours for training spins.

There will be the usual choice of two rides available.