Part of the pleasure in joining a club such as the CTC is the anticipation of the runs which are set each quarter. They vary from season to season and from year to year. Many that one would have expected to continue have in fact all but disappeared.

The classics however remain with us. These are runs or routes which have survived the test of time and it is with particularly keen anticipation that one looks forward to them appearing each year.

The Con Collins Memorial Liffey Run is one such event. There could be no more fitting tribute to Con's lasting influence and contribution to the DA than the Annual Liffey Run. The route is beautifully simple and yet intriguing and varied - just follow the route of the Liffey from source to sea within sight of as many bridges as possible. It's a long and wonderful day that over a course of almost 100 miles brings you through Counties Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow. In Con's day it started after dawn mass on the Quays and wound its way up to Liffey Head Bridge before descending to Kippure Wood for a full breakfast cooked over the massed Primus stoves.

Weston St John Joyce recalls that road from the Sally Gap as one which 'until the advent of the bicycle was often left untraversed by any vehicle for many months at a time'. He assured his readers in 1939 that it was quite possible, with care, and reliable brakes to make the descent. , although the road was rough and unrideable for a mile from the Sally Gap, and had a CTC sign warning cyclists against the danger of riding. As you pass the Sally Gap this year be aware of your Club's long tradition and pause a moment to remember Con.

Much has changed, of course, not least in the fact that today the start is later, with the first group not starting until a leisurely 07:00 while the fast bucks sprint after them at 09:00. And of course Dublin Corporation and other local authorities try to sneak in a few extra bridges every now and then just to make life more interesting.

We finish at the East Link Bridge which has ony been there since October 1984; before that you pass the Matt Talbot Memorial Bridge (1980); Butt Bridge (1879); O'Connell Bridge (1794); the Halfpenny Bridge of 1816; The Millenium Bridge (2000) and past Fr. Matthew Bridge - the site of the oldest of the lot where the first bridge was built in 1215. And that only lists the last few. By the time you reach then you'll have experienced some of the finest scenery in the country and have seen the Leffey grow from a tiny stream to the Capital's river!

There won't be any Primus stoves or full Irish breakfasts so don't forget to bring a flask and breakfast with you; and make sure you have enough left for lunch. Enjoy the scenery; enjoy the group; enjoy the cycling. Have a great day.