Joe Diomede, owner of Cloughjordan Cycle Co-op, made his first trip to Ireland in August 2005. It was on a tandem bicycle with his five year old son and 16 month old daughter on board. His wife Angie pulled a trailer of camping gear and food, and the tandem pulled another trailer of clothes, food and whatever. They cycled nearly 500 miles, camping most of the way. Angie should have known that bikes would have been an integral part of her life after meeting Joe almost 10 years ago while he was cycling in China. In in a mad moment Angie said goodbye to her friends, bought a bike and cycled to Tibet with Joe. (Beware of his sales prowess.)

After working in the industry for over 15 years, (always working for others), between multi-year trips on his bike throughout Asia, the Americas, New Zealand and Europe, he decided to take all the ideas he had learned along the way and incorporate them slowly and surely into his own shop, building it slowly from the ground up (organically). Needless to say, the Diomede family moved to Cloughjordan because of the Eco-Village Project going on there. The village did not have a bike shop, but now it does!

Joe's passion is cycling. Be it fast road bikes, pulling the recycling on a trailer, camping with his family, or watching the Tour de France from the roadside, (and also getting married), he has experienced it all. Now he hopes to spread his passion through his small shop, and make Cloughjordan one of the most cycling friendly villages in Ireland!

Ian George has recently joined the Cloughjordan Cycle Co-Op crew. He was born in England in 1970 and by age 11 realized a passion for bicycles. Exploring the country lanes in and around Lincolnshire where he was born, whet his appetite for travelling further afield. By the age of 20 he was living in the French Alps skiing in winter and mountain biking and cycle touring in the summers. After a few years he was on the road again and headed down to New Zealand. He worked in a bike shop for 2 years in New Zealand, and the outdoor lifestyle suited him down to the ground. After 2 years his nomadic urges kicked in once again, and he and a fellow Englishman he met in New Zealand headed out on a bike tour which took them to Australia, Nepal, India and Tibet.

Ian’s 30th birthday found him back in his old stomping grounds, the French Alps. This time working as a Mountain Bike guide. After a season of living and working in the French resort world, he was back in England to try his luck in velodrome racing. His 2½ year career at this sport saw him racing all over Europe and Australia. Although a short career he had many successes and even won a world title. In that time is where he met his partner and fellow track cyclist Kate Rudd.

Kate Rudd is how Ian wound up in Ireland. Kate is from very near to Cloughjordan, a place called Moneygall. Life had taken them back to Dublin where Kate continued her cycle racing career she had started a few years back in Switzerland doing time trials, then switching to track racing in Manchester where she met Ian. No stranger to competitive sports, Kate was a jockey at the age of 17, and she too spent time in France, training race horses for 6 months. She also competed in America in the world’s largest triathlon in Chicago where she placed 9th. Kate, just back from 2 years of misfortune and injury, swept 4 gold medals at the track nationals in Dublin in summer 2007. She has continued to race track, and also has been testing her skills road racing in Europe. She keeps her love and connection with horses alive with her job with a pharmaceutical equestrian company.

Ian walked in to Cloughjordan Cycle Co-Op in summer 2007 after he and Kate moved back the village of her childhood, Moneygall. After being burnt out by the Dublin pace of life, and running one of Dublin’s busiest shops for 2½ years, Ian hung up his bike tools and started using his gardening tools to earn him a crust! But, when cycling is in your blood it is hard to stay away. After spending a bit of time in the shop it reminded him of the place he used to work in New Zealand all those years ago, he realized that it was still possible to run a small shop, and still have a semblance of sanity left at the end of the week. More than that, it was actually possible to love going to work and sell a product that has given you so much in your life. Ian is a keen mountain biker, and has been exploring the areas possibilities for the sport. The passion for cycling has just doubled in Cloughjordan Cycle Co-Op!