Sat 24th July
We were delighted and excited to be on the road before 10am and heading up to Malin Head, our destination and the most northerly point of Ireland. The distance was less than 70 kms. and we had all day to do it. Our first break was in a town called Muff where some of the group were interested in visiting a discount warehouse. I was more interested in topping up my drinking bottles with proper water and a glucose drink so instead of viewing the sub-standard merchandise at cheap prices, I topped up my supplies at the local supermarket. I knew that the competition would be hot and heavy for the first man to reach Malin Head and I wanted to be there or there-abouts as my wife and sister-in-law were going to be waiting for me at the summit.
We gathered the troops together in Carndonagh and again in Malin town. On the last day we wanted to aid camaraderie and ensure that enough food stops kept the energy up for the final climb. We opened a book as to which of the two young men in their prime would reach the top first. I bet on Seamus but I secretly thought that I would be pretty close and possibly come in second.
The pace was pretty hot from the moment we left Malin town. We had 16 kilometres to cover through beautiful rugged hills but the excitement of reaching the summit was a stronger motivation than the scenery at this point. With ten kilometres to go I hit the front thinking I would split the boys. By the sea shore we hit a whirling head wind. The wind and rain seemed to go to the pit of my stomach. I told Seamus that I could not keep up. Shane then passed me and I let them go on. I tried to pace myself against the speedometer on my bike but I noticed my speed slipping below 20 kph several times and knew that the gap was widening.
The final approach to Malin Head is very steep. A friend had warned me about this and I had tried to prepare mentally for the climb. As hill climbing is still my weakness in cycling I needed my full strength but the earlier episode had sapped this out of me. I felt like walking but was not going to let myself down. I stood on the pedals, out of the saddle and with all my energy kept going. I could see my wife cheering and all the tourists visiting Malin were clapping as I approached the end. Holding back the tears of joy (not pain) I threw my arms around her as she said "well done".
All 5 cyclists were ecstatic and overjoyed about our achievement. In fact any cyclist that I know who has cycled from Mizen to Malin talks about the event for the rest of their lives. As a group we bonded and we had fun. Unlike many groups who do this in 3 days we had time to enjoy the cycling and the scenery. Saturday night we stayed in the Malin hotel which was excellent. Donal our guide presented us with our medal, certificate and map of the entire course.
Sunday morning we left our friends in Derry where John Mc Guirk got a plane to Dublin, Anna Maria got a bus/train to Belfast and the two boys got the bus towards Roscommon. I being the lucky one had my wife drive me and my bike to Naas

Arrived at Malin Head

We've landed at Malin Head, Donal, Anna Maria, John Mac,
Seamus, Shane and John C in the front

It's time for champers ... wouldn't you after 710km ... on a bike

On the podium that Mother Nature left out for us...

Enniskillen to Derry - Part II

No trouble sleeping, but we took this picture in case anyone needed to count sheep to push up Zzzz's
The bountiful harvest almost ready for collection

The chuck wagon doubles as an on road logistics planning centre

Hi viz at the ready, be seen, be safe, it's all over for this year

Pictures Enniskillen to Derry

Declan Monaghan, The Cross, Drumskinny, Co Fermanagh
Wined & Dined royally

Stan & Ollie lead the way for the night's craic in Drumskinny

A view of the festivities in Kesh, down by the lakeside in Co Fermanagh

Car parks provide respite for wearied travellers, in excellent condition,
just by the way, excuse the pun

Parkland ramble, en route to Derry

Friday 23rd July
Thursday was a rest day in the beautiful surroundings of our Country House hotel in Enniskillen. We spent the day sightseeing in the town, watching the boats as they came into dock at the jetty on the hotel grounds and playing golf again within the hotel grounds.
We set off at 9.45am on our cycle to Derry. The weather was just perfect. Not far from our hotel we entered a holiday park. We read a sign from Sustrans - The cycling organisation from the U.K. which stated that this cycle track was exclusive to cyclists and walkers and went through hills, lakes and valleys for 85 miles. We decided to leave the holiday park and cycle track and head on a more direct route to Derry.
Fermanagh tourism is best known for its picturesque views of Lough Erne and its surrounding mountains. There were several well kept picnic areas along the lake and we stopped off at one of these to observe the views and have refreshments.
Our route brought us through the town of Kesh with its boats and bridges and then we headed into rich farmland slightly hilly but most notable for the density of animals on the land. Northern Ireland has traditionally been noted for its productive farming methods - perhaps the protestant ethic coming into play. We stopped at a crossroads pub near Castlederg for a lunch break, the hospitality of the publican was exceptional.
Our route from here brought us through the Sperrin mountains which had some really challenging fun climbs. The roads we took were deserted of other traffic, the scenery was beautiful, the weather brilliant - life does not get much better than this.
We entered Derry at 6.30pm and found our Bed and Breakfast which was on the Buncrana road. The accomodation was very poor and dirty - I would give it a score of 2/10. Derry has a very vibrant night life so our entire group went out on the town. A great night was had by all. The passion of the Derry people for their music consumed us all and we returned to our kip around 2am

Roscommon to Enniskillen

Wed. 21st July
Started off in the pouring rain from Roscommon. One may imagine that it is difficult to find a steep hill in the flat midlands of Ireland but find one our guide did. As the rain eased temporarily we were forced to walk up a hill in a townsland called Lackan on the way to Strokestown. We decided that we would have lunch in Leitrim town. An error in map reading sent us through Carrick-on-Shannon which we had planned to avoid but the plus side of this mistake were that the roads were smooth and flat, however it did add about 10 kilometres onto our total distance.
The cycle today was going to be over 140 kilometres so we hoped to avoid time wasting and get on with cycling in the rain. When we emerged from Lunch the rain was heavy. I decided to stick back on my cycling cape. This caught the wind and the resulting effort was more like tug-of-war than cycling, I had to heave the bike forward.
Cavan countryside is very pleasant in sunny weather. It has the best lakes and rivers in Ireland for course fishing and attract many English visitors for that sport. We went by the side of Lough Allen and crossed the river Shannon at Dowra. However the beauty of the area was somewhat lost in the pouring rain.
Leaving Southern Ireland we crossed into Northern Ireland at Blacklion/Belcoo on the Cavan/Fermanagh border. This was a pleasant sight as we felt that the journey was near an end. Then, what I would class as a minor disaster for me happened. Coming into Enniskillen in the pouring rain I lost sight of my three young friends. I did not take on board the name of the hotel or the address because we had become used to relying on our guide who was standing at every intersection since the beginning.
After waiting at a few junctions in the worst of weather conditions and trying to decide whether I should follow the signs for Omagh, Dublin, Derry, I decided that the best course of action was to head for the town centre. This was proving fruitless as I stood like a lost orphan with my bike looking totally miserable in the centre of Enniskillen. If only I had not left my phone in our guide's car.
I was making my way out of town towards the police station when I saw John Mc Guirk who was also lost cycling up the street. He said that I appeared panicked, miserable and dejected which was not true to my form. He offered me his mobile to ring Donal, however this was a bit of a problem. After much effort I realised that one had to put the prefix for southern Ireland to dial an Irish number in northern Ireland. Eventually we made contact with Donal and got the address of the hotel. It was called "The Country House Hotel" and was about five miles on the Derry road from the centre of Enniskillen. So we set off cycling through a virtual river as the rain lodged at the roadside. The first mile took so long as we had been used to kilometres. I calculated that at four minutes per mile we would reach our destination at 8.15pm.
This to my pleasant surprise was no ordinary hotel. As we cycled up the long driveway I could see that this was five star accommodation. We parked the bikes and went to reception. Dripping rain from my cycling cape I asked the young receptionist if I could deposit my outer wet clothing behind the counter while we waited for Donal. I felt that a negative answer was coming and we might be told to stand outside to dry off. However the answer was positive. It was not as warm-hearted as we would have received from our Kilgarvan landlady (last Saturday). There was no "Well done on your mammoth achievement" but the luxury of the reception area was impressive.
Donal eventually arrived to say that he had deposited our luggage in our rooms. This pleasant and charitable act was sufficient reward for our efforts. The room was magnificent with the bath and shower leaving nothing to be desired. The bed was king sized, big enough for the whole six of us to sleep in but it was entirely for me. There were two pair of slippers with the name of the hotel printed on them. The downer I had on finishing today's cycle made the high so much better for being given such luxury.
We all met in the dining room for our meal and rejoiced as we recounted every town, hill and valley that we had conquered that difficult day.
I would give this hotel 9.5/10 for comfort, grounds, character and total class. (see picture)

Tuesday July 20th
I led the way out of Gort onto the Loughrea road. This was a busy unpleasant road - too many cars and potholes. It took just over an hour to travel the 25 kilometres into Loughrea. I left the group to say hello to two of my customers in the town. It was unusual for them to see me in my cycling gear so we had a good laugh for a brief moment until I joined back with my fellow cyclists. About a mile on the east side of the town we headed into unmapped roads but hopefully still heading in the direction of Roscommon. The terrain was flat, boggy, potholed and grassy but exciting, interesting and friendly. The excitement was partly due to the fact that we may be lost, the friendliness came from the natives who all waved. We met a farmer who asked us if we had seen a black beast down the road. We determined that he had not lost his cow but rather wanted someone to stop and talk.
Near Cappataggle we arrived at a crossroads and asked for directions. The farmers name was Brendan Glynn who invited us in for a cup of tea. After thirty minutes of stories about eligible bachelors in the area for Anna Maria, life on the building sites in Birmingham where Brendan worked etc. we emerged to have our picture taken outside his turf shed (see picture).
We had planned to have our lunch break in Ahascragh. On arriving there we found no place open so we knocked on the door of a pub. The publican explained that there was very little business doing in the middle of the afternoon in this small village but invited us in, sent Seamus down to the shop to buy cheese, ham and bread. Bridie made the nicest sandwiches we had tasted ever while Mick the pub owner showed us pictures of all the interesting people who frequents his pub including radio presenter Sean Moncriff, an actor from Emmerdale, a local poet who was invited to the Queen's birthday. He promised to hang up our picture with all these dignitaries. The kindness, fun and food that we received here was priceless but we were not allowed pay for it as they said that our mission was sacred.
From Ahascragh to Roscommon the roads were good and fast, not too much traffic, some gradual climbs but mainly flat. We reached the Abbey hotel in Roscommon town before 5pm. It was a 4 star luxurious hotel with everything laid on - Good food, spacious clean rooms, the pool and gym were first class. This day had been a really fun relaxing sunny day and we were now enjoying the best of facilities in luxurious surroundings. I would give the Abbey 9/10, they made our short stay very pleasant.

Gort to Roscommon Photos

Newcastle West to Gort

Monday 19th July.
I arrived down to breakfast at 8am sharp which gave me some time to visit the Tesco store adjacent to the hotel for vaseline and sudocreme. There was no major problem with saddle sores just yet, but enough to state that preventative action was in line.
There were two punctures from the night before so I being the bicycle mechanic replaced tubes in John Mc Guirk's and Anna Maria's bike which was well appreciated. We set off at 9.30am
Our guide managed to find an 1100 foot climb at Knockanimpaha near Carrigkerry on route to Tarbert. In the village of Glin, John the American met two ladies from Boston. When he told them of his mission they serenaded us with "Its a long way to Tipperary" in full voice. We had a good laugh and appreciated their light-heartedness. The ferry was good fun we had time for photos and a lunch break at the far side.
We cycled on the outskirts of the Burren which is renowned for its fauna, rocks and scents. Our guide found another climb called Ben Dash between Kilmihill and Connolly. We passed a man working in an auto garage who had observed the brothers passing, then Anna Maria so he shouted at me "Get up there ye boy ya, you're losing it". I was only 200 metres behind on this climb and the others were still in my sight. Clare people have a different sense of humour and you must open up and tune in to appreciate it. When we stopped off for our lunch at Inagh the men at the bar wanted to know if we were entering the Tour De France next year.
There were good roads and beautiful lakes between Corrofin and Gort so myself and the brothers powered along and arrived at our destination at 8.15pm about twenty minutes before the other two cyclists.
We checked in to O'Sullivans hotel in the square in Gort. This is a hostelry that I have never been attracted to on my visits there, I service a dealer in Gort but have lunch in a pub opposite the hotel. It did the job for accommodation but could have been better on food and facilities. I would give O'Sullivans a rating 5/10

View from Meelin the highest village in Ireland

Day 2 shows need for cycling cape as we left Kerry.

Sunday 18/07/2010
Sorry about getting the dates wrong but please stick with it. I hope you get a feeling of cycling through the beautiful countryside of Ireland. You may be inspired to take this cycling activity up. Perhaps you could call down to me and buy a racing bike, it would be the start of a new you having more energy, better health and fitness.
After leaving our Bed and Breakfast in down-pouring rain we headed into the Mangerton mountains. There were few cars, plenty of hills and when the rain stopped really enjoyable cycling. We stopped to gather the group together at the top of one of these big climbs when a young lady hops out of her car (a rare sight on the roads we were taking) and runs over to embrace one of our young male riders. Both had just finished teacher training college together. She now had her first post teaching in the south of the country and he in the north-west. Looking and listening to young love in action for these brief few moments was electrifying and brought joy to all our hearts.
We had planned for lunch in Newmarket, North Cork but the two younger members of the group and myself felt that we could make it back to our hotel in Newcastle West, Limerick before the end of the Roscommon/Sligo football match in which they had a keen interest. We undertook this journey with no map and no plan and needless to say we took a wrong turn which added some miles to our journey. When we arrived in Meelin which is the highest village in Ireland we were ravenous with hunger. We called into a shop the same namesake as myself "Cahill". Again the lady was very friendly. She supplied us with drinks and biscuits and would not accept payment when she heard of our mission and the charity that we were cycling for. This kindness was uplifting and encouraged us on our journey.
As we had lost some time we decided to view the entire match in the local pub in Meelin. The rest of the group joined us and ninety minutes later we emerged in good spirits even though we had curtailed our consumption of alcohol to a minimum on this occasion.
Onwards and upwards we cycled into the Mullaghareirk Mountain range. The highest climb here was 1,400 feet. Again we lost two of our team. After waiting at the crossroads for 10 minutes I decided that I would cycle back up the hill to find them. This was a mistake as the ascent was so steep and my legs were so weak I could not get my feet out of the clipless pedals but luckily I found a gate into farmland and avoided falling.
We met up with our lost friends three miles down the road, they had taken a different route but all was well and we arrived at our hotel for 8.30. The food was good and the bed was comfortable in the Courtney Lodge hotel at Newcastle West I would give these a rating of 7/10.