The hosts were good enough to let me set about their breakfast supplies way before their cafe opened, so they may be needing to replenish their Weetabix and Cheerios stocks quicker than they anticipated, hah-hah! The weather was as advertised: showery bs but blue skies and winds outta the north. Out of the sun, it was not warm…
Moville sits on the Foyle estuary…gotta be teeming with all sorts.
I appreciated the occasional cycle path to Derry probably more than I did the fantastic rainbow: the road was busy with everything steaming into the city.
Snigger.
Wait..wut…where you going? Don’t panic- there’s a chance of some scenery…
I had zero time to spend in D/LD, but it is also on the list to revisit slow-time. Until then, the mission was to get through Coleraine and then to Portstewart and all stations east…
Crossing the bridge north of D/LD.
The dyansty, hah-hah!
Plenty of rollers until Coleraine. Character building, apparently. I don’t want a character!
Eventually made Portstewart and there was indeed some scenery…blimey! Zero apologies for the slew of similar photos, but it was all too wonderful!
Portrush east strand…
You best believe it!
It was 12 years since I’d been this way and the flawless air (albeit moving swiftly) meant everything looked a little more special. I could barely pedal 300 yards without stopping for another photo. At this rate I wouldn’t see Cushendall by midnight, hah-hah! Tactical decision made: take your time mate, you don’t see this nonsense everyday. So what if you’re an hour later than usual?
Dunluce Castle is as good a spot for a tube replacement: tiny wire had embedded itself…
Stopped by, but no time for tours etc..
See above.
Best thing about Bushmills? Chips avec le sauce du curry. Bon!
Time was ticking and there was a big ticket item on today’s list: The Giant’s Causeway. It was gonna take some time, which was evaporating pronto. So I headed there…blimey but their visitor’s centre was doing brisk business. Depending on who you asked, you got a different answer as to whether you could cycle down to the stones. In the event, some friendly guide said no drama, follow one of the transit buses down because they cut a swathe through all the punters walking the Kilometre to the stones. Genius!
Carry on follow that bus!
They really are all that and a bag of (curry) chips: would be special to be there early on a winter’s morning…anyway, it was now a case of making as much haste as the remaining 20 lumpy miles would allow, all the way to Cushendall.
I call BS! Can still see it.
No drama and I rolled into Cushendall just before 6pm, very much looking forward to dinner. My B&B owner recommended strongly booking for the restaurant a few doors down, such was the demand in the small town. He wasn’t wrong!
Looks even more violent than hockey!
Tonight’s acco.
Was ready for both of these brews.
So it was a fantastic day, complete with some challenging weather and a fair whack of climbing. As ever, let’s make with the numbers…
And the tune of the day still sounds as though it could be released last week and it would still sound dynamite!
Despite assurances when I checked-in that there’d be some scran available when I showed my face at 0620 the following morning, you never quite believe it. Well, now I’m a believer! Various cereals and tea and toast all a go-go…get in er, get gone!
This absolute beauty was waiting to say hello after only 5 miles…wow!
Couldn’t care less it the weather had a word.
Wot he said.
Seriously, this kinda thing oughta be part of the National Curriculum and NHS!
I didn’t expect such a treat early-doors but after 15 miles you’re back into slightly more normal surroundings and trundling on to Letterkenny (Ireland’s tidiest town in 2015, lest anyone forgets) in increasingly rubbish weather.
Pretty comfortable armchair for early elevenses at Letterkenny. Rocking a Mocha.
This is how dreich it was: even the locals were sheltering!
The objective for today was to reach Malin Head which is the most northerly point on the mainland. It wasn’t gonna give up without a struggle though: between the wind, rain and gradients it had a decent defence.
Too soon, too soon!
There are two ‘orrible climbs protecting MH…this one is merely a nuisance. Wot headwind, hah-hah!
Right then: get the photo, look around, sod-off. #sorted
It is a helluva landscape though…maybe not one for softies like me though.
Okay, job done? Well, sorta…now to retrace about 10 miles to a spot where I hid my panniers, as I it would’ve been too grim to lug them up as well. Result! There they are and away we go to tonight’s acco in Moville!
Used to seeing sheep at the side of the road, but cows? Why not indeed!
#acceptable
I welcomed any downhill, whether lethal to cars or not.
Was going with a different blog song until I saw this poor sod!
Don’t care if it is a tad on the basic side of things…only here for 14 hours. #movealong
This was a more difficult day than I bargained for: maybe I sorta reckoned that being near to the end of the challenge, somehow things would just happen and that would be that. Nah, no way Pedro. So that’s what made this day a bit more special than others…that, and the donations that keep pushing us to very nearly £10k. I’d love to say that tomorrow’s route was nailed-on: I do know where I’ve gotta finish…it should have a couple of sights along the way. I hope!
Rosato’s bar was the spot: ace grub and Guinness. Oh, and iced water…cheers!
Not in any immediate rush to do that again, hah-hah!
And so to today’s blog tune- an absolute belter from Webb & Campbell. Just perfect…good night!
Hold on- there’s no way it’s 0601hrs already…I demand a recount or at least another couple of hours! No dice, so it’s up and hope that the early staff don’t mind me helping myself to their breakfast stores. In the event, they were very helpful…even got a coffee. It’s the little things, sometimes innit?
The forecast was not wrong. More’s the pity, hah-hah!
Dunno why Peter Wyngarde is revered here particularly, but there you are.
That’s a still from ‘Ghost’, right?
At least it wasn’t raining anymore. Small wins ahoy!
I’ll not give you a load of bs and say it was fun for the first 25 miles or so: you’re not exactly pulling up trees progress-wise, and you know that time slips away faster than you realise. There’s that and also the fact that it’s sorta the rush hour around here, so folk aren’t as inclined to look-out for you as they otherwise might. Give us a shoulder, please! Lo- that’s what happened…eventually.
Was a big deal to stop in Ballyshannon to say hello to the only Gallagher that matters.
Looks a terrific town: wanna return for their festival!
No. Not one clue. Is it prog?
Leaving town…gotta keep plodding.
Hadn’t noticed, hah-hah!
In all honesty, the winds were as advertised but it could’ve been a sight worse. I mean, when I’m going up any hills I’m so slow anyway…what’s the difference? The sun even broke through later and it makes everything a little better…or at least not quite as bad, hah-hah!
My kind of Sat Nav.
I stopped briefly at some small town about 60 miles in: a bloke parked his car and said hello, and had I come far? I said Sligo, but wasn’t too sure if it was 35 or 40 miles left: his reply was that I was a lot nearer Gortahork than Sligo! Fair point, well made. Everyday brings some interaction with either locals or fellow tourists.
Yesterday I was stuffing my face with a tuna sandwich about 10am when a local old boy asked where I was going: Sligo. He nodded and asked if I’d be stopping for lunch and a drink at some completely random pub on the way? No…no Sir, I would not. Fair enough he goes and wishes me luck! Or the random friendly beep from a SUV today, or the shouts of ‘Allez, allez’ from a couple of French tourists. They *know* about cycling, hah-hah!
I had forgotten to mention that when I was up at checkpoint number two (Mizen Head, last Tuesday), an Aussie couple stopped me and asked what I was all about: they had passed me on the road and remembered the CL colours. Nice one! It’s the little things…
Entirely satisfactory.
Hah-hah/a huh-huh!
Mount Errigal looking all that.
As advertised, today’s stage was shy of a century by five miles: zero guilt or any of that ‘I’ll do extra tomorrow to make them up’ cobblers. We’re now through 1000 miles in ten days, so that’s good enough for Government work!
Usual knee playing-up malarkey: Pharamacist recommended this non-medicated stuff over Voltarol…it is ace!
Tonight’s acco…Hobson’s Choice given the remote nature of things.
Don’t mess with the formula.
It’s so heartening to see the total tick ever closer to £10,000. You might be tired of hearing it but I can’t get tired of thanking all who have given. It’s a big deal. The standard two items of business remain…
Would defo have had your arm off if you’d offered that at 0715hrs!
Today’s tune has to be from the G-Man: thankfully there wasn’t too much brute force today but the usual quota of ignorance remained, Go on Rory!
