On 8th July 2012 we will be undertaking a 10 day cycle along the length Ireland, hugging the western coast line for 1000 km. We are doing this for the David Ashwell Foundation. Welcome to our Journey...

Tuesday 21 August 2012

A few photos . . .

So its been over a month since we finished our mmmChallenge. I have to say that as soon as we finished we were so happy that we had managed to complete it. The morning afterwards, Andrew turned to me and said "is it silly that I feel sad that we've finished?" and it wasn't, cause I felt the same way. We had gotten into a nice routine of getting up, having breakfast, packing up, cycling, setting up camp . . . you get the idea. I really enjoyed the cycling, some of my friends think we are mad but it was a great journey.

So what next? I am not quite sure. I have no doubt that we will do something else. Lands End to John O'Groats is being uttered, as has Norway. I do know that I will be supporting the David Ashwell Foundation as much as I can. I will be using The Giving Machine every time I shop and collecting stamps.

As you can imagine we have taken a few photos on the way (slight understatement) and Andrew has come up with a creative way for you to view them without getting bored too quickly. We hope you enjoy this. We would like to say thank you to all our family, friends and colleagues for your support for the challenge. Your messages of support kept our tired legs pedalling. If you have been reading this blog and thinking "I'll sponsor them tomorrow". Please, please do it today. It takes 5 minutes to do on Virgin Money.

Hope you enjoy our photos! Here's to the next adventure.






Thursday 16 August 2012

Tips for a cycling holiday in Ireland

Time has flow past since the end of our mmm Challenge. For those of you that don't know, whilst we were cycling our final kilometres baby Auden was born.

I wanted to write a post for people planning a cycling holiday in Ireland. Andrew and I have been on a few cycling holidays in Scotland. We tend to camp on our cycling holidays. The first point I would make is that there seems to be fewer campsites in Ireland. You have to bear in mind that we are used to camping in Scotland, where you can wild camp. This isn't really allowed in Ireland  . . . and I'll leave it at that. Having said that we never had a problem finding somewhere to sleep. You just need to plan and we had this camping guide which helped. One tip is that if independent hostels have gardens they tend to provide camping as well. We did this twice, once in Donegal and once in Dingle. Both hostels were great and I would definitely recommend them.

When we packed for the challenge we packed three days food. But we really didn't need to. There are loads of food shops, we passed more than enough to buy food for the day. I would say again, just plan your day to see which towns you are going to pass through.



Last but not least, bike shops! As you know we needed to replace two spokes. We were quite lucky when they happened, near to big towns. If in doubt, ask! Stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason and the Irish are really friendly. When Andrew's first spoke broke, a lovely guy stopped and took Andrew to his garage to use his tools. Good tip, if there isn't a bike shop look for outdoor adventure places that might have bikes.


Overall the terrain isn't too strenuous, getting out Killarney was probably the steepest hills we faced.



All in all, beautiful scenery, lovely people, amazing food. I couldn't recommend a cycling holiday in Ireland enough.


Wednesday 18 July 2012

Day 10 – Kenmare to Mizen Head


We got up early on our final day of cycling to the sound of rain hammering the tent! Once we started the climb out of Kerry the sun came out. The views were great and we both felt OK during the climb up to the County Cork tunnel at the top of the pass, our final County. Conditions changed dramatically once we went through the tunnel. The clouds rolled in and the visibility was minimal, making the descent to Glengarriff interesting and a bit hairy in places.


We started to go along roads that Andrew knew from his many summers in West Cork. The clouds were still low when we reached Bantry for lunch. We used this as an good excuse to warm up in one of our favourite eateries in this area, Organico. After a lunch of quinoa and sundried tomato burger, salads followed by tea and brownies we set off again, towards Durrus and Mizen Head beyond. We started the final climb from Barleycove beach to Mizen Head the mist was thick, like something out of a Bronte book. Mizen Head caught us out when it suddenly materialized through the shroud of mist. We were equally shocked to see a banner with our names greet us, as well as a welcoming party. Lynn had spent hours making the banner. We had done it! We had a champagne, well Guinness moment, before being presented flowers like a Tour de France winner. We were overjoyed to have finished what has been an amazing experience. Unbelievably, we are both missing the bikes and the routine of being on the road. Having said that, a bed and cooked breakfast were very welcome. We still have a bit to post but we will be enjoying the few days we have with family before heading back to reality.




Day 10 Stats
Distance 90km in 5hr 53min

mmmChallenge Stats
Distance 1033km in 64hr 19min
Average speed – 16kmph - bet Bradley Wiggins is worried ;)
Number of Mr Whippy’s: Serena – 2, Andrew – 3
Number of isotonic pints of the black stuff: 8 (the stuff professional cyclists are powered on)
Number of coach tours encountered on the Ring of Kerry: 21
Number of Highland Bagpipe players: 1 (Ring of Kerry, very odd)
Number of spokes broken: 2 (all Andrew that one)
Number of times Serena pointed out Donkey: too numerous to count
Song most sung by Serena - Domino by Jessie J (much to Andrew's annoyance)

Last but not least a very big thank you to our friends and family who have sponsored us and sent us messages of support whilst we were cycling. We really appreciated it. To those of you that have read this and haven’t gotten round to sponsoring us, or were waiting to see if we would do it you can still sponsor us here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/mmmChallenge



Tuesday 17 July 2012

Final push

So we have packed the tent up for the last time and we are almost ready to start going. Weather ain't too great, but it is called the Emerald Island for a reason you know. Today should be shorter but we have to get over the mountains into Cork, our last county! Hoping to finish around 5,just depends on how fast the tired legs can pedal. ;-) See you on the other side.

Monday 16 July 2012

Day 9 - Dingle to Kenmare

We woke up to the sound of rain. So we packed up the tent and had breakfast. The weather looked iffy to say the least. Off we went. It started raining but cleared quite quickly. The road from Dingle was good, fast tail wind (the first of our trip). The road along the coast was beautiful to look at as well.

We stopped for lunch at Killorglin, the site of the puck king (Google it :-D). We found this wonderful bakery which meant we bought way too much bread, cheese salami, quiche and apple strudel. Nom Nom Nom.

We then headed to Killarney and started on the ring of Kerry which was 10km of constant ascent. I surprised myself with how well I copied. Though counting the coach tours distracted my mind from my tired legs. The descent was wicked, 10km all downhill to Kenmare. Had a bit of a nightmare finding the campsite meaning we added an extra 13km to the distance. Pasta for tea and just one day left.

Day 9 Stats
Distance - 123km in 7hr 34min
Total Distance - 943km

Day 8 - Tralee to Dingle

When Andrew got up in the morning there wasn't a cloud in the sky. I have to say by the time we got going it had clouded over. We headed to the Dingle peninsula which meant quite a climb but we had some great views on the way. Then the rain started. Once we got to the outskirts of Dingle the weather started getting better and this is when Andrew's bike spoke broke. The second one on this trip.

Panicked that we couldn't find a bike shop on Google. We asked a local outdoors shop, who told us to take it to Paddy's bike shop. He doesn't usually do repairs on a Sunday but said he would do it. :-D But it wouldn't be fixed until 6! :-( We had only done half of our distance and even though we would still have done our 1000km without it, we hired Andrew a bike and continued the route we had planned.

We cycled the Slea head road and I am so glad we did. The weather was great and the views stunning. We had a bit of race to get hire bike back but we managed it. We celebrated with an ice cream, locally made and gorgeous. We also had dinner out at Ashes Bar, the highlight was the scallops and pork belly. We went to bed late for this trip, 10:30. Fingers crossed the spoke lasts for the next 200km!

Day 8 Stats
Distance - 46 km in 3hr 27min (with loop ~ 97km in 6hr 57min, no bike computer for loop)

Total Distance - 866km

Saturday 14 July 2012

Day 7 - Doolin to Tralee

<p>Got up very early to go to the Moher cliffs before the crowds. The place was quiet. We managed to spot some puffins. We then continued around the coast, and stopping for lunch by the sea around Quigley. We were stopped by a guy who wanted to know how far we were going. I think he was quite impressed with how far we had cycled, to be honest I can't quite believe it myself. </p>
<p>We then headed round to the Shannon ferry after we got off I had real dip in energy levels. The next 30km to Tralee seemed to go on forever. Tonight's camp sites is very noisy, good job we are shattered, so falling asleep should be no problem.

Day 7 stats
Distance - 117km in 7hr 25min
Total Distance - 769km