Inishowen 100 - the inside view
Sunday 16th August 2015. The sun rose at 0542. It was going to be a good day. The Inishowen 100 was beckoning and the Carn Wheelers were going.
With bikes checked/shined and saddle bags filled with essentials nutrients for the day we all met up at Templemore Sports Complex in Derry. A few last minute checks/photos (thanks Fiona ) we all rolled out at 0830. Blue skies got bluer and the air temperature was rising gently. I almost said climbing there……but that was coming later.
At times we had a few ‘ visitors ‘ in the peloton. One of them turned to me and said " hello, my name’s Martin, ……… when’s that first hill coming "…………. about twenty miles in I said, where are you from ? Holland he said ah ! a Dutch cyclist, pretty flat round where you come from then ? Yeh he said……….. You should enjoy Mamore Gap then. Where are you living at the minute Martin ? Maghera, he said ( for the past 4 years ) What ? I could’ve given you a lift this morning. So we chatted for a while about how nice it was to live in Maghera ( and Holland ) I saw him a few more times during the day and we picked up where we’d left off. That’s one of the things I like about cycling, it’s very sociable.
We all took a big breath, kept our heads down and re-assembled at the top of Mamore. All managed the descent safely but two separate punctures in quick succession slowed us at the bottom. A new wheel was required ( hastily obtained ) because of damage and supply a tubes / foot pumps were handily available in the support car (thanks again Fiona ). A good pace was set and held from then on through Clonmany, Ballyliffan and Carndonagh. There were lots of runners , walkers and families out there just enjoying the sunshine. We pressed on to Malin/Malin Head and to the main food stop of the day at about the half- way point. As usual a plentiful supply of pasta/ all sorts of sandwiches, great soup and sugar hits. A rest lying on the grass ( dry ! ) in warm sunshine/more photos (thanks Fiona) right, time to go so we’re back at it again this time heading for Culdaff and more hoards of people out on the beach , applause as we passed by ! Did they know we were coming / had they just been out in the sun too long?
At this stage we knew that Kinnego wasn’t far away. The chat seemed to lessen a little so drawing on all of our reserves, we zoned into a personal space, found the right cadence and ground it out. The telegraph poles just kept on going up round each bend. Re-grouping at the top we knew we were near to the home straight and enjoyed the run down into Greencastle accepting applause along the way.
A final food stop and then a loop out to Stroove. One more brief stop ( puncture ) as we ran in along Lough Swilly, assisted by Terry Donnelly himself & an offer of food we rode two tight lines(thanks Gerry Kelly) and were in Templemore before we knew it.
A great day out , one to be remembered.
Thanks to Foyle Cycling Club ( Terry Donnelly & the lads ) marshalls , motor cyclist out-riders, support vans, all the folks at the food stops,great stuff.
To Gerry Kelly , Davy Crooks, Barry Young, Rory O’Connor, Sean Rogers, John Scullion, Aidan McMullan, James McMullan, Jim Bradley, Canice O’Kane.
A big well done to all.
Thanks lads, I enjoyed your company. Special thanks to Fiona Glass for car support/photos. Wouldn’t have been the same without you.
Now, where did Martin say he lives ?
Adrian Glass.
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