Woke up – spirits damp as the weather was wet and windy, but everything changed with crispy bacon and microwaved scrambled eggs. We set off for the South Pole. Fresh in the minds of Chris and Patrick were the men in the Stretford End Bar and John the Barman. We’d had some mighty craic – well worth a visit if you’re down that way. As always we were behind Rosie, wind in our faces, rain in our socks – heading to the South Pole bar in Anascaul. Sadly, not open until mid-day. Head for a cuppa in a restaurant – but not again nothing open. [Finally, tongues hanging out with thirst] they found a pub run by James and his wife – lovely Kerry folk in their 80s. Tea and gingernuts arrive and then Martina pulls in – what a stalwart on this journey. Rain stops, wind on our backs and off at pace toward Tralee.
We stopped off at the windmill at Blennerville, but 6€ to get in! Had a quick lunch then off to Listowel. The pace was fast and weather picking up as well. Lynch’s cafe and bakery – took a hot choc – Rosie had two! Lovely town but no time to hang about.
Rosie’s on the charge as we’re off to catch the ferry. Great cycle, see stoats enroute. Then short ferry journey and then straight into a headwind for the next 8 miles. Worth it in the end for Martina’s Chilli Con Carne and a good rest in Kate O’Connor’s hotel.
Day two ends wtih a session in O’Grotty’s pub where Aine (Patrick’s friend joins us. Have you ever heard 3 Frenchmen snoring in your ear all night? Ask Chris.

Ed: this was scribbled on the back of an envelope (or something) by Chris and Martina bravely attempted to read it to me over the phone. Please excuse the ropey editing, but the guys have no access to computers (or twitter, for that matter!).

Awoke to no rain. Yippee. No wind. Yeehaw. Poured a bottle of water over my mobile phone to ensure holiday inaccessibility. Martina then punctured her back car wheel. Men sailed through with no problems. Sorting out the puncture cost us a couple of hours but got to Mizen, unloaded the bikes, lashed through a chocolate fudge cake and we were away. The terrain was magnificent – surf at Barley cove, hills with heather, gorse and exposed rock, hedgerows of fuschia and montbresha, sea/land/sea/land vistas. Patrick and Chris worked on composing a song as they toiled along. Think Ballylickey will get a mention. Had a gentle southerly to push us up the Caha pass. Of course it did rain for the climb up the Magillycuddy reeks so the descent from Molls gap ensured our brakes got a work out. Found the only Kerry man in Killarney, hidden amidst all the blow ins, to direct us to our hostel. Day one and 120km sorted!
Rosie

Derry to Skibberreen was a miserable display of what Ireland offered us all summer – horribly dull, wet and windy. We didn’t care. We were cocooned in the car with Martina battling against the limited visibility, After dinner in the Russagh Mill hostel Chris got out his guitar, Patrick a pair of spoons, a tin whistle was passed around and we had a sing-song before bed.

Rosie

Well, Sunday morning in Derry and it’s windy and wet. What’s new? Well before decent folk should be up on a Sunday morning, Rosie and Chris are up and they’ve got their bikes strapped on the bike carrier and packed in their provisions for the trip. Chris has brought about 100 bottles of water/energy drinks, so I think they’re expecting to get through some serious amount of calories over the next few days. They’re away off now to pick up Patrick and head on down to Cork for the start of their cycle tomorrow. Here’s hoping the wind will be behind them all the way…

Chris is going to be our little bird twittering away under the  mysterious alias ‘MudFlannagan‘. You will (hopefully) be able to follow his ‘tweets’ during the trip by clicking on the happy little bird top right of the webpage. The idea is that some us can join in the fun by sending tweets back using ‘@MudFlannagan’ from the Twitter website or from your mobile. If you – like me – have never used Twitter before (or seen the point in it) – check out this 5 minute video and all will be revealed.

By the looks of the weather, he just might have to change his twitterID to ‘MudDevlin’ by the end of the week!

The car is packed, the cyclists are oiling up their bikes, and tomorrow morning Martina will drive them down to Cork. Rosie, Chris and Patrick will then start their cycle on Monday morning – and I hope we’ll be getting regular updates for the website. I’m sure the team will appreciate some moral support during their trip so do keep checking the website and adding your comments. We’re hoping for a big celebration when they get to Malin Head next Saturday (the 12th), so if you’re able why don’t you join the last leg of the cycle or just come along to Malin Head for the fun. At the moment I’m guessing it might be 5 or 6pm but I’ll try and ‘tweet’ an update on the final day.

Do consider joining us on our last day:  Saturday 12th September
There are several options of falling into the peleton.  The distance in brackets is what the rest of the cycle will total.

We’ll leave Victoria Bridge (60 miles, 98 km) at 9 am, arrive at Harrys, Bridge End for a complimentary lunch  [Ed:-that's for the 3 proper cyclists, by the way!].
Leave Harry’s at 12.30 (33 miles).
Meet final group at North Pole Bar, Drumfree (20 miles) at 2pm.
Arrive at Malin Head  (Bamba’s Crown) approx 3.30 -4 or anytime thereafter, for tea, cake and a kiss goodbye to the bike. If you’re planning on doing the ride, you may need to arrange for someone to take a car to carry your bike home [Philip Gardiner can help to co-ordinate this. We may need some drivers with bike racks to help ferry cyclists home].
The map details the route we’ll take.

If you’re joining us please send us a comment with a contact number/email address.  You can download a sponsorship form from this site.  As a minimum, plan to raise in pounds the number of miles you’ll be cycling.  You’ll need to wear a helmet.  There’ll be support on the day if you run into any troubles with your bike/legs/motivation.

Rosie.

The VISION2020 links programme is not a ‘quick fix’ charity programme. The teams’ aim is to help train the Nigerian staff in Kano eye hospital and help set up a eyecare service for children – full details to follow after the visit to Kano this autumn. In developing countries a little money can go a long way. CBM have a ‘virtual gift shop’ with estimated costs for certain procedures.

Here are a couple of examples to give you an idea of costs:

Treating a child’s cataract : £90.00
Training an eye surgeon: £150.00

Patrick, a member of the cycling team seen with Rosie Brennan

Introducing another member of the team to cycle from Mizen head to Malin head – Patrick McGirr, charge nurse in the Erne hospital. Seen here outside the Erne Hospital with Rosie Brennan.