Day 6: Saturday April 2012 Donegal town - Malin Head Approx 127k
If I were advising someone who was cycling Mizen to Malin I’d recommend doing the whole event the way we did day six. We met for breakfast at quarter past seven and were on the road at half eight. We were able to relax, chat and enjoy the experience on the bikes because being on the road so early meant that there was no real time pressure. The first half of the day's cycling felt like a warm up pace - we could have stepped the pace up but we never did. I was reluctant to crank up the pace and then burn myself out when I was so close to completing the mission!
I tried to supress my excitement for most of the day at being so close to relalisiing this long term dream that was rapidly becoming reality.
We had a few short stops along the way and stopped for a long lunch break in a warm hotel bar at the halfway point. The second half of the day was a bit wetter but our spirits were soaring because we knew that we just had to keep going doing what we were doing.
The closer we got to Malin the narrower and more interesting the roads became. I expected the most Northerly peninsula in Ireland to be quiet and sparsely populated but the roads were busy and there were plenty of modern houses as well as the farms and older homes which were more what I expected. We saw the sea as we passed Buncrana and had some other glimpses of the sea along the way which are always a refreshing break from looking at the rear wheel of the cyclist in front.
The final twenty kilometres were misty and on narrow roads with traffic coming in both directions. We were glad to have reflective clothing and a few lights on the bikes.
When we entered the final ten kilometres the conversation turned to whether we would race the last section of the trip. Two of the guys tore ahead to race the final leg with two or three kilometres of torturous winding hills left. I have no idea where they got the energy from as they had covered almost five hundred kilometres between them in the previous 48 hours!
The final ascent was one of those climbs that is so steep that you just have to take it quickly - the alternative is agonizing, wobbly and dangerously slow. I was glad of the final effort though as it felt like a reminder of all we had overcome in the previous six days. We got some photos and took a few minutes to appreciate the rugged beauty of the most Northerly point in Ireland with white water crashing over rocks and the wind howling.
The cold was a great incentive to get on the road home quickly. Before I knew it we were changed, packed up, fed and on the road home. The sense of accomplishment is great but I’ve been waiting to realise this goal for the best part of a decade so I imagine it will take a bit longer to sink in fully. The real rewards of the trip were; the cameraderie and fellowship of a team on an a shared adventure, the sense of inspiration and high spirits that always accompany beauty and a feeling that anything is possible.
If you are thinking of doing this trip then I recommend it. There is an option to do it as a fundraiser with a large team from Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. The larger the team involved, the more options for different paces there will be. Cycling with a group suited to your pace is a lot more enjoyable than trying to cater for a mixed group. If you are doing it then; invest money in high quality cycling clothes, get out early in the mornings, take short breaks and use every stop as an opportunity to fuel up, stretch and hydrate.
My next challenge is the Ironman Austria Triathlon on 1st July which I’m doing as a fundraiser for Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. Remember to subscribe to this blog to make sure you don't miss updates on that event and others. My target is to raise a minimum of €2,500 for the chairty in 2012. If you’d like to sponsor me for Ironman and/or Mizen to Malin then that would be very welcome - Live link to follow shortly! Thanks for sharing the experience with me, thanks especially to the encouragers along the way (with both cycling and blogging!) especially to my beautiful wife Cara who is my greatest encourager, funniest friend and the most perfect woman I've ever met xxxx.
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