Seven weeks out!

‘The thoughts of work tomorrow’…

‘Shhhtop will ya’…

‘We go down to Lynchs for a Sunday settler?’…

‘Aye but we might stick our heads into the Race Around Ireland start line on the way?’…

As I roll off the ramp, entering whatever hell awaits me, the boys are in Lynchs sipping the finest stout in the country, trying to hold off Monday morning as long as they can. Bob Geldof may very well be an arsehole but he was right about Mondays!! By the time the lads head home I’ll have crossed the true gates of Hell or Northern Ireland as it’s also known!!

The lads head to work Monday, I should still be on the bike heading for Mamore Gap in stunning Donegal, wee Daniel is on the side of the road offering free hugs that last a bit too long if I’m being honest…

Monday comes to an end and Tuesday comes about for the lads, not much Craic of a Tuesday except for the one with the pancakes, I’m still battling on the bike, probably somewhere around Mayo maybe? ‘Oh the green and red of M’……’Shut up!!!’

Wednesday swings around, hump day as some eegits call it, the lads are dreaming of the weekend. I don’t know where in the country I am but I’m still cycling, hopefully having only slept for 4 or 5 hours at this stage and not completely embarrassing myself and the crew!?

Thursday is here, hallucinations have well and truly kicked in for the solo riders, the Healy-Raes have annexed most of Munster, bringing it under the direct rule of the Kind Kerry Kingdom and Martial Law has been declared, makes for some spicy cycling let me tell ya!!

The teams should be finishing up, we’re hopefully starting to believe we can finish this thing if all goes to plan…..

Friday is here, the boys leave work faster than Paddy Jackson leaves a Whatsapp group chat gone wrong! Myself and the crew will hopefully be taking on the last few big climbs around Wicklow and heading for home. As the boys are getting served up their last orders in Lynchs, in walk myself and the crew with our finisher medals around our necks!! (Hopefully!)

………………………….

That’s how long the race itself is, a full working week and more spent on the bike, morning, noon and night, 22hrs a day……I’m under no illusions of just how tough it will be. I don’t know if it will be as tough as 2man RAAM was considering everything that went wrong for us over there but it sure will be different.

The crew is sorted and it’s honestly an amazing crew, full of RAI and RAAM crewing experience and most of them being top endurance athletes themselves.

I’ve decided not to do it for a charity or any good cause this year as IF I finish it and qualify for Race Across America next year then I want to do that big and do it right so you’ll all be getting pestered to dig deep then!

Training has been going well, bit of a spill off the bike a couple of weeks ago and old issues with the hips/groins mean I’m struggling to throw the leg over the bike but I’m working on it and I’m confident all will be running fine come race day. The last big training block starts in the morning.

I honestly can’t wait for race day, just so I don’t have to train anymore!

2200km with 22000 meters of climbing and 132hrs to complete it!

Bring it f*ckin on!!!!

P.S. If anyone has a crew cab van they want to loan/rent us for that week let me know!!!!