We rolled out of the car park of the Killarney Court Hotel bright and early for the final leg of our journey. Unfortunately, Brendan Coakley was not able to start the day due to an acute bout of bumbumitis. Alan Heffernan was brought in as his replacement. The first two groups headed for the county bounds before turning at Loo Bridge for Kilgarvan. The third group took a short cut over Moll's Gap to save a few kilometers. The first stop of the day was at the Landsdowne Arms Hotel for coffee. There was an almighty bust up when Deccie's group hit town, as half the group wanted to stop while the other half wanted to press on. The coffee won out in the end.
Next up was the climb of the Caha Pass. Simon Martin and Sean O'Flynn made light work of the climb, eating up the tarmac to the sound of Fleetwood Mac's You Can Go Your Own Way. Joanne McHugh and Niamh Fleming set a fierce tempo up the climb, so much so that Deccie, Tom and Rory faked a puncture to get a rest. After cresting the climb and entering back into the rebel county, Barry Looney was waiting on the side of the road with cold refreshments for his club mates. All fueled up, the descent to Glengarriff was made in quick time.
All groups stopped in Ballylickey for the final food stop of the cycle. Emmet Fennell popped in to offer words of encouragement and to check if any of his Strava records on the local roads had been broken. Cyclists then headed for Bantry, before turning for Durrus. There was brief pause in Goleen before tackling the final few kilometers to Mizen. Club chairman, Pat McHugh was on hand to congratulate all the cyclists at Mizen Head.
The cycle was thoroughly enjoyed by all. We could not have completed the adventure without the help of our club mate Richie White. A huge thank you to Donal and Bred Scannell also for organising the trip. We will have to wait to see what is planned for next year.
