Shannonside cycling club

SSCC Away Weekend.

That it's been a very long time since anything was posted here is largely due to the poster (me!) being off the bike following a bit of a prang. Of course things have continued with regular Saturday and Sunday spins, and club members taking part in events both here in Ireland and as far away as Oliva in Spain.

Rather more locally was this last weekend's annual social away trip with this year's destination being The Pikers Rest, Gowna, Cavan. Thankfully, fortunately even, this autumn's relentless wet weather took a break and the 16 members out had the joy of two bright but cold days. Saturday's run up was a pretty direct route with a break in Longford, which was followed by a very social evening eating, drinking, and watching rugby. Sunday's very hearty breakfast both soaked up any remaining alcohol and fueled riders for the 100k ride home via Castle Pollard, the lanes to Mullingar for coffee, and then the cycleway home.

A big day for Athlone with the opening of the new cycleway bridge across the Shannon!

A large contingent of SSCC members, some on their own bikes and others on vintage machines, processed through Athlone and onto the western bank of the Shannon by the Luan Gallery. Here they joined a throng of press, dignitaries, and the public as the ceremonial opening of the bridge got underway. There then followed quite a lot of hanging around, which was only to be expected, before SSCC, SRCC and members of the Athlone Triathlon club were cleared to ride across.

The new bridge is a significant event and an architectural success, and it will be much used both in the near future and, hopefully, as the transition from east of the river to west and all the way to Galway on a dedicated safe cycle route.

While only four SSCC riders raced the Streamstown TT leg of the MIL, it was a very successful evening's racing. Undoubtedly the star of the nigh was Dan Markowski who, in becoming the 3rd SSCC rider to win a C class MIL race this year, put in an asphalt melting performance of 26.21 and 305watts for the 16k course. Given he was concerned that the hilly nature of this race would be a handicap to the heavier rider, we wait with great anticipation to see what he does on a flat TT!

Conor Quilty too went well with a third place keeping him right in the mix at the top of the C class category that's likely to be only decided at the finish line of the MIL's last race in two weeks time.

A good turnout for Friday evening's social ride from Athlone to The Forge at Castletown Geoghan for a pizza and a few pints. The biggest surprise of which was the number of riders - 14 or so - who chose the risk of a dousing rather than the dry warmth of a car. How lucky we are to have easy access to the safety of the cycleway was appreciated as we returned at a good clip along it with the night closing in.

Saturday saw well over 20 club members turn out for the South Roscommon Cycling Club annual charity ride. As always the event was superbly run with great support and more than enough food for the 160 riders present. Thanks to all at SRCC.

Despite Saturdays efforts, eight riders had the energy for a spin Sunday morning. Wanting to return with the stiff westerly breeze on their backs, the group again headed into County Roscommon taking the back roads and crossing the River Suck before heading to Ahascragh for coffee. It won't come a surprise to regular readers that a belt for home followed the refueling!

This weekend four club members and fellow DPD employees - Darragh Lowry, Martin Kennedy, Seamus Byrne and Grzegorz Mikociak - have teamed up to take on the Mondello 24 hr cycle. They're raising money for the Irish Wheelchair Association. We wish them luck and welcome any donations at https://iwa.enthuse.com/cf/dpd-24-hour-charity-cycle-for-irish-wheelchair-ass

Steady enough week for SSCC with a Mount Temple MIL race and two club spins.

Thanks to all the non-racing members who came out to marshal and look after teas etc, all who wanted to race were able to. Though, what with riders missing injured and others returning from injury, not many points were taken by SSCC members. Conor Quilty and Dan Mar scored a few between them in the Cs, as did Mark Nestor and Deci Lamb in the Bs and As. All were thankful the threatened thunderstorms held off.

Saturday saw nine riders head south for coffee and cake at Lough Boora visitor centre on a rural ride that took in lengths of the Grand Canal and the laneways of Westmeath and Offaly.

Sunday brought a similar number to the 9.30 meet at ARSC. This ride saw the end of the long dry spell and brought an early stop for shelter at the Applegreen station just outside Tullamore. So damp was the floor under the sitting riders that staff put wet floor warning cones around them! The sunshine returning was welcomed with the usual speedy exuberance as the drying gang returned albeit with fewer kilometres clocked than normal.

MIL 1st June.

With the weather bright and dry it was unsurprising that Thursday's racing at Kilbeggan brought a lot of riders out, and some drama. Sadly this included quite a serious crash a few K from the finish of the C race. Two Shannonside CC riders were involved with Conor Quilty suffering road rash and bruising and Peter Lemass also coming down. Worse still was that two riders from other clubs ended their evenings in Tullamore A and E. SSCC wishes all well with their recoveries.

Better news came with the result of that race which saw an unprecedented 1 2 3 for SSCC with Martin Kennedy, Giles Byford and Dan Mar the first three over the finish line. With Padraig Cook taking points in the B race and Declan Lamb finishing well in the As it was a strong night for the club overall.

Pictures attached include two from the MIL's main sponsor OE Bikes of Mullingar. If anyone's wondering where Dan is in that finishing photo you can just see his blue sleeve behind Martin - clearly hanging on for the draft!

SSCC 5 go to Mallorca.
9-15 May 2023.

Adrian Dillon
Bryan Kenny
Ciaran Harte
Michael O Donohoe
Steve Digby

5 SSCC members made the trip to Port de Pollensa in Mallorca from 9-15th May.

We stayed in the Duva Aparthotel and hired Trek Emonda bikes from Rent March in the town.

Day 1...We did a fairly flat route, down south to a church on a steep hill, called Santa Magdalena. We were rewarded with a panoramic 360 view of the surrounding countryside. We had lunch in Inca , then cycled home along the coast through Alcudia.

Day 2...We headed for the legendary Sa Calobra. This involved climbing 700m over 50km before descending to sea level over 10km. The descent was incredible, with numerous switchbacks and a few close calls with buses on the way down, We had a well earned feed at the bottom, then the hard bit started...getting back up those 700m over the same 10 km!

We eventually got back to the top and enjoyed a lovely 40km gradual descent back to our hotel.
I saw an article about Sa Calobra in a cycling magazine once ...it’s what drew me to Mallorca in the first place.
If you ever go to Mallorca, its a “must do” ride.

Day 3...We opted for a shorter spin...out to the lighthouse at Cap de Formentor.
This was only 45km but still had 860m of climbing

This is another “must do” ride, with beautiful sea views and a rocky landscape.

We stopped for lunch on the way home and the lads wanted to take it easy for the afternoon, so they went to a beach bar for a few drinks, while I opted to do a short spin down the coast to Alcudia and then come across some quiet little country roads to the town of Pollensa, before returning home.

Day 4....We decided on another flat run....down south again on a maze of small country roads as far as Petra and then home more directly via Sao Pobla...120km in all.

Day 5...back climbing again..to Puig Major..the highest climb on the island.

We climbed steadily for 50km to reach 872m, passing stunning scenery and reservoirs on the way.

Then we threw away all our elevation gain during the 15km descent of Puig Major into the town of Soller.

We dined with the locals in the town square in front of the impressive cathedral...there was a great buzz about the town as there was a festival on...they have a lovely train there which runs to the coast.

We took so long to get back from Soller that evening that we almost missed our dinner!
It was a long but memorable day with 140km and 2229m of climbing.

Day 6...our final day...we took a short spin to the nearby resort of Cala Sant Visenc followed by a coffee break in the town of Pollensa (not the Port!).

All in all a great trip....the hotel was great...the buffet style breakfast and dinner meant we ate way more than was necessary!!The bikes were excellent...the disc brakes were superb on those sharp descents.
The weather was more like a good Irish summer’s day than a scorching Spanish one...but that was all the better for riding and climbing!

If you’ve never been cycling there, well you have to go...its cycling paradise!!

Sunday's ride brought the least sunburnt and weary legged returnees from Connemara together with club regulars for a ride round Lough Ree along lanes and byways some long standing members and local route aficionados had never cycled. Again the stunning spring weather made the going easy, and some shade and a coffee stop in Lanesborough was welcomed.

With the glorious weather proving ideal a very happy but small group of SSCC members headed for Clifden and the Tour De Connemara. Given the sun's strength, factor 50 skin protection and plenty of liquids were as essential as spare tubes and good legs!

A busy weekend for the club with Saturday's brighter weather seeing 11 riders meet at Garrycastle before heading off to Streamstown for coffee via Ballycumber, Clara and Horseleap. Most welcome was a new member to the club, Sharon, who made light work of the day.

Sunday's spin brought 12 to the ARSC for the 9.30 start, including another new member, James. Like Sharon the day before James made steady work of staying with the fastest riders for the 105k loop north east of Athlone. Going out just west of Ballymahon and heading over the higher ground to Ardagh and then north for coffee in Ballinalack on the N4. Leaving the coffee break into greying skies, it wasn't long before the rain had set in. After some time in the lanes the ride joined the main Athlone to Mullingar road and the thrash for home commenced.

MIL Round 4 - Mount Temple

SSCC were pleased to host the fourth round of the Midlands Interclub League at Mount Temple on the 11th May. Usually hosting means the club's riders are busy marshaling and organising, but with a very high turnout of non-racing club members all those who wanted to get into the mix were able. Some might have thought twice about this as the heavens opened and the roads filled with deep puddles!

Notable rides from club members Mark Nestor who placed second in the B race, and from Conor Quilty who matched that in the C's. Thanks to all who made the effort to both race and help.

We'll post more images and a full set of results shortly.

A Sunday ride with a difference saw a dozen SSCC members joining Tuam CC for their charity fundraiser ride around Galway and Mayo. For once the sun was shining, though the stronger than expected breeze was ominous. Not at first as it was almost behind us as we set off at a giddy pace in excess of 40kph. Unsurprisingly this proved too much for all but a couple of dozen of the 180 riders present, with groups of riders finding their own pace in the wake of the flying few. After battling the headwind south for 15k from Ballinrobe, everyone was grateful when a pause for food was taken at the halfway point of Clonbur.

Post refuelling it inevitably kicked off once again. Initially, with a little easing being notable on some of the climbs, not quite at full burn perhaps, but between Cong and Headford the lead group stretched out again and individuals and smaller groups made as best they could in the wind. A noteable diversion was made at Cong by two SSCC riders (who shall remain nameless…)
when they decided to take the steepest hill out of the town and head for Sligo. It’s possible they might yet be bearing northwest were it not for the compassion of locals who sent them back down the cliff they’d just climbed. At least leaving Headford brought the wind into a kinder quarter, and the last 20k into Tuam was relatively flat.

Over a very well organised and supported ride a few names stand out for some serious riding. Both Jims were mighty, with Jim Maguire staying with the front group for the full ride and an average speed just shy of 40kph; and Jim O Rouke who, despite barely having seen a bike since Christmas, hung on to the same rapid gang for over 70k. Chapeau too to Alan Hughes who recorded his fastest ever average speed. And it was dry throughout! Thank you Tuam CC.

MIL Round 3 Dalystown.

An evening every bit as disappointing as the wet and windy weather for SSCC with not one club rider taking points. We should have guessed it was going off the rails when we sat making plans before the start, indeed someone even joked that race plans never come off. Then, just before we were about to start, came the news there were to be chase groups. With just one rider in both the A and B classes, this had the hardest impact on the Cs with 3 riders designated chasers. Well, there was no denying that they chased but the fox was faster than the hounds. We survive, and will go again. With SSCC hosting the next round at Mount Temple this coming Thursday will be a rest week so looking forward to seeing what treats the following Thursday brings.

Below: SSCC group C riders making plans that are about to be dashed!

Tour of the Heartlands.

While we didn't quite have the hoped for numbers for this year's club sportif round the lanes of Roscommon and Galway, the 90 odd riders who managed to get to Drum for the 10am start enjoyed a dry morning and some great company. Three different speed groups, 32,28 and 25kph, took on the 100k challenge and the remaining riders took whatever time they wanted over the shorter 60k loop. Everyone enjoyed the food and coffee stop in Dysart and those on the longer route had the treat of a stiff tailwind back from Ballinasloe. This helping hand brought the 20 or so riders in the fastest group back into the finish at Drum at well over 40kph. Which, with everyone taking turns on the front and working well together, was the perfect conclusion to an enjoyable day. The smiles on the later returnees faces suggest similar joy in ending on a fast and easy note.

Thanks to all those who came from both local and distant (Donadea!) clubs. SSCC is off to Tuam next Sunday to support their sportif. Busy times!

MIL Racing latest.

Good turn out from the club for the 2nd week of the MIL racing season. Just the one rider, Decci Lamb, in the As (DNF with injury sadly) and two in the B's where Padraig Cook took 8th and Jim Maguire's placing not confirmed at time of writing. The C group looks really strong this year and a race without breakaways meant it was all down to the last few hundred metres. SSCC's Martin Kennedy led the way and was only just beaten at the line by a very strong Laois rider. New member and only second time racer (and his first was a TT so very different)Conor Quilty took a very good 5th. Other SSCC riders were just outside the points. Special mention to Dan Markowski who, while not making it into the points on his very first race having only joined the club yesterday, did a lot of work on the front in a manner that earns him the honorary combative award.

I'd like to add a thank you to Lynx CC whose marshalling of the race was exemplary.

Race over we retired to Castledaly GAA centre for tea and the official launch of the MIL RÁS team. This is a major development for the Midlands Interclub League as it opens a window to the highest level of racing in Ireland for the very best local riders. Congratulations to Jim Maguire for being very involved both as an instigator and as a manager, and to Graham O Brien - SSCC's highest ranked racer - for his inclusion in the team. More news of this to follow no doubt.

A little earlier in April the club enjoyed the significant date of hosting a national paracycling event. Info as follows:
On Saturday April 15th, SSCC hosted round 1 of the 2023 National Paracycling league. This event is a 10 mile time trial race. Participants from around the country who have different levels of disability compete in 6 events in total to complete the league. The time trial was from Fardrum, Athlone to near Moate and back again. Winner of the handcycling category was Rosemount's Declan Slevin in a time of 26:30. Ivan Naluswa blitzed the other category in a time of 24:52. Many thanks to all the club members who marshalled on the day.

The Tour of the Heartlands is ready to go! Enjoy cycling in company while supporting local charities? What's not to like! See you on Sunday 30th April at Drum Community Centre.

SHOCKING NEWS!
We're saddened and angry to today report that a club members Athlone home has been broken into and 3 bicycles stolen. These are: a grey Giant TCR disc (medium), a red black white Giant Propel (small), and a grey Specialized Tarmac (52cm) with carbon ffwd wheels. Should anyone reading this know of anyone trying to shift any of the above please let us know ASAP. Also, please be alert for anyone casing your own bicycles and homes.

A good few out for Saturday's slightly shorter than usual ride of 75k (home for rugby!) round Castledaly, Tubber and Rosemount with coffee enjoyed in Ballymore.

If you're looking for a group ride in the Athlone area why not give this one a go? With a no-one's dropped policy and a gentle pace it may be just the thing to get you out and about in company.

Starts 9.30 every Saturday from the Spar at Garrycastle.

Following December's 200k ride that saw 6 riders circumnavigate Lough Derg, it was decided that the next club 200 spin would head north round Lough Key. This time only four took up the challenge, which was only added to by the wet and windy weather. No worries as they flew round with an average of 29.6kph. Someone's going to have to pick a 3rd lough for the next one some time in March....

There's a current goal in the club to put up regular 200k rides. In December 6 riders made it round Lough Derg, and today 4 headed out into the wet and wind to ride round Lough Key. This was a real push, with everyone home safely inside 8 hours of leaving Athlone at an average of 29.6 kph. We'll need to decide which lough to circumnavigate in March!

Too cold for the roads today, so those willing took to the frozen turf of the bogs with mountain bikes and hybrids. Crystal clear skies and crisp ground making the morning as memorable as any.

Make sure you book your tickets for the Tour of the Heartlands, taking place on the 1st May. Tullamore Cycling & Touring Club, Daingean Grand Canal Wheelers, Wolftrap Cycling Club - Birr, Team905, South Roscommon Cycling Club, Longford Cycling and Racing Club, Esker Cycling & Touring Club, Roscommon Cycling Club, Streamstown Cycle Club, Lakeside Wheelers, Lecarrow Lazers Cycling Club
This year our Tour will take place in Drum Community Centre N37 T298 with staggered starts from 10.am
Book online at Eventmaster https://eventmaster.ie/event/d27LHnGSwV

See you all there!🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️🚴🚴

🏆🏆 Shannonside Cycling Club crowned all Ireland Cycling Club Champions. 🏆🏆

On Sunday last, 6th Sept, Shannonside CC became the first club winners of the All-Ireland cycle competition/fundraiser.
The event was in aid of the National Breast Cancer Research Institute and was formerly known as the Pink Ribbon Tour. This year there was no tour so the All-Ireland Cycle was conceived to replace it. Cycling clubs all over Ireland were invited to participate, with members donating a minimum of €25 to enter.

There were three competitions really: (a): best individual cyclist for most km's cycled over 10 days (b): best club for most km's cycled in total by all members in a given club and (c): best county, for all the km's cycled by all the clubs combined in each county.
Shannonside won the best club award, cycling 27,000 km over the 10 days beating Cuchulainn CC from Louth who were worthy opponents, switching places with us for first and second all week and didn't give us any time to rest on our laurels.

We also had three riders in the top 10 individuals with Damien Ward cycling 1458 km, Graham O'Brien cycling 1370 Km and Steve Digby cycling 1172 km. Best overall individual was Philip Cassidy from Dunboyne. Philip is a former Irish Olympic cyclist and Ras Tailteann winner -he cycled a staggering 2524km! Waterford won the best county award by a big margin, cycling 55,500 km. Westmeath came fourth in this section as well, cycling 32,000 km.

The event really took off for Shannonside last Sunday Aug 30th, when the club organised a cycle around the Border of county Westmeath. 11 members completed the 210 km event and many others did shorter versions of the route. This laid a solid foundation which was built on by club rides on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. By this stage, we were in second place on the table, neck and neck with Cuchulainn CC.

Everyday, members went out and did either solo or group rides to add to the total. It brought out a tremendous spirit of camaraderie in the club, as everyone did what they could for the cause. One member, Graham O'Brien,a former Ireland under-23 rider decided early last week, that each day he would match the distance cycled in the Tour de France stage that day. In fact he exceeded it, being accompanied for most of it by his club mate Damian Ward.
One night as we watched the lead see-saw between ourselves and Cuchulainn CC, someone remarked on our social media that it was more exciting than watching the voting in the Eurovision song contest!

This Saturday's ride brought out another big group and by Saturday night we were ahead but we couldn't relax yet, as the lead could easily swing back the other way. So for Sunday's Spin a trip was planned to Galway and back! 10 members completed 200 km rides and others went at least as far as Loughrea and back. By 6 p.m. on Sunday the job was done and we were announced All-Ireland club winners. We can all now take a few days well-earned rest before we get back on the bikes again.

Here are some stats from the event: 1053 people took part, 112 clubs took part, 304,000 km's were cycled over the 10 days- that's 7.5 times around the world and currently €100,000 has been raised for the charity.

A huge thank you to all who contributed in this success, the enthusiasm and spirit was a joy both to witness and be part of. Well done everyone, you did yourselves and the club proud!🥳 🚴‍♀️🚴🥇

For those of you who have some mileage left in the legs....😄 🚴‍♂️

Home Homepage of the Tony Golden Memorial Cycle

Hi All,

Unfortunately, due to the Corona Virus situation Shannonside Cycling Club have had to make the decision to cancel this year's Tour of the Heartlands. This decision has been taken in the best interest of all those involved. We hope everyone is keeping safe in these challenging times and hope to see you all for Tour of the Heartlands 2021!

The Derroura MTB race on Sunday was the 3rd of the Connaught series. It's a 15k loop in in the mountains near Recess, Connemara. Jim went down with Mark Barrett from Lynx CC. Jarek was there too; also Brian Nevin from Ennis. The 'Baggy Shorts' Event is one lap and the 'Super Pro' is 2 laps. All entered the 2 lap race except Jarek. Lots of difficult rocks and water everywhere even running like a river along the tracks. Because the one lappers are let off after, and some of them are experts i.e. Jarek, you lose a fair bit of time letting people pass you as they surge up from behind. It's a wearing down process and some definitely felt weary on the steep ascents second time round. In the end Jim finished 16th. Mark was a brilliant 7th. Brian Nevin was 11th, and Jarek won the 1-lap race. He was two-and-a-half minutes faster than the second rider. Altogether a great day out despite some heavy showers of hail and rain and some strong winds. It's definitely a very different and skillful type of cycling. Amazing what those bikes can put up with. Amazing scenery at the north end of the loop looking out over fabulous lough Corrib, if you dared to look 😃

Patrick headed to the Ras Meigh Eo.... where there was in total around 20-25 A4 riders. The organizers controlled the pace for first kilometer or so and after that the race started. On the way to Louisburgh they had bad crosswind so very little attacks. On the way back, the attacks started coming and 2 of the lads went to a brake away approximately 8 km before the finish. He finished at 5th place and got 2 points so good start of the season for him! Well done.

12 out in total Sunday..you can see 5 from SSCC and that's Pat at the back.
We also had Dave, Vinny, John, Roberta, Wayne and Jonathan from the Tri Club.
All stayed together for (almost) the whole ride. Straight over to Ballinasloe, brief stop after roundabout for a torrential hail n rain shower...then on to Cloghan for a nice coffee break in the garage there.
Wardie and Greg took off after Cloghan and the others never caught them or even tried to!...the remaining 10 stayed together in a nicely paced group home through Castledaly.
Enjoyable spin for all despite a couple of heavy showers!

4 showed up Saturday morning..Eamon, Jim , Michael and Steve. It was drizzling heavily and there was a stiff southerly breeze and all were all wondering would they go home again...but it was quite mild so they "took the bull by the horns" and headed south to Ballinahown and onto Cloghan via Belmont.
Riders all took turns on the front fighting the wind and eventually got to Cloghan.
There they turned the corner and had a glorious tailwind all the way home. Flew to Ferbane where they stopped at Cafe Haven for refreshments. The drizzle had long cleared at this stage and they had a lovely spin home after that.
Everyone was glad they got out..they were lucky how the weather turned out.
60-70km in total.

I think there were 19 out Sunday morning..10 from SSCC and 9 from Philly's group (but I'm open to correction!) .
We are counting Pat, who showed up with Woof but disappeared as we pulled away. We picked up Minty and Eddie out west and everyone headed west to Dysart where we split into 2 groups. Philly's gang plus Trevor went for the hill repeats around Dysart and 4 Roads.
We had no real route planned so we kept going north to a crossroads where we turned home for Athlone thru Curraghboy. Woof was heading to Mullingar for a match, so we all joined him instead of going further afield. Also in this group were Foamie,Tinman, Eamon, Minty, Eddie, Seamie and Steve
We called into Fernhill for a change for our coffee stop..a first for us as we always have our break well out from home. It was very nice and obviously the place where Athlonians go on a Sunday morning for a coffee or brunch or lunch!
So a relatively short ride of about 70k for most of us today ...we left Woof on his own to do his 100++k ride .

11 cyclists out last Saturday morning...Jim, Wardie, Seamie, Robin, Ann, Michael, Allan, Aidan, Eamon, newbie Alan and Steve.
We headed west and south into the wind to Shannonbridge.
Then on to Belmont and Ferbane for refreshments in Coffee Haven. Wardie and Seamie were in a hurry to get back so they sped on without the break.
Well done to Alan on his first spin with us... Hope to see him out with us again

Just 4 took to the roads (as opposed to the hills) for 10am on Sunday; Jim, Greg, Brian & Seamie. They stuck to the route and flew up to Roscommon with the light tailwind. Across to Athleague then for fancy cakes. Home then via Four Roads with 'nothing special to report'. No ice = nice. Thanks Greg for the lid.

With the weather playing havoc for the Saturday spin last week, the cyclists took to the Blooms in Kinntty.

Some pics from our Christmas Dinner at the lovely Portside Restaurant, great service and fab food. 18 in total, thanks to all involved

24 cyclists showed up at the pool Sunday morning and they picked up Chef and Minty out the road.
Can think of 5 SSers and 2 Tri Clubers who were out last week but not Sunday...can we break 30 next week???
I'd say everyone had a good spin and the 3 routes covered everyone's abilities.
Well done Philly!
All stayed together till Ballinasloe and then groups 1 and 2 took off while group 3 took a shorter route.
Great to see Eamon and Michael D doing over 100k and fitting into the Sunday group no problems!
Also great to see Patricia, Ann and Yvonne moving up to Sundays.
Well done all...lets keep it going now and keep up those great numbers!

7 out this morning..Ann, Allan, Michael, Eamon,Adrian,Seamie and Steve.
Despite fitting 2 new Gatorskin tyres since last Sunday (when he went through 3 tubes!) Allan continued his run of punctures with 2 more today.
Adrian also fitted new tyres since last Saturday but his passed the test ok today.
Lots of backroads to Streamstown, Horseleap, Clara and Soup stop in Tuar Ard.(all 6 of us had the delicious soup and brown bread).
Seamie left us around Rosemount to get back to Mount Temple to see his lad playing a soccer match.
A dirty auld morning with misty rain on and off but never that wetting.