Thursday 20 July 2006

From Dawn Till Dusk

From Weekend with Susie and Fredrik 3


From dawn on 28th January until dusk on July 19th it’s been quite a journey

1890 Miles / 3041 Km
Dublin-Izmir 1850 miles
Paris-Moscow 1550 miles
London-Paris 213 miles
17 Days and 1 Evening
Average Speed 12 mph
Fastest speed attained 43mph Connor Pass
Shortest mileage in a day was 54, Longest 220
12 Trains
8 Buses
1 Taxi
5 Ferries
1 Puncture, 2 Tyres, 4 sets of brakes blocks, 1 derailleur gear set
1 Twisted knee, 1 very sore butt, 2 sore nipples and a numb little finger on my left hand
1 Bonk
I will always look back at Ireland with incredible fondness for this has been a truly amazing journey physically, mentally and spiritually.

The physical aspect I was well geared up to face as the journey was spread out over a number of months and I am fairly fit.

The mental effort of being alone on my bike for sometimes 16 hours was something that again I felt was not going to be too much of a problem.

What has surprised me is how much the beauty of Ireland has touched me. From the remoteness of the South West with its ghostly ruins of cottages reminding me of the famine and economic ruin, to the rolling Glens of Antrim there has been so much to drink in.

I have been a lucky person to have experienced this and I leave with a very different slant on life, I have after all had a lot of time to think.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for writing this.