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Lads like Barry.
In Mountjoy jail one Monday morning High upon the gallows tree Kevin Barry gave his young life For the cause of liberty....Lads like Barry are no cowards From the foe they will not fly Lads like Barry...
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OK, that's enough of work...
and of being responsible. Both of which has taken me away from this blog for over a year now.Sorry to all longtime Cafesupporters. It's just that in the overall scheme of things, cycling and...
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Ras Epilogue: Eating the wolf.
Okay, so it's Thursday night, and we're all in a crowded hotel bar in Clonakilty. And I mean all of us. The real Ras is in the same hotel tonight. There's a quite mighty craic. Alan bumps into Emma...
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Day 8: Newbridge - Skerries 107km: Skerries, Sun and a 99.
We're coming home boys. Up the Dubs. In Mullingar last night, I rested limbs so weary, Started by daylight, Next mornin' light and airy, Took a drop of the pure, To keep my heart from sinkin', That's...
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The power of random coincidence, and why we're here.
It's day two. A rainy morning in Roscommon.Rain jacketed guys are huddled with their bikes under small doorways on the main street to stay dry. Paul and I are on our bikes and circling, impatient to...
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Day 7: Carrick on Suir - Baltinglass 147km. A gap too far.
The mood around the Super Valu parking lot in Carrick on Suir this morning is somber. It's raining and cold. Again.Ok, let's get on with it!My roommate Aaron McCormack got hit hard by that stomach...
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Savage roadman.
Soigneur secrets of the Ras number 44:Niall is living proof of the efficacy of Ireland's time-tested cure for a hard blow to the face. I was quite fortunate to meet and get to know a lot of impressive...
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Day 6: Clonakilty to Carrick on Suir, 168km. My Irish influences named John.
So meet the boys from Kerry, and meet the boys from ClareFrom Dublin, Wicklow, Donegal and the boys of old KildareSome came from a land beyond the seaFrom Boston and New YorkBut the boys who beat the...
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Mick.
Every once in a while, you meet someone who reminds you what really matters in cycling.During the Ras, Michael was that man. He was a constant source of friendly, encouraging chatter throughout a hard...
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Day 5: Cahirciveen - Clonakilty 169 km: Lazarus rises.
"The bad news Eddy O is that it's raining. But the good news is...I'm back."Paul stands before me in his cycling kit. It's 6 am. Ready for breakfast and a long bus ride back to Lazarus McCormack....
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Lesson three: The leprechaun's tips for rainy Ras survival.
On your next stage race or tour, Alan strongly recommends following these old school survival tips. Sauso, brown bread and coffee for breakfast. (Paul also recommends Weetabix)At meals, always core...
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Day 4: Charleville - Cahirciveen. The soul of the Ras.
The alarm goes off. It's pouring outside. Still. Story of my life, eh? I think of the story of a stormy morning long ago when Luxembourg D.S. Jean Goldscmidt famously opened the window blinds and said...
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Day 3: Lisdoonvarna - Charleville, 154km. Geek Watt Hill.
Transition day. So they say. On the agenda, two third category climbs, the tougher one first at Cloghoolia. Cloghoolia. Probably be a hoolie session alright. It was not raining in Lisdoonvarna, but...
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Lesson two: Stay dry my friends.
When you're on the Ras, and it rains everyday, life gets stripped down to the most basic needs in Maslow's hierarchy. In cold and damp Ireland, it's all about dry clothes. So in hotels without laundry...
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Day 2: Roscommon - Lisdoonvara 159 km. The rollercoaster.
Day two. Awoke to more soft weather. Or as we say in Boston, frickin' pourin'. On the agenda was 160km west past Galway to the Atlantic coast. An up and down coast road south before two categorized...
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Warm up ride and Day 1: Dunboyne - Roscommon - 150 km.
On Saturday afternoon, Bikes assembled, we headed out for a spin in a bit. Nothing strenuous, an hour and a half around to Howth head on the coast road where the Giro passed on the run in to Dublin on...
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Lesson one...
...in the pros mentality. attitude means as much as anything.We're at Logan airport on the way out. Alan's flight comes in from Colorado. We collect him at terminal C and hoof over to E. Aer Lingus...
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Off to the Ras
Hey cafesupporters. Guess who's back at the keyboard. You'd think I just fell off the turnip truck, eh?Well, it's been quite a spring getting my old body ready for the 800 miles of Race the Ras....
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A man you don't meet everyday...
"Oh my name is Jock Stewart I'm a canny gun manAnd a roving young fellow I've beenSo be easy and free when you're drinking with meI'm a man you don't meet every day" Cait O'Riordan & The Pogues...
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Heavy riders on light bikes. Looking at stems.
Despite the polar cold and snow, prep for 'Race the Ras' is well underway jongens.Did my annual Threshold test at the Pain Cave a few weeks ago. And achieved precisely the same not-very-good number as...
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