30th Anniversary trip to the North Coast and Back
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With this year being the 30th Anniversary of Dromara CC it was decided that a tour to the North Coast would be appropriate. The hostel, B&B or tent space was booked and the back up buses ready all was required was a few Dromara Cyclists. Below is a report I managed to get from one of the cyclists who made the epic trip.
Day 1
The occasion started well with people gathering in Dromara in the early hours on the Saturday. As the weather had held, people were smiling and bike components were flying out of vehicles along with kit bags and mountaineering cycle clothing. A pep talk was made consisting of Stephen Wallace breaking down the route with the support bus following shortly.
The leisure contingent was represented in the days ride by none other than Eddie Doyle. Such a popular member surely if anyone was going to show how ‘multi-day’ riding was done it would have been the veteran Mr Doyle… pssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss shouts were shared as we had a visit from the fairy!
Moments passed and the tyre was casually changed and the support bus was used for the track pump. A quick war cry and we were all off again descending down into Lisburn (round 18) approaching the bridge when another psssssssssssssssssssssssssss which can only be described as a sound of someone coming off the bike. Luckily it was just the echoes under the motorway exaggerating the noise, however Mr Doyle was revisited by said fairy earlier as he must have been a bad boy.
This time no messing after some groaning by the Saturday ‘A’ run folk, Eddie used the spare wheel on the bus and mutterings of his brand new tyres were forgotten about. The group meandered through the concrete city, down the towpath sharing jovial stories for what must have been a handful of miles but then pssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss this time it was Murphy aka Johny Ward experiencing the blow out of epic proportions on his tubular.
Not being shy of getting stuck in Johny macho swiftly produced a can of sealant and produced what only can be described as a Catherine wheel only seen in Halloween festivities as it propelled the wheel round gushing foam everywhere. It was marginally repaired but enough to move on so the team set off again heading for Belfast.
Along came the warm rain, spirits were dashed but were soon rejuvenated when a Gibson showed up to help captain the ride. As the efforts to gain momentum gradually ensued along came the fairy once more! Psssssssssssssssssssssssssss For fe######### could be heard from streets away.. Who could possibly be the victim this time? McCann haulage who has been setting PB’s and making mammoth gains all year could not avoid such a curse even with his wattage.
Some used this opportunity to water the local flower beds disguised by the rain falling, stealthily negotiating shrubbery and fencing in their cleats. Graham Douglas had decided to help Darren and manage to get his kit jersey dirtier than a 50 shades of grey novel. With the extra pair of hands McCann had bodged the wheel back on to resume the ride.
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With 30 miles Bryson had only one thing on his mind – coffee stop! Much to Wallaces burning inner demons it was warmly welcomed by most as people were getting fed up from the frequentities of the punctures and the ghastly rain. The group pulled into a petrol station to discuss plans on where to stop only for Mr Bryson to have queued for his coffee before Wallace could react. Sneakily Neil Armstrong also thought this was a great opportunity and purchased one too.
Raymund had decided enough was enough and began his picnic at the back of the bus. Wallace was at boiling point so the group decided we would travel into the town and have proper food and coffee and all was forgotten.
Roisin sadly parted at this stage opting for lunch with the other half somewhere else dressed glamorously in her wet cycling gear. With the group refreshed and well fed it was onwards and upwards as they say. The weather improved and soon the waterproofs and arm warmers were ditched as we approached halfway.
The next part was either a blurr or a mental loss as taking turns on the front and shielding Raymund along we managed to soak up much of the next 35 miles till we got to the Ballypatrick Forest climb. Trevor decided he would open his jersey and flex his powerful muscles by staying 5 meters ahead of the bunch up most of the climb. The bais reeled him back in before the lay-by to regroup where we met Mr Beckett en-route to the destination.
After a speedy descent into Ballyvoy a much deserved Guinness (or seven) was consumed and the craic started to fly. Shortly after waiting for the key to get into the digs, everyone returned to get showers, changed into nice clothes and enjoyed the BBQ!
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Day 2
A short two miles in the wrong direction was all that was needed to warm up the tired legs from the previous days riding to catch some breakfast. This was consumed faster than they could serve it and we were back off up the road again for the gradual but long ascent. Johny Bravo had other things in mind and decided to descent like a typical 30 was the prize going hell for leather.
This was the last time most of us seen Johny for the rest of that day…
A costal hugging route was decided for the return journey and a coffee stop was had before Larne. Efforts were made to engage with Johny but who wants to do group riding when there’s KoM’s to be had?
Carrickfergus and Whiteabbey soon went by until Belfast slowed the pace and another stop was in order. Apart from being out of all the sandwiches available on the menu a brief snack was devoured for the final leg back to Dromara. Much less talking this journey occurred as people were saving the energy and thinking about better things like the club league or watching big brother that evening.
Not to be left out of some form of precipitation, the weather gods granted us some more warm rain (except it was not warm) at Lisburn to close the day off nicely! We thanked the mini bus man and people were darting off quickly to get home and rest. Many thanks to those that organized and contributed in whatever capacity – it was fun!
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