Island Adventure and a Technical Hitch

It's been a while since I last posted and since I did any serious cycling. That's not because I haven't been trying, but I've not been having much luck!

We had a bit of time off cycling partly due to our holiday. We went to the west of Ireland, which was beautiful. We did go on one cycle ride and although it didn't get off to a great start, the time we spent cycling was brilliant and definitely a highlight of the trip.

It was the first day of our holiday and we'd decided to take a boat trip out to one of the Arran Islands. It was pouring with rain when we left our accommodation in Galway and was still pouring with rain when we boarded the ferry. After a short but choppy ride we arrived on the island and much to our surprise the weather cleared up a bit. We spent a bit of time trying to find a pub that had been recommended for lunch, but we couldn't spot it as we wandered around the harbour and eager to get on with a bike ride, we opted for a quick take away burger and chips.

Next stop the bike hire place. They had an interesting way with dealing with customers - they took our money and a deposit and then waved generally in the direction of a yard full of bikes and left us to sort ourselves out! Trying to avoid particularly rusty looking bikes, we finally settled on two that didn't seem too bad and then had to go and ask if there were cycle helmets. We were directed to a huge bin full of them, which sadly didn't have a cover on it, so they were all soaking wet and that made putting them on rather unpleasant!

At last we were off...we pedalled along by the harbour and followed what we thought was a route towards an old ruin that is one of the least visited sites on the island. Just as we'd left the safety of the harbour area the rain bucketed down again. Before we could stop and get our waterproofs out we were already soaked through...and a couple of cows and a calf eyed us suspiciously as we stopped by their field to sort ourselves out. Consulting our map we discovered we'd already taken a wrong turn, so we headed back to try and pick up the right track. Unfortunately out of the two options available, we managed to pick the wrong one. This became obvious as we cycled up a very steep hill that became very rocky and then seemed to turn into a river at the top!! Despite being determined to make something of the trip, we decided to abandon the less visited areas of the island and stick to the main routes!

Heading back to the harbour to pick up the main road across the island, the rain eased off again and as we turned the corner and went up the hill we stumbled across the pub we had been looking for earlier in the day - hey ho! It didn't take long for me to direct us off our planned route again - I'd seen a sign for the seal colony and determinedly set off again. On first arriving at the look out point I thought we were out of luck, but on closer inspection we noticed that the rocks appeared to be moving and there were several seals out there. Not so fortunately, just as I got the camera out and started snapping them a mini van full of tourists pulled up which somewhat spoiled the tranquility of the spot , so we quickly moved on.

We didn't think we had time to make it right across to the other side of the island so we started to make our way back. The landscape and views were beautiful with so many small walled in fields, many with sheep or horses in them and we passed several gardens, some with goats, chickens or dogs keeping watch. We battled with the gears on the hire bikes as we climbed a long hill - they didn't seem to budge until several rotations after we'd attempted to change gear and at one point Ant's chain came off. Luckily that was quickly fixed and we were soon on our way again. Reaching the top of a hill we stopped to contemplate a road sign suggesting that cars were in danger of falling off the road. As we didn't have much choice we decided the only thing we could do was to continue cautiously....as it turned out we had a glorious downhill ride all the way back to the harbour. It was such a quick route back that we ended up getting back half an hour earlier than we'd planned!

It didn't matter though - I was quite glad to be rid of my bike! Much as I'd enjoyed the ride, without my cycle shorts and the relatively comfy saddle on my own bike, I was suffering despite only having done around seven miles - and I felt it for the following few days too! Never mind - by now the sun was shining in the harbour, so we had a final wander round and marvelled at the fact that it seemed like a completely different place to the grey and damp one we'd arrived at earlier in the day.

After our holiday, we decided to take ourselves out for a gentle ride on the bank holiday Monday but sadly I didn't even make it to the end of the road. I soon discovered I couldn't change gear. We consulted our bike maintenance manual but still weren't able to fix the problem. It was looking doubtful that I'd get it fixed for the weekend as my local bike shop couldn't fit it in and I had no way of getting it to another place during working hours. Luckily I was rescued by a lovely chap called Andy who runs a mobile bike repair service...thank you Andy!

So - fingers crossed, I'm all set for another ride tomorrow. The intention is to do half of a 100km Audax in South Devon. Ant is very keen on this and really excited by the idea. Personally I'm a bit scared about taking part in a big event like this and having to find our own way! That and the fact that's it's going to be hilly and I've not done a proper ride for a few weeks...

On the plus side, I invested in a new waterproof coat today - hoorah! (I can't quite believe how excited I was about buying a bright yellow high vis waterproof coat - but it was genuinely really exciting!) Also the lovely Kirby has kindly printed off a map for us, so there's some hope of finding our way, and even better - he's marked on a cafe stop, yay!

Right now though, I must get off to bed and get some rest before tomorrow morning....night night!