Had coffee and cake with the ladies (relatives & friends), then a guided tour of my aunt's caravan (sorry, mustnt call it that - its a 'mobile home'). Then tea and cake with cousin Colm at the Golden Pheasant. Returned to cousin Brona's house where there was much talk of everyone's plans for the day but not a lot actually happening. Had planned to slip away when they all moved off on their relative schedules but by 3.30 they were all still talking about it so I had to get up and declare it was time for me to leave.
It was a lovely day for a cycle. Just outside Timoleague though, disaster struck. A puncture.
Puncture number one. Not bad after 630 miles, but I was already a bit late. Luckily, at the last minute, I had decided not to leave all my gear with the relatives to pass on to my dad to take home, so I did have all my repair gubbins. Being sneaky I decided to both fix the puncture and, whilst the glue was setting, replace the inner tube with the spare I had been lugging round all trip. Just as well really cos the puncture repair didnt hold.
As I was pumping the tyre back up, the pump snapped. I think Boris was trying to tell me something! As chance would have it, cousin Karen was just passing and she offered to fetch a replacement pump, but after some stern words with Boris I managed to get the air in (not really sure how - there was a lot of shouting and swearing, which seemed to work).
So, 45 minutes later I was underway again. Did lots of calculations in my head re. how fast I needed to go to make the ferry check-in on time. Near Carrigaline the road just went up and up and up, which, of course, considerably slowed me down. I started to get rather anxious. I reckon there was about 6 miles of up. Oddly, considering I started and finished at sea level, there didnt seem to be a corresponding amount of downhill? There was an amazing view at one point, probably the best all trip, but unfortunately, I didnt have the time to stop. Maybe another day.
I guess adrenaline or something kicked in cos I maintained a very healthy pace. I even managed to take a call from Paul whilst ascending a hill in 1st gear (so very steep). No time to stop, it was mobile in one hand, handlebar in the other.After numerous pauses to check directions, and gambling on ignoring the signposts and going the way I thought best, I made it to the check-in with minutes to spare. It was a great feeling.
The ship, the 'Julia', was great - like a mini cruise ship; and new.
They even gave me a cabin upgrade.
Distance = 38.0 miles, Time = 3hrs 8mins, Av. speed = 12.1mph, Total = 663 miles
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