Social cycling at 12 MPT
Sometimes , when you see a single cyclist pedaling along an isolated country road it may look like a lonely form of exercise . Sometimes it can be anything but that .
Yesterday morning , I headed off for what I thought was going to be a nice handy 2 hour training spin . The morning was dry and cool with very little wind . Perfect weather for cycling . The direction that I choose was to head towards Clogheen , on into Cahir and back to Clonmel . By using some back roads it would be a nice quiet spin .
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4caeZhutcCY]
Between Ardfinnan and Clonmel who was coming against me in his big blue van only my friend Bernard . We stopped up on the side of the road and spent 15 mins plotting and planning our assault on this years Marmotte in France in July . Then on I went again headed for Clogheen .
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9_cx7qEZ_U]
Another friend of mine Mickey O’Donnell ( or Mickey and Donald as Kate calls him during her Disney moments ) lives on the far side of Clogheen and spent a few days in hospital last week after a fall so I decided to call for a few minutes to see how he was . Thankfully he was recovering well and 2 cups of tea and 1 1/2 hours later I was once more throwing my leg over the saddle and on the road again .
The road I was now on passes by my cousins farm and as I could hear the tractor running in the yard I stopped to say hello . Another hour and 2 more cups of tea saw me back on the road again now headed towards home feeling great as I always do after meeting my cousins who have a fantastic outlook on life .
On in through Cahir and along the back road near Grange through Knocklofty and who should I meet coming against me only Mr. www.sustainablesolutionsireland.com , Mehall ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald himself . Fresh from closing yet another deal with a client for one of his wood pellet boilers and a solar system he was full of the joys of spring .
On through Loughtally and home I found myself having covered only 50 miles in 5 hours at an average of 12.5 Miles Per Tea .
Group cycling can be a lot more sociable than a night in the pub as you move up and down the line getting a chance to chat to everyone for a while and have a bit of craic but even a lone cyclist can have a very enjoyable social spin , even if it’s not exactly the best form of training .
Garmin details of the spin here : http://connect.garmin.com/activity/24345825
Barry
6 COMMENTS
brianmc
haha! The joys of cycling in Ireland! 🙂
SG
Great post! Made me smile this morning!
Alan Kennedy
great post Barry, how are the by roads out that way?
worldwidecycles
Glad ye liked it lads . Roads near Shanbally would make Paris-Roubaix look like smooth tarmac , but in general were OK Alan .
Jon Flynn
Best of luck to ye in your training and the Marmotte itself.Guess those 21 hairpins you rode last July are calling you back.The Alpe,Glandon,Telegraphe and 40 degrees,no bother to ye!!
worldwidecycles
Thanks Jon , your putting the wind up me now , I kinda forgot about the 21 hairpins and the 40 degrees . Must have been trying to block them out 🙂