Report of the First CTC held in 1999

Ireland Coast to Coast with the CTC and Iarnrod Eireann.

It was an excellent trip. Well done Brendan. The first coast to coast trip, part of the Club's DATC events, will be talked about well into the next millennium.

Iarnrod Eireann got us off to the best of starts, and took us coast to coast in a few hours with perfect service and an excellent breakfast on a train that pulled out of Heuston Station on time shortly after seven in the morning. On route Garry explained the meaning of the Irish station names. It seemed like no time before the train arrived in Galway station.

There were eight of us - Maura; Brendan; Garry; Brendan; Peter; Ed; Keith; and John. A heavy drizzle fell as we posed for photographs on the edge of the Atlantic. By the time we got to Athenry I was wet and miserable and could not have cared less about the castle and priory ruins which we passed on the way. We sloshed on to Attymon where Garry directed us all into the shed of the local school. Despite the wet and cold the spirit that is the CTC emerged through the banter. Then the local school teacher emerged and offered to make his facilities available. It was the kind of gesture that makes it such a pleasure to be cycling in Ireland and the weather was relegated to its rightful place.

We pushed on for 80 miles to Tullamore that evening. Next morning dawned beautifully. The sun beamed down from a blue sky. It was perfect. The breeze was at our backs and we sped along the excellent route plotted by Brendan via our old reliable drum up spot on the lake at Donadea. We were standing on the edge of the Irish Sea a few hours later having completed 250 kilometres coast to coast with the CTC. Wonderful stuff. Book me in for next year.