Coast to Coast Cycle
(20th-24th April 2000)
Sligo-Dublin
On Thursday the 20th of April 30
Venturers from various units met up in Sligo. There were units from Balally,
Irvinestown, Kilmacudd, Killkenny, Lusk, Rivervalley, Swords, Tallaght and
Waterford. There was a good welcome from the Sligo Venturers, which we
appreciated. We unloaded the bikes and moved them into a secure place. That
night everybody got acquainted with some games, such as frisbee, chairball and
musical chairs. There were sandwiches and cups of tea available; also repairs
to a few bikes were needed. Everybody was in bed by about 2pm.
Friday the
21st of April, we had breakfast and did a quick run around the field. We
gathered outside the den with our bicycles, expecting a Garda escort for 11am.
The Gardaí never showed so we got "Ar ár Rothair" and left Sligo. We
came across some foxy scenery on our journey. We had lunch in Belcoo that
day opposite the RUC station. We arrived in Enniskillen at around 5:30pm after
negotiating the heavy city traffic. But we were missing one member of the
group. We had a look around and found him. Tony Smith arrived with the key
after 6pm and we unloaded the gear. The den was extremely impressive. After
having showers and dinner we headed off to the cinema. “Galaxy Quest” a load of
muck, all it taught us was how to waste two hours, Brutal. No meat was had,
because it was Good Friday. Anyway we finished that evening by having
tea, coffee and biscuits and watching a video of “The Matrix” much more
impressive than that other muck. Rodger Lindsay from the Swords unit joined us
t!
hat evening and was a support car
the next day.
Saturday 22nd of April, this day
was a long day with an early start and sore backside syndrome starting to hit home.
There were several crashes that day which resulted in some well-damaged knees.
There were also some lunatic drivers to avoid. We ate lunch in Belturbet. We
peddled on to an old mill where we each made a loaf of bread, this was far
better than the cinema, and at least we learned something. There was a guided
tour of a mill, which was interesting. Mark Geraghty and Gerard Rice from the
Lusk unit joined us at the mill. Mark had the fresh legs and Gerard was another
support car. That evening many kilometres on we arrived in Killenkere Co.
Cavan. It was a sports hall that we used for this night. We had only very
little time to get into the blues before mass started. While the priest was not
exactly interesting the choir was very foxy. We arrived back to dinner burger
and chips etc. That evening was spent showering looking after sunburn and
injuries. Most people had!
retired by around midnight,
nice and early no need for sleep deprivation.
Sun 23rd of April, this day was a
mixture of weather: sunshine, wind rain, and hailstones. Most of us were soaked
while peddling along. We had lunch in Athboy. After that we trundled on to
Dunboyne Co. Meath. Everybody was glad to be finished for the day. There was
then a game of rounders and sumo wrestling. We got into the blues for a formal
dinner and presentations. Various little awards were given out. The Lusk group
invested an honorary Vneturer into there group, Verena from Munich in Germany
she completed the whole cycle so well done after the jet lag. There was also a
Jeremy Beadle moment captured on video camera. One of the Venturers from
Tallaght was going up to collect his award but tripped and fell. You had to be
there to laugh at it though it probably sounds boring on text. Keep an eye on
Utv you might see it some time. The foxy plaques were given out and we then had
an old session/ a few tunes until 2 in the morning.
Monday 24th of April, a short spin
to Dublin on the bikes. We went through the Phoenix Park but managed to lose
each other. There was an off road group and tar mac group but we all ended up
at the Customs House. That was the end of the event for this year, I would
encourage anybody to get Ar do Rothar and join us next year. Well done to Brian
Ennis for running the show and all his crew for their food, navigation and
encouragement. Well done also to everybody for motivating each other, for
Keeping her Lit, Keeping us buzzin with shouts of Ar do Rothar and go on get
that hill ney bother.
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Issue 19, May 2000In-Vent Copyright 1991-2000 SICSI Venturer Department
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