Gales rain and a loose head set

Tuesday  19^th September     Tralee  (The Lacy cup circuit)

Alan was keen to see how well his recovery was progressing and so we undertook this 73 kms circuit. Maybe not the best of days to obtain a realistic progress report as the weather was less than clement. It began okay and we rode the road I had taken the day before. On the positive side, the traffic flow was much reduced; on the negative there were no views at all – just low cloud and spray. Camp had cleared the market of the day before and appeared very normal except for the serious road works which were taking place. Shortly after the leaving the village, the road took a sharp bend to the left and we found ourselves at the mercy of a gale force head wind. The road ahead was visible and climbed steadily to the pass (quite a long way on!) There ensued some discussion about a return but was finally dismissed and heads down, we pushed on. (Just hate to be beaten).

We had begun the descent on the other side when Al stopped. Oops! He had heard a loud bang and now his handlebars were wobbling where they should have been stable. The rain was now serious about getting us wet. Nonetheless it was necessary  to investigate this (wee?) problem. Tools in hand, Al was loosening and tightening bits when a white car pulled up and asked if we were the missing members of a group? No. Did we have a problem? Yes. A ten year old emerged from the passenger seat and offered his assistance. After a further very wet ten minutes, Alan felt confident enough to ride a wobbly bike. We profusely thanked our good Samaritans and continued downhill very slowly. Not entirely confident in the performance of Al’s bike, we took a small short cut to Inch. We also took some atmospheric photos which disappointingly have disappeared into the ether. It is true that by this time, we were wet through to knickers and so, it was with great joy, that we came upon a garage selling hot coffee, sandwiches and cakes.

After taking on fuel and Alan having fiddled with his bike a bit more, we confronted the deteriorating weather and road conditions. From Castlemaine, we were climbing narrow, main roads with a continuous flow of vehicles – thoroughly unpleasant. We did make it home in one piece and clearly there was an indication the Al was in fine form.

(Unfortunately, that night I fell foul of a cold! A really good effort! Now two days later, we have both been sick, bad, ill. It will pass and look forward to some coastal rides from Doolin!)