On Behalf of the "Rookies"

A guest editoral contribution this evening from Marco - The blog will be updated over the next week with new photos from the cycle and an update on the Fund Raising. If you haven't already, please give generously.


A few of the 18 cyclists had never taken cycling that seriously and in fact some of us did not have appropriate bikes, equipment and of course the dreaded Lycra outfits!  By the beginning of May, we had purchased our bikes and began an intensive training schedule.

For some of us this commenced with getting used to clip-less pedals and that meant getting used to falling off on a regular basis. In fact some of us have managed to get scabs on top of scabs.

We started our training off slowly, the lagan tow paths, the comber greenway - to begin with we thought that 10 miles on this mountainous terrain was a real achievement. What we did not realise that the horror roads were still to come!

At this point we need to mention our trainers/coaches/torturers....

David - he took us to his torture chamber (or sorry it was his garage!) where he showed us bikes which he and Mairead trained on while watching scary DVD's of morons cycling up the Alps and Pyrenees. He even had a photo on the wall showing Mairead climbing up the steepest hill in Ireland. We as rookies began to panic - 4 months to go and we thought what have we let ourselves in for.

 David took us to a place called "Jacobs Ladder" and subjected us to "timed" runs up and down a hill that our cars would have struggled up. We didn't go up this hill once that night - Oh No - we had to do it 4 times! He made us do it another night and were "encouraged" (more like threatened) to improve our times. We were told that this hill would be like a "Small Col" - in other words guys this was a doddle!

One night David took us on real hill training - Fort Road, Dows Road and Homestead Road. This was "great" accept the rookies rode off into the distance in the wrong direction and we had to be rescued by Ciaran in his car!

 As for our training up and down Dree Hill - OMG!!!! (Top of Dree Hill below)

Then there was Martin who did not believe in short runs - it was 60 miles or what was the point? We were promised a good lunch which was our incentive. None of us could believe that you could leave Doagh and arrive in Glenarm without going on main roads, but that was the case. Of course Martin made sure that we did a few hills along the way. These were not hills - they were cliffs!

We need to thank Martin's family for their hospitality when we returned for these adventures as there were always cups of tea, filled rolls, fruit and plenty of cuddles from his dogs which made this part of our training worth the effort!

And finally there was Seamus (with assistance from Larry). Seamus organised most of our runs. He also made sure that no matter where we went, he liked to ensure we got all sorts of weather, but mainly RAIN!!

We usually went along Jacob's ladder and headed out into County Down - Saintfield, Listoder, Cahard was a favourite jaunt and we all felt we got better at this route as the weeks passed by. That was the easy bit.

Seamus organised a training camp in Donegal, made us do the “Lap the Lough in a storm and to cap it all made us take leave at the end of August and ride 2 days in a row followed by a day off and then 2 more days in a row. He also made us cycle from Hilltown UP to Spelga Dam!!!!!!!!!!!! We learnt how to change punctures (well, o.k., watched while Seamus and Larry changed punctures).

But, what we really learnt was that you could get a great Ulster Fry in Brennan’s and Castlewellan and great ice cream in Rathfriland.  Fearing the Bonk, Seamus tackles a famous Brennan's ice-cream - sprinkles added for fast glucose absoption...

As all of you who have read the blog will know that we all achieved our goals of climbing every mountain (although the "piggin" never ending forest that we encountered nearly broke us!) and if it had not been for Seamus (with Larry), David and Martin having the patience and the time to put up with us and encourage us every "pedal" of the way then we would clearly have not achieved what we did.

On behalf of the "Rookies" - THANKS TO ALL WHO TRAINED US AND ENCOURAGED US - we could not have done this without you.

Pour le Plaisir!

35,000 feet of climbing to go.

Some important, interesting and exciting news. Firstly, all riders made it safely to St Jean de Luz and many dipped their feet in the ocean. Some excitable individuals led by Betty swam out into the ocean, but safely returned. The final key team photograph was taken and the Climb every Mountain Cancer Cycle was completed. Now all we need is the donations to keep pouring in.  

http://www.justgiving.com/climbeverymountaincancercycle 

Summary statistics for the tour:

- 18 exhilarated cyclists;

- 18 sore ......;

- No major injuries;

- 2 tyres replaced;

- 1 puncture - though David says it technically wasn't - explanation too long to include;

- 1 broken free wheel mechanism;

- 2 grazed knees;

- 1 malfunctioning down-tube motor;

- 430 miles cycled (extra 70 miles for harder options);

- 38,346 feet (46,000 feet on harder Col route) of climbing on the basic route;

- 41,675 Calories burnt;

- All cyclists conquered all the major Cols;

 Mairead's flat tyre:

Now to more exciting news. We have now received confirmation to Gillian’s reply to the big question. It is reliably reported that she said, “I bet you say that to all the girls.” Little did she know that Greg also popped the question to Paula and had also checked whether Mairead or Betty were indeed married. It can also be re-called that he also had a lengthy conversation with a blonde waitress as previously noted in the blog.

On Friday night Paula held a hurried conference with David. On her most recent twice daily conversation with Joanne Miller (to exchange gossip and key news), Joanne had mentioned that Dr Joe O’Sullivan had walked past in the Cancer Centre. Paula was shocked as our mystery guest was the illustrious and renowned Dr O’Sullivan. With amazing prescience David deduced that one of them must be an imposter. David discussed with Turlough, Martin, Seamus and Larry as to how it could be determined whether our Dr O’Sullivan was the real thing or a sophisicated impersonation. At dinner the previous night, our Joe had waxed lyrical about Prostate Cancer and Abiraterone but every dog in the street knows about that. A cunning trap was set. When Joe came to mingle with his fans, David offered him a choice. He could either go to the bar for a few pre-dinner drinks or go to the local Centre-Cancer to meet the local prostate cancer experts for a TV experience, comparing Irish and French research. Our Joe opted for the pub and was therefore unmasked as the imposter, as the real ‘McCoy’ would have followed the science.

The last day of cycling was no doddle. The team started in rain, which lifted just as they tackled the last Col of the tour (Col de Osquich) on the way to St Jean Pied de Port.

One last push and one last ping on the Turbo. Although the Col had only 4km of climbing, the cyclists found it very tiring as various joints and muscles ached and throbbed from the week’s exertions. A few more soul destroying ups and downs took them into St Jean, which is a very historic town. There was a coffee stop here and number of the cyclists (Seamus, David, Mairead, Larry, Turlough and Gerry) reminisced on their previous cycling Odyssey along the Camino in 2006 (www.caminocycle2006.com).

St Jean Pied de Port is a famous starting point for the Camino de Santiago a 500 mile ancient pilgrimage route to the town of Santiago de Compestella in northern Spain. Some photos were taken of the old cobbled streets of St Jean Pied de Port and the cyclists remounted to start the final push to the seaside. Cafe Greg Squared appeared by magic at the top of one of the few remaining hills and the condemned ate a hearty lunch.

A short detour off the main road took over the final few hills followed by a 20 mile push on gently downhill roads to St Jean De Luz. Some enthusiastic members went for a swim in the Atlantic to complement their Mediterranean swim.

The celebration dinner was in a very nice restaurant with striking sea views of the Sunset.

Since the final stage had been declared nullified to avoid any risks during the final run through the crowded streets, the only Prizes to be announced were the overall standings and the special awards. Johnny got the best overall Yellow Jersey, followed by Turlough and Phillip. The Green Jersey prizes were Ciaran (Le Rainard) 1^st, Gerry 2^nd and Martin 3^rd. King of the Mountains was won by Turlough, followed by David 2^nd, though Turlough has some concerns that David had been too modest. Alan (the welsh hare) was 3^rd in KoM. Super domestique was won by Mark Grattan of Team Physics. Larry won the Gold Jersey for best senior, just ahead of Geoff (2^nd) and Seamus (3^rd) as he was on the road. Niall won the white jersey for the best young rider. Geoff also won the best improved cyclist.

The best female cyclist (Pink jersey) was won by Mairead, 2^nd Gillian and 3^rd Paula. Paula also won the best dressed cyclists, which was not surprising given the amount of Rapha gear she had accumulated. Betty won the female Green jersey for sprinting in stage wins.

The team event was won by the Phoenix cycling club, just ahead of Team Ballycoan. Kilbride CC, Team Physics and Foyle CC were joint third owing to fewer team members.

The dinner tonight was the best meal to date, but was unfortunately followed by some singing. Larry and Betty danced a jig or maybe a reel.

Party pieces were performed but best left to the imagination (‘a Boy named Sue’ did feature though...). The participants adjourned to open air tables for a few drinks and were joined by a passing Basque choral group and a passing Brass Band complete with a Lambeg-like drum.

Geoff bangs out the sash on the Lambeg

The celebrations went on for some time and the cyclists were glad not to have to face the bikes and the sudocream in the morning. Turlough even spent a while working at the bar.

Larry detunes a Basque Guitar

Greg and Gregory left with their loaded van at 4am to catch a ferry on Sunday night. The cyclists are due to fly home to Dublin later on Sunday. Seamus reminded all the cyclists that his Wednesday evening runs were cancelled for the winter, in case their enthusiasm got the better of them. All agreed that the trip had lived up to and exceeded their expectations. It was well described in the words of Paula in the Swatragh Star (coincidentally also the same words used by Seamus in the Tyrone Constitution and Gillian in the North Belfast News).

“Cycling with Friends for Friends.”

The participants would sincerely like to thank all their supporters who gave them encouragement and have donated money to the Friends of the Cancer Centre.  We would also like to thank Nathan and Alan, our tour co-ordinators from Marmot tours. We are extremely grateful to our sponsor of the van, Mourne Windows and Doors. We have been over-whelmed by the scale by the amount raised (around £20,000 and rising) and this will greatly help our work in providing cutting edge Cancer Care and Research for our Patients. This blog has attracted over 4000 hits, which indicates it is either a very interesting blog or more likely shows the interest in our whole community.  There will be further updates to the blog with more photos over the next few weeks.

Trip completed - Full Circle

All cyclists in safely - celebrations in progress. Full results and blog in morning

Day 6 - 2 big cols and a very, very long long run in.......

This morning's start was delayed while Mark Grattan went to the central post office to collect a cylindrical package. It transpired that this was the last booster for Martin's down tube motor and was based on the klystron of the new TrueBeam linear accelerator radiotherapy machines. It was quickly fitted and off they went to tackle the first two climbs of the day.

On the climb Geoff (Marco) has some gear problems which were solved by Ciaran Rafferty. Despite being nominally easier than the Tourmalet, these climbs proved to be a severe challenge. Paula and Gillian stopped to chat to a few old friends:

The scenery was absolutely spectacular and in particular the road to the Col D'Asbique traversed a 2000 ft climb with alarming drops following from the side of the road. On this road, Wim van Est whilst wearing the Yellow Jersey during the 1951 Tour de France (which Larry remembers well), crashed and went over the side, landing on a ledge 70 metres, with 100's of metres to the valley floor. His team managed to rescue him by knotting together their tyres and tubes and pulling him to safety. Sadly they had to retire from the tour because their tyres and tube were hopeless stretched and they were not allowed to replace them under the existing rules. Larry remembers this being a major source of controversy in Carrickmore Ferret Handling club.

The drop to the valley floor:

The ascent was complicated by having to negotiate several herds of cows and horses, which seemed to delight in obstructing cars, vans and cyclists. The cowpats were a major cause of anxiety to some cyclists.

As the cyclists neared the top of the Col d'Aubisque a very low percussive boom was heard, first thought to be the sonic boom of a low flying jet fighter (more of which later). Gillian ascended well but in the final kilometer, she saw a fine young man lying on the road with his arms raised. She suddenly realised that "will you marry me?" was painted in 3 feet high lettering, and that the person offering himself was none other than Greg Junior, who had asked his Father's permission before asking Gillian. Gillian's answer has not been recorded and matter not resolved.

On returning home Larry noticed that the tin of paint that he was bringing to the South of France, to paint his 70 foot yacht (named Sheila's Dream) was missing half its contents and Greg the likely suspect.

The lunch stop on the Col' Aubisque allowed the group to taste the Asbique omelette which are renowned in the region. The restaurant has a bizarre rule which allowed only Garlic Potatoes with the omelette. Seamus got around this by telling the waiter where to put his Garlic Potatoes and asked for a plain baguette. Seamus felt his omelette tasted strange, so the waiter may have has his revenge. Mairead had a puncture at the top, the first of the tour. A group photo was taken at the top of the Col with bicycles roughly the same size as Johnny's.

Martin's back tyre had developed a number of cuts in keeping with major structural damage and it has to be replaced to permit his usual flying descent. At this point it emerged that the loud noise has been from the engagement of Martin's super turbo. Unfortunately it had proved far too powerful, spinning the back wheel and shredding the tyre. Martin descended the Aubisque with his usual aplomb and even out-paced the news helicopter winning the best descender again. Betty as usual got the best female descender. Larry wins no prizes for descending.

The fast group took a short cut over the Col de Marie Blanc, which is a massive tour classique. They still managed to arrive back at the hotel looking as fresh as daisies, but not smelling as though.

The overall stage with two climbs and 76 miles proved very challenging. The run from the base of the Aubisque went through a short picturesque valley and then a long monotonous valley full of nasty hills. The final 20 miles were relatively smooth downhill, through small villages with large traffic islands and curious red traffic islands designed to kill cyclists. The 3rd way group were fortified by coffee in a bistro where the waitress was more interested in reading her magazine and appeared totally opposed to serving customers, making life as difficult as possible. However, the group persevered and were faced by a dramatic dash to make it home before dark. They entered the hotel at 8pm, having covered 18 miles in the last hour, with the pace being set by Larry and Seamus.

Today's stage and hence the Yellow Jersey was won by Ciaran (Ballycoan VC) and Gerry (Phoenix CC) jointly with bridges having being mended from yesterday's Stewart's enquiry. Both celebrated by having several slices of the delicious Basque speciality almond cake.

The King of the Mountains was keenly atested and David was first over the Col du Solour and the Col de Marie Blanc. Niall, however was first over the Col d'Aubisque and was a narrow winner of the King of the Mountains.

Philip won the Green points Jersey and Mairead was Queen of the Mountains. In a shocking announcement, Paula was given the young female riders Jersey for the 6th time.

For todays route follow:   http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=xjghuqzrssawhymr

Todays Stats: 
Distance:  75.21 Miles
Cycling Time:  7 hours 24 minutes
Climb :  6014 feet
Calories:  6474

Col De Tourmalet

The morning dawned with some astonishing news.  Martin had serious concerns as he had left the high octane jet fuel for his motor and turbo in the previous day's hotel.  The tank only had sufficient for one hill, so Greg squared were obliged to return and collect the vials.  The package was referred to as the "contact lens case" to stop the hotel tipping off the UCI and police.

David had set out a master plan designed to have every cyclist arrive at the top of the Tourmalet at the same millisecond, achieved by having the cyclists leave at very precise times and cycle at specified speeds.  He had not allowed for the poor time-keeping and erratic behaviour of the cyclists.

Steve also had a cunning plan.. He expressed concern for his poor wife Betty having problems with the steep hills.  Having wheedled his way onto the first group away to help Betty, he cycled with them for a few minutes, said "OK now for the Polka dot jersey" and whizzed away up the road, fortified by skipping the first hill on the previous day.  He then did a tremendous climb and quite thoroughly deserved his jersey and special unique commissioned trophy (a 2 Euro bit of tat from the tourist shop).  David had bought that trophy for himself, but, try as he might he and Turlough could not catch Steve. 

All made it to the top, fighting their way through llamas, passionate cows, cowpat obstacles and incredibly steep gradients. 

At the top there was some team work to help the finishers, but also some attempts at sabotage (see the picture of Gerry trying to hold back Seamus close to the top, because Seamus had the temerity to wear the same jersy as him!).

Group finish by Paula, Geoff, Gerry and Ciaran.

Shadows of pain, first Alan then Johnny.

The most viscious section at 10% was through the ski town of La Mongie, which has been renamed Le Mongerel. 

The day was hot and sunny and most cyclists looked  and felt exhausted by the effort, but elated by the achievement.  The views from the mountain and from the top were spectactular.

Lunch was in the hil-top restaurant where a very disgruntled waitress complained about havng too many customers.  The hungry cyclists bought the very last ice lolly of the season from the shop.

A group picture was taken beside the statue of the giant of the tourmalet, whose desperate expression mirrored that of David on finishing the climb. 


A rapid descent brought the cyclists 21 km to Luz st Sauver, where some stopped for coffee (of which more later).  The run finished with a rolling run into a stiff headwind down the Gorge De Luc to Argeles.  The cyclists have been put in 2 hotels to control rowdy behaviour.

Gerry and Martin were on the road and believed that they should show sportsmanship and collaboration, so they worked as a team to secure the stage victory (a first for both).  To their shock and dismay when they gasped home they found Ciaran on his third pint and fourth Turkish Delight. Oh dear, said Gerry, Martin said something else.  It transpired that Ciaran had stayed behing on the descent to photograph some frolicking cows, having agreed that he would drop in for coffee at Luz.  However, once they were inside , he attacked and had got past unbeknownst (what a word) to them.  The boys reported him to the Court for Arbitration in Sport (David really).  Opinion of counsel was sought, old heads (not necessarily wise) were consulted.  The crime was that of attacking the leaders at a feed station, a crime in the Tour De France on par with headbutting an opponent in the sprint.  The punishment was swift.  Ciaran was demoted to Lanterne rouge (last position) and Larry gave him a final warning, which terrified poor Ciaran.

Martin and Gerry were therefore given the stage victory and joint yellow jersey.  Photo below, forensic examination is being performed on the shadowy figure behing the curtain.  Gerry and Martin have taken their bikes to bed tonight as a precaution against sabotage, at least that is their story. 

The usual suspects (Turlough, Johnny, Alan, Philip, Niall) did a massive extra ascent of  Luz Ardiden, another hors category climb, just for the fun

Larry got the Gold jersey for achievement by a senior citizen for finishing fourth.  Mairead was queen of the mountains, finishing in the top 6, and best woman by about 1 year.  Betty, who was miffed by Steve riding away on hill, worked as a domestique to get Larry home, and in the process got the pink jersey for the stage.  This was a change from the last few days when Larry helped Betty home by pacing the hills.  His refrain of "Are you there Betty? had rung around the hills for days.  Larry, getting hoarse today had suggested that Betty get a cow bell, so that he could rest his voice by hearing where she was.

Dinner was the best to date.  The pep talk for the next day is normally given by the boys from Marmot, but today it was given first by Greg who seamlessly linked cliches to produce a talk which was in many ways better than the "real" version that followed.

If you want to make a donation, please give via:  http://www.justgiving.com/climbeverymountaincancercycle

For todays route:   http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=fyeuzehhaqjfhrgm

Todays Stats: 
Distance: 39.1 Miles
Time Cycling:  4 Hours 01 Minutes
Ascent:  4291 feet
Caloires:   3398

Twin Peaks and a triple for some

All set off from Luchon and after a short criterium of the town set off straight into the Col de Peyresourde, a 14 km Category 1 climb.

As we entered the circle of death 6 Vultures circled above.

With what is suspected to be an induction motor in Mark's down tube, team physics crested the summit the first to claim the joint King of the mountains points.

Geoff Pantani Hill was mobbed by the tifosi as he summited the Col. To watch the video of this frenitic activity go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_IEncYDrQI
 All were entertained by a lively waiter in the crepe shop at the top.

The tough men (Turlough, Johnny and Philip) included the Col D'Azet whilst the rest of the team waited two hours for lunch. Philip, not to out-done threw in a climb to a ski resort. During which a Ciaran Rafferty engineered break away of Martin, Niall and Gerry started the Col D'Aspin another Category 1 climb.


Niall crested first followed by Gerry and then by Martin, whose newly fitted turbo on the down tube motor had mis-fired several times on the ascent.

During the descent a herd of cows and a timber lorry were encountered. Also, some unusual road-side contraceptives were on display.

A beautiful descent to ascent to our hotel in Aste followed. We had chicken for dinner, which was a surprise for third time, accompanied by pasta for the fourth time. However all agreed this was the best dinner by far. David salivated over and scoffed everyone's anchovies; his love affair with French Cusine continues.

David, managed a personal best by over taking a four wheel vehicle which was a French pensioner on a motility scooter.


The Prizes are as follows:
Yellow jersey: Niall - who clearly benefited from coaching from Pantani yesterday, exclusively revealed on this blog.
Green Jersey: Gerry
Golf Jersey: Geoff
Best descenders: Martin and Geoff
Pink: Gillian
Female White: Paula
Female Green: Betty

Finally, what we signed up for

Hot weather nice hills. No rain, no wind. What more you could you ask for?

The day dawned misty and chilly. All agreed to set out for a rolling hill downward to St. Girons.

Larry found his home town...

Some were more patient than others. A steady drag took us to the coffee stop where Greg interviewed a chancy blonde, the girl serving coffee of course. The first climb of the day coincided with hot sun and cloudless sky. All made it to the top despite a 9% final kilometre.

After some sterling overnight work by the physicists, and with technical advice from Betty, Martin's down tube was repaired and a turbo fitted. He had clearly overcome his illness and appeared rocket powered.

Just before the first climb Ciaran was seen grabbing a baguette off a local French woman, clearly trying to avoid a repeat of yesterday's allegations.

There was a mountain top first class picnic courtesy of Greg squared on top of the Portet de Aspet. However it lacked the hypothermia, uncontrolled shivering and crab coleslaw.

The cyclists descended the memorial of Fabian Casartelli and took all the appropriate photographs.

There was then an important dividing of the ways. The more conservative cyclists elected to do only one Col whilst the more adventurous chose to do two cols. However, the single Col was extremely arduous and hot (Col de Mente) which over heated and blew Martin's motor (more over time for the Physicists and Betty is on standby).

The two Col group finished their climbed on Col De Ares. The restaurant at the top was closed and Gillian threw a tantrum and wrecked their anti-cycling sign. In remorse she did try to repair it, but we are awaiting potential legal proceedings.

The two Col Group were making a leisurely return home just when Alan Marmot was looking for them. When he eventually found them, through gritted teeth he told off Larry for poor leadership. Larry blamed Tony (also know as Steve) for demanding a coffee.

The one Col group coffee'd on top of Col de Mente except Gerry, who in an attempt at a stage win powered over and descended without stopping. However, despite nearly an hour at the "Tete de course" the peleton were quick to chase him down and without Martins motor he was quickly over taken.

See Mark's video of his descent of the Col de Mente

Watch Mark's videe of his descent of the Col de Mente

Today's stage ended with a photo finish between Johnny and Turlough, because Ciaran was only carrying 18 Turkish delights and ran out 10 km before home. A rather disgruntled Ciaran spend the evening getting an infusion of vitamins, EPO and blood and kept the whole group late for dinner.

Before dinner we had another guest appearance from Marco Pantani, complete with eye brows and ear ring. David swooned at his feet and Marco gave climbing advice to Niall. We will watch how he performs over the next few days. P.S. The aspiring Pantani on the bike on the blog two days ago was of course Niall.


We had another visit from our N.I. Celebrity. He did point out that it was very hard for him to get his usual publicity owing to cycling dominating the airways. He still refuses to permit us to divulge his name in case this creates extra traffic on the road.

In the restaurant Marco got dirty looks from a French diner who had bigger eyebrows than he did and though it was taking the ....

The prizes today are as follows:
Stage win: Joint between Johnny and Turlough.
Yellow Jersey: Johnny (Team Ballycoan)
King of the Mountains: Turlough
Pink Jersey (woman's overall leader): Mairead
Queen of the Mountains: Gillian
Woman's Green (Points): Paula
White (best young female): Betty
Gold Jersey (Best Performing Veteran): Tony aka Tony.

For Today's Route: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=nugcbuttsxbgeckj

Todays Stats:
Distance:  63.12 Miles
Time Cycling:  5 hours 53 minutes
Climb: 5627 Feet
Calories:  7968 Caloires