pdeegan's blog

Back on the bike for Maracycle!

How long can an Irish winter last?  It seemed to go on forever.  Having participated in the New England cycle last September, I had hoped to get back out on the bike this spring, for the good of my health if for nothing else.

 

In Boston now...

Now in Boston. Looks like a nice town. Had an enjoyable cycle to get here today, 65 miles from Amesbury. At last we are staying in a hotel that has a bar in it - there may be a few in the city too ;-) Forecast for our final day tomorrow is for ...an inch of rain - d'oh! We will be leading off the hub-on-wheels cyle in the city, with participant numbers said to be somewhere between 6,000 and 10,000. Mind you, if it is pouring rain, it may turn out more like 1,000. Time to check out my surroundings...

End of day one

Oh my body is in torment! Did the full 68 miles today, plus about 4 extra miles due to group getting lost. Not as bad as some others that did an extra 15 miles - ouch! Great news is that my ankle is giving me no trouble, I just have sore legs and... a sore posterior. We had lunch in Salem today, at Murphy's Bar and Restaurant, the town is best known for hosting witch trials and for the film Salem's Lot.

And they're off!

Just about to set out on our first 68 miles of cycling. It is nice bright morning, with a breeze here, about 19 degrees - good conditions for cycling. The gang are great craic, veterans and rookies alike. The former are the o...nes that shipped their own bikes over to New England. $3.50 for a Bud last night so we won't be needing a big entertainment budget!

A Good Night Out

Our table quiz went very well yesterday evening at Searson’s Pub in Baggot Street, thanks to the whole Dublin office rounding up participants and helping with the organisation.
 
Susannah wangled lots of spot prizes from local businesses and these were supplemented with umpteen bottles of wine etc. from our staff. Special thanks go to Rose, our volunteer MC for the night who did a really professional job.