This was the 25th anniversary of the Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle we drove down on Friday afternoon , on arrival the weather was terrible , cold windy and raining .We booked into the Melton Hotel , a fine spot ,and then sought some spiritual comfort in a few pints of the black stuff in a local bar ,then back to the hotel for dinner where we were joined by David ,Connor and "Tank" who were joining us on tomorrows cycle . Up early Saturday morning to find that it had stopped raining and the sun was trying to make an appearance. Down at the start line , loads of cyclist (at least 1,000), lots of photo's ,some speeches from local dignitaries , a glamorous Swedish model giving us sweets and after a priest had sprinkled us with holy water we were finally off !! .
After 4 miles Jerome punctured ,van pulls up ,out jumps two lads , new tube ,new tyre all fixed in 3 minutes at an all inclusive astronomical cost of €20. As the day went on our "team" became some what fragmented , there were a few long drags ,the most spectacular one being Moll's Gap the watershed of the Iveragh Peninsula, from the top we had a great panoramic view of the Macgillycuddy Reefs . It rained quite heavily for the final 20 miles but we all finished , some in better shape than others ."Tank" deserves special praise as he is a footballer not a cyclist and only did it for a bet after being egged on by his work mates, he also had a bike that should have been scrapped years ago or presented to a museum .
We then retired to the usual format of drink, food and craic somehow even believed that Eric Clapton was staying at the hotel and would be singing a few songs in the bar . Great cycle , well organised , must do it again next year .
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