North Pole Trip On Sunday 14th September the Leisure Cyclists held their last trip of the year, on this occasion the destination was the beautiful Inishowen Peninsula in Co. Donegal. A party of 25 left Omagh in the early hours for the starting point of Buncrana, on arrival a scouting party was sent out to find a suitable place for breakfast. After waiting an hour for Dale Lyttle to finish his 3rd the party was spilt into 3 groups lead by birthday boy Enda Harpur, veteran Sean Harpur and big ring Justin Conaty. After going just 3 miles Endas map reading skills were yet again brought into question, back on track the party headed for the steep climb to Carndonagh and then to the food stop at Ballyliffin which was supplied by Ann & Sorcha, apparently Sorcha was up until 3 in the morning waiting on her banana cake to rise. After waiting an hour for Hugh McCann, Gerry and Dermot Gallagher to return from heading for the Derry border the party went to tackle the famous Mamore Gap Hill Climb. At the foot of the gap Enda gave another team talk, Sean gave another history lesson, Martina put on more lippy, Aisling put on another 2 nasal prongs and Gerard McNabb was heard saying wheres the hill. History was made on the way up, Justin came off the big ring for the 1st time, Brian Van Gough Hayes fell off trying to keep Martinas wheel and Gerard was heard saying he was for sacking his mechanic for giving him the wrong settings. Club doctor Harry Jackson was seeking medical attention even before the climb. After a brief rest at the top and waking up Shaun McBride and another history lesson from Sean they descended to the base camp for a healthy lunch and refreshments at The Inishowen Gateway Hotel. Overall a brilliant day was had by all, a tough route but very enjoyable with a great bunch. Ciaran McBride was missing because he apparently you tubed the route the night before and faked an injury lol. The group would like to thank Ann & Declan for help with the support vehicle and food stop, Sorcha for her help with cardboard etc for the bus and her famous home baking. This has been a great year to be part of the leisure scene and next year we will intend to have even more trips planned. Onwards and Upwards
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 18:54:26 +0000