Ballina

We'll keep this one quick.

Hotel Westport was a fantastic place, but we had to leave for Ballina after breakfast. We've been told that Kerry is the wettest county in Ireland, but we can now officially say that is not true. According to our findings, it never ever stops raining in Mayo! Conditions, however, could have been a lot worse, as once again we were joined by a gentle breeze on our backs.

We met two truly fantastic characters today, people we can all learn a lot from and draw much inspiration. The first such meeting happened in Foxford, where we met Barney the dinosaur, who wears the CF colours of purple and green. Nice to have you on our team Barney!

The second meeting took place in the beautiful surrounds of the Mount Falcon Hotel, just outside Ballina. We were genuinely delighted and charmed that Jillian McNulty, accompanied by her mother, had driven all the way from Longford just to meet us. Thank to you both so much for the lovely chat. We admire the fantastic work you do Jillian, and hope to see you after the cycle.

Connemara

Fully refreshed after a lovely day off in Galway we left the comfort of the Radisson and headed out the road towards Carna.
We arranged to meet  two members of the West Coast Wheelers, Padraic and Padraic. The two lads provided the perfect balance of great company mixed with local knowledge and of course many laughs. The four of us headed out the road towards Salthill and onwards, along the coast road to Spiddle and later Rossaveel. After stopping for a hot chocolate we headed out towards Derravonniff, where the lads turned right and headed back towards Galway. Our group returned to its original line up as we turned left towards Carna.
We both hugely enjoyed our time in Galway city, however in a completely different way we enjoyed our time in Connemara just as much. The landscape and scenery is truly some of the most beautiful on our fair island, ranging from barren bog landscape to mountainous landscape, not forgetting the beautiful sea views.
After spending the night in the comfortable and friendly Carna Bay Hotel we hit the road and headed deeper into Connemara towards Clifden. We noted that whilst the day leaving Carna marked our halfway point, it was also the first really miserable day in terms of the weather. However, despite the dampness, our spirits remained sunny as it was impossible to feel miserable when not only were we surrounded by such beauty, but we also received word that we had passed the €9000 mark!!!
We arrived in Clifden in the early afternoon after a fairly easy going spin from Carna, thanks to a decent tailwind. We had a very relaxing day wandering around the town chatting to some of the friendly locals. After a quick chat with Connemara Community Radio, we headed into town for dinner followed by a hugely entertaining evening in EJ Kings, with the music provided by Michael Cleary accompanied by the 'Australian Santa' on the Flute.

After a hearty breakfast of Buttermilk porridge in the cosy Buttermilk Lodge B+B, we hit the road for Westport. Again, the weather proved to be quite miserable. However, once again we were delighted to have a strong tailwind, which helped us on our way. On the road to Westport we passed the beautiful Kylemore Abbey and stopped for a bowl of soup in Leenane before crossing the border into Mayo. Throughout the afternoon the weather remained miserable, however a combination of the beautiful scenery and a strong tailwind ensured that our spirits remained high. We travelled along the main road towards Westport which formed part of the course for this year's Gael Force West, and soon Croagh Patrick came into view. The weather cleared as we reached Westport in the early afternoon. We will enjoy a relaxing evening in town tonight before heading for Ballina tomorrow and then onwards to Sligo (and our next day off!!!)

G-g-g-g-g-galway!!!!

In the words of our beloved Big Mac (aka. Avril)............HOLY MOLY!!! We've made it to beautiful Galway!!!

We left the Lahinch Golf and Leisure Hotel feeling very refreshed, relaxed and ready for our spin to Galway! We were told to expect poor weather so we hit the road as early as possible. Thankfully the weather reports were wrong!!! The sun was beating down on us again (as it has done for much of this trip) which made the scenery along the route even more spectacular.
With the breeze on our backs we managed to make it as far as Kinvara before stopping for a well earned lunch. After filling our bellies we hit the road again. The thoughts of a day off and seeing our friends and family in Galway gave us an extra boost which meant we arrived into Galway city ahead of schedule. We checked into our comfy room in the Imperial hotel on Eyre square, grabbed a quick shower and then headed across town to meet our welcoming committee.
It's really difficult to put into words just how much we appreciated the heartwarming welcome we received upon our arrival in Galway city. A massive thank you to all those who showed up at the Radisson. Special mention has to go to little Joshua, who looked way cooler than Conor in the purple Oakleys!!!

After a quick chat with our welcoming committee we headed out the road to the Sportsground where we were honoured to be guests of Connacht Rugby at the Connacht-v-Leinster Magners League game. Before the match we were introduced to members of the Connacht squad (Tiernan O'Halloran, Eoin Griffin and Shane Conneely) as well as the team mascot Eddie the Eagle!!
After the match we joined our team of volunteers for a bucket collection in aid of the CFAI. Massive thank you to all the volunteers who helped us with the collection. And a HUGE thanks to the people of Galway for digging deep for the CFAI.
After a long day we were delighted to have a day off to recharge our batteries and get ready for the wilds of Connemara over the next few days!!

We would both like to thank everybody we met in Galway City for such a warm welcome, we'll find it very difficult to leave tomorrow morning!!

In particular we would like to offer our heartfelt thanks to those who gave up their time to help us with the bucket collection on a freezing cold Saturday night: Mags, Niall, Gareth, Jenny, Aisling, Caroline, Virginia, Cliona!

Finally we would like to thank CF Advocate for Galway, Caroline Heffernan, and to wish Senator Fidelma Healy-Eames the very best of luck in the Dublin city Marathon which she is running aid of the CFAI. Best of Luck!!!

West Clare

A short day on the cards was a welcome change from the challenging terrain of Kerry. Our destination was the Tarbert Ferry, which would bring us into Clare, our 7th of 14 counties. Kilrush proved its generosity in style, and nowhere more so than in The Haven Arms pub on the town square. The bar man, Martin, joined us in a table quiz. We failed to impress in the quiz, but Martin and the lads certainly impressed when they announced our trip to the whole bar, leading to unbelievable generosity from the locals. Many thanks to all in The Haven Arms, such a welcome was not expected but was very much appreciated.

We were met by rain and wind the following morning, but it was wind coming from the right direction this time! It blew us up and over the hills that separated Kilrush and Kilkee, meaning that we arrived in Lahinch way ahead of schedule and not overly tired. This short day will hopefully stand to us as we have a long enough journey tomorrow into Galway.

When we arrive in Galway we will be conducting a bucket collection in Galway City from 5pm. We are thrilled to be joined by Galway representatives of the CFAI as well as members of the CyclingForCF Team, who are making the journey from Dublin to help us out. We would like to invite anyone around the Galway area to join us outside the Galway Radisson at half 4. Contact the lads on the numbers below if you would like to help out:

Cathal: 083 4362197

Conor: 083 3600243

Today Cathal received news that his granny used the term "blog" in a sentence! The wonders of the internet (world wide web) will never cease to amaze! We'll have to keep the language clean from now on...

Sneem-Valentia-Tralee.

Yet again we found it very difficult to leave the comfortable Sneem Hotel. Many thanks to Louis and all his staff for their warm welcome. Sneem is an absolutely stunning place and is well worth the visit.
After a hearty breakfast we headed out the road towards Valentia Island. The day began with a spin along to Waterville which had some amazing scenery including the McGillycuddy Reeks on our right hand side followed by some stunning sea views further along the road. We stopped in Waterville for a bowl of soup to warm us up, cleverly timed as we missed the first rain shower of the trip!!!!
After leaving Waterville we headed out the coast road to Ballinskelligs which again had some stunning scenery.........and a few hills along the way. Before reaching Portmagee we had a series of steep (and I mean steep!!!) climbs but the breathtaking (no pun intended) scenery at the top was completely worth it......as was the descent into Portmagee. We were welcomed into Portmagee by Vincent and Sandra, from the Valentia Island Triathlon Club, who treated us to a warm sugary tea as we both must have looked a little cold and pale after the climb!!!

After warming up, Sandra and Vincent kindly dragged us across the bridge to Valentia and along the island to Knightstown. We checked into the cosy Atlantic Villa B&B and received a warm welcome from the proprietor Jackie. Huge thanks to Vincent who treated us to a delicious dinner in the Royal Pier bar in Valentia, which more than adequately filled the gap!! After dinner we returned to Atlantic Villa B&B where we had enjoyed a great night's sleep, followed by a delicious breakfast which included lots of local produce such as Goats cheese, homemade yoghurt and butter and a delicious garden salad (freshly picked from the garden of the B&B). The stunning Valentia Island is well worth a visit..........not only for the amazing scenery and friendly locals but also for the delicious breakfast in the Atlantic Villa B&B.
We also owe a huge thanks to Martin for dropping us across to the mainland on his rib, as the ferry wasn't running (for those of you who consider this cheating, we would have been re-tracing our steps back to the bridge at Portmagee!!). It's fair to say without the short trip in the boat across from Valentia harbour, we may have struggled to make it to Tralee!
It's difficult to explain just how much we appreciate the warm welcome the lovely people of Valentia gave us, particularly after what were our two toughest day so far. It was with a heavy heart (and still heavy legs!) that we left Valentia and headed for Tralee.
Whilst we were still a little sore after the previous days climbing, the hills on the way to Tralee seem like mere speed bumps after hearing the news that we had appeared on the Leinster Rugby website! Sadly, the mention was nothing to do with Conor's natural ability in the scrumhalf position!
We stopped in Kilorglin for a well earned lunch, after which we were met by a fellow cyclist (and fan!) Seamus Coffey. Many thanks to Seamus for joining us on the spin and chatting away to help distract us from the final few climbs of the day!!

We were delighted to arrive in Tralee in the late afternoon, and will rest up for tomorrows journey to Kilrush.

May the road rise to meet you!!!

We found it very difficult to leave the comfort and luxury of the Bantry House B+B this morning. What an amazing experience it was staying in such an incredibly beautiful house, we'd highly recommend staying there as not only is sleeping in such a beautiful and historic house and gardens a great experience but the warm welcome and the hearty breakfast are an experience in itself!!!



Conor in the tunnel into Kerry at the top of the Caha Pass



We eventually hit the road and headed for the Cork-Kerry border, through Glengarriff and up over the Caha pass. Whoever said ''May the road rise to meet you'' has obviously never cycled up over the Caha pass!!!!
Whilst the climb was tough, the incredible scenery and the speedy downhill on the other side made it all the worth while!!

We got a great welcome from the staff of the Park Hotel in Kenmare where we stopped for a spot of lunch. Two smelly boys in Lycra probably wouldn't be the usual clientele for such a luxurious hotel but nonetheless we were given a great welcome!!
After leaving Kenmare, we headed out the road for Sneem. We arrived at the gorgeous Sneem Hotel to a warm reception in the early evening, absolutely shattered after what has been our longest day so far, but despite the sore and tired legs with look back on the day with a sense of pride and achievement.

Finally all the Cycling for CF team would like to say a massive heartfelt thank you to everybody who has donated so far, this evening we passed the €7500 mark!!! Whilst we are delighted to have passed our target we will continue to raise money for the CFAI as they rely completely on fundraising such as this.....so please keep spreading the word!!!

We'll rest well tonight, looking forward to our spin out to Valentia Island tomorrow.

Mizen head!!

We awoke this morning in the comfortable Rookery Cottage B&B to a hearty breakfast cooked by our hostess with the mostest, Rita!! What can we say people, except if you are ever down in the Schull area, the only place to stay is in the Rookery Lodge B&B.



Bell and compass, at the southernmost point



After breakfast we were thrilled to meet Denis Coughlan, who came to wish us all the best with his sister Katie and mother Mary. This gave us a real buzz before hitting the road.

After spending a brilliant evening in Schull with members of the Cycling for CF team (Avril, Joe, Joanne and Eamon), it was with a heavy heart that we hit the road this morning. Whilst we were sad to say goodbye to our friends, we were delighted to have swanky new go-faster accessories for our bikes.

We left Schull and headed out the road towards Mizen Head, passing through some beautiful areas including Goleen, Toormore and Barley Cove. By mid morning we reached Mizen Head, Ireland's Southernmost tip which we were reliably informed by local cartographer Gareth Phelan, is the furthest point from home! However with such beautiful scenery, including Cape clear and the Fastnet Lighthouse on the horizon, it was impossible to feel homesick.

We then headed back towards Bantry, stopping in Durrus for Lunch. It is fair to say we were both gobsmacked by the ornate beauty of the Bantry house and Gardens, which is set to be our home for the night. After dumping our bags in our room we explored the 17th Century house and gardens. The house itself is incredibly beautiful, with so many rooms filled with antique furniture and ornate paintings. However, despite its beauty, we will both have trouble sleeping as a house of this age must surely be haunted!!!

Tomorrow we will be heading across the border into Kerry, through Kenmare and on to Sneem. The next few days will be spent in some of the most beautiful (and mountainous) areas of Ireland, lets just hope the weather stays fine!!!!

Be good!

Into the West (of Cork)

We have just arrived in Schull to a great welcome from Hackett's Bar. After leaving the Celtic Ross Hotel behind in Rosscarbery, we cycled the scenic coast road from Rosscarbery, across the bridge at Glandore.

Avril arranged for us to stay in the Rookery Cottage B&B, a fantastic place run by a really friendly family. This evening we will be joined by Avril, our friends Emma, Joe and Joanne. Munster have already won their game, now we just need Leinster to win theirs and it will be a perfect evening!

The plan for tomorrow is to head down to Mizen head, before heading up to Bantry. So far the weather has been a huge help to us, we hope it will last for a few more days so we can see Cork and Kerry in the sunshine.

Cathal's Aunt Fiona, along with her son Bill, have raised loads of funds through a staff room collection in Ballyroan Boys School. Many thanks to them and also the staff in Ballyroan for the support.

Cork City!!!!

We were delighted to arrive in Cork City this afternoon but even more delighted with the incredibly warm welcome we received!!!
What an honour it was to be greeted by a welcoming party on the steps of Cork City Hall! The party included the Lord Mayor of Cork Michael O'Connell and the Lady Mayoress Christine O'Connell, as well as Cllr Kieran McCarthy and Con and  Callow O'Sullivan from the CFAI.
We were also honoured to be asked to sign the visitors book in the Lord Mayor's office, where our signatures can now be found alongside celebrities such as Jedward and Séan Kelly.
Many thanks to Cliona for setting up this unforgettable reception for us in City Hall!


After leaving the City we headed back out the road to the Radisson Hotel, not before Conor managed to have a near death experience involving a stick (long story!)  but we eventually arrived safe and sound and are delighted to be settled into our luxurious rooms in the Radisson on Little Island.

Both of us are really looking forward chilling out on our day off tomorrow.

PS. Check out our facebook and flickr for photos of the past few days!! Also keep an eye on tomorrows Irish Examiner and tonight's Evening Echo as there should be a mention and photo of us!!! We also hope to be on Life 93.1fm tomorrow. Big thanks again to Cliona for arranging all this publicity!

What's up Youghal?!!

Firstly, a huge thanks to Cliona for arranging a studio interview with WLR and Beat FM, the two "trendiest" radio stations in Waterford. 
We arrived in Youghal after another scorching hot day. This weather was NOT in the brochure, but is very welcome to stay!
The cycle from Waterford has been the toughest day so far. We encountered some leg burning climbs, but the views from the top almost made it worth it!
Liam and Ben McCarthy paid us a visit in Youghal, and we were delighted to get the chance to meet them. Apologies to Ben's teachers for making him miss school, we will accept all responsibilities!
Tomorrow afternoon we will be greeted by the Lord Mayor of Cork at the steps of City Hall at 2:30, so if anyone would like to come out to say hello we'd love to see you there.
We will be posting photos really soon, promise... So keep an eye on our facebook and flickr pages for pictures of our sending off on Saturday (with photos from Michael Delaney and Cormac Phelan), as well as photos of the lads (accompanied by Jimmy Murphy and the unfunny Mark Gilvarry) on the road.

Succesful send off for day one of the trip





We would like to thank everyone who came out on Saturday morning to send us off on our cycle. It was amazing to have so much support.

Huge thanks to the Herbert Park Hotel for providing a great venue for our send off.

We were also delighted to be joined by Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan, Dr. James Reilly Fine Gael Spokesperson fro Health , and Cathaoirleach Cllr Lettie McCarthy.

After leaving Herbert park, we spun up the N11 towards Wicklow. We were delighted to be joined by friends and family, including Niall Phelan who could only manage to make it as far as Fosters Avenue due to the great weight of his magnificent moustache.

Now joined by Mark Gilvarry and Jimmy Murphy, the group of four stopped in Ashford to enjoy a great spread put on by Jenny and Brian Purcell whom we can't thank enough for their warm welcome, delicious sandwiches and tea.

We arrived in Arklow late afternoon where we were sad to say goodbye to Jimmy, who had to then cycle all the way back to Dublin!!!

Day 2!

We left the cosy Port-a-chalaigh B&B and headed out the scenic coast road towards Wexford.

Highlights of the Day included Mark Gilvarry's awful jokes, breakfast in Courtown, lunch in Blackwater with the Phelan family and Conor falling on his backside upon arriving in Wexford town!

We received a warm welcome from Vera and Brian Rafferty followed by a delicious feed and cosy beds!

Both of us are feeling fine and are looking forward to heading for Waterford City tomorrow where we will round the corner and begin heading West!!!

Chat with Joe Duffy on Liveline.

On Tuesday October 5th there was a great piece on Joe Duffy's Liveline show about Cystic Fibrosis. The segment highlighted the shamefully low standard of treatment facilities available to people living with CF in Ireland.

The people Joe spoke to included people living with CF, their family members and friends. All of whom spoke with great courage and dignity.

The one clear message that stood out from the segment was that something needs to be done immediately.

Cycling for CF also got a mention with Joe talking to Conor about the project.

To listen to the show visit www.rte.ie/radio1/liveline/
Scroll down to Tuesday Oct 5th, click listen back and skip to 15mins in to hear the piece and Conor chatting to Joe about 1hr and 5mins in.

Don't forget we'll be leaving from Herbert Park (the bandstand) at 10am on Saturday the 9th. All are welcome to come and cheer us on and sure bring your bike if you fancy a spin out the coast towards Arklow!!!