To say we found it difficult to leave the comfort and luxury of the Mount Falcon Hotel in Ballina would be in an understatement. However the promise of a day off in Sligo spurred us on through the rain.
Once again the weather proved to be quite miserable which made the going tough on what isn't the most cyclist friendly of roads between Ballina and Sligo. As luck would have it, we were pulled in on the side of the road for a break when we bumped into John Green, Secretary of the Innisfree Wheelers Cycling Club. John quickly became our saviour as he lead us off the main road onto the quieter and more scenic coastal road. We stopped for a quick sambo and cuppa in Chris and Michael McDermotts shop where we discovered just how small a world it really is as we all seemed to have some common connection. We hit the road again and headed towards Sligo making good time thanks to John's pace setting and the promise of a hot shower and some grub.
We arrived in Sligo in the late afternoon to be greeted by both sets of parents, as well as Rose from the CFAI and her friend, Mary. It was fantastic to be greeted by such friendly faces.
After a quick interview with Dara from Ocean fm we headed out to see the sights (i.e. pubs) of Sligo town!!
We enjoyed a few pints and plenty of craic with our families and were delighted to be joined by our buddies Dan Whelan and Ciara Mulrooney.
The next day we awoke in the Riverside suites to the scent of a delicious fry being cooked by Mammy Phelan! It was the perfect start to our day off. We spent the rest of the day strolling along Strandhill beach and in and around Sligo town. After another delicious home cooked meal from the pantry of Mammy Phelan, we had a relaxing evening before getting a good nights sleep ahead of our next day on the road.
Whilst we thought the welcome into Sligo was special, nothing could have prepared us for the heartwarming sendoff the people of Sligo gave us early on Sunday morning. Many thanks to all the representatives from the CFAI who turned out in great numbers to wave us off. Also a massive thanks to John Green for organising an escort all the way to Bundoran. It truly was an honour to cycle with members of the Innisfree Wheelers Cycling Club. 
After parting company with our new friends from Innisfree we headed towards Ballyshannon where we bumped into an old friend of ours, Rory Gallagher. It was a true honour to meet a musical legend who's almost as good a guitar player as Dan Whelan, and almost as good a singer as Niall Phelan.
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