Well that month went in quick! I wrote this post commenting on how quickly my first 200km Audax event was approaching and suddenly I’m sitting in a B&B in Co. Offaly with just over 12 hours to go until the start!

In usual fashion my plans to increase training and get one more longer ride completed in the last few weeks didn’t really materialise. A combination of laziness, youngest son’s 18th birthday and some bad weather gave me too many excuses not to go out as often as I should have and I really should have known better than to plan my 160km spin for the day after the family party to celebrate the 18th birthday 😵‍💫

Saying that I’ve managed a very neat 444km in the last 4 weeks and I’m sitting at just over 1000km for the year so far. With tomorrow being an “easy” 200km at only 1000m of elevation I should be grand. At least the weather looks promising:

Ballinasloe is just over 3hrs drive from home so I decided to stay down tonight. I was working at Head Office this morning so took some office time for the afternoon leaving me a much handier 1.5hr drive to the B&B.

I’m staying in the small village of Shannonbridge in Co. Offaly. As the name suggests, it’s on the River Shannon and it didn’t disappoint by providing an historic 1757 bridge over said river…

I took an early dinner in one of the local pubs and had a short wander around. It’s a quiet spot this evening but very nice as the sun was setting in a very clear sky. The Shannon still seems to be in significant flood after the months of rain that have started the year.

Lots of history including a Napoleonic era British Fort from 1810 built to protect the bridge crossing from French invasion. Clonmacnoise is only a short drive away also.

The town is almost spoiled by the industrial complex looming over the South of the town. I originally thought it was a chemical plant of some sort but turns out to be a massive peat burning power station that closed down in 2020: West Offaly Power Station

After my wander I took a drive into Ballinasloe to make sure Google Maps was correct with the timings and to make sure I knew how to get to the start location in the morning. All was good and I treated myself to a packet of chocolate biscuits for a cup of tea this evening and a couple of bananas in case breakfast doesn’t work out in the morning. Anyway, I think it’s against the law to start a cycling event without a banana in your back pocket.

All that remains now is to try and get a good night sleep, check my kit for the morning multiple times and try not to get too nervous….