Happy New Year Everyone. I hope everyone had a happy Xmas and wish you all a healthy and prosperous 2026.
At the end of 2024 I didn’t set any goals for the year ahead but ended up hitting a good many milestones regardless, almost 5000km cycling for the year, starting the Audax RRTY 100 challenge, completing the Festive 500 and ticking off a good few summits on my various Mountain lists. We had a great family holiday in Spain at the end of August and Catriona and myself had a really enjoyable long-weekend visit to the Xmas markets in Budapest at the start of December.
For 2026 I’m not setting any massive goals either but there are things I’d like to do this year. I definitely want to keep up the progress I’ve made cycling this year. I want to finish the RRTY 100 but I’m also determined to get back to full Audax long-distance cycling. In 2016 I completed the Audax Ireland Four Provinces Challenge and I’d like to do that again 10 years later for 2026.
I’ve identified four events I’d like to do for the Challenge. The first of these is on Saturday March 21st so that gives me 11 weeks to train for it.
All four events have been chosen to hit the four Provinces but also to find events with as little climbing as possible. The first goal is to get fit enough for March and then I’ll see how the rest go.
I want to keep ticking off my mountain lists but this year I’d like to get a better mix of solo hiking as well as walking with the Club. In 2024 I only managed two solo hikes in Ireland plus one on holiday in Spain.
I did no camping in 2025 at all, partly due to the lack of solo hiking and an increase in cycling. However, a big part of that is nervousness about solo camping. I have all the gear so no excuses. I’m not setting any big goals here either but I want to get one camp done by Easter and then set a new goal after that.
I think the main thing is to have a number of plans to keep me focused for the year and to give me something to work towards. It’s also important not to set overwhelming and unrealistic goals that only end up demotivating. Anyway, here’s to a great 2026.
That’s the first ride done and off to a great start.
It also counts as my Audax RRTY 100 for December so a two for one deal.
Weather was just about as perfect as could be hoped for. It was cool but not cold, dry and bright after the first 30km. There was a slight breeze (about 10km/hr) coming from the East that put an edge to the day. I could feel it setting off but soon warmed up enough to counteract the chill.
I was joined by two club mates for the first 20km. They went as far as Lifford before swinging off to Raphoe. They weren’t as lucky as me to have so much available time on Xmas Eve so had to settle for 55km.
I was feeling punchy at the start and this lasted for a good 30km. I think I was a little bit excited! Coming out of St Johnston and heading for Carrigans I had about 5km of exposed roads with a strengthened breeze as it came off the river and straight into my face. This sucked the excitement out of me pretty smart.
This section is then followed by the nicest of the route as I joined the Foyle Valley Greenway and cycled traffic free into Derry with the river on my right and the sun shining over my right shoulder. The going was still harder than I expected and I was pushing harder than expected to maintain 23km/hr.
A quick break and photo op at the Quays in Derry and I took a hard left to head up the Buncrana Road. Despite the traffic I was smiling, now the breeze was on my back….
I flew across the border through Bridgend and on to Newtowncunningham for lunch at Kernans at 65km. I didn’t hang around long as I was sitting outside and getting cold quite quickly. Scoffing a sandwich and tea and filling my bottle with Energise I was away less than 30min after pulling in.
The next section was the toughest and for no good reason. I still had a tailwind but my legs were moaning something serious. A series of rolling hills out of Newtowncunningham and across the Galdonagh Road became hard work, much harder than expected.
Passing through Raphoe and down into Convoy at 85km I decided I needed a pick-me-up before tackling the long 5km drag up The Broadpath. I wasn’t really hungry so forgo my usual kit kat snack for a smaller fudge bar.
I’m not sure if it was the tea, the fudge or just the short break but I was up The Broadpath drag with no further issues and soon dropping back down into Stranorlar with the smell of home in my nose. I passed the 100km mark on the last climb of the route at 4hrs 2min so I was pretty happy with that. Another 3km closed the loop to where I started this morning and then it was just the final 1.6km soul destroying climb back to the house. I definitely didn’t set any records on that climb today!
Ride #1 done, rest and enjoy Xmas Day tomorrow and then it’s a shorter 65km route on Boxing Day. Starting time is uncertain as it will depend on the road conditions in the morning and how quickly they clear up.
Following a theme from my last post the title of this one can’t help but remind me of this song from my misspent youth…
I wrote that post on the 15th of October and alluded to a big event that I was planning for the following weekend. I apologise to all of you that have been waiting patiently for an update ever since 🤣
It’s been such a big gap that I wasn’t going to bother but if Unironedman can write a post and publish a video in November about an event in April I wasn’t yet past my sell by date for this post…
Connemarathon by Declan Kenny. Go watch it, it’s very good 👌
Back in September I DNF’d our Club Sportive event. I made it to just under 90km in atrocious weather conditions and scratched at the main food stop. That was my first and only DNF at an event. It felt wrong to me at the time (it was still the right decision on the day) and it was bugging me ever since.
On 18th October I managed to get that monkey off my back. I was joined by Grainne, who has been a steady cycling companion throughout the Summer. She was under a bit of time pressure for the evening so started in Castlefinn and met me at the bottom of my road to save her at least 30min at the finish.
We headed off through Ballybofey, Barnes Gap and on to Ballyshannon. The going was pretty good, we had a dry day and although there was a bit of a breeze it was slightly in our favour for most of the way to Ballyshannon.
A 90° turn in Ballyshannon for Beleek brought us into the wind. The work became harder and this is a deceptively difficult stretch of road with lots of small, steep climbs that sap the energy from legs with over 50km done.
Rolling into Beleek we decided to take our main lunch stop at the roadside service station. Small, covered, outdoor pods provided a welcome relief from the wind and allowed us to keep our bikes close and relax.
This stop is what I was missing on the day of the scheduled event. Not just the food at this point but the opportunity to relax, go at my own pace and not feel under pressure. It was also an important stop as the hardest section was just ahead.
Crossing from Beleek to Kesh across the top of Lower Lough Erne and Boa Island is where everything went wrong in September. That day we had heavy rain and strong winds averaging 30km/h with gusts even stronger. The wind was coming from the SW straight across the water and there is very little shelter on that stretch of road. Today we still had the wind to contend with. At an approximate average of 25km/h it was far from easy but not having the rain or stronger gusts to deal with made it much more manageable. Arriving into Kesh we felt a bit battered but a quick stop for a drink and some sweets soon had us feeling much better again.
A few kilometres up the road we reached Ederney and the spot where I scratched in September. I had to get a photo to completely dislodge the monkey and give him a final boot up the arse.
Grainne decided to keep rolling and despite only being stopped for a few minutes she proved damn hard to catch! I could see her bright yellow gillet in the distance but it took a long time to reel her in.
We were now into one of the long climbs in the last third of the route as the road winds and climbs from Ederney to the quarry at the high point of Scraghey. A long, tiring section but finally we had the wind mostly behind us and it really is just a matter of getting the head down and grinding on.
At the top of Scraghey Grainne was feeling tired and felt it better if I just pushed on and left her to follow at her own pace. She was quite determined about this and I know too well what it feels like to be riding even just slightly harder than is your own comfortable pace so I clipped back in and rolled off having said our goodbyes.
About 15min up the road I hopped off the bike to have a wee in a farmer’s field. I was only just off the bike when I heard a cheery hello as Grainne sailed past! Once I was sorted and back on the bike her yellow gillet was once again fading into the distance and I was once again working hard to reel her in! It was Castlederg before I caught her. Apparently with the pressure off she discovered her second wind and was sitting a steady couple of 100m or so behind since we parted earlier.
Rolling into Castlederg together we decided we had earned a final tea break and stopped at a shop on the way out of town.
My favourite spin snack.
While stopped for tea one of the other guys messaged to see how we were doing and this was Grainne’s response….
After tea we did say our final goodbyes and I headed on solo up the final long climb out of Castlederg and the long, sweeping descent into Castlefinn. A short section along the back road towards home, the final inevitable 1.6km climb back to the house and it was done. Just before I turned on to our road I was passed by Grainne in her car so I got home knowing she was safely finished also.
Back in September I was absolutely gutted about my DNF. A large part of this was the knowledge that I knew I was capable of doing it. I was sure that better clothing and a chance to ride my own ride would be successful so it was immensely satisfying to prove that right and to prove myself too.
What surprised me most was how good I felt finishing. I felt like I had at least another 15km left in my legs. That night I made plans to ride 160km the following weekend to get my first 100mile century done. However, during the week the weather turned a bit nasty and I had to scratch that idea. Through the rest of October and November I’ve been a bit hit and miss but doing enough to keep my legs in good shape. I also managed to get my November Audax ticked off with a solo ride on a new route.
Heading into December I’m feeling pretty good on the bike. I have my December Audax to get done and I’m heading for a decent mileage finish to the year.
I’ve been joking with some of my Club friends about the Festive 500 and while unlikely to happen it definitely feels like it would be a great way to finish out the year if the weather plays ball over Xmas….
I know that’s not the song title but I can’t say it without singing it in my head!
As September rolled over into October it appears that I am on a bit of a roll too…
Those three spikes are 3 rides of 100km+ in the last 4 weeks. It would have been 3 weeks in a row but Storm Amy blew in last week and spoiled that! We lost power on Friday shortly after 4pm at the height of the red warning and it stayed off until well into Saturday evening. We lost water on Saturday morning and it was Sunday afternoon before that returned to normal (our supply comes from a reservoir on the side of the valley that requires pumps to fill from the main supply lower down).
Having booked a long, 4 day weekend off some months ago, it turned out to be a bit of a wasted weekend but I was finally able to get out on the bike on Monday for a nice, social spin with two clubmates to Raphoe for tea and back home via Ballybofey.
This was followed by night rides with the Club on Tuesday and Thursday evening, both around 30km but on the MTB on hilly back roads so decent workouts over 2 hours each. Saturday morning I went out with the Stabiliser group for a short, easy recovery ride before the main 100km ride on Sunday.
5 rides and 240km in the one week is very rare for me, even when I was at my most active, but it should be noted I only got one ride in the previous week…
Sunday morning it was back to Audax and time to get in the October RRTY 100 ride. This time we had decided to ride a route recently published by another Audax Ireland member just a week or two ago.
I’ve no idea of the significance of the name!
Myself and Grainne had managed to talk two other clubmates into joining us. Paul will do a few but Brian may give the full RRTY Challenge a go. We publicised our intent on the Club WhatsApp group and as we coordinated our start with the Sunday morning Club ride we ended up with 7 in total!
Official starting point where we picked up the route*
Overall it was a really good route. I’ve ridden all of it before but not always in the same direction as Sunday and definitely not all together. The 1000m elevation is edging towards hard for a 100km ride but it was surprisingly tough on the legs. There aren’t a big number of climbs but they’re all hard climbs. For many routes around here the majority of the elevation is gained on long, gradual climbs but Sunday we earned them on some pretty steep ground. Returning to the MTB on Tuesday night I could still feel the lingering effects!
Sandwiches, bars and sugary drinks were devoured at the much needed lunch stop at Victoria Bridge*Big squad out on Tuesday evening enjoying the unseasonably mild and settled weather*
Sunday also marked my one year anniversary of rejoining the Club via the Stabiliser Group. A fitting way to mark it and not something I was expecting just 12 months ago!
October 12th 2024*
We’re experiencing a very unusual spell of mild and settled weather for the last two weeks (calm after the storm?) but that is due to break down this weekend to something more typical. I’m keeping a close eye and hoping that Saturday stays good as I have a plan to rectify some unfinished business that will hopefully be the subject of my next post…. 🤞
*all photos of Club activities courtesy of Brian McElhinney 📸
With my increasing mileage I’ve been getting a real taste for long distance cycling again. 200km Audax still seems like a big stretch in terms of fitness but I came across the RRTY 100 Challenge recently that was introduced by Audax Ireland this year.
A standard RRTY (Randonneur Round The Year) involves completing a 200km Audax Ireland approved route each month for 12 months in a row. This year they have started adding 100km routes as a taster and introduction to Audax. In tandem they have created the RRTY 100 for the shorter distance ie ride a 100km Audax Ireland approved route 12 months in a row.
Checking out the Audax Ireland site it quickly became clear that the closest route was in Sligo! A discussion on the Audax WhatsApp group turned up a more local 106km route that is in the planning stages but it has a mental 1600m of climbing and I’m not sure I’m ready for that!
It was clear I was going to have to come up with at least one route of my own. I have a few 100km+ routes I’ve done in the past but one in particular that I’ve been thinking about for a while.
It was originally developed by one of the guys in the Club as a charity event a few years ago. Our Club is the Finn Wheelers and we live in the Finn Valley area which is named after the river Finn. The Finn is 64km long and rises from Lough Finn, close to Fintown (are you getting the theme yet!). It flows East to Lifford where it joins with the Mourne coming out of Tyrone to form the Foyle which flows to Derry and out to sea at Lough Foyle.
The aim of the route is to cycle the length of the river on both sides crossing only at the two end points. As a play on the well known Lap The Lough event in Northern Ireland we named it Lap The Finn.
As its been 5 years since the original event I arranged to ride the route as an organiser ride recce and get credit from Audax Ireland for having done it even though it hadn’t been published as an official route just yet. I’d no idea what condition the roads would be in and didn’t want to have to change the route post publication.
Fit enough back then to add on extra mileage from home!
I was hoping for company but ended up doing it solo on a blustery Sunday, just one week after the DNF at the Club Sportive. It was a cool enough day with blustery showers but I’d learned my lesson from the week before and was kitted out in my winter tights, long finger gloves, rear mudguard and overshoes.
It turned out to be a challenging but enjoyable ride and apart from one section, descending from Lough Muck to Fintown, was pretty good surfaces the whole way. There’s a fantastic variety of scenery with the section above Ballybofey getting up into the edge of the Bluestacks and quite remote.
Photos from the day make it look like I had sunshine the whole time!
“Muc” is Irish for pig and I particularly like this sculpture looking down over “Loch Muc”
It felt really good to get this ride done and it was huge boost to my confidence that had taken a bit of hammering after the previous weekend.
A little bit slower this time…
That evening Grainne (one of my clubmates and fairly regular cycling companion) contacted me about the route. She’s completed the Cycle Against Suicide Mizen to Malin ride a couple of weeks ago and thinks the RRTY 100 would be a good challenge to keep her on the bike. I wanted another long spin for the weekend so we arranged to ride it on the Sunday.
So glad we did as it was about as perfect a cycling day as could be hoped for. It was chilly, but not cold, sunny and dry for the whole day and barely a breath of wind. It was already an enjoyable route but it’s always better to have company.
Since then the route has been officially posted on the Audax Ireland website. A bunch of others have also gone live and we’re hoping to ride one of them this weekend…
I was going to start this blog update by saying I’ve neglected it quite a bit this year but to be honest I’ve found myself stepping away from all forms of social media and at the risk of sounding very pretentious, all forms of creativity. I’ve thought about blogging and YouTube quite a bit but the drive to put something in words or on film just hasn’t been there. I’ve also been less inclined to take and post photos this year which is a big change for me. The majority of photos that I have taken have stayed on my phone only.
Last year that would have worried me as over the last couple of years I’d been struggling mentally to get the motivation to get anything done. A large part of that was that I was desperately unhappy at work and that was affecting me mentally and bleeding into my daily life. The main symptom was an increasing lethargy and lack of drive to do anything.
Having changed jobs back in August last year I’ve now had a significant turnaround. 3 years of negativity will take some work to reverse completely but I’m definitely feeling much better than I did this time last year. I’m putting the lack of social media interaction down to the fact that I’m too busy enjoying the moment to be able to document it or even feel the need to.
Cycling
One of the very first changes was a renewed interest in cycling. I hadn’t turned a pedal in over 12 months when I started back briefly in April 2024 with a spurt of 5 short rides over a 3 week period.
Self motivation was desperately lacking though and I stopped again until September following a good start to my new job. I had a few solo short spins again before reconnecting with the Club and joining the Saturday morning Stabiliser Group in mid-October for my first Club spin since February 2023!
Very quickly this became a regular Saturday fixture and I was hitting the 50km marker by the end of October having originally thought that it would be a good aim for the end of the year!
This year, despite a week here and there off the bike, I’ve made cycling a regular activity again and I’m enjoying it too. I’ve increased my distance to completing at least 100km most weeks and hitting the 100km marker at the really enjoyable Donegal Bay Sportive at Easter when a big group from the Club did various routes with many of the Stabiliser beginners completing 50km for the first time also.
For the May Bank Holiday there was an organised group spin from Ballybofey to Buncrana with the option to join depending on the distance you wanted to cycle. I joined in Raphoe for just shy of 90km.
The Club then rounded off the Summer with a fun day on Saturday last week. We bussed to Errigal and did a summit walk followed by dinner and drinks in Lettermacaward before returning to Ballybofey and more drinks before heading home at a very late (for me!) 1am. A great day of fun and laughter and a good physical challenge that was highly enjoyable.
In the last couple of years I’ve struggled to gel with the Club. It’s been mostly my own fault, being in a bad mindset and finding it difficult to connect with the other members, despite knowing some of them for a few years. Thankfully this year has been very different.
I’m not setting any massive records for the year but so far I’ve managed to clock up 2,650km for the year. It’s not a huge amount but considering 4-4,500km is average for me, that my biggest year was 8,000km and the combined total of 2022,2023 and 2024 was slightly over 2,400km I’m doing pretty well for 2025!
On Sunday the Club is running a Sportive again. There are two routes, 62km and 135km, and I’m planning for the longer route. I’ve been doing steady mileage over the last few weeks including two longer rides of 90km and 110km. I’m feeling in a good place for 135km but I’m currently in Spain for a very lazy family holiday and not sure how that will affect my fitness. We’re back home on Friday so I’ll take a short leg loosening spin on Saturday to see if that helps.
Increasing my distance like this and the subsequent increased fitness, has brought back a hunger for Audax. I’ve stayed in all the Audax Ireland WhatsApp groups so I haven’t really lost touch but it’s taken until now to really consider the daunting 200km distance once again.
The RRTY challenge (1 x 200km Audax event per month for 12 consecutive months) has had a new version launched for 2025 called RRTY 100. Basically it’s an introductory challenge for those looking to get into full-on Audax and consists of 1 x 100km Audax event per month for 12 months. I’m thinking of using that as a pathway back to Audax similar to how I used the Club Stabiliser Group to get me back cycling regularly. I’m not setting any great targets for next year but seeing as 2015 was my first ever Audax I’d quite like to get one done before the end of the year and I’m seriously considering giving the Four Provinces Challenge (see the link above) a go in 2026 as I did it previously in 2016.
To get the RRTY 100 completed I’m going to have to get at least one route published for Donegal. The nearest is currently in Sligo and the only one I’m currently aware of in development is a massive 1600m of climbing in 106km!
Hillwalking & Camping
My last solo hillwalk was in The Sperrins at Banagher Glen in the last of the Winter snow on 11th January. I’d earmarked that route for a period of snow and just managed to time it right although I did have a mild panic at the car park, deep in the Glen, when I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to get the car back back out in the compacted snow!
I haven’t given up on hillwalking though as I’ve been active with the Bluestack Ramblers Walking Club this year, completing 8 group walks from January to June with 3 in June alone. There were some great walks in there with Knockalla and the Aghlas definitely being my favourites.
I didn’t get out at all during July or August as the walks weren’t as interesting and I was busy with jobs around the house and cycling. As my cycling mileage increased my free time for hillwalking decreased and, if I’m being honest, I struggled to get enough fitness for cycling and hillwalking in the same weekend! However, I have two of interest in September that I’d like to do. They’re on the 7th and 14th which will hopefully allow me a chance to get an Audax 100 completed later in September to get the RRTY 100 started.
Another victim of cycling and the lack of solo hiking has been camping. Despite buying two new tents in the last 12 months my last wild camp was in April 2024 ! I simply haven’t had the time to give up two days for an overnighter and have had too many other things I wanted to do instead. I would like to get out and do something in the Bluestacks before the end of the year though, preferably in September or October. If nothing else I need to try out my new 2 person tent I bought specifically for Spring and Autumn camping! It was my Xmas present last year but I haven’t even managed to get it out of the box for a test pitch…
Of all my social media posting it’s YouTube that has taken the biggest hit this year. My last video release was in November last year. I did record my hike in Banagher Glen that I mentioned above, but somehow haven’t had the time or drive to get it edited and published. I’ve given it a go a couple of times and have it about 50% done so I probably will finish it eventually. However, I wasn’t really in a filming mood that day and it’s a bit disjointed. It could be a feeling that it’s not that great that’s as much to blame as lack of time for not getting it finished. I do enjoy filming and editing for YouTube though so I do see myself getting back to it, possibly with a return to solo hiking and camping but I’d like to start adding some cycling content also. That will involve some solo cycling as I don’t like to film with groups so might kick in if I start into Audax preparation…
More to come…
This is already too long so I’ll add the rest in the next couple of days.
To keep my positive focus I’ve now booked time off work for the 600km spin. It starts Saturday 10th June so I’ve booked a couple of days to allow time to panic properly and get my bike and gear sorted. I’ve also booked the week off after for a bit of a holiday. I hope I don’t need it all for recovery!
I’m having some real doubts about the Audax Challenge I’ve set myself this year. The turn of the month, my reasonable success restarting training in January and starting to increase my training for February has made it all more real than it was in the early days of January.
My first big marker is April 23rd with the Dark Hedges 200. I’m mostly confident that I will be able to manage that ride. I’ve done both the course and the distance a number of times and know what to expect. It’s the next BIG marker that has me really worried – Coast to Coast 600 on June 10th just 7 weeks after the Dark Hedges! I’ve no experience of distances over 200km and none of multi day rides either. That scares the 💩 out of me right now!
part i
part ii
Where the brain starts to screw me now is with those doubts. I’m finding it much harder this month to keep the same motivation for my training. Some of this is that the initial excitement is wearing off and that shit’s getting real. Mentally it would be much easier to find an excuse to give up than deal with the possibility of failure. However, I keep setting targets, making plans and focusing on the next ride.
On Sunday I rode almost 60km, slightly longer than I expected and my longest ride since August 2021! Milestones like that keep me motivated.
Perspective? My blogger friend Jim at Fit Recovery is dealing with the shock of being made redundant after 25 years with the same company and the prospect of starting all over again with a new company. Good luck with the new job Jim 👍
niall harran 