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Faster Than The Speed of Night

I know we say it all the time but this year is flying. It seems like no time at all since my last post which was just over three months ago, or to put it another way, one quarter of the year.

It’s been an eventful 3 months for me but it’s taken me a long time to be able to put it in words.

What Happened?

My last post was at the end of April, just a few days before I had planned to complete my second Audax of the year. That didn’t go at all according to plan. The event was scheduled for Sunday 26th April but on the Saturday I had a massive panic attack about being able to do it and I ended up pulling out at 6am on the Sunday morning after a night of broken sleep and bad dreams. During the Sunday itself I had a complete meltdown! It was as bad a mental health experience as I’ve ever had and unfortunately, Catriona bore the brunt of it. I’m just thankful that she was so understanding and supportive as it was pretty ugly and I said and did things that I am far from proud of. Ever since I have been grateful every day for the love and support she gave me that weekend and in the months since.

Counselling

That weekend gave me a real scare. It shocked me how far I’d let myself go and it shocked me that I came very close to destroying my relationship with Catriona. My mental health had deteriorated gradually over a long period of time and it took that weekend to also shock me into action. Over the years I have tried a couple of different counsellors but a combination of lack of effort on my part and an inability to connect with the counsellor meant it never worked. However, this time was different. I found a counselling service online that is sponsored by the HSE (Ireland’s Health Service) called turn2me. This company provide 6 free counselling sessions with an online counsellor. I was dubious about how successful online, rather than in-person, counselling could be but at this point I was desperate and ready to try anything. The best part though was that I was able to start that same week.

They put me in touch with a guy called Paul and every Monday at 7pm we had an hour together over video. Paul was great and we connected very quickly on the first appointment. I felt very comfortable with him and pretty much vomited out all my issues in that first session which was pretty draining. Over the next 5 weeks Paul worked with me to identify how I was feeling, why I was feeling and behaving the way I was and gave me a lot of skills and techniques to finally begin to cope better and build myself back to where I want to be.

It hasn’t been all plain sailing. I had a bit of a wobble at the beginning of June and I’ve found the last couple of weeks a bit difficult but the key now is that I have ways of recognising and accepting how I feel and ways of coping and dealing with the feelings that don’t make me happy. I have a lot of work still to do but I’m confident that I can make progress and feeling better than I have for quite a long time.

That first week was pretty difficult. The amount of mental energy I had was severely limited and the weekend previous had left me feeling completely drained. I quickly realised that I was trying to juggle way too many things and that something(s) had to give. The priorities had to be my own mental health, my relationship with my family and work. I cut everything else. Cycling can and has been, a valuable tool to help my mental health but I’d somehow transformed it into another metric to measure myself against. I went from the 100km Audax Challenge to the Festive 500 and back to riding 200km events and setting personal challenges that I just wasn’t ready for. Cycling was no longer a relaxing and enjoyable hobby, it had become another stress point in my life that I had created and was beating myself up over.

Cycling

In the end I think I took nearly two weeks off the bike. I needed the time to reset and change my attitude towards cycling. I needed to get back to it being something I did for fun rather than to hit an arbitrary number or challenge. I also decided that Audax is no longer the thing for me (for now at least) and left all the Audax WhatsApp Groups. I also temporarily stepped back from PRO duties with my home Club. As well as resetting my attitude towards cycling I also didn’t have the mental energy to be dealing with people. This is no reflection on the friends I have within the Club, it was all about how I was feeling and I felt that I needed that break from people to reset. Through work I have to put so much energy into relationships with shop owners, sales staff and my own colleagues that I had nothing left at the end of a working day. I did share what I was going through with some of my friends from the Club and got messages of support that meant a lot and really did help, especially when I felt it was time to get back out again.

The first couple of rides took a fair bit of effort to get out and I think that’s part of the reason why I ended up with two weeks off instead of the one I had planned. Once the awkwardness (all in my own head as usual) was out of the way cycling definitely had changed, or rather I had changed. It was back to being more about the fun again. I dropped all my challenges and made it all about getting out again. Now my only aim is to try and get out twice a week where possible and not beat myself up about it when I don’t. I’m cycling regularly with the Club again and especially over the last 6 weeks I’m feeling good, feeling fit and enjoying myself. I’ve also taken back on my PRO duties in the last week or so which is good as someone else was having to cover for me and I didn’t want that going on for much longer.

Hillwalking

The Hiking Club helped too. I hadn’t been out for a Club walk since the middle of November when I’d completed the first phase of the Navigation Training in The Bluestacks. I had a solo hike to Silver Hill in December but until May I hadn’t been in the hills all year.

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With Paul’s encouragement I reconnected with the Club and joined them for a hugely enjoyable trip out to Tory Island. I’d never been before and had a great day. It really helped that I knew all the other members pretty well that were out that day and enjoyed their company. A couple of others were also back after a bit of a gap so there was a real sense of welcome for everyone that was out that day. The scenery was amazing, the weather near perfect and we got to see an elusive corncrake, much to the annoyance of the “proper” birdwatchers who were visiting the island and were tortured by their multiple calls but no sightings.

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The Hiking Club was a real tonic. I have a very different relationship with these people, much more superficial but supportive in a different way. They barely know me so I was able to relax and enjoy myself a little easier. The welcome back I received was really nice and in addition Joe was encouraging me to attend the second phase of the Navigation Training he was holding the following weekend. I did want to do this but felt awkward as I hadn’t been active in the Club for nearly 6 months but he was adamant that I should attend and I did. Again I enjoyed it a lot and as it was a small group I spent a lot of time talking to Joe. He was clearly lining me up and encouraging me to become a walk leader. This had been at the back of my mind but I didn’t feel that I had the skills for it. Joe’s encouragement and support from Paul at the counselling sessions saw me putting my name forward a few weeks later and when the new calendar came out my name was on it to lead a walk in July along with Joe.

I completed a solo recce walk at the end of May and on 19th July lead the walk with assistance from Joe. It turned out to be a larger than average group of 16 which was a bit daunting but we got everyone up and down safely. I got a real buzz from leading and I’ll definitely be putting my name forward for another one in the Winter calendar. Joe was very complimentary and everyone was full of praise for the route which made me feel really good.

Since then I’ve only had one hike which was at the weekend on a solo recce of the Sliabh League cliff walk. We’re planning a Cycling Club day out on the 15th. We climbed Errigal last year and Sliabh League was suggested for this year. I wanted to walk the route in advance to see how suitable it would be for occasional walkers. Again, it was hugely enjoyable but I can still feel the aches 3 days later! I need to work on my hill fitness!

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In a similar fashion to my new approach to cycling I’m not setting any big challenges or targets but I have committed to myself to get out at least once every month on either a Club or solo hike. I miss the hills but only really realise this when I’m in them.

Family News

It has been a pretty eventful few months for our family too. Conor turned 18 in March and did his Leaving Cert in June. He worked hard, didn’t get too stressed about it and although we didn’t have a mad exam-stressed house it was there at the back of everyone’s mind since Easter and the topic of far too many conversations to not have an effect. He finally finished on Friday 19th June and after a weekend of celebrating we headed off on a family holiday to Malta on Monday 22nd.

We went Monday to Monday and stayed in fantastic apartments in a small fishing village called Marsascala on the South West coast. On our first night we had a bit of a panic that it was very quiet but we didn’t arrive until just before 11pm and all the restaurants also close at 11pm! We managed food and a couple of drinks in a takeaway place and did a basic food and drink run in the local Asian shop that stayed open late. Over the next week of consistently hot and sunny days (28-33°C) we totally unwound and relaxed while enjoying trips to Valetta and a few other towns as well as a full day trip cruise along the Maltese coast to Gozo and a stop at the Blue Lagoon on our way back. We ate in a different place every night and had a fantastic time together. It was exactly what all of us needed!

I had hoped to get a hike on Malta, just as I have on the last two holidays, but it was simply too hot. I had planned a 14km coastal walk that started just around the corner from our apartment but when I tried it out with 6km on the Wednesday I realised it wasn’t feasible. I arrived home a sweaty mess with a banging headache that was probably the start of heat stroke and decided to scratch it and just relax. That was a lot easier…

On Tuesday 28th July Catriona and myself celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. It feels weird hitting that milestone as both of us remember our own parents celebrating the same and at the time they felt so old and we felt so young! No party or anything but we did go out on Sunday night for a lovely meal and a few drinks to spend a voucher bought for us by Catriona’s sister. It was for Jacksons Hotel in Ballybofey where we had our wedding reception so full circle back to where it all started.

The weekend past also marked 21 years since we moved into our house. The first few years we had been living in Letterkenny but we decided we wanted to move out of the town to somewhere quieter to start a family. Our home here meant we would be close to my Mum and Dad, still close to Letterkenny and Catriona’s Mum and Dad and gave us a choice of a number of playschool and National School options for any kids we would have. Catriona was heavily pregnant when we moved in and Owen was born just 6 weeks later on the 14th of September. Of course this means we have a 2nd significant birthday coming up in a few weeks. An 18th, 21st and 25th all in the one year.

Body Issues

Over the last few years I’ve been having progressively worse issues with sleep. I’ve been getting less quality sleep, waking most nights at least once and feeling less and less restored as time went on. This became even more noticeable with my change of job when I started needing a 10min afternoon nap more and more often to avoid falling asleep while driving!

I had put a lot of it down to being generally unsettled and a level of anxiety that wasn’t allowing me to switch off properly. However, back before Xmas I decided to start tracking my sleep and with a month’s worth of data I was able to identify that my overnight stress levels were far too high. Dr Google suggested that this was a significant indicator of sleep apnoea. Combined with my persistent snoring, afternoon sleepiness and a few other symptoms it was pretty clear and my GP agreed. He referred me to the respiratory clinic and back in May I was called for a sleep study. This means wearing a suite of sensors that monitor various body metrics overnight from 11pm to 7am. These were then forwarded to a consultant and in mid-June I was called to the clinic. The consultant informed me that I definitely had sleep apnoea with a score of 16 (<5 is normal, 5-15 is mild, 15-29 is moderate and 30+ is severe) which was significant but not worrying. However, the only way to treat it is with a hugely attractive CPAP machine which I’ve now had for about 3 weeks.

The machine is taking quite a bit of getting used to and I have two versions of the mask as I found the first one a bit annoying. I’m alternating between them and some nights I’m taking it off in my sleep! However, I’m gradually getting used to it. My brother also has one and he said it took him about 6 months to get used to it but he wouldn’t sleep without it now. He had similar scores to me and described it as a life changer! The nights that I do wear it all the way through my score hasn’t been above 2 so it’s definitely having an impact.

Incidentally that score I initially thought was apnoea events during the night. At the mask fitting the nurse informed me that it’s the number of events per hour which I found pretty shocking!

On a much more positive note last Friday, after a 26 year break I finally got another tattoo! This one has been in the mix for at least 5 years and possibly longer. I’ve been ruminating on different designs off and on but in the last few months the idea started to gain a bit more momentum and then I eventually found a design that I really liked.

The exploded compass design grabbed me as it’s very different to almost all other compass tattoos that I’ve seen and the outdoor theme really suits me I feel. I then added the designs below which are Catriona and the boys’ names in ogham which is an ancient celtic script in which old Irish was first written. It’s purposely done quite rough to mimic the ogham examples that have survived from ancient time as they are mostly carved in rock.

Altogether, it took just over an hour and hurt far less than I remembered from my earlier tattoos. A combination of modern needles and guns and the fact that it is mostly fine linework with very little shading. Overall I’m absolutely delighted with it and have one or two more ideas rattling around in my head.

What’s Ahead?

Despite a couple of wobbles and a bit of a struggle to get back in a steady groove since the holidays I’m feeling in a pretty good place and in fact, writing this post has helped me a lot. I’ve missed blogging and want to get back to regular posting again. I’m going to aim for a minimum of two posts per month and see how that goes. I really like the weekly style that Unironedman and OMIL produce but that might just be a wee bit adventurous for now. I also really like the monthly recaps that Rootchopper produces so I figure that every two weeks would be a good compromise.

As part of my counselling Paul suggested keeping a journal. Not a digital one, but a pen and paper one. Over the last few weeks I’ve been looking at the various different systems out there and I quite like the Bullet Journal approach. I’ve adopted most of the principles of that but have tweaked it to be more like the Life Tracker system (basically a Bullet Journal rip-off). I’m still trying to get into the habit of using it but I’m getting there, trying not to force it too much and let it grow on me. It’s definitely very useful for tracking stuff though like To-Do lists, important dates and events and activities such as cycling, walking, books, TV shows and any recommendations I get. It’s very easy to get distracted by the phone and the idea behind pen and paper is that everything is in the one place. Writing forces you to slow down and think more and it removes the temptation to doom scroll and waste time on useless shit. I’m also hoping that journaling will help stimulate me to blog more often and more easily.

If you’re curious about the post title it’s a track by Bonnie Tyler. She passed away a short time ago and this was her follow-up to the massive hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart” . I like it as it fits my post but it was also featured on “Heaven and Hell” which was a compilation album with Meatloaf. I had that on a pirate knock-off cassette and pretty much wore it out. Back in the days when I had 15-20 cassette albums and thought I was made for life!

Update in Progress…50% Complete…

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It’s Sunday afternoon and the Club Sportive has been postponed for two weeks due to the shitty weather that has hit us this weekend. Yesterday was rain and today it’s wind with more rain on the way. With dangerous gusts and some exposed sections on the route the hard but sensible decision was taken to postpone. It puts some pressure on other plans I have for September but at least I’ll have 2 weeks to work off the holiday excesses.

I’m not ready to start thinking about or preparing to return to work tomorrow so continuing with this update is the best way to avoid both! Part I is here if you missed it.

Work

3 days ago I passed my 1 year anniversary in my new job, although still calling it new feels a bit weird at this stage. I guess the significant change from customer facing retail to sales rep brought so many new experiences and challenges that it definitely does still feel new at times.

It took me a while to get comfortable in my new position and there have been a lot of changes in the company just in the last year but I really do feel that I’ve found a niche that fits me. Despite a period of “imposter syndrome” and a very challenging retail environment I’ve settled well and have grown in confidence, especially over the last 3-4 months.

A large part of this is the respect and value that is given by those that I work with both at my own level and above. It’s a welcoming and supportive environment to work in and I really didn’t realise just how bad my previous working environment was. Just as that had a very negative impact on my mental health this new environment has helped me leave that behind and begin to move on.

Closing a number of big hotel contracts and developing new leads within the hospitality sector has contributed significantly to my standing within the company, has proven my value to both my managers and myself and has given me confidence that I am good at this job.

I’ve been asked a number of times recently how I’m feeling about the job and changing away from working in shops. Although there are things that I do miss about shop working I can honestly say that I’m very happy with the change and don’t see myself going back.

Family

I’ve spoken here and on Facebook a number of times about my Great Aunt Ruby. Unfortunately, Ruby’s time was finally up and she passed away in March. At the time of her death she was the oldest living person in Ireland at 109 years old. She had gained a lot of celebrity in the last few years and there was a lot of attention for her funeral. It seemed as if Donegal had taken her as their own and so many people in our home village and beyond simply called her Aunt Ruby.

While her death was very sad her wake and funeral were a celebration of a full life, lived to the max and a lady that touched so many lives with her kind nature. She was always full of stories so it was very fitting to hear so many people bring their own stories of her. She had friends across all ages and generations and it made me proud to call her family ❤️

https://www.donegaldaily.com/2025/03/21/huge-sadness-at-passing-of-ruby-druce-irelands-oldest-person-2-3/

https://www.donegallive.ie/news/local-news/1760281/ruby-druce-enriched-the-lives-of-so-many-funeral-mass-of-109-year-old-hears.html

Within our own home it has been a pretty busy Summer. Owen finished his first year of college at Letterkenny ATU and has been working most of the Summer. It’s been a lot of hours and early starts for him but it did allow him to buy his own car at the beginning of July and to rebuild a solid savings account!

Conor started working earlier this year too at my brother’s coffee van in Castlefinn. It’s been mostly weekends with some extra shifts over the Summer and has given him an extra confidence and a huge injection of independence with his own money. He’s also started driving lessons with the aim of getting his license maybe by the end of the year depending on the waiting lists.

It has also been a Summer of football as Owen continues to play with our local GAA Club Senior team. With the lack of a Minor team this year Conor has also been attending quite a bit of the training. He’s ineligible to play due to his age but he’s been welcomed to training. A minor setback in the middle of May saw him break his collar bone in a bad fall at training. He was laid up for 6 weeks which kept him off work but he’s recovered completely and was back training at the end of July.

And of course the big football story of the Summer was Donegal’s progress in the Championship this year. We spent a fair bit of time watching them conquer Ulster before progressing to the All Ireland Final before sadly being outmatched by Kerry. We watched some of the games at home, some in our local pub and even made it to Croke Park for the Semi Final.

At the beginning of August Catriona and myself took a day to ourselves and headed on a great day trip to visit Gola Island off the West Coast of Donegal and we’re all just back from a great family holiday to Benalmádena in Spain 🇪🇸

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A post shared by Niall Harran (@niallharran)

*Summit of Monte Calamorro (750m) reached by cable car*

Over the last couple of years I’ve very much neglected the outside of the house. Whatever motivation I could gather up was spent getting the boys to cut the grass and responding only to anything urgent that needed attention. The house really was showing significant signs of neglect! This Summer I spent a lot of time getting the driveway, kerbs, sides and back of the house tidied, weeded and powerwashed before painting the outside of the house itself. This occupied a lot of evenings and weekends over 4-6 weeks but the result is worth it with a house that I’m no longer ashamed to have visitors calling! A few other small jobs remain to be done indoors but it’s been a pleasant change to have some motivation to tackle these things again!

*Longer ladder required to finish the front!*

Cooper

In the style of Unironedman it seems to be de rigueur to finish with dogs…

It took from January to March to get over the loss of much loved Rosie who we had to put to sleep on NYE. Then we were joined by the madness that is Cooper!

When I told my friend Jim that we were adopting a Springer he sent me this video. It’s scarily accurate!

On our home check the lady from the Rescue told us adoption works on the 3 x 3s (3 days to decompress, 3 weeks to settle in and 3 months to feel at home). Cooper seemed to settle very quickly but it definitely took the 3 months for him to be at home. His energy, behaviour and lack of training was a definite challenge and it took a lot of work to calm him down enough to be able to get him to behave without upsetting the entire house. He’s still mad as a box of frogs but all the work has been worth it and he’s a part of the family now. Leaving him at a kennel for the week we were in Spain was surprisingly difficult!

Half A Loaf Is Better Than None…..

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Friday evening was spent meeting Martin and a few others from the Galtee Walking Club I’d met before. We went for something to eat in a pub up the street having missed the cutoff in the South Pole. Long story but it was Martin’s fault 😉

Turned out well anyway as I had one of the best fish and chips I’ve had for a long time as well as a lovely pint of local golden ale Béal Bán

Friday night we spent in the car park at the starting point of the challenge hike. It’s the first time I slept in Catriona’s car and it was surprisingly roomy and comfortable. Only problem is dawn comes early just after 4am and there’s no escaping it in a car.

Our plan was to skip the bus transfer from Annascaul and start at 6am and be approx 1hr ahead of the crowds. Also giving us an extra hour on the cutoff, just in case…

Wakening up it was obvious that the weather forecast was accurate. Low cloud was hanging over the tops and partway down into the valleys. We still had a great view out to sea but only had partial views of what I think was Great Blasket Island.

Starting from the car park we followed a rough track before turning off onto the grassy and sometimes rocky path that heads straight up to the summit of Mount Brandon. At 952m Brandon is the 3rd highest mountain in Ireland. It’s named after St. Brendan and on the summit there is a stone building (Sáipéilín Bréanainn) believed to have been used by him. The route we followed to the summit is part of a Pilgrimage Route (Cosán na Naomh – The Saint’s Road) and is clearly marked by small white posts and large metal crosses marked with numbers that I think denoted stations of the cross.

The weather forecast was for low cloud which was correct. It also predicted pretty windy conditions on the tops (30km/h or 19mph) and light rain for most of the day with more prolonged rain for the late afternoon. Well it was worse than that. We were getting rain spots from the car park and at 1km in the rain coat came out and stayed on for the rest of the day. After a further 0.5km we crossed 400m and into the clouds and the rain started properly. We weren’t to escape the clouds for the rest of the hike.

As you can see the first 4km is pretty full on. From the car park at 170m you climb almost 800m to the summit of Mount Brandon at 952m. This was the part of the hike that I was most concerned about. My fitness is far off what I would have liked for this event, I’m carrying about 13kg in excess weight and I had Covid about 4 weeks ago that left me breathless up until about a week ago. Climbing Brandon definitely challenged me, I struggled with my breathing but kept it steady and managed to keep my heart rate relatively steady without red-lining.

The last couple of hundred metres to the summit was pretty rough. The rain was pretty constant and by now the wind had really picked up driving the rain hard. The rain stopped briefly just before the summit but the wind was very strong and it definitely wasn’t a place to hang around. We got some shelter in the lee of the summit cross before a couple of summit photos, a very quick chat with a couple of other early starters and headed on. It was shocking how cold it was in that wind and my hands were painful as we headed off along the ridge.

*i think that’s sáipéilín bréanainn behind the trig but it wasn’t a day for sightseeing!*

Leaving the summit we had a long and soggy drop down that was a relief for the legs before picking up a track. Cloud cover reduced visibility to 30-50m and the wind was blowing very strong, once again driving the rain into us. At times I could see Martin ahead of me walking at an angle as he leaned into the wind to stay upright

This was a lonely section with no possibility to talk, no views and just your own voice in your head. On days like this it’s hard to stay positive.

In a brief stop Martin warned me that we were approaching the ridge proper. This is a section called An Géarán and is a rocky, sharp and exposed ridge. Apparently the views down into both valleys are amazing but not today!

Crossing the ridge there was a real sense of a steep drop to both sides even with the thick cloud cover. Thankfully we were able to cross on the leeward side and stayed out of the wind. I’m not sure we would have been able to cross safely otherwise.

On the approach to Brandon summit and heading across this ridge there was the very real feeling that there were a world of fantastic views that were hidden by the clouds. For this reason alone I’m very sure I’ll be back to walk this route again.

Leaving An Géarán we steadily dropped elevation along a fenceline and across boggy terrain that was oozing water everywhere. There were a number of tricky areas that were very boggy and verging on small streams that required a bit of thought. However, as we dropped down here the rain and wind eased a bit and we were finally able to have a proper conversation for the first time in over an hour.

I think it was around here (possibly earlier?) that Martin first mentioned the possibility of finishing early at the halfway point on The Connor Pass. I was glad to hear him voice what I’d been thinking in my head already. What was always going to be a tough walk was becoming even more difficult due to the weather. Although we were in a sheltered area now we would soon be a lot more exposed again as we climbed higher. I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t be finishing today.

Coming down the fenceline we came to a junction and crossed over. The little marker flags that had marked the way were gone and we soon realised we had lost the proper route. It just shows you how easily it is to get off track in poor visibility as Martin has walked this exact route 4 times before! A few others had made the same error as ourselves and within 5min we realised what we had done wrong and how to swing around back to where we needed to be. You can see clearly on the two maps below where we went wrong.

Having gained some height on this loop around the 623m point we dropped back again and reached the unmanned water station at Mullaghveal and 10.5km where we filled both ourselves and our bottles for the next big push.

Along the route so far I’d found it difficult to get food into me. The rain and wind just made it too much work but I took the opportunity here to scoff two bars.

Shortly after leaving Mullaghveal the climbing starts again. Martin told me that this is the last big climb before Connor Pass but that it was a long one. Later we were informed that the summit is called Ballysitteragh but is known on this route as Bally-fucking-sitteragh. It is well named!

I really struggled on this climb. It goes from 400m to 620m in just over 1km and the terrain is pretty boggy and rough. My brain was tired, I was soaked from the waist down and my legs were feeling it by now. However, I really struggled with my breathing. I was very breathless and struggled to get a proper breath at times. I have to say mentally I gave up too!

With many stops I eventually reached the top but once again we couldn’t hang around. We were back in the rain and the wind was really strong again. We pushed on towards Connor Pass for 4km gradually descending but getting absolutely battered by the wind. This was definitely the worst weather I’d ever been out in and the fun was definitely gone today.

Connor Pass came on me unexpectedly at the end. I was expecting a significant drop into a lower altitude level but didn’t realise that the pass sits quite high at 410m. Because I wasn’t expecting it so suddenly the final km to the pass seemed to be never ending but the car park and checkpoint appeared magically out of the clouds.

I have to give a huge amount of credit to the volunteers at this checkpoint. They were waiting here with fruit, cake and water with a smile for everyone, full of positivity in terrible conditions. They were getting battered by the same wind and rain that we had been getting on the hike.

Martin spoke to some of the ladies and we were soon hooked up with a guy (Seamus I think?) that was taking people back to town in his car. We felt pretty shit about having to cut it short, despite knowing it was the sensible thing to do but our guy soon made us feel better when he told us a number of people turned back at the summit of Brandon and quite a lot more came off at the 10km water station. They were expecting a high drop out rate at Connor Pass so he was expecting to be kept busy all day.

We seemed to be taking a long time to get to Annascaul when I suddenly realised that he was taking us to the car park at the very start of the walk! I was really pleased and Seamus really went out of his way to look after us so well. I was expecting to have to get a taxi from Annascaul!

Once back at the cars we wasted no time getting changed into dry clothes and getting some much needed food down our necks. There is a free BBQ in the evening after the walk but we were at least 5-6hrs too early. After a good chat we decided not to wait around and to head for home. Another 7hrs and 480km in the car for me but I felt it was worth it to get back home and sleep in my own bed that night….

Overall I enjoyed my trip to Kerry but I really did feel that it could have been so much more. On the drive home I made the decision to give it another go in 2025 and hopefully get the real experience. I also hope to be at least 10kg lighter and in a lot better shape now that I know what is ahead of me!

I’m finishing this post on Monday afternoon in offline mode somewhere over The Bay of Biscay as we head for Faro and the start of the second part of my holiday break with a family holiday near Albufeira. The forecast for the next few days is 28-30°C and wall-to-wall sunshine ☀

As part of the holiday I hope to be able to complete a hike approximately 30min drive from our accommodation that I found on Outdooractive but seems to be well described in a number of places as it’s part of an official group of waymarked routes.

Outdooractive Link | Website Link

Paris for la 3ème time…

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2023 is a roundy birthday for me as I turn 50 in July. I’ve never been a big party person so at some stage last year I decided I’d rather mark my birthday with a holiday for just Catriona and myself to head away and spend some time together. We’ve visited Paris twice before with the last visit in September 2004, almost a full year before Owen was born! I’m not a city person normally but for some reason Paris clicked with me before and I’ve always wanted to return.

We booked to fly out at 7am from Dublin on Saturday morning* and back from Paris at 10:30pm on Tuesday night giving us maximum time to spend enjoying the city. This meant a lack of sleep on Friday night but we reckoned it was worth it. I headed to bed at 9pm with the intention of getting a few hours of rest, if not sleep, ready to leave about 1am. The holiday almost started with a disaster when I woke suddenly at 1:30am having either slept through the alarm or turned it off in my sleep! A minor panic, a very quick bite to eat and we got away just before 2am. Despite the heavy rain we made good time and arrived at the park and fly hotel at 4:20am just in time for the next shuttle bus and were checked in and through security only 30min later than I originally planned and with loads of time for food before our flight boarded.

*coincidentally Saturday was April 1st and the 25th Anniversary of the day we met!

We flew with Ryanair so arrived at Beauvais Airport. This means a bus transfer into Paris of approximately 1hr15min. With the queue and a further metro transfer we arrived close to our accommodation at just after noon. The Metro station was less than 10min from the Eiffel Tower and approximately 10min from our accommodation and as we could check in from 2pm we decided to hold on to our luggage while we went for our first look at la Tour.

After a short dander and simple enjoyment of having finally arrived we bought some overpriced, but very welcome, lunch from one of the food stalls and sat on a wall above the Seine and simply soaked in the atmosphere before wandering off to find our accommodation.

We had booked a studio apartment via Air BnB* and after some minor confusion over the entrance door we were in and able to get rid of all the necessary luggage and gear and get a short lie down before going out to explore.

*initially booked as hotels were ferociously expensive but this spot turned out to be almost perfect, gave us loads of freedom and was in a cracker location.

The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around letting ourselves go with no real destination and visiting some of the spots we had visited on previous trips. We started back at the Eiffel Tower, walked through the gardens behind (loads of people using the grassy areas to play, eat, drink and read), visited Hôtel des Invalides (where Napoleon lies in his tomb below a golden roof), finishing off at Place de la Concorde and les Jardin des Tuileries.

With feet and legs that were now tiring quickly we decided to jump on the Metro back to where we started and began the hunt for somewhere to eat. An Italian restaurant close to the apartment and doing a tasty sounding range of pizzas was soon picked as the one. I was feeling good about my ability to communicate in poor French until the waiter only brought us one pizza instead of two! I was halfway through it before we managed to rectify the situation 🤣 We left stuffed with pizza and topped off with beer and wine and also our first indication that France was also showing signs of price increases, just like home!

Catriona’s sister had been in Paris the previous week and had told us about the light show at the Eiffel Tower after dark. After a short rest at the apartment we wrapped up and headed back out. We were halfway across the bridge at 9pm and in a perfect spot to watch the 5min show.

Walking home with achy legs and feet an early night was most definitely needed to be able for 3 more days exploring.

catch up 2.0

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For anyone that is still reading this blog or following me on Facebook it looks like all I’ve done for the last 5-6 weeks is read, listen to music and play Wordle. Although all those things have occupied quite a bit of my time I’ve also been messing about getting back in the cycling groove.

I’d decided that group cycling probably wasn’t the best idea just yet as I haven’t really ridden anywhere close to consistently since July last year. I was out with a couple of guys early February and on the Club MTB rides a few times over the following weeks but somehow managed to drift away again after that.

Shortly after my Barnesmore Hike I somehow started getting the urge to get back on the bike. Possibly influenced by lengthening days, improving weather but also by the realisation that time was running out if I was going to get any meaningful cycling done this year. I’d already drifted through Spring and if I lost Summer too then that would be it really.

I knew my weight was way up and that my fitness was shot to hell. This was partly my reason for not cycling with the Club yet. I was also wary of embarrassing myself in front of guys I’d fallen way behind. Anyway my cunning plan was to increase my fitness by completing a weekly routine of a couple of short solo runs after work and a longer spin at the weekend while keeping up the reasonably regular early morning walking habit I’d developed.

The theory was a short run of approximately 25-30km would be long enough to push me back to fitness but not painful enough to discourage. Going straight after work meant I didn’t have the opportunity to talk myself out of it by going home first. I figured a few weeks of this would be enough to get me confident enough to get back out with the Club on a Sunday morning.

I’d identified a few routes around Omagh but one really grabbed my attention. This was a spin out towards Gortin and the Gortin Glens Forest Park. This is a slightly hilly road (good warmup) and there is a tarmac forest drive that I figured would be a bit hilly but traffic free with a good road surface. The last two bits were correct but I seriously misjudged the hills and I really should have known better!

forest park entrance

insane elevation profile

A number of climbs were >15% with at least one of them being >20%. I stopped on three of them and had to stop twice on the last and eventually walked a section as my legs were like jelly. Of the total 390m climbing I had 360m at the 18km mark! It’s a great training ride when my fitness is built back up but was a bad idea for a returning, get back into the swing of things kind of ride! After that I came up with a few other routes that were a bit less punishing.

I also knew it was going to rain a bit that evening so had a waterproof gillet with me. What I didn’t expect was heavy rain for most of the ride. I ended up soaked to the skin, chilly and driving home wet due to lack of preparation. Over the next couple of days I developed a rotten cold that took me a good 3 weeks to shift completely. I had a cough, breathlessness and a snotty head that kept returning when I thought I was OK and went out for another spin 🤨

I didn’t do too badly though. During May I managed 6 rides totalling almost 240km and two 50+km rides which were each my longest since July last year.

© garmin

What did take a hit was my walking. At the end of last month and into the start of this month I’d developed a good routine of a short 4.5km walk each morning before work. It was setting me up well for the day and as Catriona has been walking a lot recently and also before work, I was used to being awake at that time of the day anyway. The head cold knocked that a bit. It left me quite tired and I didn’t feel able for both cycling and walking especially on the same day. I also felt that I needed that extra hour of sleep each day to knock the cold properly and not getting it was part of the reason it was dragging on.

© garmin

If you’ve come this far with me you might notice a drop in activities completely in the last week of the month. Part of that was lingering tiredness (laziness? 🤔) and working extra days at work (2 x 6 day weeks) but also prep for going on holidays. I’ve been off work since Wednesday for the start of a 2 week break. The highlight of that is a week away so I’m very happy to say that I’m writing this from a holiday resort on the shores of Lake Garda…

accommodation area at 10am

We arrived very late last night after a very long 15 hour journey (long story!), hungry, tired and dehydrated. Today has been about exploring the resort, getting our bearings and recovering from the journey. Tomorrow the proper touristy stuff begins…

Header image by Mike from Pexels

last gasp

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For our last day we decided to go to Finhaut for one last visit, to have a beer in Beau Soleil and say goodbye to Heléne. We walked the normal rural road on the way over but traffic is so quiet due to the outbreak we were able to come back by the main road. It was great to see the valley and villages from a completely different angle as well as have an easier, less hilly walk home. We extended the walk into Frontière for a final drink before heading back to Le Châtelard.

Tomorrow is an early start with the train to Geneva leaving at 625am and hopefully not too much of an adventure getting home with Covid-19 on the loose.

going loco

down the valais

horses for courses

We only had a very basic plan for today as we wanted a reasonably restful day to recover and the weather forecast was for rain. Woke up to more snow instead of rain!

pierre’s garden table. all this snow fell since thursday!

After breakfast we channelled our inner lumberjack and cut and split wood for the stove.

On my last visit 6 years ago we had a drink in this recently opened bar. Sometime after Pierre discovered it was a brothel for the construction workers at the dam! I guess the red curtains should have been a clue 😊

We caught the train into Finhaut for a wander around with a plan to then walk the 4km back to Le Châtelard.

We tried to get lunch in Finhaut but picked a bad time as Heléne in Beau Soleil was busy…….having her lunch. She advised the café next door with a great cook and very cheap 😆

We didn’t really like it in there and as the snow was getting wet and threatening to turn to rain we decided to take the train to Frontiére, have lunch there and walk back. We ended up having a huge and very tasty lunch of Quiche (spinach and goat’s cheese), horse steak and chips followed by a fruit salad. Horse was a first for me and in French/Swiss style almost rare. It was very nice but the quiche was really delicious, something I wouldn’t have tried if I was at home.

if you listen carefully you may hear it neigh!

It was a slow walk back to Le Châtelard with full bellies,stopping in one of the shops to view the tourist trap displays.

brilliant model of the valley and the dam complete with nessie

bit more atmospheric views up and down the valley today

On the way back I stopped at the little Church just above the village. It’s dedicated to St Theresa of the Infant Jesus and is really nicely decorated with icons and stained glass with a fantastic carved front door. For some reason there’s a small statue of a marmot just outside the front door on a raised rock.

Yesterday afternoon we started building an igloo for Jim’s birthday. We almost finished it but the cold beat us and we were running out of light. The plan was to finish it this afternoon but the rain killed that idea. This evening, after dark we decided to decorate and christen it despite its unfinished state and before it melted away on us.