Pain & Pleasure on Strabane 100

 

 

It is a rare occasion in this country when one has to stand in the shade at 6.30a.m. in order to keep cool; but such was the case on Saturday 26th as a group of Wheelers met and made final preparations to  undertake the Strabane 100. Extra layers were discarded as everyone stripped down to shorts and jerseys, those who were ready first stood in the shade of the cherry trees as they waited on the others.

At 6.40a.m. 8 Wheelers rolled out from the Mill to undertake what they knew would be a tough 100 mile trip. The group was a perfect mix of experience and guts, with 4 of the group having undertaken this trip in the past and 4 who were determined to complete it for the first time.

We cycled through Cookstown and reached Lough Fea within the hour. We stopped briefly here and topped up water bottles (for the first of many times). After a quick photo-shoot we were on the way again.

When we reached the Glenelly Valley it was obvious that the strong East to West wind was doing us great favours. As we headed towards Cranagh it was like having ‘cruise control’ on the bikes as we seemed to just glide along. This gave us the opportunity to appreciate some of the sights and sounds of the Sperrins, which on a morning like Saturday were spectacular.

From Plumbridge to Strabane there are some tough climbs, but with the tail wind it seemed like we had 2 extra gears; and even the climb up to the TV mast was relatively easy. We reached the outskirts of Strabane  at 10.30a.m., our first priority was to seek assistance for SeanJ who was having trouble with a worn cleat. As luck would have it, the first shop we saw was BPC cycle repairs who soon had Sean re-fitted with shiny new cleats.

After an hour spent eating and relaxing we prepared for the return journey which would take us to Newtownstewart, Gortin, Dunamore and home. The experienced among us knew that the wind which had been our friend up the Glenelly Valley would now be our enemy. What an enemy it proved to be, as it relentlessly blew into our faces for the next 50 mile. All the skills and experience we had were called upon, along with sheer grit and determination to grind out every single mile.

When we reached Dunamore, energy levels were low but spirits were still high. As we sat in the cool of the bar having a long cool drink we slowly began to realise that the worst was behind us. Refreshed (if not fully revived) we set out once more. This time we could sense the finish line and we were soon back home.

It had been a long tough day, but yet again the Pleasure had outscored the Pain.

We hope for our final big Pleasure trip of the year to go to Donegal and cycle around Inishowen and go up over the toughest climb in Ireland the Mamore Gap. If you are interested get in touch as we have to arrange transport.