Sunday June 22nd - From Tobercurry to Bundoran

Well, there was no fire in the night so Lee and I didn't get burned alive or break our necks shinning down the drainpipe. Breakfast turned out to be quite an experience. When we arrived Maeve made a list of what we wanted to eat for breakfast in great detail, she then obviously lost the list and had to ask us all again. It turned out to be the biggest breakfast of the trip because even when we said we didn't want something we got it anyway.
Looking out the window we could see that the weather had taken a major turn for the worse - the wind had picked up to about 30mph and the rain was going sideways. We eventually got going just after 10am and Maeve drove up the road to wave us off. Lee, John and Pete had decided that they were just going to get to the destination in the shortest time possible, ie. main roads all the way. They left the bunch almost immediately and after a few miles Rob and I decided to make a bit of a break for it too. We stopped for a coffee in the town of Collooney but all the cafes were closed so we got a drink from the local co-op type shop and drank it in there. From Collooney the two of us went off through the lanes towards Ballygawley with the rain now falling heavier than ever. The only good news on the weather was that the wind, blowing from the west, was actually helping us along as we went north-eastwards.
At the 30 mile mark we reached Manorhamilton and decided to stop for lunch in the first pub we came across. We saw a bike parked outside and Robert inside having a roast dinner. After the breakfast we had earlier a bowl of soup was enough for Rob and I. When we came out the rain had eased off slightly but it was still a light drizzle which ruined what would have been a really picturesque ride. The three of us were now travelling north-west which meant that we were battling against the wind and it was so strong in places that we were often having to pedal to go downhill. We took it in turns to lead while the other two sheltered behind.
We eventually reached the seaside town of Bundoran, our destination for the night having covered 50 miles. I went to Margate 20 years ago and this town reminded me of it. We asked for directions to the B&B and the wind blew us up the hill towards it. We arrived soggy at 4.30 and naturally the rain then stopped and the sun came out. Lee, Pete and John had arrived at 2.30 having gone through Sligo and got drenched in the process. The B&B owners kindly let us use their tumble-drier and I put my shoes in there along with a very damp cycling top and shorts.
The remainder of the group arrived at 7pm just as we were heading out into town for dinner. We had a meal in a nice italian restaurant and then went to a pub to catch the end of the Spain-Italy football match. We heard the forecast for the following day and it was much better - it couldn't really have been worse.