Monday June 23rd - From Bundoran to Balleybofey

After the previous day's B&B it was nice to get back to normality again with a really well-organised breakfast and also the weather had improved greatly - it was now dry with almost no wind. The group who had been staying at the other B&B came to ours and we got going at about 10am. Steve was having problems with his asthma and didn't want to hold us up so he did his own thing and set off before everyone else. Today's ride was to be the shortest of the whole trip - only 35 miles so Rob and I decided to stay with the main group. Two miles into the ride my gps died yet again, fortunately I noticed fairly quickly and reset it so I only lost about a mile or two of data. We had all started off wearing waterproofs but they came off a few miles later when the sun came out and everyone started overheating.
The first town we passed through was Ballyshannon which came with a bit of a hill and then we headed north to Ballintra at which point John, Pete and Lee went on ahead. The next stop would be for lunch at Donegal and we reached it by main road which isn't a problem in Ireland as they usually have really wide lanes off to the left away from the traffic. When we came into Donegal centre we locked the bikes up in the market square and went into a restaurant where Pete, Lee and John were already stuffing down tea and cakes. After lunch we sat in the square having ice-creams in the sun - this was about the hottest weather we had encountered so far.
We didn't really want to leave but after a while Robert spotted a sign for a cycle route into Ballybofey which said it was 32km or 20 miles away. Myself, Robert, Rob, Lee, Pete and John set off along this route before the rest. Almost as soon as we left the town centre my bottom bracket axle decided to let me know that it still wasn't happy. I had got used to it clicking away every time I pedalled but now that clicking had turned into a clanking, or perhaps it was a clonking - I wasn't sure. Either way it didn't sound good and I was expecting it to give up at any moment especially when we started going up some rather steep hills.
In England cycle routes have a bit of a reputation for being poorly signposted and before long you reach a junction and don't know which way to go but this one was fine - every junction had a marker. There were some great views along the way but I spent most of my time looking down at the bottom bracket expecting it to seize up at any time. The cycle route actually took us back onto the main road for a while as we went through the Barnesmore Gap. The road was a gentle climb for a few miles with mountains either side and by the time we reached the top we were 650 feet above sea level. At this point we turned right off the main road back onto country lanes. Decent road surfaces are few and far between in Ireland and this certainly wasn't one of them. The potholes and bumps on this section were really bad even by Ireland's standards which was a shame as it was mainly downhill and if it had been a good surface we really could have gone for it. As we neared Ballybofey centre we came down a long descent at the bottom of which we had to turn right. I was at the back of the group and before I could turn a lady in a big BMW came towards me. I stopped to let her go and she stopped to let me go and as a result we nearly ended up hitting each other. There was no harm done and we both carried on.
Out of this group five of us were staying at Johnny's B&B with Robert staying at another just up the road. We found ours, Robert went off to find his and after a quick cup of coffee I decided I needed to fix the bike. It turned out to be quite straightforward but I wouldn't know for sure if was ok until about 9.30 the next day. The other 7 cyclists were not far behind us and at 7pm we left the B&B to go and get something to eat. As we were leaving the B&B the lady in the BMW I had nearly collided with earlier was downstairs talking to the owner, I got the impression they were mother and daughter so I was quite relieved the earlier incident hadn't turned nasty.
We had a meal in a local hotel, mine was fine but Lee thought his was the worst yet. I have to say the service was lousy - they seemed totally understaffed and the evening didn't improve when we stopped in a bar on the way home and the five local Irishmen in there stopped mid-sentence to turn round and stare at us as we walked in. Never had half a Guinness been drunk so quickly.
We got word from Steve that he was still feeling a bit rough but he had made it to Derry. The next day's ride was to be about 65 miles long but, if Steve had done a few extra this day he shouldn't have that many left to go. He had done a really good job organising this trip so we all hoped he would be there at the end. With our cycle route detour todays total was 40, if the weather forecast is correct then the last 65 will be a bit damp.