M2M Live Updates 2009

Welcome to our live coverage of the Mizen to Malin record breaking attempt where 18 cyclists are hoping to break the 20 hour mark for this gruelling non stop ride.

The route schedule is as follows:
  Durras at 18.00
  Dunmanway 19.10
  Macroom 19.45
  Millstreet 20.00 (Food stop)
  Kanturk 20.40
  Charleville 22.05
  Start of Limerick city by pass 23.30
  Start of Nenagh bypass 00.30 (Foodstop)
  Borrisokane 01.15
  Cloghan 02.30
  Athlone just over half way 03.00
  Longford 04.30
  Drumlish (Food stop) 05.00
  Ballinmore 06.10
  Swanlinbar 06.40
  Enniskillen 07.00
  Ederney 08.00
  Strabane 08.45 (Food stop)
  Derry 09.30
  Muff
  Quigley’s Point 10.00
  Carndonagh 10.20
  Malin Village 10.30
  Malin head 11.am hopefully .Saturday the 27th

17.00 Time for the off and all 18 riders start the bid in glorious sunshine with a light tailwind, only 20 hours and almost 600km to go...! :~)

17.55 The riders pass through Durras and are ahead of schedule with an average speed in the region of 30 kph.

19.00 All riders still together in Dunmanway and almost 10 minutes ahead of schedule.

19.35 The village of Macroom looks beautiful this evening as our entrepid pedallers fly though, still ahead of schedule.

19.35 The first food stop in Millstreet and the riders devour the grub on offer, they are going to need it in the hours and miles ahead.

20.30 Passing through Kanturk, the birthplace of Pat O Callaghan, Irelands first Olympic gold medal winner at the 1928 Amsterdam. 10 minutes ahead of schedule.

21.55 Just spoke with Padraig Marrey, team manager & mentor. He tells me team morale is high as they approach Charleville still ahead of schedule with a very light tailwind. As we speak the group are tipping along nicely at 23mph. The light is beginning to fade now and the team will soon be relying on the lights from the backup vehicles to guide the way.
Padraig is no stranger to riding through the night as he is currently the record holder for the Mizen to Fair Head route which he completed in a time of 17 hours 48 minutes, the distance on that occasion was 594.3 kilometres. Another rider who is well used to performing in the dark hours of night is none other than the silver haired rocker himself Aidan Reade of Menlough in Galway. This is going to be Aidans toughest gig to date and he has promised to entertain everybody on route to keep the morale up.

23.10 The riders are passing through Limerick, home to last years Heineken Cup rugby heroes, I'm sure a few Heinekens would go down a treat right now..! Still ahead of schedule but not too much. The main objective is to keep the pace steady so as not to blow before the promised land in North Donegal.
Another rider to note in the group is big Jim Tuohy from Nenagh in Tipperary. Jim is not too far from home at the moment. He is also familiar with the demands set upon the body by long distance cycling. Just last year Jim made an attempt on the solo record for this very same route. Although he achieved a time of 19 hours & 17 minutes, this fell short of the mark set by Cycling Ireland to qualify as a record. Nonetheless Jims strength and experience will be a great asset on this ride.

00.15 The Nenagh bypass, 15 minutes up on schedule. All riders still going strong. Time for the 2nd foodstop.

02.45 The riders reach Athlone the traditional centrepoint of Ireland. They are over the half way point now and have been travelling for almost 10 hours. They are still 15 minutes up on the 18 hour schedule and barring any major mishaps they should achieve this.

04.00 Foodstop number 3 in Longford, its a little bit early for Cornflakes but with over 300km in the saddle at this point the riders will eat anything they can get their hands on. Now almost 30 minutes ahead of schedule.

06.55 Enniskillen, a lot of tired bodies now but still 5 minutes ahead of schedule. Possibly an interesting point to note is Oscar Wilde, famed wit and playwright, was educated here in Enniskillen. One of Oscars more notable works "The Portrait Of Drian Gray" was about a young man who appeared to never age, while all the time his portrait showed the signs of age and indulgence. After 14 hours in the saddle I wonder how many of the riders are still fresh faced like the young Dorian Gray or suffering the effects of this relentless escapade and showing the signs of abuse like Dorian in the portrait...!!! I seem to be rambling on a bit, but am finding it hard to stay awake here.

09.10 Strabane. The distance is really taking its toll now and the group is feeling the pressure. 16 hours into the ride and the bodies are screaming, the group are now slightly down on the 18 hour schedule but still well ahead of the original planned 20 hours. Padraig Marreys legendary motivational skills (and possibly a few swigs of the now customary cyclists recovery drink "le doigt d'évêques") has the bunch back at full tilt again.
Having just spoken with Padraig he tells me they have 51 miles to go, "the going was tough during the night while it got fairly cold, but the end is in sight now and all the lads are really motivated to get finished in a good time."
So far they have been lucky with the weather and have not seen any rain although the roads in Donegal are wet from rain earlier in the day.
2 1/2 hours to go, I'm off to bed for a few minutes...! :) I,m shattered.

11.25 The group have passed through Malin village and with 6 miles to go the pace has lifted as they can almost see the finish which at this point is only 6 miles away. They are going to break 19 hours no problem.

11.53 They have made it to the finish in Malin Head, all riders together and well under the 20 hour mark. Time now for some well earned rest and possibly a beer or 2. Well done to all.

The full list of riders is as follows
Brendan Muldowney
 
Pat Tobin
 
Daryl Bent
 
Padraig Frain
 
Thomas Moran
 
Noel Brady
 
Colm Staunton
 
Aidan Reade
 
Jim Tuohy
 
Michael Moran
 
John Murphy
 
Constaine Bartels
 
Joe Marrey
 
Martyn Holmes
 
Cyril Keane
 
Dave Dowdall
 
Michael Flanagan
 
Padraig Marrey