Well I'm four days into the adventure now and I should tell you about the road to Bellingham Castle (where I am now).
I am useless with directions: if someone is telling me a road out of a town, I'm thinking what a great voice that person has (while catching a few words of what they are saying). So I then have to say "so up to the roundabout, left and then left again" and then they say "no, no, its etc etc" at which point I concentrate.
I stop a lot. Any excuse, a cafe, a view, weird clicking noise from the back wheel, funny sign anything really. And I really am slow, the bike is heavy and it takes about half a mile to get up a good pace.
Well the legs are feeling a bit weary, but no doubt will tune into the daily ride soon, but all in all pretty good.
I did a few radio interviews in Bristol and Belfast, and got a bit confident towards the end. There was a programme though where I reckon that i didn't quite answer the way the presenter wanted. It went a bit like this
"so Nick you must be super fit ready for your ride?"
"well no actually I have a bit of a cold, and not feeling that great you know"
"Nick, is there anyone here that you particularly want to meet?"
" I would love to meet Christy Moore"
( I remembered then, that Christy wrote a lot of political songs about the troubles, so I guess he would be viewed differently by different people)
A long time ago, I heard someone on the TV tell a story about how he heard a busker in London sing this amazing song, he asked him to sing it again and again, until he could play it himself, that was Christy Moore, and the busker Shane Magowan and the song Fairytale of New York. Well Christy then played the song with such passion. And so I've been a fan ever since and would love to bump into him (or Shane for that matter).
So the journey so far: Tuesday was a 'getting going' day really, so just a short hop out of Belfast to Hollywood (the Ulster Museum of Folk & Transport). Then Wednesday I rode over the peninsula to Newtownards and then back over and down the coast through places with great names Ballywalter, Ballyherbert, Portavogie (where George Best lived out his last days I'm told) and down to Portaferry where I stayed with basketmakers Clive and Elaine (and their crazy dogs) and cute kids.
Thursday on to meet Mike who in his retirement makes Windsor chairs and turns wood. I got the first ferry of the trip over the beautiful entrance to Strangford Lough and then away down the coast to Newcastle and Kilkeel and onto Rostrevor where I stayed in a nice B&B before meeting up with a weaver, Karen (amazing studio and history, her mother, a Norwegian, Gerd Hay-Edie worked with Robin Day in the Festival of Britain era). I had a Guinness in Rostrevor with Darren, an oyster farmer on Carlingford Lough.
I left my waterproof riding jacket over at Mike's in Portaferry. And amazingly he offered (well insisted) that he drive over to Rostrevor (100 mile round trip). And sure enough when I went to Karen's studio, there was my jacket. So thanks Mike, and your kindness sums up my experience of the folk here in the north of Ireland so far.
Friday I traveled into the free state at Newry about 2pm and took the coast road ending up about 10 miles south of Dundalk in the 600 year old Bellingham Castle hotel where I'll be sitting in reception uploading this shortly.
I am useless with directions: if someone is telling me a road out of a town, I'm thinking what a great voice that person has (while catching a few words of what they are saying). So I then have to say "so up to the roundabout, left and then left again" and then they say "no, no, its etc etc" at which point I concentrate.
I stop a lot. Any excuse, a cafe, a view, weird clicking noise from the back wheel, funny sign anything really. And I really am slow, the bike is heavy and it takes about half a mile to get up a good pace.
Well the legs are feeling a bit weary, but no doubt will tune into the daily ride soon, but all in all pretty good.
I did a few radio interviews in Bristol and Belfast, and got a bit confident towards the end. There was a programme though where I reckon that i didn't quite answer the way the presenter wanted. It went a bit like this
"so Nick you must be super fit ready for your ride?"
"well no actually I have a bit of a cold, and not feeling that great you know"
"Nick, is there anyone here that you particularly want to meet?"
" I would love to meet Christy Moore"
( I remembered then, that Christy wrote a lot of political songs about the troubles, so I guess he would be viewed differently by different people)
A long time ago, I heard someone on the TV tell a story about how he heard a busker in London sing this amazing song, he asked him to sing it again and again, until he could play it himself, that was Christy Moore, and the busker Shane Magowan and the song Fairytale of New York. Well Christy then played the song with such passion. And so I've been a fan ever since and would love to bump into him (or Shane for that matter).
So the journey so far: Tuesday was a 'getting going' day really, so just a short hop out of Belfast to Hollywood (the Ulster Museum of Folk & Transport). Then Wednesday I rode over the peninsula to Newtownards and then back over and down the coast through places with great names Ballywalter, Ballyherbert, Portavogie (where George Best lived out his last days I'm told) and down to Portaferry where I stayed with basketmakers Clive and Elaine (and their crazy dogs) and cute kids.
Thursday on to meet Mike who in his retirement makes Windsor chairs and turns wood. I got the first ferry of the trip over the beautiful entrance to Strangford Lough and then away down the coast to Newcastle and Kilkeel and onto Rostrevor where I stayed in a nice B&B before meeting up with a weaver, Karen (amazing studio and history, her mother, a Norwegian, Gerd Hay-Edie worked with Robin Day in the Festival of Britain era). I had a Guinness in Rostrevor with Darren, an oyster farmer on Carlingford Lough.
I left my waterproof riding jacket over at Mike's in Portaferry. And amazingly he offered (well insisted) that he drive over to Rostrevor (100 mile round trip). And sure enough when I went to Karen's studio, there was my jacket. So thanks Mike, and your kindness sums up my experience of the folk here in the north of Ireland so far.
Friday I traveled into the free state at Newry about 2pm and took the coast road ending up about 10 miles south of Dundalk in the 600 year old Bellingham Castle hotel where I'll be sitting in reception uploading this shortly.
Well enough of this rambling, here a nice pic of Carlingford Lough on Thursday evening.