celticpedaladventure

Leaving home

Happy Christmas everyone. I hope you are still registered with Celtic pedal adventure.

It has been a hectic time since getting back BUT the most important point is to let you know that with your help and support I not only made it to Iona, I also hit the target for fund-raising and TY is now £5108.73 better off!  I am now closing the appeal from the end of the year – although the Mydonate website will remain a permanent feature of Trust Youth.

Greeted on arrival in Iona

There is still some gift aid to claim on that so it will be over £5500 so a big thank you all round. The Rendez Vous locally also raised over £1500 and there is more to come as I do talks for various groups about the adventure.

Future trips? Well I don’t expect to be away as long again – the one plan so far is to do a 100 miles in a day at Easter for a local charity.

Again many thanks for your interest help and support and best wishes for Christmas and New Year.

Here I am looking at Iona – after 2540 miles – 4070 kilometers. We had a great day to finish. Great weather and a wonderful welcome by Peter McDonald the Head of the Iona Community who presented me with a beautiful pottery cup made on the island. In return I gave him the scallop shell I had carried all the way from Santiago.

Now we’re enjoying a few days reflection and rest. Thank you all for your support. Photographs and more information will follow.

The heading? I was leaning on a rail near my bike when someone said to me – “you’ll be on a bit of a trip then?” – aye you could say that!

John

John is here:

John  is done! Listen below:

Twitter has been trending “celticpedallegend” all day – a select few tweets:

Stephen Fry: “A bold and brave man just finished an epic journey; celticpedallegend”

Pope Benedict: “Wow”

David Cameron: “Those chaps at the News of the world could learn a thing or two about public service from JohnCrossman celticpedallegend”

Mark Cavendish: “Props to celticpedallegend; John you’ve inspired me to all my stage victories in the tour this year”

Ban Ki Moon “Early runner for Nobel Peace Prize? Celticpedallegend”

Arrived in Oban last night after a great couple of days cycling up the west coast.

On the Mull of Kintyre I saw a movement in the road and glided slowly up to it. It disappeared into the Irises on the side of the road and I could see them moving as whatever it was made its way to the beach. Then it emerged and went into the water. I sat watching as the otter first washed itself and then began fishing! Magic!

Mull this afternoon then to the finish tomorrow.

John is here.

Two days to go! 2,600 miles down and only a 100 or so to go! Latest update from John:

Hi Just crossed y speedboat to Campbeltown. Now at Tarbert. 40miles north. 88to Oban and 144 to finish! Weather good little wind .

Speedboat?

SPEEDBOAT?

How much more Holywood can you get?

Mrs Crossman arrives in Iona tomorrow, and she will be acting as support car for the final leg of the journey. If one of them can work the camera, there will be a video posted on the blog of the finish, and the assembled throng chanting John’s name, carrying him shoulder high to the pub etc.

Or he and mum may share a cup of decaff and head off back to Dorset. The latter option has a certain ‘cache’, I think you’ll agree.

Matt

Reflecting on his month in Ireland, Matt and John chew the cud, put the world to rights and give updates on punctures and rain soaked under-garments.

John is here.

Only 8 days to go! But still two major bodies of water to pass, so no slacking for John just yet. Mum assures me that the armchair is positioned in front of the TV and the first 2 days of le Tour on sky+ already – think of it as a metaphorical carrot hanging just in the distance of John our donkey, enticing him slowly yet methodically onwards. A well deserved rest is under two weeks away.

Received the following message via cable and morse code last night:

 

Hi, yes since the last blog not much newsworthy has happened. I had two days in Galway to recover from the soaking and then set off to Oughterad after going to a super Baptist service on the Sunday morning meeting with some great interchurch family folk who knew a lot of the AIF suspects.

 

From there I went to Letterfrack where I met a flute player from Seattle and we had some tunes together before I set out the following morning. He had a superb flute which I fell in love with and it was great to get a chance to play after so many weeks. The hostel was an amazing mixture of artefacts stuff everywhere old bits of pianos, bikes, wonderful old pictures of the area etc etc. However I was really tired during this spell so didn’t go seeking music. The following day I went to absolutely beautiful valley just north of Leenaun and then along coast to Westport. This is where Matt Molloy has a pub and I heard a superb band there Grada with an outstanding fiddler and flute players

 

From there I did a big ride all the way to Sligo for a new daily record of 121 km! The last bit was hard but well worth it. Spent following day doing washing and going around Sligo. Met a woman from E Germany who spoke perfect English with an Irish accent and also Gaelic! Following day went to Donegal Town on the way stopping at the burial site for William Joyce lovely little spot. Then on into Donegal to find a rock concert in full flow/ luckily the hostel was 2km from the town so no repeat of the Spanish experience. The ride the following day was great via Killybegs to Glen Colm Cille right on the coast it is a wild ride behind the Slieve League Mountain and very beautiful. Stayed there one night and went to church on Sat evening. Talked to some of the local lads one of whom wanted to race me through the village on my bike. Best bit was visiting the folk museum  a really inspiring story about how a priest, Fr JAmes McDwyer helped the village find its feet and avoid degeneration during the 20th century / of course it never gets into the papers.

 

Then onto Dungloe for one night B and B with a guy who exports fish from N Africa to Egypt! Then today onto to Dunfanaghy to stay at a hostel where they had a railway carriage as rooms but that’s gone now. Going to town tonight as there is some music on.

 

So John enjoying the local amusements – you may or may not be interested to know that I am named after Mr Molloy, the aforementioned Irish flute genius.

Ah. Not. I thought as much.

Only a brief curracle ride across the Mull before John meets Mum somewhere in Iona, before heading home to a well earned rest.

Get sponsoring! And as we approach the end, spread word of the epic perambulation, and encourage your friends to chip in. TrustYouth is a fantastic and unique small charity, your money would be making a direct and clear difference in the lives of young people who are ignored by the educational system.

Next podcast on Wednesdays – ponderings and reflections from the Emerald Isle.

Matt 

Which is nicer than it sounds. Only 10 days to go now. Thanks for all the messages of support. Really good few days out here in the wilds of West Donegal but looking forward to the comfort of visiting friends next week in Bushmills and Ballycastle.

Set out from Doolin yesterday at nine. Raining – oh it’ll clear up — coffee at Ballyvaghan – raining – lunch at Kinvara – raining -arrived Galway 5.00pm raining. Only good thing great recpetion at B and B – didn’t worry at all about the rivers flowing out of my bags and off me! Day off today and guess what? It’s raining!

73km completed in ‘solid rain every m of the way’. However, our intrepid adventurer has taken refuge in yet another warm and friendly Irish B&B, where he has had help in warming up and drying off. The poor cyclist was soaked to his skin, thankfully that is waterproof, unlike his clothing today it would seem. Let’s hope the wet cycle gear has done no damage!

Let’s give the old man a boost, tell you friends about the site and let’s get some more money donated.