The Beast of Ballyhoura

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Battling the Beast

Gill Watson/Team SleepMonsters/Inov-8 / 11.08.2008

We strolled into Cork airport with a sigh of relief after getting through baggage with Ryanair with no hitches or excess baggage charges. Turas experience had taught Tim and I a big lesson in packing - good job they didn’t weigh our hand luggage!

Greg Clarke met us and in 45 minutes we were in Castletownroche at Blackwater Castle. The other two team members - John Cunningham and Gary Davies were flying in later so Tim and I had a quick sort and went off to do a team food shop.

We’d had no bikes to get through the airport as we were borrowing them from XCT Bikes. I had told Chris - the guy that runs XCT bikes - that I had been ill with tonsillitis prior to the race and he kindly (?) offered his acupuncture services!

We arrived at his house near the Ballyhoura forest and after a quick cuppa he gave me a tongue analysis - he said my gut was congested and had I been living on snack foods and sugary rubbish. I had to admit - I probably had!

Anyway he advised about diet and took Tim and I into his room where he proceeded to insert a number of needles into me and then even more into Tim’s calf. He left us there looking like bristling pin cushions and went to attend his next victim .... oops , I mean client !

We travelled back to base wondering whether we had been magically restored by Chinese medicine and had a prescribed nap in our sunny tent!

FAFFING TIME!

The others arrived and we got kit ready - bikes ready and rushed off to get a meal before the 9pm briefing for a 4am start! Briefing was straightforward. There would be a hill run to start with a marked bike route straight away and no maps or further instructions until the end of it. Off we went to faff with kit and boy we did a good job of that!

Finally to bed for a short sleep and up at 3am to get the coach to the start. We all piled into Greg’s kitchen where his wife Pauline had prepared pots and pots of porridge. We were in no rush as in usual Irish style the coach eventually arrived and we eventually left!

At the start we were to run straight uphill counting glow sticks, turn round at the top and straight back down - this was to break us up and we were close to the front as we got onto the bikes and shot off on a fabulous downhill which sorted out the pecking order further!See All Event Posts