17th June, 2025

I wanted an early start so I could get distance done today. I was getting used to instant porridge for breakfast but cold rice pudding was a new dish and was pretty damned good! I had also washed my bib shorts overnight and found a use for a hairdryer. Those of you who know me will understand that I normally have no use for a hairdryer…

The streets were empty and glistening with the overnight rain as I set off.

As was always the case the first 20 or more kilometres sped by. This is never the case at the end of a day when the last 20km seem to take forever.

I was heading for Donegal and would be passing through Sligo where I had been on a walking holiday only the year before.

But before I got to Sligo I heard the dreaded hiss of a puncture and pulled over to inspect the rear tyre. I leant the bike against a wall and could see sealant bubbling up. A woman emerged on the drive to the house I was stopped outside. She invited me onto the drive to fix my puncture and then insisted on bringing me coffee and freshly baked scones with butter and jam.

Meanwhile I was reaching into my tool bag to find some plugs for the puncture as it wasn’t sealing. I searched in vain. I had no plugs and remembered putting them out at home to put into the tool bag…..

What I did have was some superglue and a patch for my airbed. I smeared glue over the hole and applied the patch. It sealed the puncture. I inflated the tyre with the electric pump. It held.

MacGyver: make or repair (an object) in an improvised or inventive way, making use of whatever items are at hand.

This repair held for the next 500km and beyond. In fact I have done nothing to it since I got home!

What I did want was to lay my hands on some plugs just in case it didn’t hold. A quick Google search revealed a bike shop which would be open in Sligo at 10am. I got there about 20minutes before it was due to open and waited.

At 10am someone turned up.

“Have you got any tubeless plugs?” “I don’t think so, but let’s look”. My heart sank then rose as he found a pack on the counter!

Just as I was leaving another rider rolled in to get his rear tyre replaced as it had worn right down.

Confidence restored I pushed on past Yeats resting place and the mountains I had been clambering over a year before.

The weather started to perk up and I spotted a little cafe in Kinlough where I ordered a delicious wrap and chips and coffee – the first hot meal I had sat down for in a while.

I have memories of a road trip with my mother and brother up to Donegal and to visit the town where my mother’s family had come from. What I hadn’t seen were the spectacular beaches along the coast.

There were some pretty stiff climbs through Donegal and the route was ‘undulating’. By the end of the day I would have nearly 3000m of climbing.

This was Glengesh pass which took me nearly an hour to climb and was about 200km into the day’s riding.

Someone had asked me earlier in the day where I planned to stop and I replied “I’ll ride and decide”. I had made my mind up to push as far into the evening as I could and bivvy for the night. The forecast looked good and it meant I didn’t have to worry about finding somewhere to stay. Even at 10pm it was still light.

Eventually I found somewhere beside the road where I could roll out my bivvy bag. First I had to liberally cover my head with Smidge as the midges were a nightmare. I slid into my sleeping bag, lay down and was asleep pretty quickly. It had been a long and challenging day but I was still on course to finish in 7 days.