Cuchulainn Ladies do The Pink Ribbon Cycle in Moynalty

By Rosemary Gibson

5th Sept 2015.

Three ladies from Cuchulainn travelled to the Moynalty Pink Ribbon cycle in aid of breast cancer research this morning.

The morning started sunny in Dundalk but had turned very cold and cloudy by the time we arrived at the beautiful threshing museum. I was glad of the leggings and long sleeves and was even considering winter gloves but am trying to hold off for as long as possible.

There was a really lovely buzz and atmosphere right from the start at registration. You could tell that the ones from the Moynalty C C had really pulled out all the stops and the food, welcome and marshalling were exemplary.

A lovely warm big DD cup of tea at the start and pink balloons and ribbons everywhere. Even some very game guys with pink wigs, tutus and fake erm, bosoms (of the inflatable variety) in keeping with the theme of the day!  One "lady" found him/ herself going a little soft on one side, but fortunately there was a marshal on hand with a track pump to restore things to a more symmetrical configuration!

The guys from the club were doing bike marshal so at various intervals they would appear beside us with their pink hair and skirts flowing in the wind! So after a welcoming cup of tea and a bit of craic we got our bikes ready and rolled out in a procession of Pink to the village centre for a mini parade through the village.

There were 70km and 30km routes available so all levels were catered for.

This would be an excellent late season sportive to put in your diary for next year ladies (and guys who like to dress up, you know who you are! ) because the home baking is developing legendary status and it is quite close.

We set off behind a pace car for the first 30km so we all stayed together in one big pink peloton, going at a steady 25 kmph. A short stretch of freshly gravelled road slowed everyone down and we all tried to remember the article Martina had posted earlier about finding the tracks in the gravel where the cars have squashed it down. The sun came out and the last wee climb to the tea stop left us all feeling rather warm.

The toilets were very popular at this point after all the tea at the start, and a tasty selection of drinks, sandwiches and cakes awaited us on the verge in the village centre. Suitably refreshed we continued on with 30km to go and with the pace car gone we broke up naturally into nice little groups and cantered back through the green lanes in a companionable manner.

Special mention here to Sandra who having only joined the beginner group a few months ago, and done the Tour of Meath and the Škoda challenge had no problems keeping up at all. Well done Sandra! We were welcomed back to the threshing museum with great ceremony and treated to a splendid spread of lemon drizzle cake, gooey chocolate gateau, sandwiches, more tea, scones and cupcakes. 

We sat outside in the autumn sunshine and drank tea and chatted while the pink clad Moynalty lads waited on us hand and foot. A perfect morning, and many thanks to all involved!