mizen-malin.org
2001 REPORT
Looking Back
Overall it was worthwhile, the route was reasonable without to many snag's. Of course we would have liked to have raised more money and do large group collections etc along the route. The weather was great which helped, and we will try and improve things for August 2002 to reduce snag's but we will have no control over the weather.
What Was it Like
Pre Event
The were a few circumstances which we will not go into at present, we started to arrange things near February, but it was very stop start, then at the start of July it was all systems go. We tried to arrange as much as possible before hand. No matter what happened now come the 15 August, we were going to give it a bash.
Training
The training was going well from the start of the year, around Easter the weekends were in the 60 - 100 mile region, and by the end of May / start of June the weekend were around the 150-200 mile mark with 100 - 150 miles mid-week.
Collecting Money
We started to collect money in July, (in 2002 we are starting earlier). The money mainly came from the general public and through our friends and places of work. A few companies also donated.
Start Of The Event, Going To Mizen Head.
We had a few problems to begin with, on the 14 August 2001.
First of all we were going through Dublin around 6:00pm, peak traffic. Then near from Kildare the whole way down to Cork it rained, for a good part of the way it was very heavy rain, visibility was poor and a lot of standing water. Near Skull the rain stopped, a odd bit of drizzle for the rest of the journey.
We were late arriving at our accommodation 12:45am in the morning, to be told that our rooms were not booked. After a bit of time we were given a holiday apartment to stay in. Around 2:15am in the morning, it was time for some sleep.
The next morning was glorious, there was sun shine, a few clouds, but not black and heavy like the day before.
Post Event
It was a bit of an anticlimax, the job was done. We were met by some family members at Malin Head, the first home cooked meals were had from Tuesday. We stopped at Carndonagh for a while before going home.
Some cycling was done until the closed season. The bulk of the money was collected before the event, just sorting out anything still due.
We ran through a few things to try and improve for next year.
The cycling was at a higher pace than anticipated, the weather was great, more rain would have slowed things. We did not stop either as often as first thought. Also we did not do and plan for things in July as we first intended away back at the start of the year. Doing group collections would have lead to more stops etc.
Read An Account Of The Four Day's