CHARITY CYCLE: DUBLIN TO GALWAY - IT'S A ROLLERCOASTER

 


Day 2 in the Big Brother House and we are trucking along nicely. 

The Greenway from Maynooth to Moyvalley (29km) was flat, almost empty, and idyllic. I would argue 30k is about as much as you should do in one go on a country path, as there is only so much quiet riverside greenery a brain can handle. 



In order to puncture the pleasantness we hooked a mini speaker to Dom's bike and blared out some tunes as we rode. I am generally not a proponent of wanton noise pollution but aside from an odd rambler ('odd' being the operative word) it was just us listening to Róisín's current tween obsessions and Dom's collection of 90s soul. 

After another day in the saddle and continued good sportsmanship from the indefatigable Róisín, we decided to treat her to an afternoon in Emerald Park (formerly known as Tayto Park). Ró is a thrillseeker so every amusement ride was a screaming pleasure. 

With a defibrillator in place I appointed myself chief bag handler and boarded the milder rollercoasters. After one ride a young boy sitting behind us elbowed us on his way out, ran into his mother's arms and declared "I won!". Is a rollercoaster a type of race?! 



At the end of the day Róisín wanted to do one more thing, the high ropes. She rock climbs at weekends so fortunately has a command of heights, plus she is also frighteningly fearless, this activity was in her wheelhouse. It was no surprise that she raced around the 20 metre high course. Touching down well ahead of the young boy who 'won' the rollercoaster earlier. I had to restrain myself from lifting her arm aloft and shouting "We have a winner!". 



In fairness, the boy's 'win' on the rollercoaster may have been a personal victory over nerves, perhaps his horse had come in, or maybe he felt everybody in Emerald Park today was a winner (which makes for an interesting definition of the word when you look around). 

We ended our day with ice cream and the obligatory packet of Tayto - the food of champions. 

Tomorrow we're back on the green - Moyvalley to Mullingar. 


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