Easter Egg Rolling in the Mournes!

Happy Easter everyone! 

In the mountains we decided to celebrate easter with a bit of egg rolling, but first we had to get to the mountains. Drew Bradley decided that he needed to get some multi discipline training under his belt and so cycled to the Mourne Mountains.

He was absolutely delighted to see Oonagh Thompson and Dominic Ruud Berry on the way. It gave him a massive boost. Something that will be very much needed on the Challenge! After 30 miles on the bike in a good time of 1 hour and 53 minutes, Drew arrived here...

Slieve Donard was covered in beautiful sunshine, apart from the top which wrapped itself in a damp blanket of cloud. Something for the team to look forward to later in the day. 

The mountains were teaming with people enjoying the long weekend and getting some fresh air. We decided to climb Slieve Donard, the largest of the Mourne Mountains. Hopefully the above photo shows just how busy the mountains were. This is the view from the saddle looking up Slieve Donard (which is steeper than any of the photos do justice to).

After a stop for tea and a sandwich we continued up. The cloud wrapped us up and a steady drizzle clung to us. 

It was lovely to have so many people out on the mountains and to hear everyone encourage each other so much. There were lots of 'nearly there's to be heard and plenty of 'not far now's floating around too!

The team decided to celebrate Easter with some traditional egg rolling. After a hotly contested bout of egg rolling Ruud emerged victorious with Oonagh a close second and Drew a distant, distant third. We then ate the eggs, free range of course! 

 

A great day and the team is feeling really good about the challenge!

The Latest Training Update

We might not have done all these things together but our team has been extremely active. Our latest endeavors include...

Mark Thompson signing up and training for the Kuala Lumpur marathon
Sarah Beale training for an Ironman distance triathlon having already completed a half Ironman
Drew Bradley and Ben Oldham continue their training on the bikes clocking several hundred miles in the past weeks
Oonagh Thompson and Dominic Berry continue their mountain training in the Mourne Mountains
Laura Bradley and John Watson continue their higher impact training with rugby and mixed martial arts respectively. We know who to turn to if things get a bit handy on the mountains!

We're all doing this because we want to achieve our goals. Completing the 3 Peaks Cycle Challenge. Please see this video for more information about our challenge. Thank You

Charity Video

Slieve Binnian March 18th

After several weeks away from the mountains we finally made it back and we're back to training. Plenty more cycling and more trekking to come! But on Sunday 18th March we were faced with blue skies, warm sunshine and so what can you do? Well you've got to go from a long trek in the mountains, obviously! The Blue Lough is just one of the great views we had on this trek.

 As we started the trek we had some company. The locals were slightly curious about the three people geared up in gators and water proofs on such a lovely day but the sleet and sudden downpour on the way back to the car vindicated out decision to waterproof up!

Unfortunately our equipment wasn't quite ours. In a slightly rushed moment I picked up a pair of boots and asked Oonagh if they were hers. She said yes so off we went. Sadly they weren't Oonagh's, they were her sister Eileen's which were identical... but a size and a half bigger.

Despite the 'malfunction' Oonagh gallantly continued on the trek and we're glad she did. The Mourne Mountains are home to some wonderful scenery which has largely to this point been enjoyed while covered in rain, snow and cloud. It make a nice change seeing the mountains in the sun. To show how much we appreciated the sun we took lots of photos. Now we realise that it seems slightly odd taking black and white photos on a gloriously sunny day, but we think they look lovely nonetheless. 

 

 Near the top of Slieve Binnian there is a large open space. Above you can see Ruud majestically striding across it. This is what we should have crossed last time we did Binnian but were forced to turn around due to 100 mile an hour winds. Even the less diminutive of our group would have struggled to stay grounded in those conditions.

Our return to the mountains was even celebrated by the local search and rescue team who organised a fly by in our honour. Please note it is an assumption on my behalf that the fly by was for us, it could have been a training exercise, but here's hoping. 

Lunch at the top of Binnian led to some debate. More on that in the next post. Still we were there to enjoy the last of the sun before the clouds closed in and we were chased off the mountain by rain and hail. The waterproofing paid dividends, apart from the lighter trekking trousers I decided to wear. By lighter I mean not waterproof and with two soggy legs I squelched back to the car... lesson learnt!

What we're doing and why!

This is what we are doing and why. 

Thank you for looking.

The final trek of January

After a few weeks of missed training we decided to seise the opportunity for a long walk in the mountains. The weather was dull but warm enough and no significant wind this time, much better than the last outing! We decided to climb Slieve Commedagh starting at the Trassey Road car park. Following the Trassey trail and as we parked we met this lovely looking fella. He didn't seem too bothered by us and even posed for a photo.

We were surprised to see so much snow on top of the mountains and even more surprised at how dry the trail was, sure that'll change in the next few weeks when the snow starts to melt! Well in the mean time, time for some fun with the camera ...

Having topped Commedagh in a time of just over 2 hours we were literally knee deep in snow, wonderful crispy snow.


Having spent some time playing with the camera I decided to go a bit quicker to catch up. The result... a 13 stone Brummy running down a mountain in Northern ireland screaming 'I've built up a head of steam!'. Shortly followed by a bone crunching thud as said Brummy over balanced and clattered to a stop in deep snow, which remember, covers rocks. Guess which one stopped me? Yeap, rock. The rest of the hike went by with a failed attempt to slide down the mountain on our backsides and little else other than beautiful scenery and great trails to walk on... with a sore knee.

Luckily it wasn't this part that I fell down! Still goes to show just how much snow and ice was clinging on up there.

Oonagh found the ice formations truly entertaining ...

Still a few greats photos and even met a guy from the tele! Another great day! 

Windy days in the hills

Although the weather wasn't great, we decided to head out into the Mourne Mountains. We headed off to Slieve Binnian, aware that the wind and rain weren't the best conditions to hike in, but still thought we'd give it a go.

Starting just above Annalong, we walked up the path passing some lonely houses and this horse which seemed less than impressed with the weather conditions! The grey sky and gusts of wind should have been a good indication of what was in store further up the mountain.

The snow and ice at the top of the Mournes had melted and the ground was thick with mud and slush which made progress slow. The wind gusts stopped us in our tracks but we were out so seemed crazy to turn back.

At points we were forced to hunker down in a bit of shelter. This photo of Oonagh Thompson might give some idea of the strength of the wind. Being somewhat more diminutive than the others out this time, it's not surprising she had to find shelter, but even the larger of us (no names) had to find cover.

The highest peak in this photo is Slieve Binnian. You may be able to see the pass between the two rocks.  As we climbed over this we were met with winds in and around 90 miles per hour. We didn't last long on the other side before having to turn around and head down the way we came. We lasted just long enough to get this photo which doesn't come close to doing the conditions justice. 

We were all pinned down and had to wait for a break in the wind and make a dash for shelter. Still time for a cup of tea before heading down and back to a warm house! Also the turkey and stuffing sandwiches were exceptional! 

The team decide to take the direct route down Slieve Commedagh

The Mourne Mountains 10th December 2011

After an week of rain, howling winds and a bit of ice on the roads Saturday came and with it a day make for hiking.

A bit cloudy and not exactly warm but even sun shine to make it worth while getting into the Mournes. The wind had dropped a touch but it was still strong and cold enough to chill the face when it peaked out from the coat.

We started walking through thick woodland which sheltered us from the worst of the wind. The generous rain and melting ice further up the mountain swelled this little waterfall which we passed early on. The woodland finished pretty quickly and the extra layer that had been discarded gradually got put back on.

Apparently the Mourne Mountains were the inspiration for C. S. Lewis' Narnia and reaching the saddle between Slieve Donard and Slieve Commedagh you can see why. The layer of snow which covered the ground really did make the place look magical.

Of course not everyone was savoring the moment and soon snowballs started fizzing through the air. Luckily we're all terrible shots and not a single one landed, must do better next time!

As soon as we left the shelter of the Mourne wall we found that the wind hadn't in fact dropped and was pushing pretty hard. A few sideways steps and with the cloud closing in shortening visibility to a few meters we decided to head down.

Ruud decided that he'd had enough of walking and when the grip on his boots failed he let gravity take over. He zipped past on his backside, arms flailing and giggling like a kid in a sweet shop. Seemed like a good idea so I quickly followed. It was all fine and good until Ruud's giggles turned to a howl of pain. Turns out the snow not only makes the place looks great, but covered sharp rocks which Ruud has a habit of finding with his elbow and arse. I started walking after that.

Great to be out in the mountains again and looking forward to getting out there again!

The Challenge...

The reason for this blog is so friends, family and anyone else who likes a challenge can follow the progress of the 3 Peaks Cycle Team.

Our aim is to raise as much money for charity as possible. We know that people are bombarded with requests to give money to charity, so we decided to earn it.

The 3 peaks challenge is a popular money raising activity and rightly so. It involves climbing the 3 of the highest mountains in the UK, namely Ben Nevis (Scotland), Scafell Pike (England) and Snowdon (Wales). Well deciding that this wasn't tough enough we decided to make it just a bit more difficult. We decided to cycle between the highest 3 mountains in the UK.

Simply put this will involve climbing 3 mountains and cycling 450 miles in 5 days.

Please check back, there's lots more information to come...