The Club held its blue riband event, the Inishowen 100, on Sunday 15th August, when a record 190 cyclists, no doubt encouraged by the unseasonal beautiful summer weather, lined up to take part in this toughest of road cycles. The main route followed the coastline of the Inishowen Peninsula, past beautiful beaches and seaside towns and taking the challenging climbs (7,329 feet in all) including Mamore, Malin Head and Kinnego Bay before returning via Greencastle and a welcome “flatish” run to Moville and Derry. The shorter 50 mile option, being offered for its second year, was well received and is, we believe, poised to grow and rival the ‘100‘ in popularity.

The ‘100’ and ‘50’ groups departed together from Templemore Sports Complex, Derry at 8.30 in the direction of Buncrana with the peloton splitting before Dunree. The 50 mile route took the road to Dumfries and over the mountain to Carndonagh and from there to Moville for a well earned break before the final push back to the Sports Complex.

Meanwhile the ‘100’ riders headed towards the steep climbs at Mamore and Malin Head and the planned lunch stop. This year, winds were light and with the temperatures reaching 23 degrees, staying hydrated was the main thought on their minds. After lunch there was a further 50 miles, including the always daunting climbs at Tremone and Kinnego bays, before arriving at Greencastle and a welcome short food stop and respite. Fed and watered, the riders took on the final 20 miles at a brisk pace aided by a slight tail wind, giving some ease to their weary legs.

Back at Templemore, high spirits and the sense of achievement was evident as the cyclists enjoyed hot soup and a roll and watched the Photo slideshow, while stories were exchanged of broken chains, a few punctures, the odd bee sting and a bit of sunburn. Mark Kane from Belfast led the 165 ‘100 milers’ home in 4hrs:50, closely followed by local man Joe Barr. The fastest
time for the ‘50’ was 2 hrs: 50.

Many riders commented on the superb organisation of registration, support vehicles, marshals, signage, food stops, photo show, certificates and the must-have T-shirts! These were the result of the hard work by the Club’s Committee and event marshals, but especially by Terry Donnelly, our Inishowen 100 Director, which ensured that everyone enjoyed their day and completed the course safely.

This year’s event was featured in Cycling Weekly and received very prominent coverage in an article written by BBC reporter, Graham Moss who cycled and enjoyed the event.

Northlands Centre is the charity selected by the Club to receive the proceeds of this year’s cycle.