As you know, the end point of my upcoming cycle is Tom Crean’s old pub The South Pole Inn in Annascaul, Co Kerry. Some of you may remember the advert that Guinness ran a few years back (below) to celebrate this great Irish Antarctic Explorer. Here is a little background to bring the ad to life…
In January 1912, after 2 months of marching, Captain Scott selected 4 people to join him on the final 268km march to the Pole. This meant the 3 remaining men of Crean, Lashly and Evans now faced a gruelling 1,206km return journey back to base camp.
After enduring snow blindness and surviving a 60mph sledge ride down a 2,000ft ice fall, dodging crevasses of up to 200 feet wide, the 3 men had marched to within 160km of home. It was here that Evans was brought down by a severe case of scurvy.
Ignoring the risk to their own lives, Crean and Lashly immediately dropped all remaining items of surplus gear and began hauling Evans on his sledge until they reached Corner Camp. With 5 days of marching still to go and only 3 meals worth of rations left, the situation looked dire. However, despite having covered 2,500kms in the past 3½ months and knowing a blizzard was fast approaching, Crean volunteered to make the final 35km solo march back to Base Camp to seek help. With no tent, no shelter, no means of navigation and with only 3 biscuits & 2 chocolate bars for food, Crean set off.
The 18 hours it took to complete the march is where the Guinness ad picks up. In this version of the story, Crean comes close to giving up, only to be spurred on by the memory of drinking a pint of Guinness with his friends back home and the hope of doing so again.
If anybody wants to learn more about Tom Crean then Michael Smith’s “An Unsung Hero” is a great starting point. It’s an absorbing read about the life of an extraordinary Irishman. Get it here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=an+unsung+hero&x=0&y=0
Finished! 
A quick check of the weather forecast when I got off the ferry in Portsmouth made for some grim reading. Floods, storms, fog, ice etc were all expected to sweep in over the next 3 days. The race was on.
So there you have it. Across Europe in just under 4 weeks. The sadists among you will also be pleased to know that I'm writing this update in agony. My back is in bits! The reason? With 3 days of the trek to go, the panniers on my bike finally gave up and snapped off. Having little gear left that I could sacrifice, I stuffed everything in my backpack and slugged it for the remainder of the trip. Almost instantly, sharp stabbing pains developed in my neck making it impossible to turn my head. This was quickly followed by a 'Mexican Wave' of pain down the rest of my spine as the heavy weight put a huge strain on my back. Thankfully I finished the trek before I did any more damage! Plus this gives me a great excuse to sit in bed drinking cups of tea for a few days :)
Check this guy out! I actually met him in Dublin a few years ago. His name is Heinze Stücke and he has cycled a massive 600,000km by bicycle over the last half century – enough to go around the world 15 times. 
Hey all,
The first 3 days were tough going as Switwerland and France threw a string of mountains at me. What I hadn't given much thought to before I set off (as I said "2041kms. 1 idiot") was that with fully loaded panniers on the bike, it would feel like I was climbing all these moutains while also giving someone a lift at the same time. Seemingly Sean's premonition of me "grimacing through pain whilst paddling my little heart out over a hillock in Belgium" was coming true. When I finally did reach the summits of these mighty hillocks though, the views were fantastic. Hopefully some of the photos below (more on Facebook) give you an idea of what I mean.
With the weight off my bike and the land a LOT easier going I was able to clock up century-plus days and make great time. Tarare, Vichy, Moulins, Nevers, Briare, Orleans, Etampes...all flew by as I pushed on hard to Paris. The scenery in middle France is very like Ireland (but just imagine boulangeries instead of pubs) so it made for a really enjoyable trek. At the risk of jinxing it, the weather has also been unexpectedly kind to me (apart from yesterday when I learnt that my 'waterproof' jacket is actually just a sponge with a zip).
So assuming I manage to maintain a sweaty peddling average of 62kms a day (and after allowing for the odd day of R&R) I should be licking my first pot of Guinness (and second, and third...) in the South Pole Inn in Annascaul on Saturday December 4th. Bring it on!
