Prego, pronto, per favore and prosecco

If you cycle 70k+ per day without training (ahem!) your legs get stiff. Paul, one of my fellow cyclists told me that I should try to shower my legs in ice cold water or dip them in a cold bath for relief - it worked. At the end of day three after long climbs in high temperatures - I had a bad headache, was shivering and felt unwell. Tom and Mary told me I was not drinking enough water. Everyone offered some. I’d just brought a little canister. Anthony gave me some tablets that had sugar and salts to add to my drink and give me a boost.

Bruce, Mike or Richard were always there to sweep up the slower cyclists to stop us getting lost (ooh it happened :-)). Pam, my room mate, a wonderful humorous lady and a few years senior, powered past me to ensure she was in front with the cycling leaders - she's a dynamo. Dennis and Aidan plotted the complicated routes through the region.

It’s hard to put into words how pleasurable it was to join a fanatical bunch of cyclists who supported Co-operation Ireland on last week’s 400k cycle. We breakfasted, lunched and dined together on local delicious Italian fare. We stayed in comfortables agritourism accommodation and beautifully simple Italian hotels in the cities Florence, Siena, Volterra (our highest peak at 980m), and Pisa. We were up to greet the dawn and we saw some amazing sunsets.

We practised a little Italian and greeted every person we saw with a buongiorno, a ciao, or a buonasera. We loved to use as many P words as we could find, pronto, prego , per favore, or prosecco. Needless to say the latter was our favourite.

Our group was made up of catholics, protestants, presbyterians and some less religious types like me. We had lots of funny banter on the classic issues that are used to divide us and we were all united in supporting the wonderful organisation that is Co-operation Ireland.

Winnie at Co-operation Ireland organised the event and is a magician. Terry the chief fund raiser joined us on the cycle and kept us motivated, organised and smiling.  I feel very lucky to have met and to have been part of this group and I thank them all for their patience, kindness, good humour and amazing character.

I’d like to say a very big 'thank you' to everyone who has so generously sponsored us and if you’re ever in the mood to help Co-Operation Ireland - it organises many events so keep your eye on the website. 

http://www.cooperationireland.org/fundraising/

I promise it will be an event to remember.

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Thanks for looking at our page. We've been foot soldiers for Co-Operation Ireland since 2007.

It's a charity which is close to our hearts. It runs serious programmes to help sustain positive relations between divided communities in Northern Ireland. It also builds trust and respect between NI and the Republic of Ireland.

We should never take the achievement of peace in NI for granted. It was hard won and it is constantly being challenged.

We hope you'll think about sponsoring us please!  

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p.s. We've paid our own costs. Any monies raised will go directly to this amazing organisation.  Thank you :-)