Good luck to the National 400 & 600 participants!

Bright and early this morning 17 cyclists left Joe Daly cycles to take on the National 600 Audax. Among them were Scott Orwell Wheelers Michael Moyna & Joe Fitzpatrick.

At 7.29pm 13 more Audaxers started on their adventure - the National 400. Five of this group are from the club.

Meanwhile down in Kilmacow Andrew Potts and Leonard Kaye have been setting up house and getting the rest/food spot ready.

Best of luck everybody! Both distances are formidable challenges. May you have tailwinds all the way.

First of the National 600 riders is in - Stephen Sweeney from Navan Road Club was in at 10:15 this morning after riding through the night. 26 riders still on the road, all at various points along the N80 or N81 at this moment.

First two of the National 400s are in- UK visitors Chris Bloomer and Jonathan Sims finished in 17 hours 20, which fast enough by anyone's standards! Well done guys

Its 3.15pm now and the last group of riders have passed through Bunclody and are well on their way home.

10 finishers so far, 4 DNS, 1 DNF, and 25 riders still on the road.

The Scott Orwell riders are still looking good! Dave is expecting Michael Moyna in the next hour, Joe Fitz about 20:00-21:00, Anna, Kashif, Ken, Tara and Valerie between 21:30-22:00.

The first Scott-Orwell Audaxer is home! Michael Moyna is done and dusted, he was closely followed on by Joe Chester.

Everyone else still rolling home happily* (*may be a slight editorial exaggeration at this point)

There are 5 more 400 finishers in the club tonight than there were yesterday!

Anna Stanton, Kashif Qayyam, Ken Moloney, Tara Nelson and Valerie Plant are all home, with Joe Fitzpatrick off the 600 to keep them company.

Heroes every one of them!



There has been a lot of people working away behind the scenes on this event to make it so successful! They deserve a huge amount of thanks for giving up their time and energy - apart from their work this weekend, many of them rode the route to test it out, looked after the paperwork and planning.

The start/finish team of Dave Mc, Colin Coffey, John Turner, Tony Walsh and Noel Finnegan waved everyone off from Joe Daly Cycles and then were there to welcome them back home too! Andrew Potts and Leonard Kaye have a future as successful B & B managers after their quality rest stop in Kilmacow:) Lots of people also sent me regular updates and photos so my personal thanks to them as it's great to have good news to share:)

Brilliant effort by all Orwellians that took part (and those behind the scenes) - well done folks!

Congratulations guys, you are all inspirational! Well done to both cyclists and organisers! Fantastic achievement!

Crazy Brilliant Madness. Well done everyone.

Thanks a million Louise - and for everyone else do not underestimate what you are capable of achieving .


It's a very rare occasion that The Orwell Wheelers Cycling Club Flag, 70 years old, is taken out of its safe resting place. But, this weekend, the hosting of the National 400/600Kms Audax was one of those occasions. Double reason to celebrate because, including the organisers' spin, 12 orwell members have completed the event: six 400s and six 600s



Here
The Orwell team on the road today: TOP, Kashif, Anna, Ken, Val and Tara.Bottom left: Joe and right Michael

Congratulations to the Audax Finishers and all the support team - well done. You are an inspiration to us all. You have represented the Orwell flag in great style - you should all be very proud!! - Chapeau - Clare

Heartiest congratulations to all riders and organizers - fantastic achievement

Amazing lads. You are the iron men and women of Orwell. Great endurance and determination. Chapeau

Steve Chopper was one of the UK visitors riding the National 600 at the weekend. He has shared a great write up and photos on his Facebook Page. It give a really good insight to the event from outside eyes.

Apparently "It's a long way to Tipperary"!

Steve Chopper National 600 Write Up

Well done to everyone who took part in the National 400 and 600 this weekend. You showed true grit and are an example to us all! Of course, hats off to the support team who give up their day to help out – Dave Mc, Colin, John, Tony, Noel Andrew and Leonard.

Ultra-Audaxers throw out one's sense of time - I should have been scanning the Forum avidly 20 hours ago!
Awestruck admiration for these long-distance heroes and heroines, but especially for Terrible Descender Ms A. Stanton and for Brand-New Cyclist aka Beginner Lady Ms. V. Plant. Can the rest of us hold up our heads any more??

WELL WORTH A READ
Kashif's story
www.orwellwheelers.org/leisure/audax/1202-national-400

That’s an excellent article, great read Kashif