#38 Co. Armagh

7-in-7 challenge – Day 6

Courtyard Mews was another good choice of accommodation, booked via Booking.com it was ideally located on the Newry Road just outside Armagh town centre, I arrived around 09:00 am after a leisurely 30 minute drive from Enniskillen and having pulled up outside of the house I was greeted by the owner who said the room was free so I could throw my gear inside before setting off. Minor detail but the little things count and not having to check-in and unpack at the end of a long ride is definitely a bonus.

In common with the rest of the 7-in-7 routes I had planned the bulk of the climbing to feature in the first half of the ride, cresting the highest point of any route always provides a little mental pick-up whereas the opposite happens when your legs start to complain and you know the toughest miles are still to come!

Seaghan reservoir was a mere 9km into the ride most of which had been uphill and happily again my legs felt relatively fresh, stocked with brown trout and encircled with a 4 km walking trail, the dam and reservoir is popular with anglers and locals on a weekend but mid-morning on a grey Wednesday I had the views across Armagh from the dam wall all to myself.

The Tassagh viaduct a little further on was an impressive structure built in 1910 but its usefulness was short-lived with regular passenger services across it from Armagh to Castleblayney ceasing just 14 years later and it carried just freight traffic to and from Keady from 1932 onwards.

I had not read about or been made aware of Basil Sheils pub but, passing it as I cycled alongside the river Callan it was clear this was a popular local establishment. Multiple signs to the pub, an impressive frontage and a general aura of welcoming hospitality about the place left me cursing that I was an hour too early for opening time. I left certain that this was a place that would have seen many raucous hooleys in it’s time.

Keady was a typical small Irish town with colourful shop fronts, numerous bars and a pick and mix selection of different building styles. For me Keady was the gateway to the big climb of the day, I had chosen the climb up to the Carrigatuke viewpoint specifically because on a clear day all six counties of Northern Ireland can be seen. I considered that reason enough to take on the climb, which, according to a Google search would result in considerable discomfort for my legs and lungs!

The climb up to Carrigatuke started promisingly with clear views and surprisingly good legs. The constantly changing gradient switched between comfortable 6 or 7% inclines and stinging 20% ramps every few pedal strokes for the best part of 10km. Unfortunately as the elevation increased so did the cloud cover, as I reached a tee junction close to the top the climbpro feature on my Garmin hung and the routing tool was telling me to turn left, the sign to Carrigatuke View was definitely pointing right, I decided that now the visibility was so poor going to the viewpoint would be something of a disappointment so I put my trust in the Garmin routing and turned left. The descent that followed was 8km of perfect road for a fast and safe descent with sweeping bends to carve round and just the right gradient to swoop down with little or no need to feather the brakes.

As I reached the bottom of the descent the Garmin prompted another left turn and the grin was immediately wiped from my face, the small rural bus stop surprisingly covered in graffiti was unmistakeably the very same bus stop I had noted as I started the climb up to Carrigatuke. I had gone full circle and the toughest climb of the day reared up in front of me once again!

My mood sank, I was annoyed with myself for not taking a minute to check the route and I was conscious the climb was tough the first time, it would be significantly less enjoyable repeating it knowing that there wouldn’t be the reward of the six counties view at the top to compensate for the energy expended.

I hopped off the bike, sat in the bus shelter and checked out route options that would get me down to Newry without chugging back up the climb.

I was not thinking clearly and didn’t plan a new route but instead just picked out the nearest town I felt would offer a decent cafe stop.

I headed off towards Markethill solemnly, I had taken this minor hiccup totally out of proportion and allowed negative thoughts to take control, why was I doing this, why did I think riding around Northern Ireland on my own would be fun etc etc. My grumpiness lasted a while until my thoughts turned to the MND cause and the amazing courage and strength of Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield, then positivity returned and I set my focus on getting to Markethill, enjoying coffee and a slice of cake and re-planning the day.

The Courtroom Restaurant with it’s bike sculpture standing outside and fresh homemade cakes was the ideal stop. Now in better humour it took just a couple of minutes on my phone using the Komoot app and an “Easy” road ride to Camlough Lake was created which would bring me back on to the original route just outside Newry without adding to the overall distance and avoiding the bigger climbs.jm

The tranquility of Shaws Lake and similar countryside views certainly didn’t prepare me for the grim memorial perched on a nondescript hill on a rural lane a couple of kilometres outside Whitecross village. I read the inscription on the Kingsmill Memorial Wall dismayed at what people are capable of doing to each other in the name of politics or religion. On the very spot I stood on, on the 5th of January 1976, ten innocent and unarmed workmen had been taken from their minibus, lined up and shot by local republicans. “The worst act of slaughter carried out in the troubles”

Camlough Lake signalled the end of my detour and a return to the original route.

The scenery was now a little more rugged and dramatic and my thoughts turned to the road down to Newry which on my route profile had appeared to be an almost vertical drop! Surely it couldn’t be that steep?

Flagstaff Hill was without doubt the steepest, scariest, gnarliest, twistiest, scree and moss covered descent I have ever been terrorised by and hopefully will retain that title for ever more! I breathed a sigh of relief as this short little beast of a descent spat me out alongside the Newry ship canal unscathed. I’m sure more skilful and daring riders would revel at this white-knuckle ride, but for me once was enough!

In complete contrast to the rolling terrain of the last five days the Newry Canal towpath provided flat, traffic free paths perfect for de-cluttering the grey-matter and shedding lactic acid from the legs. Part of the national cycle network (NCN route 9) the 20 miles from Newry to Portadown is a fantastic piece of active travel infrastructure. Connecting sizeable towns along the now non-navigable canal the route offers, history, wildlife and the usual eclectic public artworks that are always a feature of Sustrans routes, I didn’t want it to end.

I was disappointed to leave the towpath just after the village of Scarva, returning to rural lanes heading north back to the shores of Lough Neagh, the lake around which I had nearly come full circle on this memorable challenge.

The remaining miles passed uneventfully, almost in a blur of mental and physical tiredness, not a tough, battling to carry on tiredness, but a, do I really have to keep pedalling along these same sort of roads, talking to myself tiredness. Negativity was returning, was this a mental weariness brought on by six days of relative solitude, did I want someone to laugh with, someone to share the fabulous scenery with, someone to just chat with or was it just my body’s way of saying ok enough is enough!

The outer limits of Armagh brought instant rejuvenation, day six was done, the mental challenge defeated and 100 miles of Co. Down was all that was left to be ridden.

Strava

The ride in numbers

168.59 km Distance

Elevation Gain 2089m

7hrs 55 min moving time (21.3 km/h)

1 coffee stop

3 bottles of water

No punctures

4 categorised climbs