Ultra Endurance

TransAtanticWay Race Journal

Day 1 - "The Race is On"

The TransAtlanticWay officially began at 5 am, just as the sun began to rise. It was a beautiful start to the day, but we quickly realized that we had gone out too strong. The hills on the way to Malin Head were brutal, and we found ourselves struggling to keep up with the other riders. Malin Head, is the most northerly point in Ireland.

After leaving Malin Head, we had to tackle Mamore Gap, which was a challenging climb. We had to make sure we arrived in time for the ferry at Buncrana, which left every 90 minutes. We made it just in time, but we knew that if we had arrived late, it would have been a long wait for the next one.

From there, we cycled on to the first checkpoint at Fanad Head Lighthouse. It was great to see the beautiful scenery and landscapes that Ireland has to offer along the way. We cycled as far as we could before stopping for the day, which was around 9 pm. It had been a long and challenging day, and we had cycled a total of 213.24km with 12:07:48 moving time and a total elevation gain of 3268m.

We set up camp in a wooded area, quickly ate our dinner, and fell asleep, exhausted from the day's exertions. Despite the challenges, we were excited to see what the next day would bring.