Cycling festival will highlight the sporting tourism potential of both Sligo and Leitrim
THE potential for a vibrant sports tourism market in both counties Sligo and Leitrim will be highlighted this coming June when the Leitrim Cycling Festival takes place.
Running from the 22nd to 24th, the three-day event is based in both Dromahair and Manorhamilton with cycling routes around Drumcliffe and Cliffoney also planned to be part of the itinerary.
Behind the event is adventure enthusiasts, couple Ciaran Hussey and Laura McMorrow who moved back to the west following a few years working in Japan.
The weekend will feature a number of talks, demonstrations and workshops in the Glens Centre in Manorhamilton and in before participants take to the roads on two wheels towards Dromahair with routes in north Sligo also planned.
One of the confirmed speakers at the Glens Centre is Limerick man William Bennett who recently a completed a three-year cycle across the globe.
“The aim of the festival is to celebrate the north west for its wonderful walking and cycling routes”, Ciaran explains.
“We will have loads of leisurely walks and cycles along the boreens and hills in the local area as well as yoga, cycle training, bike art, foraging walks, a slow bicycle race and more.”
Ciaran, who currently resides in Rossinver and Laura in Manorhamilton, moved home two years ago having spent a number of years as school teachers in Kanazawa on the Japanese west coast.
A totally different pace to lifestyle to his County Galway home, Ciaran was keen to get back to a more serene and peaceful setting.
“Living in Japan was beautiful but it was somewhat crowded” Ciaran points out. “Over there, a lot of the cities are based on the coasts and the inland are very hilly and mountainous. It’s beautiful really. But where we lived was too busy, too crowded and moving back here was something we always planned.”
The road home was a little less traditional than the one usually worn.
From Japan, Ciaran and Laura landed in Mongolia, a country ten times the size of Ireland with an even smaller population.
An arduous cycle westward lay ahead even for experienced cyclists like Ciaran and Laura.
“We had only really done what you would call leisurely cycling before this. Nothing on this scale!” Ciaran admits.
“In fact the bikes we used were only ever used for relatively short spins!”
And so the start of a five month journey home began.
“There are very little roads over there as most Mongolians live in towns and cities”, he remembers.
“There’s just a lot of tracks really and you follow them. It’s so remote so you camp a lot and cook your own food really. You stop in at any village you find and stock up as much as you can.”
With little connection to the outside world in terms of modern technology, the pair decided to set up their extremely popular blog entitled ‘Crank and Cog’ to keep friends and family abreast of their situation.
“We started the blog really as a way of letting our families keep in touch with us. It was easier just to post to that blog every week or so to let them know where we were and what we were up to than trying to send separate emails and the blog grew from there really. Plus cycling through Mongolia, there’s not many opportunities to pick up an internet connection!
“We get up to 2,000 visitors a month to the blog from all over the world. We’ve been featured on several cycling websites and even the Irish Times.”
So What’s the secret to such high traffic? “I guess I have an eye for a visual and the right shot. We don’t want to barrage people with too much information and we keep it light hearted. But we’re learning too as we go along. I think it’s about the journey and not the destination.”
Travelling by bike came with other advantages. Going a day without seeing any signs of civilisation was not uncommon so to meet and greet other travellers and locals was somewhat of a bonus.
“It was great because when you’re cycling or hiking, people come up to you and ask you what you’re doing and they want to talk. You get a few hints and tips.
“It’s not like in a car where you’re just whizzing past them or a bus where people can be a bit stand-offish.”
From Mongolia, Ciaran and Laura made their way to through Russia before taking a flight to Bucharest.Roaming through the south west of Russia was ill-advised given the hostilities in Crimea.
From Romania, their journey brought them to Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Germany, Holland and to the UK.
“Russia was the highlight”, Ciaran says. Particularly Southern Siberia. The mountainous alpine regions were stunning particularly for someone who’s into their photography like me.”
Full details of the Leitrim Cycling Festival are available at leitrimcyclingfestival.com.