The coast to coast 600 audax is an event that starts near the east coast of Ireland and traverses the country in a north west direction until you reach the west cost. Then the route loops back east until you hit the east coast again. The course is split into two loops. The first being 480km with the second making up the remaining 120km.
On a cycle of this distance I would normally plan to stop around 380 to 400 km in for a short rest. However, because of the fact that you can get back to the start area before the finish it was made me go against my better judgment and to push for the first loop in one go.
After all, the elevation looked fairly easy with just over 4000 meters in 600km.
So the morning of the event finally came and it was miserable. As we rolled out from Stamullen it was raining hard and continued to rain constantly for the first 2 hours. This play havoc with my electronics. I use my phone for navigation and I wasn’t able to charge it for the first few hours.
Anyway, the route rolls through some lovely countryside as you begin to make your way east through small towns like, Garristown, Dunsany, Bective until you reach Trim (55km) which is the first control. A quick snack and a top up of water and I was off again. Make sure you top up here because you won’t be passing many shops until you get to Granard (128km).
The roads begin to become smaller and smaller the further you go inland. You are climb steadily until you get to about 100km. You then pass through some turf fields before you get into some proper climbing.
Just as you get to Granard (128km) the hills become steeper. Luckily Granard is the second control so time to top up with something a bit more substantial before continuing on. I also stocked up on bars and drinks that I would have along the way. The next control was 120km away and I wanted to try to get to it without having to stop. The good news was that my electronics had finally dried out and I was able to charge them again.
There’s a nice fast downhill section as you leave the Granard but this is followed by about 7km of hard climbing. This is again followed by another fast decent.
After that the size of the climbs remain small but they just keep coming, through towns Drumshanbo (182km), Manorhamilton (218km) and eventually to the third control in Ballyshannon (248.8km).
This part of the route was much harder than I expected but the scenery is just amazing, it invites you to keep cycling just to see what’s around the next bend.
On the day I was doing it there was a lot of heavy localized rain showers. As I looked back through the valleys I had come I could see that it was lashing. The poor devils that were behind me where getting another soaking. I had just got ahead of it.
By the time I got to Ballyshannon I was starving. I probably should have stopped earlier. I didn’t want to waste time waiting for food to be prepared so stopped and a pizza place where I ate a whole 10” pizza and bag of chips washed down with two cans of coke. It’s amazing how much you can eat when doing an Audax.
There’s a bit of climbing to do to get out of Ballyshannon but nothing too bad. After that the elevation doesn’t change much for the next 100km. I thought this would be one of the easiest parts of the route but,yet again, I was mistaken.
There were hundreds of small climbs followed by short descents. The biggest hurdle, at least for me was getting through Enniskillen (308km). This is the biggest town by far that we had to get through and after spending the day on mostly small quiet roads it felt a bit daunting to tackle such a busy place.
The saturday night rush was also in full swing and it was getting dark. Sure enough, as soon as I entered the town I was very nearly hit. Whenever you get through all the traffic lights you are on a pretty busy road for about 5km before you return to the sanctuary of smaller roads. Not long after that you get to Lisnaskea (327km) for the fourth control.
I was very lucky with the weather again. On two occasions I cycled onto roads that were completely floated from a heavy shower that had just passed through in front of me. So the guys ahead of me got soaked.
It was 22.30 when I got to Lisnaskea so this would be the last place I could stock up on food and water before everywhere closed for the night. After eating a few sandwiches and snacks I changed into my warmer clothes that I had been dragging around with me all day. I was glad I did as I was starting to feel cold from being in the same wet clothes all day.
I was about 2 hours behind where I hoped I would be and the thought of making it back to Stamullan, another 150km away, before I needed sleep seemed unlikely. So I set my sights on Dundalk as my a place I might stop for sleep if I needed to.
After leaving Lisnaskea the route continues much the same until you get to a small town called Scotshouse (351km). From here the elevation increases dramatically. It’s not all uphill however, as I can remember some very fast descents on dark country roads.
That being said, there is a lot more climbing than descending all the way to near Castleblayney (395km). It was now 02.00 and the streets were full of drunk people falling about the place. I was glad I didn’t have to stop.
From here it’s mostly downhill on dark country roads all the way to Dundalk (422km), the fifth control. It was about 3.30 and even though my body felt ok, maybe lacking energy, it was my head that said enough.
Just out the far side of town I found a secluded grassy area, ate most of my food and water, wraped myself up in a large emergency blanket and fell asleep for nearly 2 hours. Thank god it was a dry night.
I woke to nearly blue skies and set off again at 06.30. I wish I could say I was feeling refreshed but I wasn’t. It took me a good 20km before my legs started working properly.
The route was now making its way south, back to stamullen. You cycle along the coast through, Castlewellan 436km), Clogherhead (450.8km) and on to Drogheada (466km).
You’re on a pretty big road for a while after that but it wasn’t too busy being early on a Sunday morning. I finally made it back to stamullen (480km) at 08.00. This is the sixth control. After a complete change of clothes and a large breakfast from my jeep I set off again to finish out the remaining 120km. I was also about to leave my large tailbag behind.
You make your way back to Trim (516km) along roads that run parallel to the roads I took the day before but this time there is a lot more climbing to do. You then cycle north west as for as Athboy (528km) the seventh control.
The sun is now out and the weather is just perfect for cycling. After a brief coffee stop I then went north to kells (547km) before turning east. There was something great about making that turn. You knew that you are on your way home at last.
Your next stop in Slane (571km) for the eight control. From here it is just 30 km to the finish and you can almost smell the finish line.
After crossing slane bridge there is a short climb out on a busy road but you once again retreat to quiet country roads for the remainder of the event. The route takes you along the boyne river before cutting south towards Stamullan (602km) for the last time.
Make sure you save some energy for the last 10 km because there are some very steep climbs just to make sure you don’t leave anything behind. Thankfully the last few km are all downhill, this gave me time to appreciate the enormity of what I have just achieved.
A brief stop to reflect 
It was 15.30 when I finally pulled into stamullen so that was 33 and a half hours total time.
Once back at the jeep I waste no time in putting the bike away and getting changed into my normal clothes.
The final control is in the organisers house which is just around the corner. I was kindly offered food and coffee but I had to decline as all I wanted was to get home to shower and to see my family before the day was over.
It was Father’s Day after all.