Have we been lucky with the weather or what? A week in Ireland, no rain, plenty of sunshine and little wind. A few "wee" hills and we've glided our way through most of Connemara. Last night we stayed at the Atlantic Coast Hotel in Westport. Another beautiful spot on the...yes..west coast of Ireland. Hard to believe today's the last day. Yesterday we were at the Delphi spa and it was fantastic. It hit the spot and I'd recommend it to anybody. Sort of a little oasis in the middle of quaint B&B's, which are themselves charming, but not quite the same.

Our days basically go like this - breakfast at 8:30, begin riding at 9:30, lunch at 1:00, some sightseeing in the morning and early afternoon, and arrive at the next spot around 6:00 pm.. and the Guiness x (2,3..depends), Dinner at 7:30-9:30 and bed around 10:30. With the cycling I think most everybody has been sleeping well. I've thrown a 3-7 mile run at 6:30 AM just to keep in running shape with the upcoming marathon. A great day. There are 6 of us on the tour: me and Kevin (dad), Tim and Diane from Vancouver and Bill and Maureen from Edmonton. They are fantastic people and we've had a great time riding together. Our tour guide and her parents have managed to keep us going in the right direction - and more importantly selected great little off-beat roads that both scenic and un-crowded by cars. We really notice that when we are forced onto a main road for some of the sections and can no longer chat and enjoy the great scenerey.

Yesterday we went by the Famine Memorial. It was quite a site - with the riggings replaced by the artist with the skeletons of commerating those who perished during that horrible time. Today we wind up in Galway and bid goodbye (so soon!) to our new friends and Ireland. It's been a blast. Next week will be a link to all the photos after I get a broadband link..

ttfn

Mark