With the sun shining brightly on those tropical trees outside The Quay House (I never did ask what they were - guess I didn't want to be disappointed!), I took off on what proved to be a lovely and varied 40 mile ride. (It could have been 50, but I decided not to take the longest option).

After about 3 miles, it was time for a short stop at the Alcock and Brown monument. The two fliers made the first successful non-stop transatlantic flight, from St. John's, Newfoundland (which in June 1919 was not part of Canada) to a marshy bog outside of Clifden (over 1,900 miles away), in 16 hours and 12 minutes.

I was a bit annoyed by all the trucks and heavy equipment parked in the otherwise bucolic area around the monument. But that was nothing compared to how I felt when, just as we were about to move, they did too: dumping a 1 ft thick layer of loose gravel on the road in front of us. Great Cycling! It was a long walk before we finally got in front of them!

But from there on it was pure bliss!