"It is a definite test of personality,” he told Irishcycling.com this week. “You end up talking to yourself, trying to keep yourself going. You definitely question your ability along the way, it makes a very strong demand on you. The course was very rolling at the end and your legs are so sore from the distance that the sort of hills you would normally fly up become very tough.
“I was way ahead of schedule at Charleville, 109 miles into it. We went through Beal na mBlath, Michael Collins country – there was a big climb but it worked out better as regards the distance. I definitely paid for that fast start later on, though, especially between Nenagh and Athlone and again between Clones and Dungannon. I had to stop for ten minutes along the way…my upper body was shattered, I had to get a massage for ten minutes as I couldn’t even raise my arms.
“Heading into Cavan it looked like we might beat 17 hours. The 18 hour mark was the original target, I ended up beating that by 12 minutes. I lost ten minutes due to that unscheduled stop outside Cavan, so that was a pity.”
As regards weather conditions, Marrey said that it was changeable along the way. “The wind was varied. From Mizen Head to Charleville there was hardly any wind, no help to performance. After that, there was a very strong tailwind to Cavan and then it turned near the end, becoming a west wind crosswind. There was also rain in the last 70 miles.”
He was keen to thank those who gave him support. “Mark Quigley, Sean Coakley, Jim Tuohy were all out of the world. Gary McIlroy and Tony O’Neil were the time keepers and they were driven by Mary Mulcrone. Mick McKenna gave great support too, as did Brian Nugent’s family. At one stage there were 15 people helping, marshalling junctions and that as there were many traffic lights to go through. Without them it would not have been possible, and the same applied to Murphy and Gunn’s support. Everyone’s input was very much appreciated."
Marrey’s intial SMS confirming the record strongly suggested that the difficult of such tests would mean it was a once-off. However he said later in the week that he was looking at trying for other distance records.
“As regards the future, I’d like to go for the Dublin to Galway or Galway to Dublin record at some point,” he stated. “And if we can get the Mizen Head to Malin Head distance recognised, I might give that a shot. That is probably the most travelled distance ride so that would be worth doing if it was recognised as a record attempt."
Some stats from the record ride:
On-bike time: 17 hours 9 minutes and 30 seconds.
Total time: 17 hours 48 minutes
Total distance: 594.3 kilometres
Average speed: 34.6 kilometres per hour
Average cadence: 80
Average heart rate: 130
Average power output: 209 watts
Total energy : 12,911.5 kj
Some pictures of the event
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