Thursday 18 September 2014 10:09, UK
Four West Yorkshire golfers have set off on a charity bike ride to visit every GB & Irish venue to have hosted a Ryder Cup.
You can follow their journey here, starting with Monday's 'Grand Depart' which saw them set out from their Bradford base. The team then hopped on a ferry to Dublin to continue their journey.
Route: Dublin - The K Club - Rosslare Port
Today’s been a long day in the saddle with gentle undulations and frequent disagreements with lumpy tarmac.
Our day kicked off at 5:15am when tour manager Mark accidently clipped one of the bikes as he manoeuvred Carol the Campervan off the ferry at Dublin.
Hence, 5:30am found us changing Andy Walker’s rear wheel on the banks of the River Liffey. Hey ho! Sixty minutes and four mugs of Yorkshire tea later, we hit the road heading for The K Club.
Just a few short miles later we found ourselves navigating the hairy N4 (aka M25) – ten miles and three lanes of busy Irish folks, each hell bent on getting to work without securing a conviction for mowing down a bunch of bleary-eyed cyclists.
Life improved in an instant when, at 9am, we arrived at the calm and magnificent oasis that is The K Club. Director of Golf Sharon Smurfit (top lass) stopped nothing short of rolling out the red carpet. We all agreed later that this was surely what daily life must be like for Mssrs Westwood, Woods and Mcllroy.
After a particularly magnificent traditional Irish breakfast and, having taken grateful receipt of two prestigious K Club pin flags, we saddled up for the long ride to Rosslare Port.
In total we clocked up 115 miles today, mostly in Ryder Cup formation – the first 50 miles as a four ball and the remainder as foursomes (pairs relay).
We boarded the ferry from Rosslare at 8:45pm and are due into Pembrokeshire around midnight.
Lowlights: a devilishly early start, buckled wheel, lumpy tarmac and intermittent force ten breeze.
Highlights: Great weather, some stunning countryside, generous cycle ways (UK Highways agency please take note), magnificent Irish hospitality and the delightful Ms Smurfit.
Don’t forget to check our Sky Sports blog every day for Tour de Ryder Cup happenings, or catch the very latest tour news at https://twitter.com/TourDeRyderCup or https://www.facebook.com/tourderydercup. Donations in support of our efforts can be made at www.justgiving.com/teams/TDRC.
Andy Crowther, Darren Tordoff, Andrew Walker and Rick Gillgrass
Tomorrow: Stage 3 – Pembrokeshire – Celtic Manor
