Wexford. Made it this far...

A difficult day for the cyclists again, the villain of the piece being the strong wind blowing directly into their faces as they cycled along the coast road. Nevertheless, their stop at Court Town Harbour for lunch (photo) allowed them a bit of fun as they placed a couple of bets on the Irish Grand National. There was an unanimous vote to bet on a horse called 'Saddle Sore', which, despite being the favourite, failed to be placed. Another bet on the horse that came in fourth means that the team has some small winnings to collect from Paddy Power.

As they carried on towards Wexford the wind gained in strength (unlike the cyclists). They explained to Martin that if at any point they stopped pedalling, even going downhill, the force of the gale brought them to a dead stop. The last 6 miles were desperate, and they arrived at the Talbot Hotel, where Al and Martin had previous reservations, in a state of practical collapse.

In the meantime Al had charmed (the only word for it) the receptionist, and enough bed space had been procured at a very reasonable rate for all the chaps. The camp site was a no-go; the fierce storms forecast would probably have done for the tents. And, in any case, Asif has declared that he will never again sleep in a tent, EVER! The hotel is much grander than anywhere yet, with facilities such as a swimming pool and jacuzzi, but sadly, the team are too tired to take advantage. Ben and Asif didn't even appear for dinner, just having something to eat in their rooms and crashing out. Even Col, the most experienced and fittest cyclist of the group, is about whacked.

So what next? The Irish weather forecaster is anticipating something he described as a "tornadic storm" to hit tomorrow, and there has been much debate about what tactics should be followed. Day 5 was originally planned to be one of the longest and toughest rides, some 70 miles, but if conditions are really so daunting, it might be more sensible to alter the scheme and stop earlier than planned tomorrow, and make a longer leg for the last stretch to Cork, which should have been shorter and easier. However, the forecasts so far have been poor at predicting what actually happens; maybe the storm will blow out overnight and they could have a fine gentle day; it's all on the hoof.

There was a lot of reminiscing about holidays with Nick this evening over dinner; some of the chaps were recalling visiting Nick when he was in Austin, Texas, at the university there.

The support team feels that their contribution has been useful. The packing and unpacking has been hilarious; as everything has got wetter and more dishevelled, the cargo has got even bulkier and harder to cram in. The steering is making a new screeching noise, but the van appears to be pulling the weight okay.