Irish endurance rider Joe Barr has decided to take on the
full length of the Wild Atlantic Way, non-stop, for his next challenge.
The world record holder in endurance, and former Irish
professional road racing cyclist, will follow the route of the Wild Atlantic Way,
from Muff in Co Donegal to Kinsale in Co Cork, next week when he’ll be just short
of his 62nd birthday.
While most people who take on the Wild Atlantic Way do so
in stages, or pick out particular sections, Barr will do the full route down
the west coast of the Republic of Ireland in one go and racing against the
clock.
It’s an epic solo race through spectacular countryside, but a route that may well throw up tough weather conditions and contains no shortage of climbing.
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Barr has carved out a really interesting career for
himself since leaving his road racing days behind and has secured a group of
sponsors, including White’s Oats,
who are again all backing him in his latest plan.
He will take on the Wild Atlantic Way starting next
Tuesday, May 11th, with a 4pm start and going from north to south.
If his
record-breaking attempt is successful he would establish a world record for the
route that may well entice other Irish riders and world renowned endurance
cyclists to give it a go in the months and years to come.
However, given
the sheer scale of what he is facing into, the experienced Barr will know he
can take nothing for granted on the 2,343km route which features 23,231 metres
of climbing.
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You’ll be able to
follow Barr’s progress via GPS when he gets underway and stickybottle will
bring you more details on his challenge and how you can track him in coming
days.
Last July Barr
broke his own record for the 738-mile Malin-Mizen-Malin route, taking more than
four hours of his own record when he completed the journey down the island and
back up again in a time of 44hrs 15mins.
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