The plan

Beginning to panic with my lack of off road experience, I booked Friday off work.

I packed my £10 Lidl tent, Alpkit Aeric, sleeping bag and trangia and took the car in to work on Thursday, with the bike on the rack.

I never really liked the Mournes, preferring the silent barrenness of the Antrim Hills or even the Sperrins to the well trodden paths and constant foot traffic I’ve always experienced in the past in the Big Mournes. I’ve heard people say it’s impossible to get lost in the Mournes because there are so many landmarks and they’re so compact, but I’m not that familiar with them so I dug out the compass and chucked it and a map into my bag along with my usual emergency kit that I take for canoeing. (though I did leave out the snorkel vest that I keep as a backup buoyancy aid) and enough food to keep me going, and headed off.

Alex wasn’t too pleased at me leaving her to look after the wains while I disappeared off on an overnighter, but there was no good time to go and I had to get some experience before the big ride. That’s probably why I didn’t leave a proper route card with her (she takes Duke of Edinburgh groups out, so she likes route cards) the other reason is that – well I hadn’t a clue where I wanted to go. I didn’t know how fast I’d ride on proper mountains and really this trip was just about getting familiar with serious mountainous terrain rather than travelling a route.