IBA Circuit of Ireland
	Visit: Ballycastle, Letterkenny, Clifden, Killarney, Cork Wexford and complete the circle.

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Fifty pounds did not appear a bad deal. However add the £90 for the ferry, £110 for two nights hotel and a £100 for fuel and this was turning out to be an expensive Iron Butt Association (IBA) certificate. To be fair the £50 was well spent to keep 'she who must be obeyed' happy and my Dad had told me those 37 happy years ago that when you are married son your tuppeny pie would cost you four pence! As a father of two, a son-in-law and a granddaughter my two penny pie now, frequently, costs me twelve pence. Retirement looming, in the worst recession since the 20's and 30's makes me focus on costs, not good but necessary if I'm to have a long exciting retirement.

Riding definitely saves money that you would spend on therapy and the ride from South Shields to Cairnryan was the best therapy in ages. Putting the riding skills to good use, recently honed on the Bike Wise Training day, coupled with fast 'A' roads it was a ride through Nirvana. The 1400GTR does not have the presence or comfort of the Ultra Glide but it makes up for that in pure acceleration; overtakes are executed in the blink of an eye. Arriving at Cairnryan Ferry terminal in time for the ferry sailing two hours before my scheduled departure I elected to spend my time in the lounge and update my website. After all the high speed 3pm sailing I was booked on gets in only 30 minutes after the one that just left at 13:30 hours.

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You'll know if you are a regular reader that Jen and I got a triple twist jade charm in Hokitika, NZ on our 35th wedding anniversary and I noticed on the ferry to Larne a girl wearing one but that's when it hit me, mine was still on my bedside table. Oh no! What trauma awaited me now that I knew my riding talisman was not with me.

Leaving Premier Inn (has anyone in the World ever paid their advertised £29 for a room?) off to the Tesco 24hr to fuel up and get that most important start receipt; well the store is 24 hours but the fuel is 06:00 to 23:00, not 24 hours. Was this the trauma? I continued towards Belfast city knowing by the Motorway would be a 24 hour fuel station and I knew the Tesco at Newton Abbey would provide the desired fuel and the even more desired start receipt. 05:04, four minutes behind schedule.

Heading for the top right corner of Ireland was heaven. The 1400GTR was built for this, early morning sun and a ride firstly on Motorways, then fast 'A' roads then smaller roads I arrived in Ballycastle within the hour and the first bank did not have an ATM, was this the impending trauma? A crisp Northern Bank tenner and the coveted top right corner receipt at the next bank in Church Street, two receipts down. Letterkenny was the next scheduled stop, top left corner, and the sight of a traffic police Garda with radar gun and also a bear in the air cautioned my right wrist. All the speed related Police activity was not for the 'Millennium Falcon' (as I've taken to name the GTR), but for a local car rally but of course I would not be immune to a speeding ticket because I was on a bike, would a speeding ticket be the trauma?

The left hand side stop was Clifden and this is where the fabled rough road surface came to play but the GTR ate it all up. Never once bottomed out or got severely out of shape because of the road surface; this was not the impending trauma. Sunrise had been spectacular, the wildlife exciting and the risk of a speeding ticket all added to the brew of a fantastic day. Clifden to Killarney I called Chris McGaffin to report my progress and he told me the road I was on is great; it was.

Of all the IBA rides I've done this was the most interesting, not just hammering out the miles on Motorways but real roads with real towns and real traffic so it's billing as the shortest certifiable IBA ride did not mean it would be the easiest. Some of the difficulty was passing Motorcycle Tourers Forum (MTF) picture of the month winning scenes, but those photographs would have to be saved for another day. Limmerick has no bypass and on a Saturday early afternoon the road, right through the centre, was busy but a fantastic distraction were the pretty girls in their summer frocks promenading up the main street, this again was not the impending trauma.

Bottom left receipt at Killarney bagged and this was fun. So much so on seeing two youngsters with curly ice creams in Macroom I had to join them and get a photo call whilst chewing the fat with a fellow biker Mel Coombs on 'The Breeze' his Suzuki VL800, heavily laden for his camping week in the ring of Kerry. Mel was heading for the people's ferry from Cork to Swansea and we had an interesting five minutes chat, which was not the trauma but part of it!

I pulled into the service station just north of the South ring road for my Cork receipt, bottom centre, as I did so my passport and four £20 notes dropped to the floor. Once again I had managed to leave the full pocket length zip of my right breast pocket of the Roadcrafter suit open! This was the Trauma. My wallet was gone! This was definitely the trauma. The fuel attendant did not see it in his remit to help a distressed traveller but a young Cork girl in the queue did; without even asking she whipped out a ten Euro note and insisted I use it to pay the 7 euro 41 cents bill and keep the change for toll money etc. She was an angel and would not accept my protestations to take £10 in return, a true angel helping without being asked a traveller in distress; what a nice warm feeling. But my trauma was far from over, I needed Euros for the Wexford, bottom right corner receipt.

A plan was hatched I'd pump the gas in Wexford and throw myself on the mercy of the attendant. I decided to confess all on arrival and the grey beard at the counter could not have been more sympathetic and readily agreed to sell me Euro's for my Sterling. Receipt in hand I continued North.

My head was in the wrong place for good riding so I stopped to eat, relieve myself and take stock. Guess what?

I found my wallet in the wrong pocket!!!!!!!! It had not been The Trauma. Within my euphoria guilt crept in. What about the angel in Cork? I have no contact details to recompense her, I can only thank her in the knowledge that next time I'm faced in similar circumstances I will pass on her good karma and know that somewhere in the grand scheme of this you will reap as you sow.

Now a slight detour for the sixteenth UK Battlefield in Grims MCC challenge (I was going for Platinum) and a home run to the start location for the receipt to close the Circuit. Job Done.

I highly recommend the IBA Ireland Circuit of Ireland as a challenging ride but with every road type possible, with stunning scenery, a fantastic IBA experience, your only problem will be not stopping at every vantage point for that photo as there are 831 miles to be ridden but I can assure you this taster of places in the Emerald Isle will lure me back; but next time with time to spare.

And the Trauma of the missing talisman? Never happened.