While in Galway, we made friends with Reyk (or Craig) from Berlin, Germany. He's taking 7 weeks to tour the island, both the Republic and Northern Ireland. When we met him he was on week 3 and was kind enough to bike around Inishmor with us before continuing his journey northward. If you happened to be in Ireland between the end of April through early June you may have met him. He has all of his gear on his bike: two red packs over the front wheels, two over the rear, one on the handlebars, and a mini under his seat. With his bike, he's been able to see some of Ireland's finest treasures, which are restricted to those of us in cars or buses. He camps along the route, cooks his own food, and occassionally treats himself to a hostel. With the skinny roads he's had near misses with vehicles, dangerous curves on slippery roads (turns so tight his knees nearly scrape the roadway) at high speeds, and a sunburn so intense he had huge blisters on his nose and upper thights which eventually decreased to become black and blue burn marks that were just beginning to turn pink/red in color and peel when we met.
Craig is infamous here in Ireland. As we've traveled we've met people who have either encountered them on the road or in their hostel. Forget the game Six Degress of Kevin Bacon. Here in Ireland we could play Six Degress of Craig as he's left a lasting impression on many with his speed, his gear, and his journey! In fact, one lady was riding her bicycle and as soon as we mentioned the red packs she remembered seeing him (thin, blond, german) as he was passing her on a curve while they were going uphill!
So Craig, this one's for you...Cheers Mate! Good luck with your journey, you have a lot of people wishing you well and are amazed at your ability.
Oh and we'll be seeing you in Berlin.
