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MOLAR ROLLERS BULLETIN from JOHN * On Saturday morning next (17/09 at 10.00)) in the Phoenix Park, Wenda Thomas completes her trio of running events by participating (on behalf of the Molar Rollers fund) in the National Lottery Half-Marathon. To coincide with this I’m asking all available Molar Rollers to meet for a spin at 08.30 (details to follow) and then to support Wenda throughout her run in the Park. * Good-luck and safe riding to MoRo’s Lorna; George; Adele and David who are doing the 128 kms  Giant’s Causeway Coast Sportive in Antrim .. also on Saturday. * And I’m told that there are still accommodation vacancies for “Diarmuid’s Mayo Sportive” on  24/25 of September  ….. contact Scott  (Mayo Tourism?! …085 8421210  ….for details. * A meeting of the Molar Rollers Trustees takes place on Thursday next 22/09 to begin the process of allocating funding. The total amount of funds raised will be available before then and about which you will be informed ……… and you will also be regularly updated regarding the recipients of this funding. * Thank-you letters to all our many corporate sponsors will be posted next week.  If there is someone in particular to whom you would like a letter sent, please forward the details to me. Many thanks. John

First of 'the rollers' movies

In this great movie posted on youtube by Brian O'Connell you can see the first shots of the molars arriving in London waving the Irish Flag as they pass Buckingham Palace.

It's very funny and captures this epic trip perfectly, thank Brian

Feeding the Molar Rollers

Feeding the Molar Rollers is full time job.......and their
diet is very specific and very cariogenic - designed to give them instant energy when they need it, plenty of salt when they are dehydrated, low GI carbs to fuel them and milk - gallons of it, when they finish the day - to replenish their muscles, so that they can cope with the endurance challenge and them punishing theirbodies day after day after day. Every morning around 7am the support team are at the supermarkets, shopping for stores, then making sandwiches and packing up the cars and trucks with cool boxes....cans of drink, boxes of fruit and endless packets of crisps.

Meanwhile the molar rollers saunter down to breakfast around 8am and at breakfast the rollers

fall into two distinct groups

Group 1 - eat exactly as the sports med ireland pro instructs them, muesli, porridge, brown toast, scrambled egg

and a tomato. Group 2 - hide sausage under their toast - or is that fried bread? bacon under their scrambled egg, substitute the tomato with a hash brown and skip the porridge and the muesli ;)))

And then there is Viorel of course who eats five times as much as everyone else and including a box of cornflakes as his appetizer, before pulling his chair unto the breakfast buffet itself.

Then its time for the first ritual of the day, as the rollers fill their water bottles with energy drinks or water and some 'special' powder that is supplied by Brian O'Connell, and I am still not sure what it is - but they all crave it and line up at his door every morning for him to supply it.

Then they fill their pockets with fig rolls ( a molar roller staple core food item) for their morning break, and then it's ready for off.

On arrival at lunch, its a sad sad moment for dentistry......and hurts us dentists in the support

team to the core - as we hand out the instant sugar fix required on arrival

The minute they secure their cycles, the rollers run for their can of coca cola and the sweetie of the day - and as those sugar depleted cyclists arrive at the lunch stop having burned hundreds of calories en route - woe betide anyone who gets in their way as they power towards their sugar fix......they can't even think straight till they have restored their glycogen balance!!!!-

it's those groups again Group - 1 those who fight for the jelly babies

Group - 2 those who choose scramble for the wine gums

Then its sandwiches, crisps (the saltier the better) and bananas all round

The lunch stop is found by the scout and can vary from a leafy park, to a car park....just one essential requirements from the rollers....a toilet over all other requests!!!!

Finally, the end of the cycle, at the final destination of the day requires another ritual - 'the arrival food fest' before the room keys are allocated and the cyclists run for their showers

This is the time for another erosion assault.....

Can of coke and instant sugar fix - it's those groups again this time jaffa cakes v banana bread followed by glasses and glasses of milk......has to be ice cold - or again you can watch those sugar starved rollers scowl;((((

Then it's smiles all round, and the first group to arrive,once satiated, chat about the days events, the size of the hills, tattoos, the drivers that hooted them, and the drivers that gave them the fingers.......and then it's time for the next group to be applauded as they arrive, and the same all over again for the third group.

The food is important for the cyclists, the sports pro has it spot on - the requirements for the endurance athlete are very specific, and would be considered an unhealthy diet to an inactive person....but this fuel is powering the molar rollers every day and repairing their tired muscles, and its amazing to see them injury free and managing to cycle long distances day after day - thats the power of the 'right food' at the right time it seems.

Lets not mention the liquid fuel in the evenings shall we ;)))) lest our sports pro is listening

Alison

The day the speedometer hits 45km per hour - the temperatures are 24 in the shade

Stephen McCullogh shows us the sun coming out from behind the black clouds and suggests its time to get to Swansea without delay, do their washing , and whilst the shirts dry in the sun it's time to go to the beach with the lads.

That's the life of a Molar Roller!!!

The Sun comes out and refuels the Molar Rollers

alisondougall's photostream on Flickr.

Today after a wonderful cycle to Swansea including lots of freewheeling down hills at over 40kms per hour the sun comes out for the molar rollers and its time to get out the sunblock

A wink and a wiggle from Neil secures a ten euro dinner for the rollers

Thanks to the head waiter and manager  from the GALLEON BAR in Rosslare, who fell for the persuasive smile of NEIL MCDERMOTT and consequently gave the molar rollers a free choice from their extensive menu and two courses for a tenner. See Neil and the manager (sitting on his lap) celebrating their deal. It's a dark old sky here in Rosslare and the ferries are lined up to take us to the UK tomorrow....

Meet more members of the team - Neil Delahaye and Declan Porter

Meet Neil Delahaye - our cycle pro from Sports-Med Ireland - who is accompanying the group and advising on matter technical, mechanical and nutritional as we go along. As the kms progress he is getting the team into shape, as an onlooker it is clear to see his influence in the professional tight group road formations being used to increase the momentum of the group by reducing wind resistance ....and this technique known as the peleton achieved an average speed for the first group today at over 27.6km/hour.....pretty impressive in this weather we think. Neil has some very notable tattoos on his calves - and with the technical progress being made - there is talk of some of molar rollers planning matching tattoos once they hit Wales!

One of the true heroes of the day today was our van driver Declan. On arriving in Rosslare he drove, reversed, 3 point turned his way down the backstreets and cul de sacs of the town to

deliver all of the luggage to the individual guest houses as he followed each cyclist to their accommodation spread over the harbor It just seemed unreasonable to ask a cyclist to carry their bags and suitcases on their backs after 84kms... or maybe we are spoiling them ;))))

and as for St Declan - he's going to do it all again at 6.45 tomorrow morning as he picks up the luggage to take it to the ferry, so the cyclists can drive straight on to the boat..

He deserves his dinner this evening as much as any of the molar rollers that's for sure!!!