15TH ANNUAL BODHRÁN-ATHLON: DAY 2: BODHRÁN CYCLING

It is the 2nd day of the 15th Annual Bodhrán-athlon which means we have reached the Bodhrán Cycling portion of the event.

In this discipline, the ‘athletes’ are given a bicycle upon which they must attach their bodhráns as wheels and cycle their way across the island. This is a difficult task as the wooden frame bodhráns are not quite as sturdy as the metal framed wheels.

However this leg of the journey seems to be quite popular with the locals as they turn out in their numbers to whip the bodhrán-cyclists as they pass by. Man, woman and child alike are given thin pieces of cane by event organisers to allow them enthusiastically beat the competitors as they cycle toward their destination.

Event organiser, Deirdre Faloon: “We like to involve the locals as much as we can. Their lives come to a shuddering halt every late June with the bodhrán festival, so this is a chance for them to show their thanks to the attendees.”

The cycle certainly allows for some wonderful scenic shots from the trailing helicopter in the sky. Organisers hope that the competition will come to rival the ‘Tour de France’ and the ‘Giro d’Italia’ in future years having already linked up with ‘Ironman’ organisers in Australia. They plan to have their own ‘Iron Bodhrán Player’ later in the year which is to be based in and around the crocodile infested Adelaide River in the Northern Territory.

Tomorrow sees the culmination of the ‘Bodhran-athlon’, the Bodhran Running.