AMAZING CRAIC

Craic (pronounced "krak"):  a good time, a fun experience, or a friendly conversation and is commonly used in Irish slang.  That right there is an excellently inadequate description of the chaos, nonsense and shenanigans that took place this weekend.

This post jumps the queue of adventures a bit, but absolutely deserves to, perhaps being the grandest adventure of all as making new friends always is.

It’s been a week of riding and meeting riders! This week, I met Tom from an Irish rider’s group that I had connected with before we came. He toured me around his ‘hood and the stories of that will show up in another blog. 

Thursday this week was the regular meetup of another bunch of riders down the County Clare way. I headed out to meet Anita of Motorbike Women Ireland and anyone else who might show up. The weather was grand, so a decent turnout was expected. And a decent turnout it was, in spite of rain that began to fall about 10 minutes before I got there. The meetup was just along the Lahinch Promenade, so there was no shelter and it rained pretty steadily the whole time we were there.  We persisted with our visit, though I can’t recall all the names of the people I met – that’s what happens when I can’t whip out my phone and make notes!  It was great to meet Anita, who has stayed in touch since my initial contact with the women’s group.

If you’ve been paying attention, a couple of weeks ago, I wrote about having dinner with 4 members of an Irish women’s motorcycle group. We got along like a house on fire, talked, laughed and I told them about the Left-Right-Centre game played with dice and money. Ears perked up and I explained how it worked. Everyone thought it sounded like a blast.  They suggested we should try to do a ride-out before I left. I said “Well, I’ve got a bunch of bedrooms where I’m staying. Why don’t you come down my way and stay over?”  By the next morning, the word was out and the plan was in action. I got word later in the week that 7 were committed to coming, with a repeated emphasis on “Bring €6.”  It was pointed out that the game only required €3, to which the response was “Oh, we’re playing more than once…”   Game on!

After another busy week of chasing around Ireland sight-seeing, Peter and I were ready for a couple of rest days, so on Friday, we went out and got groceries for a barbeque and prepared for the Moto Invasion on Saturday. Around 5:00 p.m., Carla, Paddy, Lisa, Ellen C, Aine, Ellen F, Helena, Elaine, and Mel arrived in good spirits and ready for a party. After a drink or two to relax after their long ride, the stories began….from Ellen F's mishaps on 2 wheels, to forgetting I had nothing under my riding jacket before unzipping at a fuel station, to Lisa losing her bikini in an aquatic centre wave pool full of kids. The lid was well and truly off the craic bottle. I blew my inhibited cover early on (if I ever had it), and they responded in spades.  Paddy not only arrived with a box of Lindt chocolate like the kindred spirit she is, but also paid me the best compliment I think I have ever had. She had met me at the initial dinner a couple of weeks before and someone in the group that was not there asked “What’s Alyson like?”  Paddy’s response was something like “She is really down to earth and just makes you feel comfortable immediately”.  Thanks for sharing that Paddy – no higher praise can be bestowed and the feeling is entirely mutual. 

Helena arrived with a bagful candy that would rival the junk food drawer I used to have in the school district. We discovered that junk food could also be called appies and therefore perfectly acceptable to consume while we waited for dinner.

Peter impressed everyone by laying on a banquet and things got quiet for awhile as we consumed burgers and salads and desserts, which is always a good sign. Paddy made her way into his heart by telling him she wasn't generally a huge fan of burgers, but those were the best burgers she ever had! Pitching in to clean up, the dishes were cleared, washed and table emptied in jig time. Best. Guests. Ever.

Then it was down to the serious business of gaming. We played two games of LRC amidst groans and cheers and good-natured heckling, most of us losing our € to the two winners. This was followed by two games of UNO, which I had never played before and has A LOT of rules!  No one was getting anything by Lisa – the rule police. Aine played everything cool as a cucumber, but I had been warned that it was a facade and not to buy it.  Then Elaine, sitting quietly at the other end of the table sticking it to the lot of us by winning the first round. Gotta watch out for those quiet ones! Helena had referee duty sitting between Lisa and Ellen C for UNO. Mel was engaged in distracting Ellen F to try to sneak a look at her UNO cards, while heckling Lisa on the other side. Large quantities of sugar were again consumed, keeping everyone jacked up for the duration. It has been a long time since I’ve laughed until the tears ran down my face. Well done crew. Well done.

Next morning, Peter made a hearty breakfast and all of us riders suited up for a ride-out, planned by the irrepressible planner Carla. Leaving for Adare a few minutes away, we stopped for a coffee, with some suggestion that this was a tame-the-beast requirement for Aine. 😉   We met up with Sharon and Ellie who joined us for the ride-out and Ellen F, who had stayed elsewhere for the night.  Due to some less-than-steller group ride experiences, I am wary of them and insisted on being behind everyone else.  What I experienced was a well-oiled group ride machine. Everyone in their lane position and the leader, shifting as needed, blocker and sweeper (Carla, Mel, and Lisa) keeping the group together with practiced ease. We had a great ride, stopping for lunch at the Town Hall restaurant for lunch before parting ways to continue our rides home.  

If craic was tangible, it would have been flowing out the windows and doors, enveloping the entire house in goodwill from this group of genuine, smart, generous, funny, hearts-of-gold people. Thanks for making me so very welcome in your midst. You have set yourselves firmly in my heart and I feel like I'm leaving old friends, not new ones.  ☹