The Protagonists

Dave here. I like this idea very much and will be claiming credit for it even though all I did was moan about an upcoming exam. It should be mentioned that the three of us are ideally suited to the task of cycling 500 miles across Europe owing to our extensive experience in generally dicking about. Here follows a brief summary of our relevant attributes as I see them I blithely (Possibly accurately) list the protagonists/heroes/future-murder-victims in descending order of competence.

Cian Hargrave-Murphy
• Experience as a scout leader (in the Ian Hislop sense, not the Aragorn sense)
• Was awarded the explorer belt and in doing so learned a considerable amount about Samuel Colt
• Speaks German and may actually speak the best French of the three of us
• Knows what the appendix is for
• Uniquely in the group is unlikely to attempt anything just because he is double dared to
It should be noted there Cian does possess a handicap as regards this challenge, but I leave that to him to discuss

Ross Michael Gerard Francis Frenett (QC)
• Has read Lord of the Rings
• Once cycled into a tree
• Has experience in the RDF so has the ability to walk long distances and sleep outdoors
• A facility to talk us out of difficult situations in mangled French
• Travelled around the Middle East on a pittance
• Is conveniently travel sized

David James Cornelius Coughlan (Mrs)
• Once walked halfway from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem before being picked up by the Israeli boys in duck egg blue
• Trained for a marathon in 5 weeks, more or less by accident
• Hitchhiked home from summer camp when nine years old
• Hates Bikes with a burning passion
• Knows the Klingon word for “Mountain”
• Likes the travelling scenes in The Man Who Would Be King
Still, no worries eh?