The Rebel
Christmas 2010
Christmas 2010 was a Christmas I remember quite well, we had a lot of snow and ice that year, along with some incredibly tasty food! But it was this Christmas that Mum got for me a book about an Englishman man who cycled from Siberia back to England*. From reading this it gave me a few interesting ideas for what I could do when I was old enough to go travelling. With my plans coming together you can imagine Mum now regrets the purchase of this book!
I always knew I was going to take a year out for travel. It was built into me, this desire to explore and meet people from different parts of the world. The question was where and when exactly. In the summer of 2014 I decided that I would take my gap year, upon completion of my final year in University and concluded that my method of travel was going to be.... a Bicycle. And so since then I have been planning and preparing all the necessities that this trip will entail.
What is a Rebel?
For many years Cork has been known as the "Rebel County" (some say since the 15th Century) and so throughout Ireland a Corkman is also known as a rebel or a Corkonian. Often we like to joke that we should be independent, as was highlighted by "The Rebel Passport" one could get a few years back but most of the time we just like to say that Cork is the true capital of Ireland. No offence Dublin!
Melissa
Yes that is a very suggestive heading I know!! Melissa is in fact my bike, and yes she's a pretty thing alright, with her slender frame she weighs just over 12Kgs and all going well she will carry me home over the coming year.
How I ended up with the name Melissa is a bit of a story so here goes....
"It started in June 2014 with me coming home from work one day in Dublin. As I arrived in Pearse station to await my train a pretty young woman walks up to me and points out that I have bird poo on my shoulder. I immediately look to my left and lo and behold there was one serious mess sitting on my shoulder. No sooner had she said it, she reached into her bag and pulled out a tissue, spending the next half minute wiping it off. We made some small talk in this rather awkward situation, it being on a busy train station platform, but I was extremely grateful to have avoided a rather embarrassing train journey home. And then my train pulled up, I thanked her and we parted. I suddenly realized I never even knew her name. Later on I jovially told the story to my friends of how kind this young woman had been. They went on to comment that it was like one of those stories where the man goes " and now that woman is my wife!" It did almost seem like that, so I led a few of my friends on a merry chase in the belief that this woman, who I now called Melissa, (Don't ask me why!) was in fact my girlfriend and that she hailed from Invercargill in New Zealand. For a while these people (you know who you are!) believed it in thinking I had found "the one." Eventually I explained that it was all a joke and we all had a good laugh over it. So yeah that's Melissa for you!"
What does The Rebel do in his spare time?
Well when i'm not busy planning my trip, I enjoy doing a rake of other things. For me I love sports and so play Team Handball and Volleyball for my University. Often I'll mess around with friends playing rugby or football, or any sport in fact that has a bit of competition associated with it, i'm usually there! When I'm back home I often work on the farm picking, packing and delivering vegetables with my father and brother which is grand when you avoid the traditional "soft" Irish days.
When it comes to books I enjoy the reading of history, travel and economics. For many of you out there reading this, I understand you're probably trying to imagine how anyone could enjoy two of these three topics! But i'm sure we can all agree on one - travel! I also like keeping up to date with current affairs, watching the news and then always when I get a second I check the weather, probably for the 20th time that day!
Finally one of the most important things to me is my Christian faith. I believe that God wants us to be in a relationship with him and so because of all that he has done for us I want to commit my life to what he wants. In doing this I have learnt to worry less and trust more in a God who is in complete control. That brings joy and happiness to my life and I am so thankful for it!
*You can read more about this amazing journey and the man behind it (Rob Lilwall) in his book "Cycling Home From Siberia"
Christmas 2010 was a Christmas I remember quite well, we had a lot of snow and ice that year, along with some incredibly tasty food! But it was this Christmas that Mum got for me a book about an Englishman man who cycled from Siberia back to England*. From reading this it gave me a few interesting ideas for what I could do when I was old enough to go travelling. With my plans coming together you can imagine Mum now regrets the purchase of this book!
I always knew I was going to take a year out for travel. It was built into me, this desire to explore and meet people from different parts of the world. The question was where and when exactly. In the summer of 2014 I decided that I would take my gap year, upon completion of my final year in University and concluded that my method of travel was going to be.... a Bicycle. And so since then I have been planning and preparing all the necessities that this trip will entail.
What is a Rebel?
For many years Cork has been known as the "Rebel County" (some say since the 15th Century) and so throughout Ireland a Corkman is also known as a rebel or a Corkonian. Often we like to joke that we should be independent, as was highlighted by "The Rebel Passport" one could get a few years back but most of the time we just like to say that Cork is the true capital of Ireland. No offence Dublin!
Melissa
Yes that is a very suggestive heading I know!! Melissa is in fact my bike, and yes she's a pretty thing alright, with her slender frame she weighs just over 12Kgs and all going well she will carry me home over the coming year.
How I ended up with the name Melissa is a bit of a story so here goes....
"It started in June 2014 with me coming home from work one day in Dublin. As I arrived in Pearse station to await my train a pretty young woman walks up to me and points out that I have bird poo on my shoulder. I immediately look to my left and lo and behold there was one serious mess sitting on my shoulder. No sooner had she said it, she reached into her bag and pulled out a tissue, spending the next half minute wiping it off. We made some small talk in this rather awkward situation, it being on a busy train station platform, but I was extremely grateful to have avoided a rather embarrassing train journey home. And then my train pulled up, I thanked her and we parted. I suddenly realized I never even knew her name. Later on I jovially told the story to my friends of how kind this young woman had been. They went on to comment that it was like one of those stories where the man goes " and now that woman is my wife!" It did almost seem like that, so I led a few of my friends on a merry chase in the belief that this woman, who I now called Melissa, (Don't ask me why!) was in fact my girlfriend and that she hailed from Invercargill in New Zealand. For a while these people (you know who you are!) believed it in thinking I had found "the one." Eventually I explained that it was all a joke and we all had a good laugh over it. So yeah that's Melissa for you!"
What does The Rebel do in his spare time?
Well when i'm not busy planning my trip, I enjoy doing a rake of other things. For me I love sports and so play Team Handball and Volleyball for my University. Often I'll mess around with friends playing rugby or football, or any sport in fact that has a bit of competition associated with it, i'm usually there! When I'm back home I often work on the farm picking, packing and delivering vegetables with my father and brother which is grand when you avoid the traditional "soft" Irish days.
When it comes to books I enjoy the reading of history, travel and economics. For many of you out there reading this, I understand you're probably trying to imagine how anyone could enjoy two of these three topics! But i'm sure we can all agree on one - travel! I also like keeping up to date with current affairs, watching the news and then always when I get a second I check the weather, probably for the 20th time that day!
Finally one of the most important things to me is my Christian faith. I believe that God wants us to be in a relationship with him and so because of all that he has done for us I want to commit my life to what he wants. In doing this I have learnt to worry less and trust more in a God who is in complete control. That brings joy and happiness to my life and I am so thankful for it!
*You can read more about this amazing journey and the man behind it (Rob Lilwall) in his book "Cycling Home From Siberia"