That Day in October 1950.
By Mrs. Margaret McQuaid

“I remember the morning as clearly as if it were just yesterday. We had breakfast at 5am, consisting of brown bread, honey, cereal, tea and then a fillet steak. It was a beautiful, crisp, clear morning and the sun was rising over Galway Bay, and just the lightest of breezes.

After breakfast and a quick massage the two boys began to get ready. Jack in his Emerald Wheelers jersey and Jim in his Nation Champion’s green, white & orange jersey. Jim had recently won the Nationals and looked magnificent in the jersey.

By about 7 o’clock a large crowd had gathered in Ayer Square, right in the center of Galway and the whole town was talking about McQuaid & Ryan cycling to Dublin on a tandem. The record had been set a couple of years previously by Bill Barclay & Tom Hughes and stood at five hours, forty five minutes. What lay ahead of Jim & Jack now was136 miles of flat road, (apart from the few potholes they would encounter along the way, but I’ll go into that later), and about five and a half hours of suffering…

So the scene was set. Under a huge banner that crossed the main street in Galway the two men rolled up on their tandem to do a lap of Ayre Square as the crowd literally stretched the whole square, Jack on the front, Jim the stoker as he was of heavier build than Jack. I couldn’t help feeling a little nervous as the crowd cheered and stuck their pens and papers out for autographs as they rode around the Square. After several stops they rounded the square and stopped under the banner for a couple of last minute adjustments.

‘Bang’, went the gun, and they were off, to a rapturous roar from the crowd.

Jim and Jack were two of Ireland’s greatest rivals on the bike, and probably two of Ireland’s greatest friends off it. For the next 6 or so hours all that rivalry was put aside as they had to ride completely as one on that tandem. They had trained together for years, and for about two for this record so they knew each other inside out. Even lived with each other for months at a time when they were in training. Jim had only a few weeks before won the National Championships, putting Jack into second place so this was very fresh in the minds of everyone, especially the two on the tandem! Now they were to put all this to the test as they set off out of county Galway to traverse the country in as short a time as possible.

I followed in one of the many vehicles and about 10 miles outside Galway what I thought was disaster struck. Flat tyre. Front wheel. They weren’t allowed any help from any of the cars so they had to change the tyre themselves. Took about 4 minutes and they were off again. Loughrey, Ballinasloe, huge crowds all the way and things were looking good. Until they got another flat tyre. My heart sank as I saw them hop off the bike and set to changing the tyre. Once again they did it in what seemed like seconds. As they hopped back up on the tandem Jim flashed me a wink and that put me at ease once more. As they came into Athlone, the main town in the midlands, and about 80 miles from Dublin the crowds were really very big as news of this attempt was on all the radio stations so everyone knew about it. They got to Athlone in two hours and thirty minutes, pretty much on schedule. Unfortunately the wind began to pick up and it picked up coming from the wrong direction – east. This was no joke and I knew a severe task lay ahead if they were to set this record. So now we were getting into serious territory.

The two boys had the heads down, elbows out and looked as committed as I have ever seen anyone to a task. Apart from the odd drink, intake of food or standing up on the pedals they were totally as one on the bike. I remember thinking to myself, ‘it is surely like poetry in motion, looking at these two on this long flat road’, (the whole route is pretty much flat the whole way. The mountains in Ireland are all around the coast and the midlands is flat).

Anyway, the wind didn’t let up, and by the time they hit Kilbeggan it was really blowing. Then what I really thought was disaster struck – I looked out the front window of the car only to see them running along a particularly bad stretch of road, (later measured at 850 yards). We drove up by them to see what was up and Jim roared at his coach, ‘roads too rough to cycle on these tyres. We’re not risking another flat’. No winks this time. ‘Did he even recognise me’? I thought to myself.

The road from Kilbeggan to Kinnegad is a very fast one, smooth surface, sheltered from both sides by big ditches and we had discussed this section the previous night. By the time they hit this section they would know several things – how they were riding together, how strong each one was, how they were with regard to their projected schedule, and just how long it was going to take. As we exited the little village of Kilbeggan I saw the two boys jump out of the saddles and throw the bike from side to side. I knew they had decided to commit themselves and go for it. The wind had died down somewhat and in this section it was almost nil. I could even feel the car I was travelling in speed up. I could feel a sense of excitement amongst the whole crew because we were looking at history in the making here. Thirty five miles per hour, forty, forty two, forty five! We hit Kinnegad in what seemed like a couple of minutes, and they weren’t slowing down! Clonard, a blur, Moyvalley, a blur, Kilcock, again, they literally whizzed through it, people screaming at them from both side of the road.

I was sure they wouldn’t be able to keep this up for long, but I was proved wrong. They never let up all the way to Dublin. Five hours and forty two minutes. Taking into account, two flat tyres, a bit of a jog through Ballinasloe, and a severe headwind for much of the journey this was nothing short of remarkable. When they crossed the line in O’Connell St, Dublin’s main street they set a record that to this very day still stands. Many have tried to break it, all failed.

Newspapers all over the country called it, ‘the most magnificent display of human endurance this country has ever witnessed’, Times. ‘Considering all their troubles along the way, an incredible display of sheer endurance and willpower’, Herald.

That’s my story about that very special day in October, 1950. A day I will never forget. Both men are up on high now but be sure of one thing; they are looking down on the riders from Tandem Tours Ireland and cheering you on. Not that you are in any hurry or need to be whizzing thought the countryside. Quite the contrary, Paul tells me it is all very relaxed on his tours, except for the few who occasionally like to feel the wind in their faces…”