Cycling Ireland in 8 days
Replies: 5 - Last Post: Jul 10, 2012 3:47 AM Last Post By: bethandtreadly
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Cycling Ireland in 8 days
Hi all - I am going to do a 8-9 days bicycle tour of Ireland and would be happy to receive some advice for planning the route.I will land in Dublin on August 20th (around noon) and will have to be back in Dublin by August 28 at night, so about 8 days of rides.
I will have my own bike (already booked and I already know everything about flying the bike :)
I can do up to 70 km per day - but I am willing to fit in some shorter legs in my trip - if there are places that are worth spending a half day to visit.
I do not want to spend time in Dublin (already been there).
I would like to ride on secondary or gravel roads as much as I can.
I would like some (if not most) of the legs of the trip to have some climbing (wouldn't want to do 50 km of flat routes).
A mix of natural, cultural and historical aspects would be ideal as for attractions or places to see.
That being said... I don't quite know where to go/what to do, what should I strive to fit in or what I may have to leave out of my plan.
I would really appreciate any suggestion.
Thank you
Paolo
PS
Sorry for being so 'dry' but I hope it helps in understanding what I'm looking for, ideally!
1
I would like to ride on secondary or gravel roads as much as I can.
There are very few gravel roads useful, or even entertaining, to the cyclist in Ireland.wouldn't want to do 50 km of flat routes
Get a train out of Dublin then, to somewhere far away, because otherwise you've got a two or three of days of flat cycling to get out of town, the Wicklow mountains excepted. Take a train to Cork, or Limerick, or Galway or Westport or Sligo, you'll have a great time whichever you choose.
2
I have heard great reviews about the Connemara cycle, here is a link to ithttp://www.connemara-cycle.com/
Also the Great Western Greenway is brilliant , here is a link to it
http://www.greenway.ie/Greenway-01.html
3
I did a tour of about that length a few years back. I took a train to the SW from Dublin.The main thing is to avoid the most popular tourist bits, especially the Ring Of Kerry - far too much traffic especially coaches. Fortunately there are plenty of other nice places to ride which are less well known.
4
The only significant lengths of gravel paths in Ireland are the canal network, most of which have cycleable towpaths and occasional paths made on former railway paths, such as the very nice Great Western Greenway.In such a short time, I'd suggest getting a train from Dublin to Killarney or Galway and riding on from there. Most local tourist offices will give you information on local recommended cycle routes. The best thing is to get some Ordnance Survey maps (other road maps don't show the local road network in good enough detail for bike touring) and work routes out. Using the 'walk' option on googlemaps is also surprisingly good as it mostly uses minor roads. If exploring a specific area in detail (which I'd recommend rather than trying to cover a big area), invest in the local 1:50,000 OS maps, they will give lots of detail on local attractions and roads.
5
If you decide on the southwest, consider the Dingle peninsula. I just spent 3.5 weeks driving around Ireland with family (and frequently wished I was on my bike instead), and my top place to go back and redo on 2 wheels is the Dingle peninsula. Less touristy than the Ring of Kerry, stunning scenery, some good hills, large parts are Irish-speaking, and check out the Gallarus Oratory for some pretty fascinating history.Prepare for wet weather every day though - it really does rain as much as they say in Ireland. Have fun!
