Thursday, August 5, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Newcastle West to Gort
Monday 19th July.
I arrived down to breakfast at 8am sharp which gave me some time to visit the Tesco store adjacent to the hotel for vaseline and sudocreme. There was no major problem with saddle sores just yet, but enough to state that preventative action was in line.
There were two punctures from the night before so I being the bicycle mechanic replaced tubes in John Mc Guirk's and Anna Maria's bike which was well appreciated. We set off at 9.30am
Our guide managed to find an 1100 foot climb at Knockanimpaha near Carrigkerry on route to Tarbert. In the village of Glin, John the American met two ladies from Boston. When he told them of his mission they serenaded us with "Its a long way to Tipperary" in full voice. We had a good laugh and appreciated their light-heartedness. The ferry was good fun we had time for photos and a lunch break at the far side.
We cycled on the outskirts of the Burren which is renowned for its fauna, rocks and scents. Our guide found another climb called Ben Dash between Kilmihill and Connolly. We passed a man working in an auto garage who had observed the brothers passing, then Anna Maria so he shouted at me "Get up there ye boy ya, you're losing it". I was only 200 metres behind on this climb and the others were still in my sight. Clare people have a different sense of humour and you must open up and tune in to appreciate it. When we stopped off for our lunch at Inagh the men at the bar wanted to know if we were entering the Tour De France next year.
There were good roads and beautiful lakes between Corrofin and Gort so myself and the brothers powered along and arrived at our destination at 8.15pm about twenty minutes before the other two cyclists.
We checked in to O'Sullivans hotel in the square in Gort. This is a hostelry that I have never been attracted to on my visits there, I service a dealer in Gort but have lunch in a pub opposite the hotel. It did the job for accommodation but could have been better on food and facilities. I would give O'Sullivans a rating 5/10
I arrived down to breakfast at 8am sharp which gave me some time to visit the Tesco store adjacent to the hotel for vaseline and sudocreme. There was no major problem with saddle sores just yet, but enough to state that preventative action was in line.
There were two punctures from the night before so I being the bicycle mechanic replaced tubes in John Mc Guirk's and Anna Maria's bike which was well appreciated. We set off at 9.30am
Our guide managed to find an 1100 foot climb at Knockanimpaha near Carrigkerry on route to Tarbert. In the village of Glin, John the American met two ladies from Boston. When he told them of his mission they serenaded us with "Its a long way to Tipperary" in full voice. We had a good laugh and appreciated their light-heartedness. The ferry was good fun we had time for photos and a lunch break at the far side.
We cycled on the outskirts of the Burren which is renowned for its fauna, rocks and scents. Our guide found another climb called Ben Dash between Kilmihill and Connolly. We passed a man working in an auto garage who had observed the brothers passing, then Anna Maria so he shouted at me "Get up there ye boy ya, you're losing it". I was only 200 metres behind on this climb and the others were still in my sight. Clare people have a different sense of humour and you must open up and tune in to appreciate it. When we stopped off for our lunch at Inagh the men at the bar wanted to know if we were entering the Tour De France next year.
There were good roads and beautiful lakes between Corrofin and Gort so myself and the brothers powered along and arrived at our destination at 8.15pm about twenty minutes before the other two cyclists.
We checked in to O'Sullivans hotel in the square in Gort. This is a hostelry that I have never been attracted to on my visits there, I service a dealer in Gort but have lunch in a pub opposite the hotel. It did the job for accommodation but could have been better on food and facilities. I would give O'Sullivans a rating 5/10
Monday, August 2, 2010
Sunday 18/07/2010
Sorry about getting the dates wrong but please stick with it. I hope you get a feeling of cycling through the beautiful countryside of Ireland. You may be inspired to take this cycling activity up. Perhaps you could call down to me and buy a racing bike, it would be the start of a new you having more energy, better health and fitness.
After leaving our Bed and Breakfast in down-pouring rain we headed into the Mangerton mountains. There were few cars, plenty of hills and when the rain stopped really enjoyable cycling. We stopped to gather the group together at the top of one of these big climbs when a young lady hops out of her car (a rare sight on the roads we were taking) and runs over to embrace one of our young male riders. Both had just finished teacher training college together. She now had her first post teaching in the south of the country and he in the north-west. Looking and listening to young love in action for these brief few moments was electrifying and brought joy to all our hearts.
We had planned for lunch in Newmarket, North Cork but the two younger members of the group and myself felt that we could make it back to our hotel in Newcastle West, Limerick before the end of the Roscommon/Sligo football match in which they had a keen interest. We undertook this journey with no map and no plan and needless to say we took a wrong turn which added some miles to our journey. When we arrived in Meelin which is the highest village in Ireland we were ravenous with hunger. We called into a shop the same namesake as myself "Cahill". Again the lady was very friendly. She supplied us with drinks and biscuits and would not accept payment when she heard of our mission and the charity that we were cycling for. This kindness was uplifting and encouraged us on our journey.
As we had lost some time we decided to view the entire match in the local pub in Meelin. The rest of the group joined us and ninety minutes later we emerged in good spirits even though we had curtailed our consumption of alcohol to a minimum on this occasion.
Onwards and upwards we cycled into the Mullaghareirk Mountain range. The highest climb here was 1,400 feet. Again we lost two of our team. After waiting at the crossroads for 10 minutes I decided that I would cycle back up the hill to find them. This was a mistake as the ascent was so steep and my legs were so weak I could not get my feet out of the clipless pedals but luckily I found a gate into farmland and avoided falling.
We met up with our lost friends three miles down the road, they had taken a different route but all was well and we arrived at our hotel for 8.30. The food was good and the bed was comfortable in the Courtney Lodge hotel at Newcastle West I would give these a rating of 7/10.
Sorry about getting the dates wrong but please stick with it. I hope you get a feeling of cycling through the beautiful countryside of Ireland. You may be inspired to take this cycling activity up. Perhaps you could call down to me and buy a racing bike, it would be the start of a new you having more energy, better health and fitness.
After leaving our Bed and Breakfast in down-pouring rain we headed into the Mangerton mountains. There were few cars, plenty of hills and when the rain stopped really enjoyable cycling. We stopped to gather the group together at the top of one of these big climbs when a young lady hops out of her car (a rare sight on the roads we were taking) and runs over to embrace one of our young male riders. Both had just finished teacher training college together. She now had her first post teaching in the south of the country and he in the north-west. Looking and listening to young love in action for these brief few moments was electrifying and brought joy to all our hearts.
We had planned for lunch in Newmarket, North Cork but the two younger members of the group and myself felt that we could make it back to our hotel in Newcastle West, Limerick before the end of the Roscommon/Sligo football match in which they had a keen interest. We undertook this journey with no map and no plan and needless to say we took a wrong turn which added some miles to our journey. When we arrived in Meelin which is the highest village in Ireland we were ravenous with hunger. We called into a shop the same namesake as myself "Cahill". Again the lady was very friendly. She supplied us with drinks and biscuits and would not accept payment when she heard of our mission and the charity that we were cycling for. This kindness was uplifting and encouraged us on our journey.
As we had lost some time we decided to view the entire match in the local pub in Meelin. The rest of the group joined us and ninety minutes later we emerged in good spirits even though we had curtailed our consumption of alcohol to a minimum on this occasion.
Onwards and upwards we cycled into the Mullaghareirk Mountain range. The highest climb here was 1,400 feet. Again we lost two of our team. After waiting at the crossroads for 10 minutes I decided that I would cycle back up the hill to find them. This was a mistake as the ascent was so steep and my legs were so weak I could not get my feet out of the clipless pedals but luckily I found a gate into farmland and avoided falling.
We met up with our lost friends three miles down the road, they had taken a different route but all was well and we arrived at our hotel for 8.30. The food was good and the bed was comfortable in the Courtney Lodge hotel at Newcastle West I would give these a rating of 7/10.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Sat 16/07/10
Left our hotel at 10am to arrive at the visitor centre in Mizen Head (see photo). There were 6 cyclists including our guide Donal O'Donovan. He is an experienced mountain guide and is excellent at reading maps. He puts a lot of effort into making the event enjoyable and pleasing everybody. Donal selected the coast road into Bantry. This had luxurious scenes of yachts in the harbours along with well kept gardens displaying beautiful fauna and flowers. Many wealthy retired people set up home in this part of the country for its beautiful scenery and stress free living.
There were some hills as we skirted Mount Gabriel through Goleen but the cycle was mainly flat along the coast road.
After lunch in Bantry we cycled to Ballylickey and into the mountains. The rain started as light drizzle but as we cycled past Gougane Barra Forest Park it was coming down in torrents. The route which Donal had mapped out into Kilgarvan was mainly unknown to most locals because in our 50 kilometre cycle we met about 5 cars. There was a ruggedness about this scenery even in this unpleasant weather which was inspiring and beautiful.
On the downhills I braked going into the corners and cycled coming out of them - similar to driving a car- so I arrived about twenty minutes at the Bed & Breakfast where we were staying. Our landlord and Lady were so concerned about our mission and well being that it made one feel important. We received a most warm welcome. After a warm shower and new clothes I looked out the window and saw the rest of the group arriving. We had an excellent meal that night of Bacon and Cabbage prepared by the lady of the house and we then were driven over to Jackie Healy Rae's pub (the famous Irish politician). It was a great night and we has more than enough alcohol to drink.
The accommodation did not have the finesse of the four star hotel but the cleanliness, welcome and friendliness of the house masters made up for the lack of capital investment that could be enjoyed in more luxurious surroundings. I would give our Saturday night accommodation a rating of 8/10
Left our hotel at 10am to arrive at the visitor centre in Mizen Head (see photo). There were 6 cyclists including our guide Donal O'Donovan. He is an experienced mountain guide and is excellent at reading maps. He puts a lot of effort into making the event enjoyable and pleasing everybody. Donal selected the coast road into Bantry. This had luxurious scenes of yachts in the harbours along with well kept gardens displaying beautiful fauna and flowers. Many wealthy retired people set up home in this part of the country for its beautiful scenery and stress free living.
There were some hills as we skirted Mount Gabriel through Goleen but the cycle was mainly flat along the coast road.
After lunch in Bantry we cycled to Ballylickey and into the mountains. The rain started as light drizzle but as we cycled past Gougane Barra Forest Park it was coming down in torrents. The route which Donal had mapped out into Kilgarvan was mainly unknown to most locals because in our 50 kilometre cycle we met about 5 cars. There was a ruggedness about this scenery even in this unpleasant weather which was inspiring and beautiful.
On the downhills I braked going into the corners and cycled coming out of them - similar to driving a car- so I arrived about twenty minutes at the Bed & Breakfast where we were staying. Our landlord and Lady were so concerned about our mission and well being that it made one feel important. We received a most warm welcome. After a warm shower and new clothes I looked out the window and saw the rest of the group arriving. We had an excellent meal that night of Bacon and Cabbage prepared by the lady of the house and we then were driven over to Jackie Healy Rae's pub (the famous Irish politician). It was a great night and we has more than enough alcohol to drink.
The accommodation did not have the finesse of the four star hotel but the cleanliness, welcome and friendliness of the house masters made up for the lack of capital investment that could be enjoyed in more luxurious surroundings. I would give our Saturday night accommodation a rating of 8/10
Friday, July 30, 2010
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