Day 17

Monday, August 21st

Flew from Belfast back to Toronto today.  We all made it back safely with our bikes and luggage.

Some final thoughts on this trip:

- Ireland was perhaps the most scenic of my three trips this summer.  I loved the rugged, rocky mountains and tranquil lochs and estuaries.  The weather was great but the roads were pretty bumpy and potholed.  It didn't have the wonderful decents of France or the epic climbing days of LEJOG, but this was a great trip.

- Self-supported B&B touring was fun.  Route planing wasn't difficult, the B&B's were very nice and the two small panniers did not have as much of an impact on the cycling experience as I thought they would.  I would definitely do more of this in the future.  However, I still see the benifits of "professional" route planning to show you some great little roads and beautiful off-the-beaten-track scenery.  Kevin did his typical masterful job in this respect.

- Ryan and Jenn did very well.  Ryan really hadn't had the time for many training rides, and Jenn was always concerned with her ability to keep up with us speedy boys.  However, both of them made it all the way from end-to-end without any trips in the van.  Full credit to their determination (and Ryan's doping routine).  It was great to share this experience with them.

- Its amazing how bikes can be so symultaniously fragile and reliable.  They seem to have a lot of little break-downs on these trips, but they usually still get you to the end of the day.

- The people we met in Ireland really were wonderfully friendly.  The B&B that stored our bike boxes and gave us free breakfast and the two strangers that helped me repair my brakes on day one are just two examples that come to mind.

I have really enjoyed each of my trips this summer and look forward to more cycling adventures in the future.

Day 16

Sunday, August 20th
Malin to Dunadry
7km

Took the bus from Malin back to Belfast International Airport.  From there, Ryan and I cycled the 7km back to our B&B while Jenn, her bike, and all of our luggage took a taxi.

It took us about an hour and a half to clean our bikes and put them back into their hard cases.

We then walked to a local pub for lunch and then walked on to an outlet mall.  It was an afternoon of killing time.  At 6pm we went to a movie and then had dinner at the KFC next door.  Not exactly an appropriate last dinner in Ireland, but we didn't feel like searching around for another pub.  The KFC was a real gong-show, as they had run out of: coke, water, corn, baked-beans, soap, toilet paper and napkins.  They may have run out of other things as well, but these were the ones that we had actually asked them for.

After a taxi ride back to the B&B, we packed up our bags one last time and watched TV.  The packing is somewhat complicated by the lack of carry-on luggage on flights from the UK right now.  Looks like helmet, camera, blackberry, etc. will need to be packed in the checked luggage.

Day 15

Saturday, August 19th
Donegal to Malin Head
133km

We made it!!!  We've cycled across Ireland!

Another fantastic ride today.  Great weather and spectacular scenery.  Wonderful.

The weather today was much like yesterday: ovrecast and cool in the morning with a threat of rain with bright, warm sun by the afternoon.

In the morning, we set off along the main N15 road through Barnesmore Gap.  At 5km, I followed the route off the N15 onto some sharply undulating side-roads.  Ryan and Jenn decided to stay on the flatter but less scenic main road.

Barnesmore Gap itsself was a true gap in the mountains, i.e. no steep climbs required.  There was, however, a long steady climb as we passed through it.

The climbing continued throughout the morning, as we rode through wide valleys of farmers fields with nice views of the surrounding mountains.  A highlight was the long, straight (read fast) decent into Letterkenny and subsequent steep climb back out.

After 60km we stopped for lunch at a gas station in Rathmelton.  I noticed that one of my tires was losing air, however we didn't have time to fix it because we were trying to catch a ferry.  Instead, I pumped in some more air and we sprinted 10km to Rathmullan.  In the end,  we arrived 8 mintues early for the 1:40pm ferry across Lough Swilly to Buncrana.  Phew!  The next ferry didn't leave until 3pm!

After repairing my flat on the ferry, we were ready to ride when we landed at 2pm. 

The R238 road out of Buncrana had some great views of large mountains.  At 80km the road climbed sharply up onto the moors.  It was lovely up there.  Vast open rolling fields of long grasses.  The pavement was new and smooth, and I flew along the rolling hills at 40km/h...stopping only for a few photos.

Decending into Cardonagh the end was near.  We rode through Malin and then along the coast before turning inland and climbing up some jagged, rocky cliffs that were covered in fuzzy green moss.

One last steep climb around the headland and we reached the end of Malin Head.  It was stunning scenery.  Waves crashed into the rocky coast while lumpy green rocks rose up from the water to form a series of differenthily layers.

We stopped for several photos before making the final decent and steep final climb up to the tall cement tower that marked the northern-most point of Ireland...Banba's Crown.  It was the end of the road, and a fitting end to a great ride across the country.  Similar to the signal hill climb at the end of my cross Canada trip...only with much nicer weather...and a slightly easier climb.

It felt good to have reached the end of the journey, although we still had to cycle the 15km back to Malin, where we are staying.  At 133km, it was the longest ride that Jenn had ever done.

Great day and a great way to end the trip.

Day 14

Friday, August 18th
Carrick-on-Shannon to Donegal
98km

Happy Birthday to me!

Great ride today.  A little bit of everything.  Much more undulating then the past few days.  That made it more challenging, more scenic, and generally more interesting.

The day started with a ride along the Shannon river before we climbed gradually to Drumshanbo.  A quick internet check at the local library, and we were off...climbing into the hills overlooking Lough Allen.  Back to the views of lakes and mountains that I really enjoy.

Around this time it started to rain, so we got all of our gortex outfits on.  As is usually the case, the rain stopped two minutes later.  Ian caught up with us briefly (yet another ride where we were caught by the sweeper) but he stopped with Cliff and Sue for tea in Dowra.

At the 35km mark, we climbed steeply into the forrested hills and then enjoyed a long, rollercoaster of a decent down a single-lane road with rough gravel and grass in the center.  Such fun!

At 45km we stopped for a snack in Glenfarne and at 65km we had lunch at a Spar convenience store in Garrison.  Unfortunately, they didn't serve the hot chicken baguettes that we all like, so we made do with pre-packaged sandwiches.  Poor Jenn is not really a big fan of the pre-packaged sandwich...but she took one for the team.

After lunch, we rode through Belleek before climbing up onto open moorland.  We were really out in the wilderness for 10km, with more sharp climbs, long, rolling decents, and lovely river, lake and mountain views.  By this time the sun was out - bright and warm.  It was great cycling.  Some of the grasses and mosses we rode past were unbelievably bright green.  Must be the wet weather.

Coming out of the rural areas, we passed through Ballintra and Laghy before arriving in Donegal just after 4pm.

The group gave me a birthday card, cake and a little Ireland key chain at dinner tonight.  Very thoughtful of them and much appreciated.  Ryan and Jenn even picked up my dinner and drinks!  Thanks guys!

Day 13

Thursday, August 17th
Athenry to Carrick-on-Shannon
115km

Relaxing ride on quiet country roads today.  It was cool this morning, but didn't rain all day and the sun even came out in the afternoon.  Overall, we have been really lucky with the weather so far.  They keep calling for rain but somehow it keeps missing us.

Jenn found me some ear plugs yesterday, and I slept undisturbed all night.

The morning was dead flat, which I found a bit dull.  It was relaxing though, and I enjoyed the smooth ride of my new (round) rear tire.

We left late and Ian swept us up as the last riders.  We rode together almost all day.  The four of us stopped for tea in Ballygar after 45km and then lunch at the Cozy Cafe in Roscommon after 65km.

The afternoon was a bit more undulating and scenic.  I put my new wheel through its paces, sprinting up a few hills and zipped down the other side.

Today's B&B is on the River Shannon.  (Yes, the same one that we crossed two days ago...its a long river.). Dinner was at an Indian resteraunt.  Nice change of pace.

Day 12

Wednesday, August 16th
Lahinch to Athenry
96km

Beter day today.

To start with, it didn't rain.  It was pretty cool and windy, but we stayed dry.

Ian took another look at my wheel this morning, and discovered a crack in the rim.  He straightened the wheel as well as he could, and I asked Sara to try and find me a new wheel in Gallway.  Although it was a bit wobbly, my old wheel got me through the day fine.  The rear brakes were rubbing on each wheel rotation, making. "ticking" noise as I rode.  Fitting for my timebomb of a wheel.  I didn't use the rear brake all day and didn't stand on climbs to avoid putting extra stress on the wheel.

Today's ride started with a steep climb up to the Cliffs of Moher.  This is a major tourist attraction, and the thing that I was most looking forward to on the ride.  It was nice, but a bit underwhelming.  There was a lot of construction around the cliffs, which detracted from their natural beauty.  There were also bus loads of tourists.  I greatly preferred the smaller cliffs that I rode past alone earlier in the trip.

From the cliffs, we had a gradual decent back to the coast.  Lots of lovely scenery and little sea side villages.

Passing through Lisdoonvarna, we climbed into open moors and enjoyed steeply undulating sections for 10km.

There was a long decent into Ballyvaughn before lunch.  The hills around the city were peppered with sandstone, and there were dozens of long, loose-stone "fences" snaking into the distance.  With this as the a backdrop, the ocean on the horizon, the wind in my face and half an eye on my wheel, I coasted down the hill.

After lunch, where Jenn raved about her toasted ham and cheese sandwich, Jenn noted that the route sheet for the rest of the day didn't mention any more climbs.  2km later the road rose steeply before us.  I had tried to warn her that no news was not neccisarily good news.

The rest of the afternoon was relatively flat.  We rode mostly on small lanes through farmers fields.  Not exactly "stunning" scenery, but it was pleasant and we made good time.

Sara did manage to find me a new wheel...after searching around all day.  It only cost 60 euros and looks good.  Ian put my cog set on it, so I should be good to go tomorrow.  It will be nice to feel confident in my bike again.

Day 11

Tuesday, August 15th
Tralee to Lahinch
100km

What a difference a day can make.  Today was crap all around.

Frank has been snoring loudly the past two nights, and its kept me awake.  I need to buy earplugs somewhere, but have been using balled-up kleenex as a temporary solution.

There was a light "irish mist" this morning.  After days of bright sun, I suppose we were due.  Part of the Ireland experience.

At the B&B, Ryan's room key broke off in the door, so by the time we hit the road it was past 9:30am and we were already being "swept" by Ian as the last riders.

The first climb of the day was another long, steep one up to the top of a hill with a wind farm and radio towers at the top.  The decent was a rough one, with lots of potholes.

Next was a series of long rolling hills.  On one of the decents, as I sped down the damp road at 55km/h, I touched the brakes as I prepared for a sharp 'S' curve ahead.  Without warning, my back wheel completely locked up, leaving me fish-tailing wildly down the hill.  Somehow I managed to stay upright on the bike until it drifted to a halt.  What a nerve-wracking experience.  I had no control as the bike slid almost sideways down the hill!

Luckily, I wasn't hurt at all and Ian was right there to look at my bike.  Somehow, my rear wheel had gone completely out of true, and had two big warps in it.  None of the spokes were broken, but several were very loose.  As a result, the wheel wobbled so much that it couldn't spin past the brake blocks and locked itsself up.

As Ian played with the spokes to true my wheel, it started to rain heavily.  It was a cold, windy rain that lasted several hours.  I told Ryan and Jenn to go on without me, since we would be a while fixing the wheel, and there was no reason for them to get cold standing around in the rain.

Ian got the wheel in workable order, and we continued on our way.  He cautioned that the brake might not work perfectly, so I shouldn't go too fast on the downhills.  Easier said than done when the road is dropping away in front of you.

After 54km, we took a ferry across the Shannon River and into blue skies.  I rode with Cliff, Sue and Frank, who kept a steady pace all afternoon.  I'd fall behind on each downhill, and then catch up on each uphill.

Got to the B&B to find only cold water in the shower.  I decided to go for supper, and found hot water when I returned.  Ian had another go at truing my wheel tonight.  It looks good.  Definitely workable, but stil not perfect.  We'll pass a bike shop on Thursday that can hopefully get it perfectly true or sell me a new wheel.

Ryan and Jenn made out well without me.  Ryan was pleased to have found a short cut on a main road that cut off some distance when it was raining. His ankles are still doing well.  He ices them every night, takes ibuprofin throughout the day, and walks up the steepest hills avoid further injuries.

With all this said, I still finished the day with a smile on my face.

Day 10

Monday, August 14th
Glengariff to Tralee
94km

Wonderful day of cycling.  I think I've written this before, but today was perhaps the nicest day I've ever spent on the bike.  As long as there are rides like this, I will keep looking for more cycling tours.  And I can't say enough positive things about Kevin's Bike Adventures company...what a perfect route.

As is usually the case, beautiful scenery was accompanied by a lot of climbing.  Although this Ireland trip overall won't have as much climbing as the LEJOG across the UK, today's ride had just as much as a tough LEJOG day.  I think that Ryan and Jenn found it pretty exhausting, but the both completed the ride.

We started the day with a gradual 9km climb into the Caha Mountains north of Glengariff.  Great views of rocky green mountains, lakes, the sea, and little villages below.

After a fast decent, we were climbing again.  This time, it was up a rough, overgrown road into the Beara Peninsula.  The accompanying decent was extreamely steep and technical, with lots of sharp turns.  Unfortunately, there was also a lot of loose gravel and uneven surface, so we rode the brakes a lot.

Lunch at a bakery in Kenmare.  Memories of France.  A slice of pizza and three pastry deserts.  Mmmmmm.

A 10km climb out of Kenmare led to Molls Gap.  Again, wonderful views of the surrounding rocky green mountains.  Poor Jenn had a flat near the top, and had to scream at Ryan and I repeatedly before we figured out that she needed us to bring her a pump.

The decent from Molls Gap was great.  Steep and lots of twists and turns, but much smoother pavement.  I flew down at top speed.  Poor Jenn had another flat on the decent, and had to walk down the last section.  I put a boot in her tire before replacing the tube and she didn't have any more trouble.

By this point, Ian and some of the slower riders had caught up with us, and we rode together through Black Valley.  More stunning views of mountains and lakes.

Next, a switchback climb up to the Gap of Dunloe, which was magnificent.  Two huge rocky peaks, with a small windy road crossing between them.  It was a good climb up and a quick decent down, past lots of hiking tourists and horse drawn carriges.

We thought that the tough climbing was all behind us when we flew down a steep valley, crossed a river and, predictably, had a good steep climb up the other side of the valley.  By this point, Jenn and Ryan had had enough of the climbing, and both walked their bikes up the steepest section of the climb.

Passing through Castlemaine after 80km of cycling, the toughest climb of the day was still ahead of us.  In fact, it was the toughest climb of the trip and the toughest I'd ever done.  It was 3km of very, very steep climbing straight up a valley wall.  Ryan and Jenn ended up walking almost the entire climb, which made things pretty slow going.  I would ride ahead, and then wait for the every 500m or so.  The views were great, and I was happy for the short little rests on the climb.

One last quick decent and we were in Tralee.  The weather had again been perfect all day, and we had cycled through some of the best landscapes I'd ever seen.  It was a tough, but very rewarding day.  Completely wonderful.

Day 9

Sunday, August 13th
Toormore to Glengarriff
90km

Today was the first "official" day of the tour, where all riders began the trek across Ireland.

Breakfast was lovely this morning.  I had oatmeal and pancakes and a few other bits off the table, which was stuffed with crossants, scones, toast, cheese, etc.  A country breakfast feast.

First stop of the day was Mizen Head - the southern most point of (mainland) Ireland.  It was a lovely 20km ride to the tip from our B&B.  Severy tranquil estuaries with rocky, green covered cliffs on all sides.  Stunning stuff.

At Mizen Head, Frank (the guy I'll be sharing rooms with across Ireland) and I walked down to the old lighthouse at the very tip while Ryan and Jenn rested at the visitor's centre.

From there, we rode back along the norther side of the finger-shaped penninsula, with breathtaking views of Dunmanus Bay.  There was a great decent along this stretch, that I flew down at 50km/h through long, sweeping curves.

We stopped at Durrus for lunch.  As we enjoyed our spicy chicken baquettes, Ryan's bike got a flat.  Similar "mystery flat" to the one I had yesterday.  Luckily, Ian and Sara were there with the truck, so Ryan got a whole new tire in addition to a new tube.

After lunch were a few steep climbs up into the hills around Bantry, with more great views of Dunmanus Bay and Bantry Bay.  Ryan and Jen both made it up the steep climbs, which was a good sign.

After a bumpy and steep decent down into Bantry, we climbed gradually on the N71 as we curved around the Bay to Glengarriff.

Day 8

Saturday, August 12th
Cork to Toormore
132km

Ryan, Jenn and I cycled 5km to the hotel where Ian and Sara were staying.  Ryan and Jenn (and my panniers) rode in the van with Ian and Sara to Toormore.  I cycled down with Derek, an older guy from Bristol that is part of our tour.

Another great day of cycling.  It was cool early in the morning, but the sun was soon out and we had bright blue sky all day.  Wondeful scenery again today.  The highlights were the estuaries we rode around.  These are bodies of water where rivers meet the sea, forming tidal lakes nestled in between rolling hills.  There were little fishing boats in each harbor and cute little villages to cycle through where each building is a different color.

The cycling was pretty tough.  Lots of short, steep climbs to get over and a few bumpy roads.  Derek was a good cyclist and we made good time...cruising along at 35km/h on the flats.  He had riden the Lands-End-to-John-O'Groats last year, so were shared stories.

At lunch time, I had a misterious puncture.  I was in the store buying my lunch at the time.  Derek said that he heard "pop...hisssssssss" and saw my tire go flat.  Very odd.  Found a small cut in the tube where the air was leaking.  Replaced the tube without further trouble.  That's my second flat of the trip.  The first was on day 2, as we approached Carlingford and the bike like we were on was covered in glass.

I'd left a bag of clothes with Bike Adventures at the end of my UK trip.  Sara brought it today, so I now have two additional cycling outfits and two more casual outfits as well.  Such luxury!

The Irish end-to-end section of the trip starts tomorrow after we ride down to Mizen Head.  Ryan and Jenn will be back on the bikes after four days of rest.  Ryan seems to be doing really well, so we'll have to see how he makes out this time around.

Day 7

Friday, August 11th
Cork
0km (Rest Day)

Very lazy day today.  Did some laundry and watched TV in the morning.  Walked into town for lunch, a movie, some walking around and dinner.

Ryan seemed to be feeling 100% again today.  I think that his ankles are still sore, but otherwise he is back to normal.

We spoke with Sara and Ian (the tour operators) today, and made plans to meet them at 8:30am tomorrow morning.  I will cycle from Cork down to the start of the trip tomorrow.  Ryan and Jenn will get a lift from Sara and Ian.

Day 6 (Part 2)

Thursday, August 10th
Tramore to Cork
152km

Long day with lots of climbing and wind.  Beautiful scenery though.  At times I seemed to be stopping every few minutes to take a photo.

Again I decided not to try and follow the Lonely Planet route, and instead find my own path with the Ordanence survey map.

From Tramore to Dungarvan I followed a wonderful coastal road.  The scenery was stunning: rocky cliff after rocky cliff.  I'd fly down a sharp decent, whip around a tight curve, strugle up a steep incline, and then stop for another photo.  The weather was great.  Warm, bright sun and brigjht blue sky.  With only a few other tourists on the roads, it was a wonderful morning ride.

The direct route from Dungarvan to Cork is the N25 moterway.  I'd planned to take this the whole way, howver it was a reaaly busy road with a 100km/h speed limit.  I quickly turned off and followed small rural roads for the rest of the afternoon.  This made the day's distance a lot longer, but the roads were very pleasant.

Coming into Cork, I was forced back onto the N25 for 10km.  That was a bit stressful, but I found my way into the city without much trouble.

Ryan and Jen were already at the University of Cork residence when I arrived.  We have a little suite with 4 bedrooms, kitchen and living room.  Ryan was sleeping when I arrived.  He wasn't feeling very well.  Jenn and I went for dinner at a pub down the road and then it was time for bed.

Day 6 (Part 1)

Made it safely to Cork today and met up with Ryan and Jenn at the B&B.  Looking forward to the rest day tomorrow.  I'll write a full posting of today's ride then.  For now...sleep.

Day 5

Wednesday, August 9th
Courtown to Tramore
105km

Each day seems to be following a similar routine: breakfast at B&B, cycle, lunch at gas station, cycle, check-in to B&B, shower, wash cycling clothes in sink and hang to dry, supper in town, write blog, sleep.

Thankfully, today's ride wasn't as tough as yesterday's.  However, there were a lot of rolling hills and I felt a bit sluggish after yesterday.  I made ok time though, leaving the B&B at 9:45am and arriving at 4:00pm.

I ignored the Lonely Planet instructions today.  I don't seem to be having much luck following them and they ge me lost a lot with their frequent little turns.  Instead, I planned out my own route using my big map.  That's a first for me, and it went off without any problems.

In the morning, I followed the coast road South from Courtown to Wexford.  After that, I went West to Ballyhack where I took a ferry across the River Barron to Passage East.  The river was very scenic, with rocky cliffs on both banks.  It was a welcome visual treat after a day of looking at farmers fields.  The final leg down to Tramore was also nice, with a lot of rolling, windy roady across greenery.

Tonigh's B&B is The Cliff House.  As I should have guessed, its at the top of a steep climb.  Even worse - I had to walk down to town and back again for dinner.

Weather was great again today.  No rain, cool but mostly sunny.

Day 4

Tuesday, August 8th
Malahide to Courtown
129km

Today was a tough day.  Ryan had to bow out after 40km and Jenn went with him back to Dublin.  I'll meet them in Cork in two days.  They are both fine...just a bit sore...so no need to worry.

The day started off with a bang when Ryan found his front tire flat at the B&B and the replacement tube he put in exploded as Jenn pumped it up.  Sounded like a gunshot, and poor Jenn had her ear about a foot away.

With the tube replaced...a second time...we were off.  Ryan finally found a pharmacy that was open.  He picked up a second tension bandage, and rode with one on each ankle. He aso picked up another pain killer.  This one had codine in it.

New drugs in hand, we set out...again.  We rode along a nice bike path along the coast into Dublin.  Our speed was barely at 15km/h on a dead flat road...which was the first real sign of trouble.

Dublin was a real pain in the butt.  Lots of traffic, potholed roads and dozens of little one way streets everywhere.  We had to ask for directions a few times before we found a tourist info centre and got a street map.

From there we made a quick stop at a bike shop for Ryan to get his derraliers adjusted.  We grabbed lunch and set off out of the city.  Even with the map, we needed to ask for directions.  The two old Irishmen on the street described started with the Irish standard, " you want to go to Glencree?  I wouldn't start from here.". They then gave us about 5 possible routes...in excruciating detail...all at the same time.  At the end of the day, we were a block south of the road we wanted, and we were soon back on track.

Leaving Dublin, we rode up gradual hills for 3km before starting what Lonely Planted called a "15.5km moderate/hard climb".  I thought it might be a typo.  It wasn't.

After 1.5km of steep climbing, Ryan was walking up the hill.  The tendanitous in his ankles was really hurting and he had to call it quits.  Given his busy schedule and subsequent lack of training, it was impressive that he made it this far.  It typical Ryan style, he rode well farther than he should have been capable...and only stopped when continuing was impossible.  Hopefully he'll heal a bit in the next 4 days and will be able to ride again once we meet up with the Bike Adventures group.

The final 14km of the climb were pretty tough.  The climb took me through the Wicklow Mountains, past Glenclee, over the Sally Gap and past the Glenmacnass waterfall.  I met another cyclist on the climb, who said that Sally Gap was the highest pass in Ireland.  I can believe it.  It was really steep at the top.

The views were stunning.  First were views of Dublin...with thousands of little houses stretching into the heart of the city.  Next were vast moors where short brown shrubs filled giant valleys between mountain peaks.  There was just nothing around for miles and miles.  Finally, was a mossy forrest and little lake below a rocky peak.  I was stopping every kilometer to snap photos.

The decent was thrilling.  It went right beside a rocky waterfall before plumeting into a wooded valley.  The mossy green trees formed a tunnel around the road, which rose and fell and twisted and curved like a rollercoaster.  So much fun!!! I was flying down the whole way.

By the time I reached Arklow I was pretty tired.  It was 6:30pm, and I had been realing pushing myself for the past 70km and the last 20km were slower and gruelling and the coastal road to Courtown was undulating the whole way.

Looking forward to a goo night sleep.  Hope the weather stays good.  Today was a bit cloudy, but there was no rain and the temperature was perfect.  Ideal weather for tough climbing.

Day 3

Monday, August 7th
Carlingford to Malahide
127km

Much nicer weather today.  No rain.  Long stretches of blue sky and warm sun.

We left the B&B at about 10:15am this morning.  Big improvement over yesterday, but we still didn't arrive until 6:15pm.  Need to get up a bit earlier tomorrow am.

For most of the day we rode along the coast, in sight of water.  This was generally flat, although we had a lot of undulation whenever we strayed briefly from the shore.  So far we've all managed well.  Ryan is icing his sore achillies every night and taking Motrin and Celebrex to manage the soreness and inflamation.  The leg hasn't slowed him down yet.

Some of today's roads were a bit busy for my taste.  Perhaps I am spoiled by Kevin's excellent route planning on the Bike Adventures trips.  We have stuck to R roads and the occasional A and N road.  Most have large paved shoulders, but they are still not as relaxed as the little unnamed lanes that Kevin likes to take.  However, there were several lovely vistas looking back across Dundalk Bay at Carlingford Mountain.

The B&B put on another big greasy Irish breakfast.  Lunch was a great hot chicken sandwich from a small town general store and dinner was fish, chips and a cheese plate from a local pub.  They had really good live music and lots of sheerful patrons.  Ryan and I enjoyed pints of Guinness.

So far I've been surprised by how little I've noticed the extra weight that I'm carrying in my bike panniers.  Perhaps they will become more of a problem when we start climbing more.  However, for now I barely seem to notice them.

Day 2

Sunday, August 6th
Portaferry to Carlingford
121km

Had a great sleep last night.  13 hours and we all could have gone longer.

Another big B&B Irish Breakfast: bacon, sausage, egg, baked beans, potatoe bread and some sort of pudding bread.  Yummy but a bit greasy for my taste.

Across the steet from the hotel we caught a short ferry to Strangford.  It was raining lightly as we left and more heavily when we were on the ferry so we all put on full rain gear.  It was 11:30am by the time we got off the ferry...mostly due to our 9am breakfast and leisurly morning.

It rained for most of the day, alternating between heavier rain and lighter mist.  There were even a few sunny stretches, so I kept adding and removing clothing.

We ate lunch at a gas station in Ballykinler.  Pre-made sandwiches and chips.  Always a good option.

After passing through Newcastle, we went slightly off course in Kilkeel and added 5km to our day.  We made it down to Cranfield Point before returning to the main A2 road that we should have stayed on.  Ryan and Jenn didn't even bother keeping route sheets on their bikes today, so I am solely responsible for these navigational missteps.

Coming out of Cranfield, we got our first look at the Mourne Mountains.  Lots of mist hid many of their peaks, but they were still impressive.  There were many scenic views as we continued around Carlingford Lough to Warrenpoint.

From there, we rode along the east side of a canal all the way to Newry, and then back down the west side to Carlingford.  Somwhere along this road we crossed from Northern Ireland into the Irish Republic.  There wasn't even a signpost, let alone a border crossing.

Due to our late start, we didn't get in to the B&B until 7pm tonight.  Still light out, but we were getting hungry for dinner.  We'll try to leave earlier tomorrow.

Another ultra-friendly B&B proprietor tonight with a lovely little B&B.  We picked up take-away pizza from town tonight, and ate in our room in front of the TV.

Day 1

Saturday, August 6th
Dunadry to Portaferry
77km

On Friday afternoon, Dad drove me from Niagara Falls to the Toronto airport where I met Ryan and Jenn.  Ryan is a close friend and has been my roommate for the past 5 years and Jenn is his girlfriend, who I have known for the past two.  Together, the three of us will cycle from Belfast to Cork where we will meet with a Bike Adventures tour before cycling across Ireland from South to North.

Our flight was uneventful.  Ryan and I rested our eyes but didn't get any sleep.  Jenn noded off a few times.  We would be awake for about 31 hours straight before sleeping on Saturday night.

Ryan provided some unintentional comic relief when describing the clothes he had packed.  He has only 2 shirts...one of which is bright orange.  We told him that orange was potentially a dangerous color to wear in parts or Ireland.  He told us that his jacket was bright orange as well.  (Ryan like to match.). The best part was that we couldn't remember which parts of Ireland would be "safe" to wear orange and which parts would be more risky.

After landing at Belfast International, we took a short taxi ride to a B&B in Dunadry, where we will leave our bike boxes for 2 weeks.  At 6:30am local time we began assembling our bikes in the parking lot.  They had all arrived unscathed, but I broke my rear brake caliper while trying to adjust the brake.  One of the other B&B guests, who was far more mechanically inclined than I, managed to fix it using one of my allen keys, some zip ties and tape.  (He literally used the allen key as part of the brake.). It worked better than it had before this trip!  Ryan's speedometer computer was also broken...but otherwise our bikes had survived the flight.

After a big Irish breakfast at the B&B, we started riding along gradually  climbing country roads towards Belfast.  We decended into the city with sme lovely views of the mointains and Irish Sea in the background.

Found a bike shop in the city.  Good news: they had new brakes for me. Bad news: they couldn't install them until Tuesday...despite my best begging.  Good news: a stranger in the shop ofered to help me install them.  This guy spent about 30 minutes getting the new brakes just right.  I was completely impressed.  Not only were the Irish mechanically minded, but they were overwhelmingly friendly and helpful.

Ryan bought himself a new cycling computer at the bike shop, so all of our bikes were fully functional again.

The ride from Belfast to Portaferry was thankfully pretty flat.  We were all suffering from lack of sleep, and looking forward to soft beds.  I had to force myself to concentrate on the road as my mind wandered to thoughts of sleep.

We were lucky to only get a few intermittant drops of rain throughout the day.  Nothing even serious enough to consider rain jackets.  Hope it lasts.

We arrived in Portaferry, forced down some asian food for dinner and went straight to bed...completely exhausted from our travels.

Tour of Ireland

Ryan, Jenn and I have arrived safely in Ireland.  We left Toronto at 6:30pm EST, arrived in Belfast at 1am EST and then cycled until now...1pm EST.  I'm too tired to write more now.  Shower, dinner and bed are in order.