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.