Morning stuff per usual.
Some chill time with Lucie (the young golden retriever). Stretches in the sun. Off onto our least favorite road in Ireland; N22. Luckily, only a few kilometers on N22 to get across the lake! Yay! N22 never again! Wonderful back-roads up to R618. River valleys always make pretty rides. Skye summons a field of cows (they came from all four corners and gather around). R618 to Coolyduff. Coolyduff is the destination by way of a connection made during a visit to Portland: Matt&Erin introduced us to Drew who put us in touch with Phil who lives outside of Cork. We show up; meeting Ros, her dog Yosha, and Phil's dog Rocket as they return from a walk on the river. Phil arrives after work a few hours later. The group chills outside and we chat as the sun begins to set. Phil goes to band practice. Sun sets. Ready for a nice night under the sky. Stoked to have such welcoming hosts and look forward to another day! -Charlie
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We left Murphy's farmhouse after breakfast, some quick route discussion, and bike tuning. The day would be a short day to Killarney requiring about 15 miles.
Killarney is Ireland's largest nationally reserved park for public use. We knew a few details; the park is centered by 3 lakes which are encircled by woods, mountains, and historical sites with walking/biking routes winding throughout the park. For these reasons + we had been riding for 7 days straight, we chose to take our break there (experience taught me that within an 11 day period you need 3 days where you are not packing and toting your gear everyday - aka a break). But before we could break we had to ride our 15 miles through country side. We had hoped for a flat day but had to conquer 2 large hills. One long and gradual, the other short and steep. The hills are always worth the effort because they generally get us off the busy roads and offer the best views out onto Ireland. On top of our first hill we met an Irish postman who provided us with some route suggestions for the day. These postman are definitely the most qualified people to be providing anyone with back-road directions. We have later discovered how personal the mail service is in the countryside; there are few addresses so the service requires a knowledge of the people in your area/route. As a result, it seems postman are the most knowledgeable individuals of the areas we have been riding. Now that we know this, it will be a valuable tool if lost or unsure of our route...or to just have a chat with a friendly face that knows the area best. After the second monster hill of the day, we had a nice drop into the town of Fossa where we planned to stay at the Fossa Carvan and Camping Park. After reviewing the price to camp+electricity+shower vs. getting a bed in the all inclusive hostile, we chose the hostile as the more bang for the buck method. Especially as we would be there for 3 days and spending little time in the room except to sleep. Derry, the very friendly and helpful host, showed us the room and settled us in. We than had a conversation with a Irishman, Marty, who frequently visited the area in order to assist a cycling group in transporting all their bikes from Dublin. He gave us recommendations for the next few days as well as a suggestion for a pub to eat at. This pub/restaurant, the Golden Nugget, became our go to place for meals and to just relax after long day of riding (lending us some good tales later to come). With full bellies on good, cost effective food, we decided to save Killarney for the next morning, instead going back to the room to catch up on sleep. -Charlie Coasts are wonderful for there walks on the beach and splendid views of old lighthouses. They are not as ideal for camping near with increased exposure to the wind and cold. Even though our warmshowers host provided a yard sheltered with hedges, everyone slept cold. This had the greatest effect on the ladies as it caused them restless/less sleep.
Though there was some general discussion and complaint of the sleeplessness in the morning, everyone started their day in high spirits enjoying warm tea and scones provided by our hosts, Ed and Noirin. Warmed with tea and filled with sugar, we began our short day to the town of Camp located on the Dingle Peninsula. We planned a short day in order to be in better position to climb Connor Pass the next day. The cold night sleep, motivated the group to choose a B&B so we stopped and enjoyed some pints along with lunch at a pub a kilometer outside of Camp, where the owner assisted us in finding a B&B that was not booked. (This was the first time we had had issues finding vacancies, and the causes to this will be brought up in a later blog...we didn't know at this point of the story so neither do you :P). The B&B was named Finglas House and our host was Kathleen. I replaced my worn front brakes in preparation for the pass the next day along with some general brake tuning. Once settled in, we headed to Ashes Bar across the street. It was a lovely 200 year old 'dry stone' building which provided a wonderful northern view down rolling hills onto the lighthouse we had stayed near the night before. We stayed there for hours catching up on journaling, enjoying a meal, and sucking up the natural warmth from their wood lit hearth. With full bellies and warm hands we mosied back across the street to catch the Z's. -Charlie To start our day, we had a wonderful Irish breakfast prepared by Moira. We then had our first day of gear re-packing (something we will all get tired of). This was followed by some quick bike tuning due to some gear shifting issues we noticed on the ride out of Ennis. Once loaded up, we took a photo with Moira and hit the road.
We then headed south leaving town on an Irish 'N' road that would run us along the Northern side of the Shannon river. Half way to our final destination, we made our way onto a less busy 'L' rode that took us through a hilly and beautiful country side looking out onto the Shannon river at a distance. After a few other roads we made it to the Shannon River ferry which took us across to Tarbert. The morning started out with a light rain which would occasionally progress to heavier showers with brisk winds. These systems moved very quickly; none would last for that long. This allowed the ride and the touring of the country side to be very enjoyable even with the light rain; I would say that the rain did not dampen anyone's spirits. Needless to say, by the time we got to Tarbert we were soaked. Luckily for us, after the 30 minute ferry ride, we entered Tarbert to immediately see a B&B named Keldun House (we were ready to be out of the rain). Dad (Mark) knocked on the door with the hopes of a warm bed. From his knock, a sweet face emerged from behind the door to greet us with joy and excitement; Bernadette! Along with her husband (Patrick) they were incredibly accommodating. They assisted us in hanging all of our wet items in their boiler room and kicked on the boiler for its wonderful thermal heat, which also heated the radiators in our room...(that might be a little backwards)! From there we had our meal at the local eating place, Enright's, which was manned and chefed by the owner Mr. Enright. It was a delectable and cost effective Irish dinner. We then went to the pub, Swankies, to enjoy a pint. The group of local men were watching the (horse) races. We joined in, occasionally letting our conversation get to loud. The bartender would simply crank the volume whenever this happened. It was an effective tactic. I appreciated it, as it let me know we were near the sprint of the race. From there it was time to go enjoy the bed and pass out. The rainy day with rolling views of the Shannon river and its surrounding country side was a wonderful beginning to the days ahead. -C I am sitting in a tap room in Hartsfield-Jackson airport sucking some juice (electricity) out of their wall. We started our day in Gainsville GA in order to visit and give hugs to granny before the trip. It, secondarily, is an ideal location for us to get to the airport. Due to our odd baggage, we have played it safe by arriving to the airport with oogles of time to spare. All of our gear has entered the 'magic' doors without a hitch. They do open and inspect most 'oversized' 'special' items so hopefully everything will be waiting for us on the other side. I am at the point where I think I have knocked out all of the home based tasks....though the reaching sensation that I am forgetting something is nagging; we will handle that problem when I figure out what it is. I am amazed with how many of you have donated beer already! I have the desire to spread them out over the trip - so I think we will systematically go through our bought beers by the order received. If you have a specific time or place you would like us to enjoy our beer, let us know! Once we get through our current (awesomely) long list, we will definitely start screaming through the internet for more! I can't express to everyone how epic it is for all the beer you all have gotten for us so far. THANKS SO MUCH! We have the long night of travel, layover, and arrival in a differing time zone ahead of us. We will pop out of Shannon, Ireland airport around 11am (6 est) tomorrow the 19th. Mom will head to Ennis to figure out her rented bike. We will assemble our gear and begin heading that way to meet her. From there, our general plan is to head south to the County Kerry over the next few days. We look forward to sharing the route with you as it develops! We may play with different methods of sharing things (photos, stories, news, etc.) through the internet so if we have a method you prefer or a method that stinks let us know. Feedback is highly desired! Thanks for all coming with us on our little journey! -C The Bike:
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