The Heads of Ayr is on the west coast of Scotland. It is a tourist spot. Lots of golf courses, amusement parks, etc. Still in pretty good shape, but the tourist industry suffered after 2006. We have heard time and again how harsh this was for them. We cruised leisurely through this cute beach town..Charlie and Skye stopped at a playground and frolicked like children. Leaving town, we mostly stuck to Scotland’s excellent trail system. It is based largely on a system of old narrow gauge railroads which became obsolete, so the tracks were replaced with smooth pavement...at least on the west of Scotland. Also we rode a lot on trails next to canals, which were not as good as the rail trails, probably because the underlying foundation was less heavy duty. We expected steep hill climbs in Scotland, but both of these types of trails meant that the grades were almost completely flat! Go figure. The way to Lochwinnock, however, was coastal roads and had steep climbs. When we arrived in town the local places were booked, so we went to the local pub..The Four Churches. ..they had live music, Irish versions of Bruce Springsteen ballads largely...and they helped hook us up to a farmhouse b&b. It was a mile out of town...straight up...there, once we recovered, we were delighted with a very happy welcoming host, twenty beautiful pregnant cows in the backyard, and an invitation to use their sitting room to watch a soccer match and eat our dinner of Skye wraps. The consequence of the climb was an astonishing view across the valley with the lake at the bottom. Completely pleasant. The gardener gave us a primer on “midges”..their version of the annoying biting fly. He gave us a bottle of “jungle juice”, with enough deet to kill small children or your dog.
Our hosts name was Mary. .she was jolly! After leaving her we rode down to town again and visited a bird and nature sanctuary. There was a wetland associated with the big lake . We did a nature hike and saw birds. Then on to Glasgow and another warm showers host. His name was Gordon and he lived on an upscale urban neighborhood. To get there we braved a mile long tunnel under a deep river...way down then way back up. I walked. Charlie’s aggressive style is in full flower on the urban environment...I am mostly terrified. He hits the cars (on purpose?) They don't hit him. We joined with a friendly cyclist, who helped us navigate to a grocery. We then went to Gordon’s, cooked a pasta meal for all of us. Had rousing conversations, and went to bed. I am an aggressive conversationalist, like Charlie is an aggressive cyclist. Poor Skye. We suffered more “punctures” on Charlie’s Continental Comfort tires. They are now patched, and will be replaced.. The punctures were caused by small red flintlike stones. Skye fixed the last one. Mark
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Enniskillin to Edwin.
Two days. - Working our way across Northern Ireland towards Belfast. - Weather: dreary, rain - Roads: avoiding primary; so longer routes on little back roads. Went back into Republic of Ireland, found pub, watched soccer with the locals. ..if you are curious as to how this happened look at our route map. [Editor's comment: we watched the Ireland football match just on the boarder still in UK but ALL of the people there were supporting Ireland making it feel like we were still in the RoI - a lot of support and heritage is shared across the boarder.] They said we don't get tourists here...we shrugged. Crowd young, sleazy teenage girls included. Rousing fans of football. We all made new friends. Off to bed and breakfast [in RoI] - night of luxury again. Getting more difficult to find accommodation because of holiday season...we plan day by day. Next day...long ride to warmshowers...Edwin. Tired. Edwin was a very green, small carbon footprint kind of guy. Wood stove heated house; made hot water and cooked dinner with unit. Wood was sourced from demolition, mostly. Iranian wife, Mahvash, both Bahia faith...avoiding religious persecution in Iran, she met Edwin at University.. They participated in woofing...a method of supporting green, organic ideology via accepting volunteers to help on the “farm”.. they had chickens, greenhouses, stacks of firewood and two young Frenchman, mostly keen on polishing up their English. Mahvash was a powerful, good natured lady who ran her own interior design business, with a chicken comfortably under one arm. We ate our dinner with them...Skyes wraps, what a wrap artist! Then to sleep in the tents...rain providing pleasant white noise. I am impressed with how ecologically minded the people here are. High fuel prices encourage this, but it is clearly cool to be like this, especially in the middle age liberal group...a fairly large demographic. These people love cyclists! Very good for us. Generally people we meet are VERY interested in politics..EVERYBODY wants to talk about trump. We don't want to talk about trump. Who is voting for this bully anyway? When they start talking about European politics, it is almost always about the issues, not the individuals. I find this refreshing. What next, kim kardashian for president? Mark. We were all little introspective from our experiences of the last week. Charlie and Skye from their adventures waiting for me, and me from my trip back to the homeland.
We packed up during a small respite from the rain and headed off. It was “soft” rain most of the day. We Are mostly prisoners of our gear. Raincoats, pants, shorts, shoes...all things are purpose and condition specific..however the conditions here change on a dime. Ignoring discomforts is a large part of travel by bicycle. That and extreme and prolonged effort. We thrive on this circumstance. It can be cold or hot. Uphill hot, downhill cold. What happens is a sort of dissociation from the circumstances, a zen state. You are focused on the physical necessities of riding a loaded bicycle and not killing yourself at speed, at the same time, a great part of your thinking mind can wander where it wants. I think this may be a major part of the allure of this sport and others like it. The bull falls away, some clarity is available. This was just such a day. Relatively easy ride through pretty countryside on friendly roads in mild rain. We met a dutch couple on a tour, saw a beautiful speedy river..wound up in a bnb in Tobecurry with Peter and Mary. They had a fully set up cabinet shop in the building behind the house. Oh, how i love the smell of sawdust! Their setup from a tool standpoint was remarkable. Charlie and i enjoyed our tour. This was an unremarkable and pleasant day. Many miles. Goodbye Chuck. MARK Sorry we haven't had a post in more than 3 weeks....the last blog ended with preparation for unplanned events. Below, I will share with you a note from Pops about this. From there, we will share Skye and I's outline of our travels while Dad journeyed home. The end of the outline will be the completion of our circle and the rejoining of the group with Dad's return from 5 days gone. -Charlie Chuck, My friend Chuck Jones died. I received the notice from Perry. Joyce sent me a message “call Perry”. We were in Ireland on our way to a town called Castlebar. Charlie and I looked at each other..”I gotta go”...he said “of course, we will make it happen”. Surprisingly convenient and scenic bus rides over narrow Irish roads with the local people, then a night in a hotel outside the Shannon airport and some long flights and I was home. Sort of bitter sweet. Lots of people loved Chuck, me included. I have been enveloped in the Jones clan for nearly 30 years. Never was there a more kind hearted, clear thinking man than Chuck. Boy, he loved Amy and her girls. As expected, his funeral was a gathering of my favorite people in Albany (and beyond). We celebrated his life and lamented his death. I will not forget this time. Back on the airplanes and buses and back with Charlie and Skye. I also had the great joy of seeing my sweet spouse for a few days and Ned and Perry. Got to pat Buddy..dogs are really good at welcoming people home. -Mark Castlebar - Westbrook House (6.17.16) - Rode The Great Western Way - Camped at Westbrook House - Receptions area felt like jousting arena - Went into town for dinner - clean and crisp 'happening' town - Ate at a reasonable priced pub/nightclub - Watched soccer match (Croatian fans threw flares - ref added extra time allowing Czech to have a chance to equalize - awesome to watch) - Charlie really had to pee during the search for a whippy (ice cream) - Found a centra / charlie relieved himself - in the baby poop bathroom from nightmares / got the biggest whippy ever - Home to tent to prepare for big planned next day Westbrook House - Crough Patrick (6.18.16) - Planned to wake up early and Summit Crough Patrick (this summit had been brought up by locals in conversation a few times) - When we got there everyone was dressed in Yellow for a charity event - EMTs on deck (they called them 'Civil Defense') - Rocks all the way up - Part of top with path of loose rocks at intense grade - People walking barefoot for 'penance' - "I dont know how many people they have murdered but... said the guy next to us" - After, stopped at pub for soccer match (Ireland: they lost) - Enormous projector to ourselves - Went back to Westbrook house and took a "nap" - woke up at 20:00 and snacked on food - Rain had started - Went back to bed Westbrook House - Achill(ish) Island (6.19.16) - Rain all morning making packing a pain in the arse - Rode on the Great Western Way towards Achill island.(Ireland's largest island - lots of mountains on Island to0) - It was raining all day - we were soaked - creeks = rapids - water coming from everywhere - Stopped at a pub in Mulranny -Met some locals (Tommy, Franky, Pat, and Chris) -Chris offered for us to stay at his house -B&B's were expensive -After getting to know the group we decided to stay with Chris -OUR ADVENTURE BEGAN -with throwing our gear into a bus the guys knew (knowledgeable , nice guy - his bus info is shared on our facebook page) -Chris, Pat, Charlie, and Skye rode all the way onto Achill island -Cool bridge -Pub with a session happening -Skye serenaded by band (the sixteen year old from Arizona) -Rounds of drinks (Jameson) continued -Ate at HotSpot - spiciest curry ever (Skye's fault) -Went back to pub and....continued drinking -Charlie began to weaken (Puke?) -Back to Chris's house and to bed Mulranny - Achill Island (6.20.16) - Woke up Monday at Chris's at 0700 and we were both crunchy - Pat was suppose to pick us up at 0730 - Chris ended up driving us back to the bike - sat in back with gear - drives like a maniac - Neither one of us felt like riding today but were determined to see the island from a cyclists view - Got on the bike and headed out to island - stopped at centra on the way in (Electrolytes required) - Valley House (highly recommended was booked) -"Its all worth it once we get to this part of the day" -Charlie "Well maybe not, we are booked" -Valley House Owner - Went to the caravan park, it was not appealing and we truly needed a warm bed - Finally found a B&B that would be home by seven - Ate food (slowly) - Went to B&B and set up the tent / took a nap till she got home - made us tea, washed our clothes - had a nice night inside Achill Island - Castlebar (6.21.16) - Breakfast Smoothie, Irish Breakfast, Fresh clothes - Most windy day...ever. - rode out to north point of island before heading off - Met cyclists that spend a week riding 300km a day, 2-3 hours of sleep - 1 Canadian, 1 Irishman, 1 Australian (all super loopy) - Made it off the Island and the wind slowed down - Opposite of ride to the Island (sunny and clear) - Took Green way all the way back (same way we came but different from the change in weather and direction) - 70km day - Had lunch on greenway (apples, cheese) - met hiker from Italy; he wanted to do Appalachian trail one day (mentioned this when we said we were from GA; gave our contact info - Stopped in Newport for a bite to eat (Charlie had a beer) - decided to go on to Castlebar - checked in with Ronnen (awesome dude who helped us store Dad's bike and figure out logistics for his trip the many days before that we stayed at the same site in Castlebar) - Went into town and split a burger at a pub while watching football matches - Saw what we suspect to be secret service in plain cloths enjoying off-time and a meal (Biden was in town) - back to camp to bed Castlebar (6.22.16) The next day marked the reunion of the group. Dad jet-lagged - took the day off. Met him at bus. Went to eat. We surprised him with a fully set up site for him to go straight to sleep; it was right after fathers day after all (he was so stoked to see that tent after eating) Goodby to frisky Galway
We spent the night camping in the backyard of a warm showers host. Her name was Aga or similar..young Polish immigrant, sweet, blonde, fit, reserved. Two other warmshower freeloaders like us were already there..sleeping inside. USA Mid-westerners Pete and Lydia, younger than Charlie - kinda hippieish. Idealistic and naturalistic. Pete may have been a friend of Bill. Lydia seemed like a natural fun-lover, full of laughter..also athletic. They were caffeinds, having been Starbucks employees. We all decided to set out together and find a bike store...they wanted different gearing to allow easier hill-climbing,. Charlie wanted tires and tubes. We found it with ease.. the kids with the cellphone POWER..then off to the north, all riding together. The road we took was an N road, but looked like an M road..think I75. Shortly, Charlie suffered a “puncture” and the NASCAR pit crew went into action..i think Pete and Lydia were impressed, until the tire we fixed also went flat. Take two, and on the way. We rode until their route diverged from ours then ate lunch together and sadly parted ways with hugs and well wishes. Easy rolling, Pete and Lydia! We proceeded to Cong over rolling hills and back roads. Pleasant ride. The weight of the bike and trailer seem like part of me when I ride. Charlie and Skye are always ahead. They talk all the time, twenty questions etc. Talking is out of the question for me. Maybe the flap about second hand smoke is true,. I lived in cigarette smoke from birth to age 20. None after that. I am strong, but “more AIR, please”. We arrived in Cong..a confluence of rivers,. Clear water fast moving, between two lakes. Scene of 1950s movie “a quiet man” John Wayne, John Ford directed. Beautiful place. Fly fisherman everywhere, catching nothing. We broached the confines of Ashford castle for the first time. Very exclusive golf resort beautiful gardens, huge improved castle full of rich people. They couldn't keep us out. Next, to town. Local bar, four men (in 50s?). On the the second round of beer they got friendly. Charlie's talent again. Loud, fun discussion of politics, economics, alcoholonomics, etc. We also watched a good soccer game. Tony (my local) was easily the roughest of the guys. He was torn between disliking immigrants and a socialist ideology. Everybody was sad about the Orlando slaughter...thought gun control was the answer. Interesting views. We rode home to our tents. It is light here til 10:30pm... blessed sleep! Mark We decided to take a day (sort of) off. There was much discussion of options..and the two top candidates of things to do included a hike along the cliffs leading to Moher and riding a boat to some nearby islands. We decided to do the hike and skip the boat. After the hike we were going to break camp and head out. We started the hike just outside of Doolin (rode bike to trail-head) - no real cliffs there. The bulk of visitors ride buses to the entry point located near the center of the cliffs.
We walked along fields full of the most alert and happy seeming cows and horses, with the ocean directly on the other side. We went up and up and up the cliff formed as we went...Right next to us..waves of crystal clear dark blue water bashing the rocks below. It got terrifically high the further we went. When we could see the tower and the hordes we turned around. After we made our way back, we were breaking down the camp and Skye overheard people talking politics. Everybody wants to talk about Trump..I could scream. However in the middle of this overheard conversation it was revealed that the Doolin folk festival started the next day, right across the street from the campground! We stopped breaking down the camp and paid for another day. During the course of this trip, many good things have happened. We have met many sweet and friendly fun-loving locals. Had many cherish-able experiences..all because of Charlie Shoemaker’s undeniable ability to follow through, his aggressive good cheer, his eagerness to meet new people, and his flexibility. What a star! Skye brings a fun-loving sweetness, an alertness to social situations, and a completeness to the tandem. They are a team..1+1 is way more than 2 with them. I am having fun. MARK Ps. I miss you, Joyce. Joyce's last travel day in Ireland.
Bed and breakfast just north of Bunratty. Up, pack up, roll to town. Bunratty castle and recreated town. All of the historical attractions we have seen so far have been first class. History: 12 century. Built at a crossroads intersecting competing interests. The Normans, the O'Briens, the Fitzgeralds. Atrocities galore,. Including being drawn by two horses, inquisitions for heresy, burning at the stake...Lovely! The castle is a fortified house, much larger than we have yet seen, but of similar construction. The beauty of visiting these places is imagining life in them..bet it stunk. Around the castle itself they have reconstructed an ancient town with associated businesses…blacksmith, baker, mills etc. Very interesting. Furthher up the hill is other exhibits ..like a 19 century town,. Displays of byzantine farm equipment (steam engine powering a turnip slicer). All lots of fun. Load up and roll to Ennis..about 30 km of rolling hills, with a bike lane most of the way. Intersections here are largely controlled by traffic circles. This is very efficient but relies on a form of controlled chaos. The trick with a bicycle is to act like a car. The only caveat there is that speed and acceleration available to the cyclist is very different from a car.. The bob trailers, flashing lights , the tandem itself and Charlie and Skye's flying hair make us easy to spot. Charlie is an aggressive rider, which works well in this situation . Another b&b...day off in Ennis tomorrow. Mark. Woke up at the most excellent, idyllic camping area at the house of Phil and Ros.
Ros’ dog was doing his usual rounds, checking the area. I think he forgot we were there and barked at the tent...then came over all apologetic. What a hoot. I laid there for a little while more, listening to the zillion kinds of bird sounds, including the happy coos from the nearby chicken coop. Then inside to enjoy a little time with our excellent hosts. Cork... Urban feel but rode bike on bike trail and lanes from outskirts to city center. English market with loads of fresh food and other Irish items. The ride there was bicycle heaven for an urban setting. Charlie had located bike trails through parks for most of the way. On the city streets we shared a big lane with largely nonexistent buses. Joyce wanted to go to Blarney Castle. Rode significant distance in rush hour traffic to Blarney destination, had an hour and a half to see the place, since closing time loomed. Turns out when you do it this way you almost have the place to yourself and the ride back is pain free, cause everybody is home eating. I got over my annoyance with the hairy ride there quickly. Blarney castle is a major tourist destination, but it is absolutely gorgeous without any tourists. Some of the areas seemed a little “contrived”, but the buildings and gardens were awesome. Back to camper heaven for the night at Phil's house. As we arrived, there was a rousing game of badminton being played on the back lawn, nobody keeping score. Easy dinner of fruit, cheese, bread and olive oil or peanut butter...then after a little more pleasant talk with our new friends off to bed..tomorrow the wheels are rolling again. P.S. our hosts were some interesting and awesome characters. -Mark Weather, sunny and warm (are we in Ireland?)
Around Kilarney: First and largest national park Big beautiful lakes Big beautiful mountains Fast moving water Lots of bike paths Lots, lots of history Bike rides: Rode a couple miles to base of Ross castle and beginning of lakes. Got on motorboats (20 foot long wooden outboard with room for bikes and 15 people) Rode the boats upstream through three lakes with fairly hairy rivers between them. Finally to base of some of the biggest mts in Ireland. On bikes, no gear, they feel like feathers. Up the mountain to the gap of Dunloe. Shepherd on the way up, working dog. “NED!”. Ned chasing sheep at 90 miles per hour. Me walking bike up mountain. Old man likes to walk up, and go down slow...see you at the bottom. Astonishing views. Met people on the way, and reconvened with them at the pub at the bottom. “Katie’s cottage”....Brendan and Sheila, retired couple, electric assist bikes, navy man, pipe smoker. Had to get back to Mallow and the Bridge house pub, to continue saving the world with his buddies. Kevin and Dierdre:. Young couple, both beautiful; she was pregnant (walked 5 miles over mountain pass!). He a perfectly fit young man; Gaelic football interest. We had questions about rules. Seems like a mix of rugby and soccer. She had dancing happy eyes...I embarrassed her a little by telling her I liked the smell of pregnant women. Oops. They walked dog...half pug half jack russell. “Minch”. He must've made a million steps on that hike. -Mark Say goodbye to Dingle,
Oh dingle you cute little Atlantic soaked tourist trap, mountains at your back. The hostel full of hikers, bikers, campers; fun. We've made you sing a cheap song for us goodbye and thanks. Ireland is the opposite of India. Only a little construction but buildings hundreds of years old immaculately maintained. India, a beehive of construction but a 5 year old building is dirty and crumbling. On the way out of dingle we went to paddy's bike shop. It was a big as a large closet. I bought four esoteric items. He had them all and barely moved to get them for me. Cash from pocket perfect. The ride from Dingle to Inch Beach was a steady uphill on a major road, though the views were also steadily improving. The traffic was distracting. The people here are mostly very polite with cyclists but the tour buses are wider than the road i think. Exciting...no,. hair raising! Joyce is adapting well to biking here though she is sure we will die soon. Inch beach is the Daytona of the area. We met Sue who loved our bicycles. She said she never envied anyone their possessions but envied their experiences. She was lots of fun. I think she was from Britain and she married a big gruff, fun Irishman; friction on every level. Talking to them was a riot - everyone is a fountain of helpful knowledge. A tour bus full of Frenchmen came, so we left inch beach after a long and another cup of the famous seafood chowder (#7 for me). We wet our feet in crystal clear Atlantic ocean water, enjoyed dogs and babies and headed down the road again. The trip from inch to Murphy's farmhouse b&b was more of the same,. Slow steady climb on a relatively heavily traveled road. Not unpleasant, just traffic distraction. The b&b was a real working dairy farm. We put our bikes in their working cow building. It was much more elaborate than a barn. Charlie got a kiss from a big calf, just after he licked his own nostrils. Friends for life. He said the cow smelled like slightly fermented grass. We met three generations of female Murphy's at breakfast, all delightful. B&b type lodging seems to really suit the people here. Open your home to welcome new people, treat them like royalty with lots of interesting conversation, then on your way...roll wheels roll! -Mark! |