The day began at the home of our warm-showers host, Gordon. We greatly enjoyed our previous evening over dinner with him. There is always joy in getting to know someone during travels, especially when there is a comfortable, friendly, and warm atmosphere through the visit. I think these feelings or 'vibes' exude out into these social situations and help build a relationship and a trust between the two parties. This combined with peoples inclination to help and meet others leads to awesome situations.
For us, it translated into someone trusting us completely and granting us to be apart of their home. We were able to leave our bikes for a day in his garage; this was very generous with the effect of granting us with wings for a 24 hour period - by way of tracks. We decided to get to our noonish train by foot in order to give us a feel of Glasgow. On the way to our train's station, Queens St, we stopped for tea, explored outdoor stores, and walked the streets. We made it to the station with plenty of time to spare. The upper tracks of the station were closed, so the lower tracks were incredibly busy. This bustle caused us to think our train would arrive at 12:19...unfortunately that is when it left...bye bye train. We all three were confused and missed it so we will blame them. Luckily, our tickets were valid for the day so we would be able to catch the evening train. Though we were all pretty aggravated from our mistake, it worked out for the best. The result was getting to go North West through the Scottish Highlands during a setting sun; beautiful. The views from the car windows were stunning. Got to see Ben Nevis during our approach to Fort William - none of us knew what we were looking at at that time. We arrived to a quiet, twilight Fort William and walked the streets on our way to the hostel. The town was very enjoyable in this setting. Soon settled in, we researched our activities for the next day learning a little more about Ben Nevis and reading of a steam train (The Jacobite) that would depart at 10:30. A plan for the morning was made! A Joint Effort -Skye and Charlie
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Belfast > Ballantrae, Scotland
- Ate breakfast - Went into Belfast - Mark went on the search for a new watch battery - Found lucozade (thanks for the new addiction - Lydia and Pete) - Got on the Ferry - Four levels (We stayed in the bar area for the ride - it had the view out the front) - WE MADE IT TO SCOTLAND! - Off the ship and a ride to the B&B - Then to a local pub for dinner, and the football/soccer game Ballantrae to Ayr - Rained a lot today - Stopped at a tea shop to find a campsite - Spent about two hours there - Rode to "Heads of Ayr" caravan park to set up - On the way there it started pouring, and it was quite cold -THE BEST PART OF THE RIDE: Electric Brae - A hill that appeared to be going up in elevation, but we were picking up speed without peddling. - Meaning for the name -----> - Brae: another name for hill - Electric: a new technology seem to be "associated with strange forces" - Spent time in the laundry room drying off - Set up tents - Went to the pub on site for football match - BED Day at Heads of Ayr - Woke up and the rain was still coming down - Decided to spend another night at this campsite - Lazed around in the tent all day - Mark made a pasta lunch/dinner - Watched game at the pub After waking up, we were lazy around the campsite for the morning waiting the rain out.
Today was a short day to Enniskillen. - We stopped at the first B&B in town and booked a room for the night. - This particular family room had a shower in the middle of it. - Awkward place for a shower. Though I used the one located in the hallway for my nightly shower, Charlie could not resist. You could only see a silhouette of a person because the glass was frosted. He did enjoy attempting to hold a conversation with Mark and I throughout this event. Went into town - ATM - Pub to watch the soccer game Then we went to buy food. - I decided I wanted to grab some Northern Ireland McDonalds. - The guys bought groceries. Went back to our bed and breakfast. - Guys sat outside to eat dinner. - I took a shower and snuggled up in my warm bed. -Skye 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) HAPPY BIRTHDAY KELSEY HORTON! For the past couple of years we have grown closer (duh). Spending time with you - watching documentaries, taking naps, and analyzing the world we live in has made me a better person. Without you I would not feel as adventurous and curious about the world as I do now. Thank you for always helping me see the truth whether it is good or bad. I completely believe you are the one of the bravest and smartest women I have ever met. I support whatever path you take in life because I know no matter what you will do great things. AND: That little booger, Wyatt, that you made - I will always love as my own. He has brought so much joy into my life and thank you for sharing him with me! Love, Skye Step one: leave our B&B fully fed and ready to ride to Galway. Step two: Charlie found a WarmShowers host, Agnieszka (Aga) from Polland, right outside of the city. - she already had cyclists staying inside, but offered her yard for us to camp in. Upon our arrival, we met Aga and the other two cyclists (Pete and Lydia). Pete and Lydia are a couple from around the Chicago area spending about four months in Europe. Their plan is different but indeed similar to ours. If you would like to look there blog up go to TheWorldIsAGoodPlace.com. (We have enjoyed the content thus far!) Step three: set up camp, go to the grocery store to buy food for lunch, come back to camp, eat, head into Galway. Step four: go to the first pub that we stumble across. - there we find the most charismatic bartender we have met thus far. - we met the locals, and army men that were hanging out. Enjoyed conversation and beer. - bartender also spoke of Crough Partrick (a mountain that will soon become relevant in our adventure) Step five: Meet up with the awesome duo : Pete and Lydia - we ate food with these two free birds at a fish and chips place - over dinner we had the chance to learn more about them Step six: Got ice cream. (ALWAYS ICE CREAM) - thankfully we are riding everyday Step seven: Went back to camp. Step eight: Planned to ride with Pete and Lydia tomorrow. Thank you Pete and Lydia for sharing your time with us. I appreciate the light hearted moments we had with you. Especially, (looking into the future), when you stayed with us with our flat tire. Bought the pecans for us, which made us have a little bit of home in our bags and tummys. I can not wait for the experiences we will share in the future. Hopefully we will meet up in France, but if not, back up in the States.
We are still alive, and still in Ireland.
After our morning tea time, we went straight to the ferry to go to Inis Oirr of the Aran Islands. -Inis Oirr, the smallest of the three islands, limestone pavement covers the land and there are also stone walls everywhere. As we venture along we stop to see the small historical sights. -such as O'Brien's fort, Saint Gobnait's Church, Saint Caomhan's Church, and the ship wreck of the Plassey. We get back on the ferry and have a (surprise) tour of the Cliffs of Moher. Back at camp we drink wine, and eat some food before a long night of music. Charlie and I go to get our festival tickets, wristbands, schedule, and beer mugs. The first band starts at six, and by this point it was right after five. Into the event we go. The shows were amazing. I have gone to many bluegrass/folk events in the states but have never experienced anything like the traditional Irish folk music. I had never seen the instruments they were playing. -Uilleann Pipes -Tara Howley & Friends were the first band at the festival and she solos the pipes in the video linked. (Click on Uilleann Pipes) -Concertina - solo of unknown playing the concertina. I encourage you to look at more videos because this is just the first one I came across. -Bodhrán - Irish frame drum (one of my favorites thus far) - solo by Josselin Fournel. One of the bands that Charlie and I really enjoyed are called MyFellow Sponges. (Click on their name to watch their most recent upload) Thanks for tuning in. -Skye Today
-We woke up for the last time in Coolyduff. (SHOUTOUT: Thank you Phil, Ros, and Bobby for letting us camp, playing loads of badminton, the good music, and sharing your pups!) -When Charlie and I got onto the tandem we could feel something strange. It did not sound good. We were concerned it could be a major mechanical issue from the 'grinding' sensation -Luckily, the timing chain was binding up (which is a comparatively minor issue) -We planned to make it to Mallow before addressing the problem. -Once we made it to Mallow, we found a pub and Charlie flipped the bike over and started to fix the problem. -We purchased a few beers and lunch. -After the bike adjustments, we got back on the bikes and headed to a B&B that Joyce booked. -This was the first B&B that we had a male host, his name is Pat. -Charlie worked on the Website some. Sleep. -Skye Today we woke up and went straight to O'Sullivan's bike shop in town to fix Mark's bike. The back cassette on the bike required replacement.
Charlie, Joyce, and I went searching for an ATM, and then off on the grocery store hunt. Since the beginning of this trip my daily hunger has doubled. I also have developed an addiction to ice cream. With these two new facts, I noticed that most grocery stores have an ice cream cone advertisement, about as tall as I am, standing outside of each store. Found the cone – found the grocery store. Inside we purchased sandwiches for lunch, and beer and snacks for the day. Now off for our new daily adventure: First, we devoured the sandwiches, hence the photo above of Joyce :) Second, we got onto the bike paths that we rode to get to the castle. Third, we stopped at the Muckross Friary -everything was built in “Skye” height, except for one hallway -the middle of the building had a tree growing up through the middle, and a walkway all around Fourth, we went to Muckross House -while we were there we just strolled around the huge garden. Fifth, we got back on the path and stopped at a beach on the way to the waterfall. Sixth, the waterfall. Seventh, back to Golden Nugget. -Golden Nugget is a pub that we have spent almost every dinner at in Killarney. -The people are friendly, the food is delectable, and it is not overrun by tourists. While we were there, we ordered clam chowder and the three folks sitting next to us made a joke (too quiet for us to hear) about Americans. I guess we must have been eating really fast, but we were all starving for our well earned calories. I noticed that they were showing card tricks earlier in the night so I decided to go blow their minds. I borrowed their deck and earned myself a glass of wine from the group. Two of the three were from Germany, Andreas and Nicole. In town for work. The third, oddly enough, was the bike shop owner from the beginning of our day. He shared a few tricks and went home to the lovely wife. We stayed and drank beer/wine with Andreas and Nicole and had the chance to get to know the two. Lesson of the day: Learn another language, and respect people who have already done so. Nicole, an amazing woman, spoke small amounts of English but continued to hold a conversation with me throughout the night. I appreciate how much effort she put into understanding me and helping me understand her. I never felt a strong desire to learn a new language until I was unable to speak German with Nicole. She has my full respect, and I will always be thankful for her helping me see the value in learning for others and not just yourself. -Skye Today we woke up at Finglas House, and Kathleen made us an Irish breakfast. Charlie and Joyce chose to have beans on toast this morning. For unknown reasons, my eyes have a blurry fuzz and I am struggling to focus my hearing. I think it might be from lack of sleep. My normal sleeping schedule back home usually gives me close to ten hours. Now I get about seven, but according to the group that's the average for an "adult." Regardless, I like my ten hours. With my groggy mind, I spilled orange juice all over Kathleen's linens that cover her breakfast table. I believe my blurry vision, lack of hearing, and the spilt orange juice to be an omen for a bad day.
The plan for today - tackling Connor/Conor Pass. A gap that reaches ~1,500 feet in elevation and is five kilometers from the start of the climb to the peak of the mountain (from the northern approach). At breakfast, Kathleen said she heard about a cycling race on the radio that would close Connor Pass from 1300 to 1500. The race An Post Rás, that began in 1953, has eight stages and the 185 cyclists cover 1,235 kilometers within eight days. In this race they have 25 climbs, three of which are listed as "category one" and Connor Pass is on this list as a category one. Category one climbs have a mix of the most challenging distance, grade percentage, elevation change, and highest elevation. Only one more level, HC climbs, are higher than category one. After breakfast, we went outside and put all of our gear on the bikes and began stretching. If the road to Conner Pass is closed by the time we get there we will go on a hike while we wait for it to open back up. We left the B&B and began our day. To get to the gap we rode on a country road that had several sheep farms. Since we have been here I have seen sheep, cows, and horses the most. One thing I notice about all the animals is how they are much happier here than in the USA. We have not been by one farm that has been over-run by too many animals, and they are all happy and healthy. It truly has been one of the most beautiful things about Ireland. We made it to the beginning of the pass before the roads were blocked off. **Side Note: The sheep have colorful paint marks, (orange, purple, blue, or red), on certain parts of their body that allow their owners to differentiate whose are whose. The sheep farmers do this because the animals will jump over the rock walls or fences to graze other parts of the grass. The climb was steep from the beginning, starting off with a six percent gradient. Charlie and I made it two kilometers, with the gear, before the first "granny stop." A granny stop is were you completely stop cycling to catch your breath before beginning again. If an individual decides to continue by walking their bike it does not give them enough of a break to come back down to equilibrium. This method was taught to me by, the marvelous, Erin Conners Bergfield. At this point, I could feel my heartbeat thumping in my ears, my chest pumping up and down, and the heat radiating off my body. As I leveled back down to normal, I appreciated the stream running next to me and the sheep running around freely. I splashed water onto my flushed face and started again to conquer this mountain pass. Thanks to the granny stop, on our second start I felt brand new. It was not long before the feeling of my heartbeat returned, and stopped - this time - after 1.5 kilometers. The farther up we went the closer we were to the cyclist fans, and though we were, CLEARLY, not apart of the race they were there waiting to cheer us on. It was great to hear the encouraging words from strangers such as "Don't stop peddling," "Great Job," and "Only one kilometer to go!" We started once more and made it one kilometer, and the hill was getting steeper and steeper. We only had 500 more meters left but decided to stop and watch the racers come up. This was my first experience with watching a live cycling race. The men were unbelievable, as they swiftly and effortlessly got to the very top. Several groups went by, all of which you could tell by their body shape and posture what kind of riders they were. The ones in the front of the race were lean and cycled up the mountain as if it was flat land. As the other groups passed, their calves got bigger and Charlie informed me that it was because they were good sprinters and not as good on the mountains. Cars followed behind with managers, team members, and mechanics of each team and also four to six bikes on top of the racks for back up. After the race ended, Charlie and I started towards the top of the mountain. The last sprint was the most challenging of all. One, because it was the steepest. Two, because our friend lactic acid had returned from us standing still to watch the race. We gave it our all and when we made it to the top my dreams came true....an ice cream truck, that was thankfully not a mirage, awaited our arrival. We parked our giant green monster and indulged in the best soft served ice cream, with chocolate Flake, I have ever had. Mostly because I had worked so hard for it and my body craved the calories. The ice cream disappeared before my eyes and we (Charlie, Mark, and I) started to climb the mountain to a higher view. At the top of our climb there was a cairn that was taller than Charlie. I previously had stuffed three green rocks into my jacket from the beach in Fenit. I was planning to carry them with me as gifts for others; at the moment it felt right to give each of us a rock to stack on top of this humongous cairn. The one that I placed on the very top is there for Kelsey Horton, one of my best friends from home that I miss very much! Now, we got back on our bikes and received the reward of plunging down the other side of the mountain. We reached up to around 60 kilometers per hour on the way down; it was glorious. Upon our arrival at the bottom - the Dingle Brewery, whose flagship beer is Tom Crean's, awaited us. This was not planned, but a pint or two each was definitively well deserved. We took thank you pictures for those who donated beers and searched for a place to stay. Our discovery once we arrived in Dingle, a tourist town where star wars is being filmed and right after the racing cyclists, everything was booked. Thankfully, we found Rainbow Hostel. Charlie and I camped outside on the grounds and Joyce and Mark had a private room inside. We went back into town for dinner and I will not say much about the restaurant because there is nothing good to mention. It was the least authentic meal I have had thus far. Today easily became my favorite day. I feel strong because I am achieving goals that a year ago I would of not even imagined doing. I also thought that today was not going to be enjoyable because of how my morning started, but today reminded me that you "don't cry over spilled milk" or in my case spilled O.J. -Skye After leaving the airport in Atlanta we flew to JFK in New York. As we glided in we could see ships sailing off into the Atlantic during sunset. We got on board the flight to Shannon around 11:00 p.m. The crew served us dinner and we all attempted to get as much sleep as possible. The flight was only five hours long but we were arriving into a different time zone, so at 10 a.m. (Ireland time) we arrived in Shannon and began our first day with about three hours of sleep.
First, we headed down to claim our baggage and gear. Once we got everything outside, Charlie and Mark worked on assembling the bikes. While they did that, I organized the gear and and made as much as I could fit into the b.o.b bag. Joyce had already left for Ennis to rent a bike from a shop owner a friend suggested. Once we were done gearing up the bikes we headed her way. We made it safely into town, and when we had Joyce situated on her rented bike we headed to a Bed and Breakfast that she booked for the four of us. We locked all the bikes up into a garage and went to dinner on foot. Sitting at the dinner table I realized it was the first time we had all stopped moving since we got off of the plane. My body started preparing itself for sleep and my eyes were already closing before my clam chowder arrived. We all made it through dinner without dozing off, but when we made it back to the house our 'food comas' knocked us out around seven. Charlie and I woke up around midnight and knocked out some things such as updating the map page, checking emails, updating facebook, laundry, and writing in our journals. Then we fell back to sleep, waking up this morning to an Irish breakfast from our Irish host. It has been a wonderful start thus far. Thanks for tuning in, -Skye |