I am planning a trip to Ireland for this summer, and need a little help as far as details. I know that a lot of dopers are from Ireland, so I figured this would be a good start.
I plan to spend three weeks over there in July. My job during the summer here has everything to do with riding bikes for ten hours a night. So, when I read that a lot of people ride through Ireland, I figured what could be better?
My question is whether or not it is feesible. I’m thinking of going to Shannon, Dingle, Wexford, Kerry, Galway, Dublin, Antrim, Fermanagh, and Donegal as of right now. That comes out to be about 750 miles, I believe. So, am I being ridiculous? Or would it be a good way to see Ireland? Is three weeks long enough to ride that far and spend some time in each city? This may have been an IMHO post, but partly factual and partly opinion. Thanks y’all.
Certainly is, my wide and I were planning it last year but had to abandon the plan when she fell pregnant. There’s a bunch of books out there to help you plan the trip, the one we were using was: Ireland by Bike
My brother-in-law and his wife did it, ages ago. Just be aware that the roads are narrow. I cannot emphasize this enough : Major Roads are as wide as my driveway!! When we were driving through the Wicklow mountains (we went by car) we passed many cyclists on the road, and I’m amazed they didn’t get hit.
Ireland is generally regarded as a good country for cycle touring, because, by comparison with other European countries, there is a very dense network of minor, but surfaced, roads with very light traffic on them, and because much of the terrain is rolling and varied, and the climate is mild.
Cycling between major cities is not fun, however, if you stick to the main roads. For part of the distance the roads will be motorways, where cycling is not allowed. Where it is allowed, you will be sharing the roads with fairly heavy traffic, moving much faster than you. And, as CalMeacham said, some of the major roads are fairly narrow for the amount of traffic they carry.
How much ground can you cover? Well, that’s up to you. Remember you’ll be carrying all your kit. I suggest you load up your bike with about thirty kilos of stuff and go for a long ride. Then you’ll know whether you’d be happy to do that every day for three weeks.
Your schedule looks pretty punishing to me, even without a bike. If you do all that by bike you’ll spend a lot of time travelling between places and not a lot of time being in places.
A comromise worth considering might be a bike-and-train tour. Starting in (say) Shannon you could cycle to Kerry, then take the train to Dublin and see Dublin, then take the train to Sligo and cycle to Fermanagh and then Donegal, etc. You get the idea. If you want to pursue this, hours of fun await you with a railway timetable and a map of Ireland.
When I went to Ireland this past summer with my mom, two weeks was just barely enough time to see the south and west coasts, by car. With three weeks, it’s probably reasonable to throw in Dublin, too. Of course, a bike is slower than a car, but then (depending on what you want to see), most of the scenery is between the cities, anyway.
And to re-emphasize about the narrow roads: Most Irish roads are about the same size as a typical urban American sidewalk. I am not exaggerating here.
my parents spent their honeymoon cycling in connemara, but i don’t think that your itinerary as above makes much sense.
if i were you i’d start in one place and work your way around ireland.
certainly dingle, donegal, the glens of antrim and the north east coast are wonderful places, but you will need to use back roads.
and it ain’t flat.
is it possible for you to get a car and cycle AROUND the areas of interest, but still getting to and from them quickly and conveniently?
with irish weather a car would also be the plan b in case of rain. it is possible that heavy rain could lead to many raods being impassable for cyclists.
anyway, i’d say see dublin and the west at a minimum, and cycling is a wonderful way to see the country.
if you are in the north and need some help, let me know.
There was an article on touring Ireland by bike in Bicycling magazine about a decade ago. According to the writer, the people were friendly, the land was picturesque and it rained.
I used to do a lot of cycle touring (I’m Irish BTW) and have covered most of Ireland by bike
It is a few years since I did any of this but the comments so far are correct:
The main roads are busy and dangerous. Don’t cycle at twlight or night.
Bring a good lock and chain.
The weather is very changeable so have good wet gear.
Wear a hi-vis vest at all times.
Have your accomadation booked in advance and make sure that they will have somewhere to keep the bike safe (in big towns or cities).
It is quite hilly and the roads are winding so your progress will be slower than you might think.
It’s great “fun” you’ll have a good time.
If you want to see a lot of the country, consider picking centres and cycling around them eg The ring of kerry, West Cork, Connemara, Donegal etc. To save time and effort, travel between the centres via train.
I would stick to the south / West (Dingle, Skibbereen, Killarney etc…) and really see a lot of it in detail. One thing about a trip around Ireland is that you should learn not to rush anything. You will probably find you are more likely to cycle for a few hours, stop for a pint, then give up cycling and have several more pints.
If you have to cut some place from your journey, I would remove Antrim from the plans. It’s OK, but doesn’t really offer anything over anywhere else, and is so far from everywhere else you mentioned that it’s not really worth the detour. (but then, I was born there, and may be biased)
As Pergou said, take a few trains and enjoy the centres / areas you choose in detail, rather than arriving tired and late in beautiful villages, then leaving early the next morning.
