IRELAND: THE FULL MONTE ON A BIKE

I want to tell you why I am going to Ireland with my bike.  It starts in April so I am on countdown.  It is the Full Monte as I will be cycling around the entire coastline.  I have been to Ireland several times ranging from Wexford to Dingle, Donegal, Derry and the Antrim Hills.  This journey will connect these places up so I will be revisiting the North West Trail in Donegal and finding new places such as exploring the Copper Coast in Waterford.

Ireland has so many heads, or promontories, that I find it impossible to work out the distance.  I am guessing that it will be about 3,000km.  Ireland's climate will be interesting too.  My friend, Colin from Donegal, talks about Irish mist and leads me to believe that it is a whisky.  When I cycled the North West Trail 3 years ago, it was in glorious sunshine and Donegal Bay opened up as a spellbinding maritime vista.  On Valencia Island last year, the wind was so strong that I could not make any forward headway at all.

I will start at Rosslare and my first destination will be Hook Head, then peddle up alongside Waterford Harbour and onwards towards the windswept Mizen Head.  The journey north from Mizen will be dramatic and, I hope, enchanting along Ireland's Wild Atlantic coast. Malin Head will be the most northerly point, then the journey will turn east and south through Dublin back to the start at Rosslare.

Here are a few images from previous trips

The North West Trail, Sligo

The Cycle Route to Achill Island, Co Mayo
 

High Street, Wexford
 

His latest purchase

How long have I planned for the journey? My answer is that it will finish when it's over. I have allowed 6 weeks but, if I don't finish then, it is a good excuse to come back

MY NEXT TOUR: ON THE EDGE, A BIKE JOURNEY AROUND IRELAND

I am planning a mini adventure and it starts in April. It will be over 2,000 miles around the coastline of Ireland.  I want to experience Ireland's wild coastline from the Irish Sea to the Wild Atlantic Way and the Antrim Coast. This will be my biggest journey for 8 years. 

On The Edge of Ireland: My Coastal Route Plan

I have cycled in Ireland several times and I have been drawn back to do the big tour. It has a magical quality with stunning cliffs, beautiful beaches, not to mention a warm Irish hospitality. Whether it is black pudding from Clonakilty, locally caught sea food, Guinness or cider, there is much to look forward to.

I will be recording my journey on these pages showing my daily mileages and hills climbed using what I hope are some new skills from a sports watch. 

My journey plan is to cycle 50 miles a day average.  I will do some blog posts beforehand to show my training.

Here's to Old Kinsale Head, Dingle, Achill Island and revisiting some of the North West Cycle Trail

2017 IN 60 SECONDS

My favourite journey in 2017 was cycling the Radnor Ring which is a circular route through the mountains in mid Wales
I enjoyed the remoteness and spectacular scenery.
Wales is a great place for the touring cyclist and in the evenings, I often find myself talking about farming, rugby and red kites.
I have also been to South West Ireland. This has superb coastal rides and there is still much to see of old Ireland. Castletownbere is an excellent centre where there is a thriving fishing industry and heroic lifeboat crews. There is also MacArthy's Bar where you can buy a tin of beans, a pint of Guinness and hear stories about Dr Aiden MacArthy, a true hero of the Second World War
My favourite place in Ireland is Westport in Co Mayo.  There is a ride passing Croagh Patrick to Mweelrea where the scenery is unbelievably beautiful.
After a day's bike ride from Westport, there is sometimes Irish Dancing to watch in its Theatre in the evening, always a joy for me.
Nearer home, I cycled the length of Cornwall meeting many visitors from Europe and a group from Australia.
My favourite ride locally is the Devon C2C from Plymouth to Ilfracombe but I usually stop at Barnstaple and catch the train home

Dartmoor with Burrator Lake and Sheepstor in the Background
 

A CYCLE TOUR EXPLORING CORNWALL

Cornwall is surrounded on three sides by the sea and is almost cut off from Devon by the River Tamar which runs from its source close to Bude to discharge into the sea at Plymouth. It is a land of rugged beauty with a coastline of dramatic cliffs and spectacular beaches. On the north coast the seas roar in and surfers are challenged by the waves. The south can fool you by looking more gentle but there are plenty of shipwrecks that say otherwise.
Inland much of it is shaped by man from its history of tin, copper and china clay. Nature has a habit of taking back when man departs and no more is this so than here in Cornwall as in the image below. Elsewhere there are wide open moors, rivers that rush to the sea and just occasionally some serene vistas of gentle rolling farmland

My tour last week with my friend, Jaana from Finland discovered much of this landscape on our bikes.  We followed the National Cycle Network from Lamorna Wink near Penzance to Bude and on over Devon's border to Barnstaple.  The main cycle routes are NCN3 and 32 but using Sustrans maps there are several recommended routes that open up the county quite well.  The NCN avoids busy main roads and we met many out on their bikes including a group of tourers from Australia. Perhaps the most enthusiastic was Vincent from Utrect who we met in Bude. He was on a 1,500km journey around Normandy, Brittany, Cornwall and Devon

This is our experience including from previous trips. Cornwall can be busy during the holiday periods so some care is needed in towns and we found Truro required extra vigilance. We found the NCN to be well signed. Route difficulty rating is moderate but challenging in places and expect to encounter at least one 30% hill. There are plenty of places on route for coffee including some specialist bike cafes

There are sufficient rail connections throughout the county with GWR who I find to be quite helpful. For the NCN in Cornwall, this is the link to buy maps.  My tour including in Devon was 235 miles. This is another link for cycling in Cornwall

These are Cornish food and drink that delighted my palate: fish from Newlyn, cream teas, pasties, tea, cider and beer. 
AND FINALLY the ride was not without its oddities and problems

SAY IT WITH FLOWERS

Periodically I visit Usk in Monmouthshire and I am always pleasantly surprised how many people I see out on their bikes. This is probably not surprising because it is near the start of the legendary Lon Las Cymru cycle route and at the same time has an interesting east-west route too. They are NCN's 42 and 423.

Local people in 2017 with its Festival of Flowers decided to make cycling its theme and I was encouraged to see that people of all ages took part. Participants ranged from school children to shop window displays, pub bikes, fishermen's bikes and the police.  Here are a few piccies for you to decide:

This unusual community should be applauded with its creative approach to involving everyone and, who knows, it creates greater awareness and perhaps a few more people will be tempted to ride?  Here is a link to the Usk area

BEARA WAY CYCLE ROUTE, SW IRELAND

The Beara Peninsula is in the far south west of Ireland. It is an area of wild beauty surrounded on three sides by the sea with the Slieve Miskish Mountains as its core. It is thought to be the warmest and most romantic part of Ireland. Among the things you should know are that the Mare's Tail is the highest waterfall in Ireland and Berehaven is the second safest natural harbour in the World with 7 miles of safe anchorage. Castletownbere, its main town, is the largest white fish port in Ireland.

The Beara Way Cycle Route is signed and 138km long. For the most part it is on safe quiet roads. The route varies from being flat in places to having challenging hills on others. The north and west coasts in particular have hills around every corner but the rugged coastal scenery make every rotation of the pedals feel worthwhile as if expecting something new each time.

At one moment, I found a hare running in front of me. On another, I could hear the sound of the sea over 1km away yet the only other sound was the lowing of cattle but there was no other noise. Beside the sea, there were gannets diving and I could see shoals of fish in the crystal clear water. 

I have been here twice and on each occasion, there were very few motorists and many coffee stops. The colourful little villages were competing with one another to be the tidiest place and local people always give a welcome asking how are you.

There is more to see on this route as many cyclists come to climb the Healy Pass while there are numerous little side roads that disappear off only to reappear beside a cove with perhaps a jetty or beach.  

For another view of this route, this is a link.  The image above is the Healy Pass and below are a few around the coast:

View from the copper coast:

Eyeries main street:

Castletownbere trawlers:

Cyclist climbing the Healy Pass:

The north coast road with the Kenmare estuary on the right

I stayed in Castletownbere and used this a base for short tours cycling between 25 to 40 miles per trip.

#30 DAYS WILD: THE FIRST WEEK

June is the month that I join Devon Wildlife Trust for 30 Days Wild. This is its third year and it is a month long nature challenge to see if it is possible to do something wild every day. Living in Devon, this is not difficult and I use my bike wherever possible. It has been wild and windy for many of the first few days and here is my diary:

The month started with a bike ride to  Brent Tor 4 miles north of Tavistock accompanied by two friends where we found a church sitting precariously on top of a hill having astonishing views over Dartmoor. It was only possible to walk to it through some beautiful wild flower meadows to reach it. 

Another bike ride followed on Sunday where I was the guide for a 50 mile cycle tour around Dartmoor. I had 14 cyclists with me. The ride started by exploring the beautiful southern foothills then turned sharp left to climb onto the high moors and back again. We discovered ancient woodlands, fast flowing rivers, rugged granite tors and fine open moorland.

Near my home, I found beautiful ragged robin flowers in full bloom, see a fox, discover a recently built nest, watch a mother canada goose and five chicks.

I will continue with my 30 Days Wild tomorrow and hopefully see much more of nature's bounty