MIZEN AND SHEEP'S HEAD

The weather has changed. I have just discovered that the beautiful South West of Ireland also has lots of rain. Sometimes it is windy too. Undaunted my philosophy is that there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.
I leaves Mizen Head to take a tiny lane along the north coast that undulates over the rugged landscape. Occasionally there are houses nestled into hollows looking north towards Sheep's Head.  It is raining hard and I am finding it difficult seeing ahead. I round a bend to find a herd of cattle blocking the lane. I cycle slowly towards them and all but two amble out of the way. The other two refuse to move so I gently weave between them hoping not to receive a kick. Four miles further on, I see 4 cyclists huddled under a tree. "Not great weather for cycling" I call and they agree. After two hours, I reach a coffee shop and go in leaving water all over the floor. The rain stops and the sun tries to appear
The forecast for the following day is 45 mph winds and up to 50mm rain. I had planned to cycle to Sheep's Head but wondered if this is a good idea. I go anyway. The wind chases me for the first two hours and I arrive at Durrus wondering why I was fussing.
After a welcome coffee, the route changes direction. This time I am cycling into the wind and it is strong. I grip the handlebars tightly and resolve not to get blown over. I decide to find a B+B early and discover an old farmhouse at Kilcrohane. "This is just perfect" I say and gorge some sandwiches offered by the host for lunch.
I decide that the Sheep's Head must be seen and my host warns against it but I go anyway. The wind roars through the trees and power lines are waving around. I can see the waves from the sea below slamming the shore angrily. Undaunted I keep going until 400 metres from the summit the wind becomes too strong. Reluctantly I turn back only to find a section of road going downhill where the fiercest wind slows me to 4 mph in low gear. I pull into the bar in Kilcrohane and savour 2 pints of Guinness

THE SOUTH COAST OF IRELAND ON TWO WHEELS

I am on the Mizen Peninsula one week after arriving in Ireland. My energy has returned after it was seriously flagging at one stage. This ride is an exploration of Ireland's coast and today I have finished the South coast. It was 340 miles of undulating coastline with craggy cliffs, sandy coves, big headlands and penetrating sea inlets.
This is Darren and he works for MTM Cycles at Clonakilty. He is replacing my rear wheel.

Darren finishing the repair of my Bike

This is how I met him. I had arrived at a beautiful unspoilt beach when there was a loud ping from my rear wheel. A spoke had snapped and buckled the wheel in the process. My next destination was Clonakilty 15 km away. I gently nursed the bike taking care to go slowly and only use the front brakes. If another spoke broke it would have meant walking. Thankfully I found Darren at MTM Cycles at 4pm. Darren got permission from his boss to do an immediate repair and at 5.30pm I was on the road again. What a great bike shop and here is how to find it MTM Cycles


This is the beach

Dunworly Bay

It has taken 6 days to reach Mizen Peninsula. The cyclist needs to be prepared for hills and to enjoy the splendour of this coastline.  It is not for fast endurance riding. As well as seeing the countryside, I enjoy listening to its sounds. It might be from the milk parlour of a nearby farm. The sounds of birds are wonderful, especially as there are so many here.  I have no idea what most of them are. A favourite that I do recognise is the chough which I have encountered several times.


Apart from Cork City, there are no major towns and, if desired, Cork can be avoided by going through Cobh and taking a ferry. There are many small fishing harbours. The area is a mix of fertile farmland, rich peat bogs and wetlands. All the way I am finding the coastline to be dramatic. The image below is a B+B that I stayed in at Goleen as it nicely shows the setting of the far south west

Herons Cove, Goleen

Tomorrow I leave the Mizen and head for Sheep's Head Peninsula. I have more images on Twitter

JOURNEY THROUGH THE SOUTH EAST

It was Colm who sorted me out at the end of Day 3. Colm was a farmer. He was dark haired, slim and looked about 40. I had taken a wrong turning on a rural lane and had come to a junction that had no signs. I did not know which way to go. A big Massey Ferguson tractor pulling a livestock trailer arrived and I stopped it to ask directions.
"Where do you want to go?" asked Colm. "Ballycotton" I replied. "Ah" said Colm "It is about 3 miles as the crow flies but the road is much longer than that. Follow me as I am going in that direction". The tractor set off at 10 mph and I was fine so long as there were no hills. After a while, Colm stopped. "I must check my bull as I don't want him escaping". Having seen a bull coming towards me on a similarly sized Dartmoor lane about 3 months ago, I was quite keen not to encounter a second one. Colm checked the door fixings and said they were fine. Up a hill he went and I could not keep up but he waited at the top. Colm did as his word and I went on my way. Moreover he found me a very comfy B+B for the night.
I hear tales of other cyclists on this journey. The Copper Coast Route is a killer for many. It is stunningly beautiful and reminds me of Cornwall with its craggy coastline and history of copper mining. I am told cycling has become hugely popular in Ireland. It is possible to avoid the Copper Coast Route and take the newly opened Waterford Greenway that links to Dungarven. This is 45km long and family friendly.
My first day in Wexford, I followed Eurovelo 1 which was impressively signed. It changed to Route 4 and then 3 to the border with Co Cork when the signs stopped.
I am trying to follow the coastline on this trip. So often beautiful places have been developed into holiday destinations and have as a consequence lost their magic. Not so in Ireland. I have already found many beautiful bays, wildlife friendly estuaries and plenty of little harbours with fishermen hard at work.
Tonight at the end of day 4, I am in Kinsale having covered 218 miles and climbed 11,200ft. Kinsale is the start of the Wild Atlantic Way and I will be following this and taking a few detours. Here are some images

Artwork on a shipwreck in Bannow Bay

Hook Lighthouse

Dungarven harbour

HELLO IRELAND

A solitary cyclist is seen pedalling along a Pembrokeshire lane. He is easily recognizable from a pair of bright yellow panniers and is wearing a red jacket.  The bike is sturdy with American markings and has the worn appearance that it has done many miles.  It has an unusual pair of double handlebars and carries a map case.  He is enjoying the warm early Spring sunshine.  He sees the hedgerows awaking from their winter slumber and observes wild garlic, primroses and celandine.  A couple on Bromptons ask him where he is going.  "Ireland" is the reply and they say they are touring Pembrokeshire.


At the ferry terminal, a van driver too asks where he is going and then tells his own story.  He says his doctor told him to turn around his lifestyle 18 months ago or he will die young.  He was very overweight.  He has since lost 4 stone and now goes out regularly to keep himself fit.  Yesterday he cycled 100km into Wales.  Like the cyclist, he is a volunteer with Sustrans and both know Adam, their regional volunteer coordinator.


The cyclist pedalled alongside the cars into the enormous cargo hold of Irish Ferries, The Earl of Inishmore.  As he pedalled inside, a cheery young lady called out to him to have a great journey.  The cyclist removed his panniers and went to find a comfy lounge seat and settle down.  After a while the soft Irish brogue of the captain came over the loud speaker and invited us all to have a great crossing.


I am now at a welcoming B+B at Kilrane near Rosslare and Eurovelo 1 Cycle Route is outside the door

A WORD FROM MY SHED

During the winter months I often think about my next big bike ride and this year it will be my second longest ever. Today even though it is damp and windy, the signs of Spring are starting to appear. The hedgerows are alive with primroses and bluebells have woken up from their winter slumber to show their leaves. It does not seem long before their colours will appear in all their glory. Frogspawn appeared a month ago and the birds are pairing off to rear their young.

This sets the scene for my ride around Ireland for the scenery and wildlife is stunning. I will be starting very soon. Ireland's coastline is dramatic with steep cliffs, sandy coves, little harbours and plentiful wildlife. It is this that I want to discover in 2018. I want to take lots of photographs and keep a record of my journey on this blog. To show you what cycling around the coastline involves this will be my first day (or days)




Rosslare - Ballyhack
 

I have been to Ireland before. I hope that this journey will be my best yet

RED WEATHER ALERT: MY EXPERIENCE

Snowdrift in Green Lane after Storm Emma near my house: 2 March 2018

At the moment, I am focussed on my bike ride coming soon around Ireland. 😊😊😊. 

So last week when a friend invited me for three days cycling around Cheshire, I jumped at the chance. Not only would it give me some valuable training but Cheshire is an unknown county for me and I wanted to see it. As usual, I went by train and my wife accompanied me on her route to Cumbria.

I had read about a major weather warning for Scotland nicknamed "The Beast from the East" but Scotland is a long way from Cheshire.

Three days were just perfect but it was cold. The temperature ranged from +2 to -2C. Cheshire is a beautiful county with lots of dairy farms, old buildings, beautiful villages, not very hilly but has a good number of warm friendly coffee stops and the walled city of Chester on the River Dee was well worth a visit.

Cumbria too was cold, in fact icy cold and I froze on my only short bike ride. Wednesday, 1 March was the day of two Red Alerts for snow and high winds and this was the day for our train journey home.  Red Alerts are the highest level of weather warning in the UK with danger to life. One was in the Scottish lowlands and the other at my home in Devon. Added to this, there was to be a high tide at Dawlish in the afternoon and the railway closes if there are storms due its proximity to the sea. Dawlish was on our route. This promised to be a challenging journey.  Cars slipped and slithered all over the place on the journey to the train station. I had a bike and my wife had a big case.

There were no trains arriving from Scotland because one had broken down on Shap summit but two were sitting waiting behind it unable to get through. Eventually the broken one arrived with what smelt like a very worn out clutch. I don't know if trains have clutches but they shunted it off into a siding. What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. We were told that there were to be no more trains to Scotland but one arrived from Scotland. Somehow and despite three changes we arrived at our local station on time.  Trains were being rearranged and we could hear controllers working furiously what to do with trains that were stuck or in the wrong place but piecing it altogether.  We watched the high tide coming in at Dawlish.

It was not over at home. It is just over a mile from the station to our house. I had planned to cycle home, collect the car, drive back and collect my wife. The roads were sheet ice.  It was too dangerous to cycle and our car could not cope either so it was a long walk dragging a case and bike through the snow.  I then to get some food so this entailed a 3.5 mile walk to find the supermarket that just enough food for the night. 

The wind roared during the night and this was followed by a 21 hour power cut. Dinner was made over our open fire and comprised jacket potatoes and toasted bacon sandwiches.  I took a few images of the snowy scenery.  Not only was it unusual but it was nature in the raw. Yet somehow, one tiny daffodil showed that Spring is not far away.

Today, there is still some snow. I managed a 48 mile ride along the Dartmoor Way to Lustleigh and the weather was a balmy 6 degrees C

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