Dublin to Portumna

Raam

guys,
has anyone done that route on the bike, or something near it?
I may have occasion to go there on one of the weekends soon so I'm wondering if anyone has any route tips?
AA Roadwatch has it at 180km, using the main roads.

P

kenmc

Done it manys the time in the car. Would usually have gone Dublin N7-> Naas, Sallins, Prosperous, Edenderry, Daingain, Tullamore, Birr, Portumna
Something like this:http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/ireland/dun-laoghaire/918384903
makes it 154 km, from the M50/Tallaght junction.
You could also go via celbridge, clane, edenderry if you wanted to stay off the N7 main road..
A lot of these roads are small enough to have hedges to give you wind protection, also they are quite close to the canal, so are reasonably flat.
Good luck!

Raam

thanks Kenmc

yep, did it via the Edenderry route mentioned above.
Initially tried to cycle along the canal path but gave up after about 40miles.

Raam

Deleted User wrote: »

yep, did it via the Edenderry route mentioned above.
Initially tried to cycle along the canal path but gave up after about 40miles.

What was the route like?

Were the canal paths badly surfaced?

well I got as far as Edenderry, parts of it were a bit overgrown, mucky, I think I met a fence across the towpath, here and there.
It's a couple of years ago, just was making too slow progress.

oobydooby

I went along the tow path from the Shannon back to Dublin. It took two days and was fairly tough going (I'd naively expected to do it in a day what with it being flat or at least to do it at a stroll in two days). The path is very slow progress and parts of it are overgrown and unpaved so you probably wouldn't want to do it on a road bike. I can see how it would be mucky after rain. A good hybrid would be grand. This was a year and a half ago. Pleasant enough cycle though. I think it was about 180 km, including a spin from Athlone to Shannon Harbour.

petethedrummer

oobydooby wrote: »

I went along the tow path from the Shannon back to Dublin. ...... parts of it are overgrown and unpaved.

that's a real shame. I'd love to cycle along it if it was a decent surface. Would be a real safe cycling weekend rather than hitting the roads.

oobydooby

petethedrummer wrote: »

that's a real shame. I'd love to cycle along it if it was a decent surface. Would be a real safe cycling weekend rather than hitting the roads.

Parts of it are lovely to cycle. The unpaved parts are tough going but pleasant to cycle. I agree with you though, it has great potential to be developed for recreational cyclists. If they planned it well, they could even have space for racers out training, walkers with dogs, leisure cyclists and families. There's a speed limit on the canal boats and a lot of fisherfolk along the banks so the whole thing is very leisurely and rural by nature. It is safe though (if you don't fall in!), it's just surprisingly hard going if you were thinking of bringing inexperienced cyclists.

Raam

thanks for all the replies. It sounds like the road is the best bet. I'll be on my own, assuming the trip goes ahead, so no one else to worry about. If I do it, I'll post back.