Cycling tour of the west

thelepo

Hello there,
I suppose I'm just looking for any general advice. I cycle to work every morning (5km), but I don't do anything more than 20km a day.

Myself and a friend are planning a cycling tour of a small part of Ireland at the moment.
We will be going from Dublin-Sligo-Westport-Clifden-Spiddle-Galway-Dublin.

The bike I have at the moment isn't very good, so I'll be investing in a new one.

At this stage I have a small lsit of things to buy.
A new bike
proper lighting and reflective material
Bags that sit above back wheels

and a few other things.

We are planning on camping for the duration of the trip. I calculated it at somewhere near 460km as a round trip.

Just a few questions.

1.What should I be looking for in a bike for such a trip? How much would a good value bike cost me?
2.What additional materials would you suggest that we acquire
3. Would you see any problems with us camping in random fields around the coast?
4. How many km would you think be a reasonable target for each day?

We will be travelling in late March.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.
Edit: Also, would buying a second hand bike be a bad idea? I've heard that 2007 models would be going cheap. Would they still e reliable for a long period?

I know this is all quite general, so please bear with me!

Lumen

Are you sure that trip is only 460km?

You don't say how many days this trip is expected to take. This is important.

thelepo wrote: »

How many km would you think be a reasonable target for each day?

100km a day is achievable if you do a bit of training (40-80km rides). I did a 2000km solo tour in three weeks, fully loaded across a mixture of terrain including mountains, after about a year of recreational riding (on average one 45km and one 80km ride a week, with the odd longer ride). It was tough but enjoyable.

Obviously riding every day gives you no recovery time. After the first couple of days you will be going much slower than your normal "fun ride" pace.

thelepo wrote: »

What should I be looking for in a bike for such a trip?

Ideally for touring you want comfort + stability/strength when loaded with gear, so a touring road bike or hybrid (with mounting points for panniers) is best. You could probably adapt a normal road bike but it won't be as stable and it could pose problems if you're a heavy rider.

However, 460km isn't a long tour, so buying a new bike specifically for this could be a waste.

thelepo wrote: »

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

Fit puncture resistant tyres. There's little worse than sitting at the side of the road changing a tube, knackered and wet, with darkness descending, miles from your target campsite.

Use decent campsites. It'll be more fun.

I'm not sure whether Pertex "towels" are still de rigeur amongst outdoorsy people, but I tried them and they're like drying yourself with a plastic carrier bag. Avoid.

Make sure you'll be comfortable on the bike, particularly w.r.t saddle choice, height and position. It's not fun losing all feeling in your wee man halfway through a tour.

Most importantly, get some distance in those legs.

Lumen

688km according to Google maps.

blorg

March could be dodgy for cycling/camping in the West of Ireland, I'd consider a bit later if possible. This is from the point of view of the weather and the light. You could get lucky though with the weather at least. May would be better.

Make sure you have a realistic idea of the distances involved and plan around them- as Lumen says that trip is significantly over 460km.

I did a route from Dublin to Galway via Tullamore recently that was very pleasant on back roads.

I generally find Google Maps' "walking" directions to be very good in planning routes that avoid main roads. A GPS helps _a lot_ for actually following them as there are generally a lot of turns involved and signposts will just direct you back onto the main roads. Reading a map at every junction would be difficult but depends how good you are at that sort of thing I guess. I have managed Dublin-Cork on back roads without a GPS aiming for intermediate towns but have done routes in France and Ireland that would have been very difficult without the GPS.

thelepo

Thanks for the tips guys.
We were planning on between 7-9 days for the trip, and you're right, it's more like 660 than 460.

So, based on what you have said we could do the trip easily enough (well, not easy, but you know what I mean).

I need to get a new bike any way, so no probs there.
What kind of price range should I be looking at and is there any point in getting a second hand bike?

We really want to have a nice cyce around Galway etc, so should we try a big push to get to Sligo in a day and then take it easier after that?

Sean02

My advice would be forget the Dublin sections. Get the bus to and from Galway.. The four day save will be put to better use in the west.

stabu

galwegian arrogance reaches new heights, everyday :-)

blorg

There is quite a nice route from Dublin-Galway if you go through Tullamore IMHO. You go through attractive boglands in Offaly, crossing the Shannon was memorable, and you get a real sense of change as you go west that you would lack if you just bussed it down to Galway and cycled around Connaught.

Posted some photos here

You could always consider a train back if you started running out of time. It's generally easier/safer to take a bike on a train than a bus BTW.

Sean02

When I suggested skipping the Dublin Sligo section I perhaps wrongly assumed that the intention was to use the N4 which for the most part is a not so senic fast road into the west. Blorgs recommended route or my favorite The Esker Riada might be considered a more enjoyable cycling trip. I like the Galway arogance bit I'm from the Back of the Tenters area.

DurtyMurty

If you do decide to try the N4 route, bump up this post or PM me when you are at the planning stage and I'll try and help getting you off some of the fast dangerous bits - might even know where to find a field - mind you not many dry ones at the moment!

While some of the N4 has a good hard shoulder and is fairly safe, there are some treacherous bits that would have to be avoided. Personally, I'ld agree with Sean and spend the extra day enjoying the scenery around Lisadell (North Sligo) or perhaps Kilala, Wesport and Croagh Patrick further west

blorg

@Sean- I'd be interested in a map of the route following the Esker Riada, we plan to do Dublin-Galway again and would be good to avoid the N4.

Dolani

I bought a Ridgeback Day 05 about four years ago. Got a triple chainset to help me tour on the hills in Snowdonia - a Godsend. The bike can take a rear rack and panniers and has carbon forks. I carried about 17kgs (incl tent) and covered about 80-100kms per day (in summer) Very nice for a newbie like me! Did some of your tour of the west. Wesport down to Leenane before turning inland to Clonbur and back to Westport through Partry. Lovely on a summer's day - dunno about March. Did Galway to Dublin recently over Two days stopping in Athlone. Was lucky a diversion for the Ballinasloe horse fair took a lot of traffic off the main road. A lovely calm ride (in the rain) from Athlone to Kinnegad on day Two - then the trouble began as every truck-driver fron the West and Northwest avoided the Toll-road. It would be safer to pedal on the motorway hard shoulder! Does anyone know if John Gormley subscribes to this?

rflynnr

blorg wrote: »

@Sean- I'd be interested in a map of the route following the Esker Riada, we plan to do Dublin-Galway again and would be good to avoid the N4.

If you're really interested in the Sli Mor - here's a link to a .pdf of entire book written by a German bloke on Ireland's ancient roads. The esker(s) are extensively referenced throughout and there are some maps. I have a feeling that a slavish adherence to the Sli Mor itself would demand a mountain bike and willingness to climb over obstacles, however.