Dublin to Kerry cycle

Conor20

Hi all,

Has anyone here cycled from Dublin to Kerry (Tralee) before? If so, what route did you take? I'd be interested to know how it went - eg. what the roads were like and whether a road bike would make it down intact.

Thanks,
Conor.

Raam

Conor20 wrote: »

Hi all,

Has anyone here cycled from Dublin to Kerry (Tralee) before? If so, what route did you take? I'd be interested to know how it went - eg. what the roads were like and whether a road bike would make it down intact.

Thanks,
Conor.

A road bike would most defintely make it down intact. That's what they are for

CheGuedara

Hi Connor,

From Tralee myself and working in Dublin. Was looking at doing this myself this year (trying to convince myself it's doable on the longest day). Been looking at the routes on and off, and will try to fire one up onto map my ride later if I get the chance.

The problem is that the direction will, unless mother nature is in odd form, have you working with a head wind all the way...

Conor20

Thanks CheGuedara. Any tried and tested routes would be great.

I guess it'll likely be against the prevailing South Westerly alright.

I've lost a hub cap in a pot hole on the way down before, and I hear they've lost trucks in some of the potholes on the far side of Tralee.. Hopefully the road bike tires will fare a little better with a bit of careful cycling.

Conor.

rflynnr

I did Dublin to Killarney a few years ago.The route I took went through the Wicklow mountains, through Carlow and ended in Kilkenny on the first night. I then continued south as far as Carrick before heading due east on the southern side of the Suir through Michelstown and Mallow before stopping at Banteer on the second night. There are certainly faster ways of doing it but I wanted to do the Wicklow Mountains properly (and I inadvertently did Slieve Maan and Shay Elliott (on a 42-25!) whilst doing it). The southern side of the Suir after Carrick is gorgeous and a quiet road. I suspect a Tralee destination would see you taking a more northerly route than I did after Buttevant but there are loads of B and C roads in that area to give you options.

ROK ON

Hi. If you are putting together a plan on this please post.
This is something that I maybe interested in trying.

For route I would suggest.
Dublin Maynooth Clane Prosperous - Mountmellick Montrath Slieve Blooms - Kinnity - Lough Derg - Killaloe - O'Briens Bridge - Cratloe - Sixmilebridge - Kilrush - Killimer (Ferry to Tarbert) - Listowel - Tralee.

This would be a very noce route mostly on back roads.

Conor20

It's been a while in the planning but I'll go with this route:

Day 1: http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=57348
Dublin - Naas - Kildare - Portlaois - Abbeyleix - Templemore - Thurles - Tipparary

Day 2: http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=57354
Tipparary - Elton - Kilmallock - Charleville - Newtownshandrum - Dromcollier - Broadford - Ashford - Duagh - Listowel - Lixnaw - Tralee - Derry Mór - Cnóc na Gower - Clóhane

I'll start around 6am on Friday 12th and hope to be there by Saturday evening.

Conor.

Húrin

so did you make it?

Conor20

Húrin wrote: »

so did you make it?

I had the dates wrong in the last post: 20th / 21st (June). Next weekend.

Conor20

Húrin wrote: »

so did you make it?

This went very successfully.

Day 1: I set off at 6:30am into a strong enough Westerly wind. I headed out via Bohernabrina to Blessington and then on to Kildare via Newbridge. This was probably the toughest part of the cycle because it was the most exposed to the wind. It went well though. I stopped for lunch in Stradbally in Laois and kept heading south to Thurles and then Tipparary. The backroads into Thurles were interesting enough. An army of about 5 dogs had me going at full tilt for about 2 minutes along a small backroad going through a bog with a big wind farm. They were really going for it.. and so was I (that's the last time I cycle with a string of sausages out the back of the cycling jersey.)
I got into Tipparary town around 5:30pm. It was 201km door to door.

Day 2: I hadn't been feeling too well on Saturday evening (maybe a mix of the sun and the long day cycling) and I couldn't eat anything. This left an interesting conunrum for cycling another 170km, essentually with nothing in the tank. I came up with a cunning stategy though, I call it the Four Breakfast Diet. I got up at 3am, 4am, 5am and finally 6am and had breakfast for 15 minutes before going back to bed for 45. By the time I got up at 6, I was full of beans.. and many other breakfast foodstuffs.
I set out from Tipp at 7am towards Charleville, Broadford, Abbeyfale and then the really nice descent down into CastleIsland along the N86. This was the only major diviation from the route I have above, the N86 has a hard shoulder and was a generally pleasent cycle so I took it instead of going up via Listowell. The view accross Kerry and Cork and the McGillycullyreeks as N86opens up before CastleIsland is really amazing.

From CastleIsland, it was about 40km to Tralee. I made it there about 2pm I stopped there for a bite and a welcome espresso. The last 40km out to Clochán along the coast of the Dingle Pininsula were by far the best. The place is unbelievable, it's so beautiful and the weather was blue skies and really warm. It clocked in at 171km.

It was enjoyable for many reasons, one being I much prefer cycling somewhere as opposed to cycling a loop and finishing back where you started. Perhaps the biggest thing I noticed is that the second I left the greater Dublin area (eg Dublin, Wicklow & Kildare), hassle from drivers melted away. People happily waited for a safe overtake opportunity on the quieter roads, no beeping or aggression.

A great cycle through and through. Tough at times, mainly because of the wind, but a great adventure.

Conor.