Route from Carlow to UCD

cunavalos

Looking for a cycling route from carlow to ucd as i will be cycling up to ucd on saturday for the wicklow 200 (and cycling back down on monday). i would like to avoid the main roads into the city and avoid having to cross any of the major wicklow climbs (climbing them once on sunday will be more than enough).
The most important part of route info is how to get to ucd itself as i am not used to the city and its traffic looking for the quietest most direct route possible avoiding dual carriageways etc. (think the December 8th annual pilgrimage to Dublin-type).
Hope to see ye on the start line:D
cunavalos (Rider No.2022)

ROK ON

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=carlow+ireland&daddr=Dunlavin+to:Ballymore+Eustace,+County+Kildare,+Republic+of+Ireland+to:Eadestown+to:Kilbride+to:Bohernabreena+to:Belfield,+Dublin,+4,+Ireland+(University+College+Dublin)&hl=en&geocode=%3B%3BFaXBKgMdkBKb_w%3B%3B%3B%3BCYlp4PCNC7sVFZxgLQMdnOug_yGzOrid7AMtig&mra=pe&mrcr=5&sll=53.077528,-6.58905&sspn=0.815088,2.460938&ie=UTF8&ll=53.199452,-6.58905&spn=0.203193,0.615234&z=11

Hope this helps. I cycled from carlow to Dublin last year via Kilcullen and naas. The N9 (I think is busy), so suggest get off at asap and head in direction of Dunlavin (lovely cycling around there, and a nice town also).

Road in and out of Blessington can be busy - not much of a hard shoulder so best to stick with adjacent back roads.

blorg

Raam and myself cycled Dublin-Waterford last year through Carlow, went through Ballymore Eustace avoiding the main roads where possible and it was very pleasant. No major climbs but a fair bit of undulation.

Here's a rough map and elevation profile, note the first spike was completely gratuitous and unnecessary and can be avoided.





EDIT: Here is the rough route we used modified slightly to go straight across the N81 and over Bohernabreena. This is a pleasant way into Dublin with no real main roads. However it is undulating at the start and there are two hills at the end, Cromwellstownhill and then Bohernabreena but they are not in the same league as the W200. Ultimately the N81 is a flatter road (it is very flat indeed compared to this route I have posted.)

bunnygreen

I,ve done this many times,parents used to live in Carlow.
Carlow Rathvilly,Baltinglass,Blessington,Tallaght,then you have a few options to UCD,all of this is back roads up to Tallaght.

blorg

I'd add that the N81 is substantially better to cycle on than the N9 so if you are choosing between N roads avoid the N9 like the plague and go for the N81. We were on the N9 for 2km out of 160km and in that 2km Raam was almost killed by a truck pulling in to him.