Rathcoole to Dublin cycleable?

fletch

As per the thread title, is this a realistic commutable cycle to the city centre. I'm grand once I hit the M50 junction as I know the roads, just wondering what are the conditions like for cyclists from the M50 junction out to Rathcoole along the N7? Anybody doing it already?

Turbulent Bill

I haven't cycled this but I'm familiar with the roads. Going to the city centre should be a pleasure, mainly downhill and there's a buslane from Kingswood to the Red Cow so stopped traffic shouldn't be an issue. The return journey is probably worse and you'll be stuck in the hard shoulder.

I'd imagine the interchange junctions are a PITA but otherwise it's straightforward. The N7 is a bit exposed around Citywest.

dcRoadie

M50 to Rathcoole is fine, there's a few sliproads where you'll need to be on the ball other than that just watch out for errant stones, bits of glass here and there and the odd lump of concrete...oh and the odd impatient car/truck driver.

dc

Gavin

The n7 is not a good route to cycle on. There are a good few slip road like exits which can be just a tad scary when car are exiting and entering at around 80kph.

cmyk

I used to do citywest to dunlaoghaire every so often, I don't really feel safe on the N7 cycling, why not cut up through citywest and out the tallaght dc, straight run in then...templeogue/terenure/rathgar/rathmines and as said before it's pretty much downhill on the way in.

short circuit

The slip roads are dodgy all right ... sometimes its safer to just take the split .. go through a couple of roundabouts and exit on the far side.

alritelad

i've cycled that route on my way from dublin to kildare last week. the roads are fine. there is a hard shoulder all the way, so you dont have to share road with traffic. however, there are a lot of cars etc, flying past you, so it's pretty noisy and fumey without much scenery to involve yourself in.

passing by exits from the N7 to continue straight on at citywest etc can be a little hairy, as you either have to hold your line, resulting in the possibility of being in the middle of two lanes of fast moving traffic, or else stay to the left and stop until it is safe to cross back into the correct lane.

the road surface in the hard shoulder is a little bit dodgy, as all sorts of grit and gravel has been pushed in there due to the speed and volume of traffic, but if you keep an eye out, it should be fine.

as far as gradient goes, there's nothing to worry about. i cycled it on a fixed gear and didn't find it difficult, so if you're geared, you'll be laughing.

Piercemeear

I cycled from Naas to Dublin mostly on the n7 last Thursday evening, just getting a bike up from home. It was grand but not peak hours. I think the slips are okay if you just take your time, and really, between Rathcoole and Newlands Cross there are only three or four.

The hard shoulder is reasonably comfortable as well. Not a pleasant ride, particularly; loud and fumey, but doable and pretty quick up to Newlands Cross.

Could be a better backroad option, I don't know.

dcRoadie

Sometimes I'd cycle home via Rathmines and Tallaght and this road would be a tad quiter than the N7 and will drop you close enough to Rathcoole as well. The problem with it I find is that the road through Rathmines is very, very busy too many cars and cyclists, and the surface is pretty bad all the way to the M50 - thereafter it's fine. Horses for courses really.

dc

paddyb

I have done this route. I used to go through saggart onto tallaght and head in to town from there