How hard would it be cycling the country?

Pj!

Just a thought. I've always wanted to do something like this, and am not working now, so maybe, just maybe!

How hard would it actually be to cycle from the top of the country to the bottom. Say along the west coast counties. No major hurry or anything.

And how long would it take? Say for a guy of average fitness.

peterako

Probably 'not that hard'.

But I'd take note of prevailing winds if I was doing it.

Was considering cycling back to Athlone from Dublin tomorrow but have now given up on the idea after looking at the forcast.

Wet and gale force Westerlies (SSW to W at 50km/h ).

I guess that the North/South journey hardness would be related to the above, the speed you want to travel (faster = harder) and how long you want to take. 1 day = super human :eek:, one week = holiday

Sounds very tempting!

As someone who lives in the country but grew up in Dublin....and have last cycled in Dublin 4 years ago :eek:...and hated it.....I was taken out by a car in the cycling lane....did a 20+ metre length sommersault and was badly bruised....

Cycling in the country-side is generally a joy.

Uninterrupted cycling (very few if any traffic lights), the drivers are generally very courteous (maybe because I'm 100kg and could damage their car as much as a cow :rolleyes:) and scenery!

How long would it take??

How long do YOU want to take???

Best of luck,
Peter

Lumen

I think you should find out.

Much of the challenge in touring is logistical. If you set yourself a sensible pace (e.g. 50km a day) then it shouldn't be too painful.

How much cycling are you doing at the moment? "Average fitness" is not very meaningful, since fitness is specific, and most people are just about fit enough for a walk to the shops.

petethedrummer

There has been a fair few threads on similar escapades which might be worth a read: http://www.google.ie/search?hl=en&q=malin+mizen+site%3Aboards.ie&meta=&aq=f&oq=

Never done it myself.

showry

When I was cycling around West Cork last week I met an english couple who were cycling all around the coast. They had cycled from London to Fishguard and were then going Rosslare-Rosslare clockwise. They weren't killing themselves, they were going about 10-15 km/h. I think they had started at the beginning of July and were planning on being back in London by the end of September. I was so flipping jealous of them.

petethedrummer

My Da met two retired couples who cycled from Mayo to Australia (but took a train across Pakistan for safety reasons), so you have no excuse not to try it.:D

A couple of looneys on here attempt Dublin-Galway-Dublin in one day and almost made it.

Pj!

Thanks lads, great help here as per usual.
Yeah I should do it. Not doing much cycling at all now but fancy the challenge. Would not be trying to beat any records, I could give myself a week and see how it goes.
Would tenting it every night be too much of a pain? Then there's carrying the gear if I did. Would one of those bike trailers be the way to go?

Húrin

No, it's better to carry things on a pannier rack because trailers are hard to drag up hills. The west coast counties are hilly. If I were you I would give myself about 10 days to go from Mizen to Malin head (with the prevailing wind).