cycling around ireland

ken2010

Basically, as the title suggests, I'm thinking about cycling around Ireland this summer with a few friends of mine for charity. We hope to take around 1 week. Does anyone have any tips or good routes to go / has anyone got experience of this?

Malin to Mizen is always good. If you stay by the west coast for a good bit it would take a week. Great trip to do too, was my first touring holiday and I can't wait to do it again.

LCD

Misen to Malin is an excellent trip, can be done in as few as 3 days (ave 200km per day) via Limerick-Cavan-Derry, not a very secnic route though. Logistically is a bit harder because of different start & finish points.

ChainWhip

I did a lap of Ireland at the start of 2007 as a fundraiser for the Irish Cancer Society [it turned out to be the precursor to a cycle across America we did this year]. It was just 2 of us, me and my mate, amateur cyclists - the most we would have cycled was to town/college.

Starting in Dublin the route we took was Dundalk - Belfast - Derry - Donegal - Sligo - Castlebar - Galway - Limerick - Kilarney - Cork - Waterford - Wexford - Wicklow - Dublin. This was about 1300kms in total.

We did a city each day with a rest day in each of Belfast, Galway and Cork so that made it a total of 17 days. We carried everything on our backs in a hiking-type bag which came to about 15kgs so it was tough going.

We basically brought everything essential and nothing else. You can split clothes into 2 parts, on and off bike. On bike was normal cycling gear, both for dry and wet days. Off bike was couple of t-shirts, a light top, one pair jeans, a light pair of runners, underwear etc. Then there's bike maintenance stuff like tubes (you'll need a lot and should always have at least two at the start of a day which means you'll have to stock up as you go along), pump, allen keys etc.

We stayed in accommodation along the way which we'd organised free-of-charge before we left but you might have a different plan, e.g. camping. We basically stuck to the National roads (the green ones on a map) because most of the time it was the straightest route from city to city and the surface was much better than the alternative 'country roads'. But if you're seeking a more of a sightseeing/country air type of journey maybe the national roads wouldn't be the best.

Overall I'd definitely recommend it. It's a great laugh, you see some amazing places, and you meet all sorts of people along the way. It's a great way to see the country and there's nothing better than being out on the open road with not a car in sight knowing that you're powering your own way around the country.

Feel free to ask any more questions and i'll do my best to assist.

billyhead

Would you recommend doing a trip like this on your own say over 2 weeks

ChainWhip

billyhead wrote: »

Would you recommend doing a trip like this on your own say over 2 weeks

I suppose it depends on what your happiest with really.

Personally I like to have someone else on a tour for the chat, spreading costs, sharing the experience, taking photos, etc.

But if you're happy in your own company and/or can't find someone else who's available, then by all means go for it solo. Being on your own means you can decide your own route, set your own pace, be your own boss!

As regards the timeframe, two weeks for the route we took was nearly spot on to keep a comfortable distance of between 80-120km a day.

Lumen

ChainWhip wrote: »

I did a lap of Ireland at the start of 2007 ...about 1300kms in total...We basically stuck to the National roads (the green ones on a map) because most of the time it was the straightest route from city to city...if you're seeking a more of a sightseeing/country air type of journey maybe the national roads wouldn't be the best.

Smaller roads will make the lap much longer, like maybe 2000km+.

ciarsciars

I did a cycle round the coast of Ireland this summer. Not sure of exact distance, as my route changed a little during the trip, but it was 2000km+. I did a combination or national and smaller roads. I did it in 21 days with 3 days rest and I did it alone! I was kind of apprehensive about doing it alone, but it turned out to be a really great trip. Don’t let doing it alone put you off.

What Chainwhip said re the gear required is pretty spot on. Try keeping it to a minimum, I ended posting some stuff back. I bought panniers and a handle bar bag. The handle bar bag was worth its wait in gold (it nearly cost the feckin’ same!).

I didn’t do an awful lot of training specifically for the trip but I was doing a good bit of cycling around that time anyway. I think the body adjusts pretty quickly to doing long cycles on consecutive days. The main problem I experienced was with my saddle. It came with a Dawes Super Galaxy i purchased and was designed by Satin himself: http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b1s21p1989&i=2254 By the time I got to Waterford I had to buy a new saddle, which wasn’t much better tbh. So my main piece of advice would be...get the best saddle you can afford!

ken2010

what way did you sort out the accommodation? i havent got a bike yet any idea what bike would be the best to buy for a trip like this?

ChainWhip wrote: »

I did a lap of Ireland at the start of 2007 as a fundraiser for the Irish Cancer Society [it turned out to be the precursor to a cycle across America we did this year]. It was just 2 of us, me and my mate, amateur cyclists - the most we would have cycled was to town/college.

Starting in Dublin the route we took was Dundalk - Belfast - Derry - Donegal - Sligo - Castlebar - Galway - Limerick - Kilarney - Cork - Waterford - Wexford - Wicklow - Dublin. This was about 1300kms in total.

We did a city each day with a rest day in each of Belfast, Galway and Cork so that made it a total of 17 days. We carried everything on our backs in a hiking-type bag which came to about 15kgs so it was tough going.

We basically brought everything essential and nothing else. You can split clothes into 2 parts, on and off bike. On bike was normal cycling gear, both for dry and wet days. Off bike was couple of t-shirts, a light top, one pair jeans, a light pair of runners, underwear etc. Then there's bike maintenance stuff like tubes (you'll need a lot and should always have at least two at the start of a day which means you'll have to stock up as you go along), pump, allen keys etc.

We stayed in accommodation along the way which we'd organised free-of-charge before we left but you might have a different plan, e.g. camping. We basically stuck to the National roads (the green ones on a map) because most of the time it was the straightest route from city to city and the surface was much better than the alternative 'country roads'. But if you're seeking a more of a sightseeing/country air type of journey maybe the national roads wouldn't be the best.

Overall I'd definitely recommend it. It's a great laugh, you see some amazing places, and you meet all sorts of people along the way. It's a great way to see the country and there's nothing better than being out on the open road with not a car in sight knowing that you're powering your own way around the country.

Feel free to ask any more questions and i'll do my best to assist.

MickeyTake

Hi all,

This is a fairly old thread, but it's the most recent one on the topic. I can open a new thread if this zombie should be killed!

Thinking of doing a lap of Ireland. Scenic route, country roads, so 2000k+ I think. Is there anyone here that has done such thing? I've a few questions if so, such as accommodation recommendations, is a snazzy road bike suitable, other than bringing a map how would you remember which roads to take given I want to do the country roads approach?

Any advice on it appreciated!

Ole Rodrigo

Yeah I've done it - a week on the top and a week on the bottom half.

- Stay in B&B's
- Take as little luggage as possible. I had about 3 Kilos in a Nelson Longflap saddle bag.
- An entry level road bike is fine.
- Buy a map of Ireland and plan your route. Each evening make a note of what roads you'll be on the next day.
- Buy the makings of sandwiches each evening for the next day, or you'll be stuffing yourself with junk from petrol stations.
- Aim for between 100 and 150 km per day. May or September is best.
- Read Cycle Touring Ireland, although he deals with touring is specific areas rather than doing something like this

http://www2.cicerone.co.uk/author/detail.cfm/author/1354/name/cooper--tom

- Have a look at the Race around Ireland route

The problem with doing something like this is many of the roads you will be on to get will be national roads - you can't avoid them. Good luck !

MickeyTake

Great stuff thanks.

3 kilos seems like very little - what did you bring?

Mind me asking how much did it cost you approx? Are food and accommodation the main costs, or am I forgetting something? I have bike, helmets gloves etc

Interesting that you recommend May or Sept... is that just because of weather?

Ole Rodrigo

MickeyTake wrote: »

Great stuff thanks.

3 kilos seems like very little - what did you bring?

Mind me asking how much did it cost you approx? Are food and accommodation the main costs, or am I forgetting something? I have bike, helmets gloves etc

Interesting that you recommend May or Sept... is that just because of weather?

3 kilos was something light to wear in the evening ( cargo shorts and t-shirt ), spare cycling gear ( shorts and jersey ) , 2 X merino socks, toiletries plus some bike maintenance stuff.

Pretty much yes, on average it was 40 quid per night plus 15 euro per day for lunch and dinner.

Yeah the weather is better and the evenings are still long enough in case you get delayed.