Wicklow Directions (help!)

g0g

Just looking for some directions advice and hope someone can help me. Thinking of using a pigsback.com deal from today to stay in Woodenbridge (near Arklow) sometime soon and then cycle back to Kilmainham from there. Plan would be hopefully to do that Shay Elliot hill, stop in Laragh and then back over Sally Gap. From Glenmalure onwards I'm comfortable with the directions, but I'm struggling to figure out Woodenbridge to Glenmalure - does anyone know a simple route, or is it well signposted? From Google Maps it looks like I wouldn't need to go as far North as Rathdrum? I just remember being there on a Randonee thing last year and thinking "these are small enough roads, how would I find my way back here!?" Thanks!
Possible Route?

manwithaplan

That's the route alright. You stay on the main Rathdrum Road, passing the Meetings pub on your right. You turn left where it is signposted for Ballinaclash. When you come to Ballinaclash go stright over the bridge and turn/keep right, signposted for Greenane and Glenmalure. When you get to Greenane, turn right over the bridge (you can't go straight anyway - it's a cul de sac) and immediately left on the other side. It's more or less straight to Glenmalure all the way from there. Have a pint/coffee in the pub on the crossroads before you take on the Shay Elliott!

Enjoy.

michael196

Are you familiar with the W200 route ?

I would suggest woodenbridge to aughrim ( or else stay in aughrim) head north west out of aughrim towards signposted aughavannah to join the R756 which then rolls into the glenmalure ( shay elliott) , so u get two decent hill climbs , same as W200 route, then onwards towards laragh etc

manwithaplan

Slieve Mann too - that's just cruel.

david

Being a local I'd recommend Woodenbridge-Aughrim-Glenmalure-Rathdrum-Laragh Some fairly tough climbs past Macreddin. Woodenbridge-Meetngs-Rathdrum-laragh is shortest route. Woodenbridge-Meetings-Clash-Glenmalure-Rathdrum-Laragh is very physical and about twice as long as the main road.


Word of caution - The last time I was near Glenmalure I had trouble getting through in a car the potholes were that big from all the cold weather.

manwithaplan

david wrote: »

Being a local I'd recommend Woodenbridge-Aughrim-Glenmalure-Rathdrum-Laragh Some fairly tough climbs past Macreddin. Woodenbridge-Meetngs-Rathdrum-laragh is shortest route. Woodenbridge-Meetings-Clash-Glenmalure-Rathdrum-Laragh is very physical and about twice as long as the main road.

Surely you wouldn't have to go near Rathdrum? Would you not just go over the Shay Elliott from Glenmalure straight into Laragh?

g0g

Thanks all for the replies. I'm thinking Shay Elliot and Sally Gap will be more than enough for me without throwing in extra hills! I'm defo booked into Woodenbridge now, so all I need is the best route from there to Glenmalure! Appreciate the input from locals as I suspect maybe this route won't be very well signposted. If I could figure out how to plot the route onto the Edge 500 I'd do it that way, but I'm not any way up to speed with route plotting on it!

So to keep it simple if I head towards Rathdrum then follow signs for Ballinaclash, Greenane then Glenmalure I can't go wrong!?

smacl

Just a thought; Go into google maps, street view and follow your route with the photography provided. I've found this a great way of preparing for new routes in addition to conventional mapping / GPS

Looking forward to cycling log entry when you're done, also doing the W200 for the first time this year.

g0g

smacl wrote: »

Just a thought; Go into google maps, street view and follow your route with the photography provided. I've found this a great way of preparing for new routes in addition to conventional mapping / GPS

Looking forward to cycling log entry when you're done, also doing the W200 for the first time this year.

That's some good thinking! Hopefully they have those roads "streetview-ed". That said, it's also hard to tell from google maps when loads are classified as white roads which ones are better and which are just tiny lanes!

Fingers crossed I'm looking forward to writing about it on Sunday or whenever I've recovered!

michael196

creat a course in bikeroutetoaster then uplaod to the edge


will provide elevation data also


export the file then to the garmin edge as a gpx or tcx

paddymacsporran

+1,

The bike route toaster is brilliant

michael196

will do it for u if u get stuck


nice thng is u can se the gradient before u set out.


ridewithgps is even better as sometimes bikeroutetoaster hangs and ridewithgps gives real good gradient data

g0g

michael196 wrote: »

will do it for u if u get stuck


nice thng is u can se the gradient before u set out.


ridewithgps is even better as sometimes bikeroutetoaster hangs and ridewithgps gives real good gradient data

Thanks for the tips again Michael! Will give it a crack later on. May decide in the end that the google maps photos are enough to remember for the turns. Would rather my first navigation attempt with the Edge be somewhere that I know well so I can see it in action! At the moment it looks like I won't need any navigation - just an umbrella as a sail and the wind will take me home!:pac:

michael196

http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=204525



use the tcx format to upload to ur edge 500

g0g

Thanks a million Michael. unfortunately I was in Woodenbridge since yesterday afternoon so couldn't download! Managed to find my way anyway and got back a while ago! Route is here and blog to follow later (doubtful) or during the week (more likely!):)! Epic cycle, really enjoyed it despite the conditions!