Photos taken on your cycle.

gn3dr

Hard to believe the difference in weather in those photos compared to today 😭. I did the 140km Beara today. Brutal weather. Don't know if I ever got as wet on a bike. Rain was hitting so hard after Alihies that I had to check if it was hailstone!

Overheard someone from the organisers telling a guy in a restaurant after that at least 1000 entries didn't show up.

mcburns07

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122183306#Comment_122183306

Ditto, an absolute shocker of a day, hammered around with the lad I was with and went home.

We could only hack one 15 min stop 80km to get a quick coffee, and even that resulted in us both shivering for 20 mins after getting back on the bike. Couldn't be any more different to the Tour De Beara last Sept where we had unbelievable weather!

https://www.strava.com/activities/11493143524

Seth Brundle

DId it myself too (140km) and it's been a long time since I got that wet! Even my Garmin went into "feck-that' mode close to the end cutting 10km and 160m off.

This however is the only sign that was correct on the day…

hesker

Caha Pass descent was very sketchy with driving wind and rain. Hope everyone got down safe.

Was our 6th year doing it and every year prior has been glorious.

Seth Brundle

I found the initial descent from Caha to be crazy. The side-wind hitting me on the 550 rims was very off-putting.

mcburns07

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122183976#Comment_122183976

Definitely not a day for 550s! 300s were twitchy enough for me. I actually found other cyclist's general lack of experience in how to behave on the roads a lot more troublesome than the weather. Comes with the territory of sportives I suppose.

The Macho Man

I did it too, all 140kms, and would agree with all the above, like @gn3dr said when I came through the gap not far from Allihies, think it was Cods Head the rain hitting me felt like hail, proper sore. And the wind on the descent from Caha was tricky to navigate. I didn't see any accidents thankfully. I've seen a few on the ring of Kerry but I thought etiquette on this was better than the RoK.

Roberto_gas

Could have been better if there were more covered areas at food stops…did the 113km and was awful most part.

JMcL

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122180980#Comment_122180980

Was wondering where you managed to find even the bit of blue sky in the first one 😅

Plastik

Near Port d'Es Torrent, Ibiza. Rental bike.

cletus

...

brokenbad

Grand Canal Greenway near Pullough, Co. Offaly

cletus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122201317#Comment_122201317

You'd be close to the Pull Inn there. Nice pint of Guinness

The Macho Man

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122199502#Comment_122199502

Fishermans Inn in near Vicarstown?

cletus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122202419#Comment_122202419

Correct, except it's closer to Fisherstown 😁

Seth Brundle

Took this on my way home from work earlier. It's from Smith's Hill (beside Lyons Hill) and whilst it may not look like much, you don't really see meadows like this any more with thousands of weeds flowering, in this case, mainly buttercups.

nilhg

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122203374#Comment_122203374

They're only weeds if they're not meant to be there, wildflowers would be a better term😉 🌻

Hopefully the farmer is part of one of the various environmental schemes and is getting a few euro for supporting biodiversity.

Those old meadows do need to be retained.

The Macho Man

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122202950#Comment_122202950

Of course, 😂. The most important question is, was it a good pint?

cletus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122207667#Comment_122207667

Always

cletus

Bit of unexpected hike-a-bike today. Got a gate and a thatched cottage (didn't stop at it)

secman

Ah shure a bike leaning against a castle is your only man

cletus

Wandered about on some of the disused Bord na Mona narrow gauge railway tracks. Some are so overgrown it makes cycling almost impossible, and some just dead end.

If BnM go ahead with their plans, though, it'll be a great resource

mewso

Day 1 in France. Cherbourg to Carentan. Weather amazing:-

Really tough climb out of Cherbourg but this was a pleasant view as it came to an end.

Supervisor Duck tries to keep the gang from getting unruly while waiting for me to toss some food their way.

I stopped at Utah Beach but couldn't really look around much as I didn't want to leave the bike (locked or not). I did get some good video footage of various WW2 aircraft flying overhead so looks like the anniversary events are still going.

What with stopping in Carentan it's all very Band of Brothers. Especially if Duck's quacking counts as the D-Day friend or foe thingamy.

mewso

Day 2 (Carentan to Campeaux 81km), 3 (Campeaux to Domfront 52km) and 4 (Domfront to Laval 77km)

You never tire of the charming towns and villages in France

Where are you taking me Komoot?

Arriving in Laval for a days rest.

Day 2 was shorter than day 1 but the hardest day so far by quite some distance. The last 10km had a series of the nastiest climbs. One of those days where you can't believe you're not there yet. I ended up walking up the last couple of climbs as I was fairly empty. When I got to my lodgings I immediately tweaked Day 3's route to be shorter so I could get there early and have more rest. Then Day 4 was the easiest so far. Amazing how cycling can be but ultimately it will get easier as my fitness improves every day (I hope).