Greenways [greenway map of Ireland in post 1]

Carawaystick

The greenway is so good, that when you hit the perfectly adequate tar and chipped surface section near Athlone you feel disappointed...
I wonder are Westmeath CoCo going to tarmac the macadam parts of the Royal canal? It's fine to cycle on in skinny tyres, bar a few parts which aren't rolled/rammed as firm as the rest. I suspect frost damage will loosen the macadam over time.
Also have they any plans to change the gates between Mary Lynches and Mullingar, which are a nuisance to have to stop get off the bike to navigate.

Also I wonder what the plans are to traverse Athlone are with the Greenway stopping at the outskirts. It's a narrow bike unfriendly town to get across the shannon, or else cycle across on the Bypass.

Zubeneschamali

Carawaystick wrote: »

Also I wonder what the plans are to traverse Athlone are with the Greenway stopping at the outskirts.

The next section is along the same the railway alignment as far as Dunnes in Montree, then down to the marina and a new bridge across the Shannon.

Carawaystick

The Waterford Dungarvan Greenway is shaping up very nicely
https://www.facebook.com/deise.greenway/

Schadenfreudia

Carawaystick wrote: »

The Waterford Dungarvan Greenway is shaping up very nicely
https://www.facebook.com/deise.greenway/

Brilliant photos. This looks likely a very classy route

Muahahaha

I'm planning on giving the midlands greenway a go during the summer, I'll be coming from Dublin on the train. Can anyone advise if I wanted to do a 40-50km cycle with the majority along the new greenway what start and finish points should I look at that have train stations?

Zubeneschamali

Athlone-Mullingar is 40 k, and there's a train station at both towns. Maybe start in Athlone, then you could add a spin along the canal (and back) at Mullingar if you want to go over the 40k.

Carawaystick

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

Athlone-Mullingar is 40 k, and there's a train station at both towns. Maybe start in Athlone, then you could add a spin along the canal (and back) at Mullingar if you want to go over the 40k.

Its more likely that you'll have the wind at your back going this direction.
There's a tarmac section along the canal around Mullingar too, and a parallel canal route from Ballinea bridge to Mullingar alongside the Greenway.

hardy_buck

Nice breakdown of where things are at here:

http://www.dublingalwaygreenway.com/2016/05/you-asked-whats-going-on-with-dublin.html?m=1

Shame to see such opposition from the Galway farmers, it seems some of them want to cut their nose to spite their face here. You just have to look at the success of their fellow Galweigans along the wild Atlantic way to see how transformative this could be to everywhere along the route.

Hopefully there's progress soon!

Muahahaha

So it is looking like we will have most of the Dublin to Athlone section complete by late 2017 but the Athlone to Galway segment is likely to take a fair bit longer due to landowners objections. Hopefully these get resolved soon but with sixty odd percent of east Galway farmers objecting it might take some time.

MJohnston

Sounds like they smell a payout

yer man!

hardy_buck wrote: »

Nice breakdown of where things are at here:

http://www.dublingalwaygreenway.com/2016/05/you-asked-whats-going-on-with-dublin.html?m=1

Shame to see such opposition from the Galway farmers, it seems some of them want to cut their nose to spite their face here. You just have to look at the success of their fellow Galweigans along the wild Atlantic way to see how transformative this could be to everywhere along the route.

Hopefully there's progress soon!

There's more to the story than meets the eye. Apparently quite a few of the landowners were very pro greenway but wanted the route to hug the boundaries of fields and to minimise farm dissection but county councils wouldn't hear any of it and wanted one way and one way only.

hardCopy

yer man! wrote: »

There's more to the story than meets the eye. Apparently quite a few of the landowners were very pro greenway but wanted the route to hug the boundaries of fields and to minimise farm dissection but county councils wouldn't hear any of it and wanted one way and one way only.

Some sort of compromise is probably fair. A greenway that swings 90 degrees every time it meets a stone wall would be a pain to cycle but it's not right to leave farmers with half an acre on one side and 10 on the other. It'll take work to realign field boundaries after the route goes through.

stoneill

Is there a map that shows all the current or existing greenways?

L1011

stoneill wrote: »

Is there a map that shows all the current or existing greenways?

http://www.irishgreenways.com/ has a map but its missing some open ones - Deise Greenway on the Waterford-Dungarvan line and the Burtonport one which is more walking than cycling suited; as well as proposed ones like the full Burtonport-Letterkenny one.

Markcheese

MJohnston wrote:

Sounds like they smell a payout

A lot of the farmers dont want a payout.. they're just very nervous of change..
To be fair a new track going through a large dairy farm could be a pain in the ass, not to say it cant be sorted out.. decent cattle grids -underpasses-signage rerouting and probably a pay out could sort it ..

random_guy

My hypothetical future scenario is this:

1) A greenway exists so that someone can cycle from Sligo to Galway along the Western Rail Corridor.
2) A group of 7 French tourists want to cover this route.
3) Time constraints mean they can only cycle the Western Rail Corridor, and not cycle across the country to get to it.

How do they get their bikes and gear from their port of landing (Dublin Airport, Rosslare) to the starting point of the cycle route in Sligo?

Are the busses capable of carrying so many bikes (if any)? I know Irish Rail will take a certain number of bikes on certain services but I’m not aware of any trains that are properly kitted out for carrying cyclists?
Are there any plans under consideration to back up and support the future cycling tourists?

*Full disclosure: I am a fan of greenways and use them weekly.

Carawaystick

I remember going from Dublin to Kerry on the bus in the 90's with 3 loaded bikes, there was no issue with 3 bikes on an old style lift the luggage hold style door coaches BÉ had then. I'd imagine the newer automatic lift luggage hold coaches are even simpler.
7 bikes should be no bother.

random_guy

Carawaystick wrote: »

I remember going from Dublin to Kerry on the bus in the 90's with 3 loaded bikes, there was no issue with 3 bikes on an old style lift the luggage hold style door coaches BÉ had then. I'd imagine the newer automatic lift luggage hold coaches are even simpler.
7 bikes should be no bother.

Is there space enough in them when you include all the luggage from other customers?
It'd be a pain to find that there's only space for 3 bikes and the rest have to wait till the next day. Although I suppose that's how it goes.

Carawaystick

The Deise Greenway has opened from Kilmacthomas to Dungarvan


This gem of a post from the waterford city forum caught my eye

Sam Russell

Carawaystick wrote: »

The Deise Greenway has opened from Kilmacthomas to Dungarvan


This gem of a post from the waterford city forum caught my eye

The link does not work.

Carawaystick

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=101125784&postcount=497

loyatemu

Greenway planned for the Blessington Lakes: http://wicklow.ie/development-greenway-blessington

MJohnston

crushed stone...hmm

Sam Russell

Crushed stone does not show the blood left by cyclists who fall off.

serfboard

Sam Russell wrote: »

Crushed stone does not show the blood left by cyclists who fall off.

Is cyclists falling off bikes a common phenomenon?

loyatemu

Sam Russell wrote: »

Crushed stone does not show the blood left by cyclists who fall off.

MJohnston

Crushed stone can be uneven and a bit dodgy for road or hybrid bikes, Sams probably referring to how likely it will be to cause a few cycling injuries.

Sam Russell

MJohnston wrote: »

Crushed stone can be uneven and a bit dodgy for road or hybrid bikes, Sams probably referring to how likely it will be to cause a few cycling injuries.

Or if you like, turn a minor spill into a hospital case.

If I come off my bike (heaven forbid) I would not like it to be on crushed stone. Nor would I like to try and cycle any distance or at any high speed on crushed stone as the resistance would be horrible.

Smooth tarmac is the only surface for bikes on a greenway. Greenway is not cyclecross.

hi5

What is crushed stone, from google images it looks like gravel?:eek:

L1011

Crushed stone tracks near me are unsuitable for even my minor asthma in dry weather - the amount of dust they fire up is unreal