Cycling routes around Ballina?

colm_gti

Heading to Ballina/Inniscrone for the weekend next weekend (13th - 15th) and rather than missing out completely on a Saturday spin, I'm taking the bike with me and going exploring some new territories

Are there any nice routes out that side of the world that anyone would recommend, or even better, a local group I could hook up with one of the mornings?

QueensGael

Be sure to check out the world class foot/bike combo-paths in Ballina, they're a feat of modern town planning and civil engineering

Esroh

Lap of Lough Conn is a good route of 80km

Head for Easkey, Dromore West, across the Ox Mountain rd ,then on to Bonniconlon and back to Ballina another 80km

Hope this helps

Rawhead

Go from Ballina to Pontoon. From Pontoon follow this route. Epic cycle.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/93989341
If your interested I'll PM you some tips.

FirstinLastout

Assuming that you start in Inniscrone head West towards Ballina sticking to the coast road.
In Ballina ride up along the Moy and take the left at the 2nd bridge towards Bonnieconlon / Tubercurry until you reach Lough Talt.
Once a couple of miles outside of Ballina this becomes a beautiful stretch of road which'd bring to mind the more remote parts of Donegal or Connemara.
After Lough Talt keep her lit until taking a left after the lake for Lough Easkey then its up over the hills mindful of the Mountainy Hornys, the sheep lads not the locals, past the waterfalls and the Lough itself until you hit the main Sligo - Ballina road.
Go right and travel a couple of K into Dromore West where you swing a left back onto the coast road and stick to that through Easkey and back into Enniscrone.
The stretch from Easkey to Enniscrone is a nice winding generally smooth surface where you should be able to tip 'long at a fair rate of knots.

Alternatively start in Enniscrone heading Eastwards for Dromore West where, just before the water tower you take a left down the steep Ballykilcash hill and onward through Templeboy until Skreen where you'll swing up towards the main road.
Look for signs for The Beach Bar & Aughris Pier after which about 3~4 k there is a stone mason which you'll pass on your right, taking the next right a couple of meters afterwards which brings you out on the main Sligo - Ballina road next to a stairs manufacturer.
Turn left towards Sligo and after a few hundred meters take the right at Skreen cemetery.
This'll bring you up the Ladies Brae, a nice climb, which you should follow all the way 'round the mountain always keeping it on your right which'll not be a hard thing to do as it doesn't move much.
Keep going, always bearing right, through Lavagh church/crossroads and onward for Tobercurry.
Once in Tober take the Ballina road which'll bring you towards Lough Talt from which it's the initial part of the previous cycle but in reverse.

Planet X

Don't come back without having a seaweed bath in Enniscrone! Brilliant experience.

colm_gti

FirstinLastout wrote: »

Assuming that you start in Inniscrone head West towards Ballina sticking to the coast road.
In Ballina ride up along the Moy and take the left at the 2nd bridge towards Bonnieconlon / Tubercurry until you reach Lough Talt.
Once a couple of miles outside of Ballina this becomes a beautiful stretch of road which'd bring to mind the more remote parts of Donegal or Connemara.
After Lough Talt keep her lit until taking a left after the lake for Lough Easkey then its up over the hills mindful of the Mountainy Hornys, the sheep lads not the locals, past the waterfalls and the Lough itself until you hit the main Sligo - Ballina road.
Go right and travel a couple of K into Dromore West where you swing a left back onto the coast road and stick to that through Easkey and back into Enniscrone.
The stretch from Easkey to Enniscrone is a nice winding generally smooth surface where you should be able to tip 'long at a fair rate of knots.

Done a similar enough spin to this one...

http://app.strava.com/rides/13507247

The main sligo road was grand, then from there to Bonnieconlon was nice, and from Bonnieconlon to Lough Talt was fabulous, but that's where it started to get rough...all the way from there til past Lough Easky was fairly rough, and I was glad to get back on to the main Sligo/Ballina road. Nice spin all the same, and nice to see some different scenery for a change



I've a feeling I'm going to be over and back to this place quite a bit over the next few years, so I'll be exploring a bit more in future