Am I a proper cyclist now?

jameverywhere

I just got back from my July cycle tour of Ireland! I started in Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Waterford, and cycled inland across Cork to the coast, then along the west and north coasts to Belfast. I was on the road for twenty-eight days but took about four or five rest days where I didn't cycle at all.

I covered 50 to 100 km a day, but a typical day was 60 - 80 km. I haven't totaled up my full mileage yet. Odometer says something like 1700 km, but I think that the numbers on it read too high and I need to measure my wheel and reset it, so I don't trust what it says to be accurate.

this is the gear I took , and this is day one of my daily travel blog that I did for those that might be interested. (still have yet to post the last few days of posts however)

One highlight of the trip was randomly meeting the Ring of Kerry charity cyclists in Kenmare on day six of cycling. I had cycled to Kenmare that morning from a B&B on the ring of Beara, and the town was chock full of cyclists coming thru and eating lunch, etc. I was cycling up to Killarney that day, so I basically joined in for the fun on the last 50 km! The N71 being closed to all but cyclists was a huge bonus for me. It was great following all the hordes of cyclists up Moll's Gap, lugging all my cycling gear, haha. tons of people were all like, "fair play to you for bringing all that," and I had to be like, "I didn't cycle the whole way with it!" I only did 80 km that day to everyone else's 180. But, fully loaded. When we reached the top of Moll's Gap (me of course slow as all get out and stopping frequently), the huge long downhill into Killarney was awesome, and weighed down as I was (and fatigued as everyone else was), I was passing people and going super fast! It was so much fun!

Of course when I rolled into Killarney I was shunted to the finish line with everyone else, so i passed thru the finish even tho' I didn't go thru the start. I felt like a bit of a hero even so.

Ireland is such a fantastic island. I'm sorry that my tour is over but I have a lot to do this month and couldn't afford an extra few days on the road.

By the way, in an old thread here I asked people for advice for cycle touring, and a huge number recommended the cycling ireland book by Brendan Walsh. THANK YOU for that. Even tho' the book was written in the 90s and a bit outdated, I still think the routes it chooses for you are some of the best and I was happy to follow that book, for the most part. It also has a 36 day grand tour of Ireland (which I shortened with a few train rides due to lack of time), whereas another more recent cycling Ireland book I bought had either a 60 day tour, which was way too long, or a 21 day tour, which was too short.

I'm still not a racer but I feel like a real cyclist now

feel free to share your touring stories here!


p.s. oh yeah, and I had zero punctures!! only mechanical problem was I had to replace the rear brake pads about halfway thru (and pull sticks out of my dérailleur sometimes)

07Lapierre

Yes you are!

johnk123

Thanks for sharing. Your blog has been great interest to me for the last hour or so! Planning my first cycle tour at the moment and it's a great resource. Thanks!

jameverywhere

you're welcome! glad you're finding it useful.

in the next two days or so I'm gonna post some reflections of the trip, and say like, what gear I should have brought but didn't, what gear i brought but shouldn't have, things like that.

If you're cycling in Ireland, Ireland is one big bog, so don't forget insect repellent!!!>!>!>! midges ate me alive and I'm still scratching now. (tea tree oil is good for treating bites you've already got, too)

Spokes of Glory

Shaved legs ?? No ?? Then we're done.



Seriously....fair play for doing that tour through the poxiest summer in living memory.

Spokes

hardCopy

I realised you were a proper cyclist at some point between the 9th and 11th word of your post. Well done, a month on the road is pretty epic.

I read about cycle touring on here and on sites like crazyguyonabike for years before I had the opportunity to try it out (girlfriend got a bike at Christmas and got the bug). It's an amazing sense of accomplishment to arrive into a strange town with 80+ KM in your legs and settle into a big hot meal. We covered about 450KM across Italy in May and absolutely loved it (except for the motorway into Verona :eek:)

Even when you know you've a credit card in your pocket you still feel like some kind of pioneering adventurer when your out there blazing your own way across the country. I can't imagine ever getting a similar feeling from a driving holiday. Not to mention the friendly, interesting and sometimes just peculiar people you meet along the way.

Some of my pics: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=79266414&postcount=1028

fixie fox

Of course you are!
I only came to organised cycling - cycling clubs, racing and all that - after years of touring and general 'cycling'. What struck was how little these people really knew about the big wide world of cycling, yet some thought they knew it all!
Well done!

slowcyclist

Well done, you are definitely a cyclist. Enjoyed reading your blog. Pity I didn’t know about it as you were on the road, I would have posted some replies as you were travelling along. I undertook something similar in 2009, starting in Newry and finishing in Mallow three weeks later. Couldn’t quite complete the circle – just ran out of steam, and got a bit homesick. Check out http://onemanandabicycle.wordpress.com/. A life changing experience in my case, hopefully it will be for you too.

Re gear list - What were the rubber gloves for?

jameverywhere

oh, the rubber gloves were just in the first aid kit. for dealing with biohazard type situations. so, not if I were bleeding, but if I were helping someone else who was bleeding, for example.

bcmf

Well done Jam. Glad to see got around.
You will only be a real cyclist when you complete the full Tour of Louth in the lashing rain and cold
Seriously though WELL DONE

jameverywhere

I could do it now! I did a 100 km day WITH full luggage... sure 100 km without luggage would be a breeze (but I'd still be slower than y'all; y'all are crazy!!)

kavanagh_h

Hi jam

I read your july blog today after seeing your first post. Well done. I would have written support during your cycle had i have known earlier. I thought you were very brave! Especially impressed that you undertook this journey despite your allergies. H.

jameverywhere

thanks! it can be difficult to travel without really going to restaurants or whatever but I think I managed pretty well! and it's a lot cheaper to eat out of grocery stores in the long run.

Cookie_Monster

nah, not until you come off the bike and still stop at the next cafe looking for your tea and scone, covered in blood or not

kincsem

jameverywhere wrote: »

thanks! it can be difficult to travel without really going to restaurants or whatever but I think I managed pretty well! and it's a lot cheaper to eat out of grocery stores in the long run.

Congratulations on a great journey. Very few have done as much.

Your comment about restaurants looked like what I read recently in Kelly by David Walsh, when Sean Kelly was doing the criterium circuit in the month following the Tour de France.
"I haven't eaten in a restaurant like this in a long time and it will be a long time before I'm caught in one again. If you stop at one of the self-service places on the motorway you can see exactly what you are getting and have it eaten in half an hour. That means an extra hour's sleep somewhere on in the journey."

mp2012

Well done Jam, only just saw this thread again and have just spent the last half hour reading your journey blog. Really well written and great information for other tourers planning a trip.

dutopia

Awesome journey, well done.

Makes me want to do something similar.

RobFowl

Really enjoyed the blog.
You most definitely are a proper cyclist now :cool:

Dermot Illogical

Your bike has kissed you, so you must be.
Enjoyed the blog. Well done!