Cycling the country

Jovetic

Got a mad notion today to take a week or two in the summer and travel around the country.

Has anyone done this before and what would I be getting myself into

I'm an amateur cyclist at best, started last year and did the Ring of Kerry which was great. Hope to do it again in July and maybe do this trip afterwards. I'm reasonably fit but this would be an enormous challenge.

Was thinking Cork-Waterford-Kildare-Monaghan-Sligo-Westport-Galway-Cork

Roughly 900km, hoping to do maybe 150km per day Have a few stop off points along the way.

Not sure whether to

1. take camping equipment and sleep under the stars each night

2. stay in the odd B & B along the way.

1. would be more more of an adventure and cheaper
2. would have the benefit of a shower each day and a proper breakfast.

option 2 would also lighten my load making it easier to cycle.

Not sure if I'll go ahead it does sound quite daunting, but if anyone has done something similiar I would love to hear about it

lismore7

Not done it before but but option 1 would be a non starter for me.....
I wouldn't fancy cycling 150k in a day, soaked in sweat and or soaked to the skin if it's a wet day...and then no hot soothing shower afterwards + a good sleep in a comfy warm bed...
If your going commando and sleeping out each night, you'd have to carry a hell of allot of gear, which will slow you down and make any hill climbs a nightmare...

thebikeman.ie

I’m 51 this year, I done my longest days cycling last year 238 km in a single day, followed it the next day with 218 km. The year before I cycled from Cavan to the East of England in three days, averaging almost 200 km a day. All this was on a fully loaded 17 kg touring bike with about 20 kilos of cargo on board.

My advise on covering long distances on a heavy bike, is take it slowly. Climb and accelerate very gently, and always cycle for energy conservation. My cruising speed on the flat would be about 15 km per hour. I have the handlebars high, ride in a very relaxed upright position and get out of the saddle as much as possible. If you cycle slowly you can cover great distances without serious fatigue. The real problem with this kind of cycling is that your backside gets sore after some days of it.

It can be done, you don’t have to be very athletic but it’s not for everyone. The main thing about this kind of cycling is that you have to enjoy the journey. If your thinking of 150 km a day, try a 300 km two day trip carrying a load and see how you feel after that.

On a final note if you are going to camp and carry a load you really need a good touring bike, with very low gears.

bambergbike

You could make your choice on a night-by-night basis: you can check the forecast on your phone late in each afternoon and then make your plans for that evening. If you carry a sleeping bag, a bivvy bag, a space blanket and a foam mat, you can sleep under the stars when the weather looks good and revert to credit card touring when it doesn't. If you're only planning to camp when conditions are optimal for camping, you won't need to lug tonnes of gear around and it shouldn't make all that much difference to how the bike handles and climbs. Especially if you can carry the load nice and low and at the back of the bike. Front panniers can make you feel like you're steering a lorry, but back panniers aren't all that noticable, and you should get what you need into two of them (maybe with a bedding roll that won't weigh much thrown over the top). You won't need to haul loads of food and water, as you're never going to be more than twenty miles from civilisation. If you're hugging the coast you can jump into the sea every so often, and you can catch proper showers at campsites, public swimming pools and motorway service stations. If you're not credit card touring, you may up not be able to get your clothes washed and dried every night, so you can either resign yourself to a shortage of clean clothes or pack a more generous supply of spare shorts, socks and jerseys - they don't weigh much and you'll feel far less stiff and tired in clean clothes.

I got caught out recently - I cycled 75 km over several hills to attend a semi-formal meeting with colleagues and planned to shower at a motorway service station a few hundred metres from the pub function room beforehand. It turned out that it had gone bankrupt and was barricaded up, so I had to clean up and change in the pub bathroom with the aid of baby wipes and some hastily purchased dry shampoo instead. The results were surprisingly satisfactory - I don't think anybody really noticed I was a mad cyclist until I morphed back into one at the end of the evening to cycle home. Temps were hovering around zero by then, so I was dressed like Robocop when I left - ski mittens, neoprene overshoes, the works.

ford2600

Do a west cork tour over Easter? Use B &B and try 100-120km.

Make a few mistakes and do longer spin over summer.

As bikerman said you'll need a proper touring bike for proper touring.

bambergbike

Would second the advice about doing a trial run with an overnight stop somewhere to fine-tune your packing system.

If you stick to your system you'll be able to fish what you need out of your luggage when you need it, and you'll avoid leaving essentials behind or carting too much stuff around.

dermur

If you're undecided on a route, you could always try following the route these lads used...

http://racearoundireland.com/

ezra_pound

Cycle against suicide?

nilhg

No specific tips for the OP here but there might be a few to be picked up from this video, especially for the more adventurous option,


http://vimeo.com/58201809

Maybe it'll put you off the option of touring altogether or you could finish up touring the world. The video is a bit slow to get going but stick with it when you have time, it's worth it.

RV

Jovetic wrote: »

Got a mad notion ...Has anyone done this before ...an amateur cyclist... Was thinking Cork-Waterford-Kildare-Monaghan-Sligo-Westport-Galway-Cork...

A typical day for an Audax cyclist I think and therefore a good way to prepare. You might look at their website and take in some of their routes. Audax would help a lot with getting your bike, gear and lights set up. B&B is a good way to travel if you have the money and are happy hand washing clothes from time to time. The best routes are the hilliest and camping makes the bike heavy for climbing. Stay near the train and that gives an escape home in a crisis. I have enjoyed a couple of 1,000 + rides but it wouldn't suit everyone.

feck sake lads

nilhg wrote: »

No specific tips for the OP here but there might be a few to be picked up from this video, especially for the more adventurous option,


http://vimeo.com/58201809

Maybe it'll put you off the option of touring altogether or you could finish up touring the world. The video is a bit slow to get going but stick with it when you have time, it's worth it.

this is a brilliant video one of my favourates the guy RIP was one hell of a cyclist.
but to the OP i seriously think your biting off more than you can chew, i don't mean that in a nasty way,but why not cover much less miles and enjoy the ride flying through towns and villages without smelling the roses is not touring.btw you can shower everyday in campsites BnB are way to expensive and way to comfy:)

Ole Rodrigo

I've done a few light tours in Ireland. IMO B&Bs are the way to go if you want to cover some distance over a short period of time.

For camping this is a good resource

http://www.cicerone.co.uk/product/detail.cfm/book/562/title/cycle-touring-in-ireland#.U0Qziu29LCQ

Jovetic

Wow, thanks everyone for the advice. Certainly a lot to think about. Have a hybrid bike that I think could cope with the load. Good idea about the train station there's every chance I could need to bail out at some stage. Might scale it back and do a couple of shorter rides over different stages instead of one big trip.

Thanks

feck sake lads

Now your sucking diesel:cool:

RV

Jovetic wrote: »

Might scale it back and do a couple of shorter rides over different stages instead of one big trip.

When I do mine, an enjoyable part is knowing that there's a few days ahead without home comforts and without thoughts of work. And the feeling of escape and adventure and being alone with nature that it brings. Time to think and soak up the wonder and stuff. (I cycle a bit wide-eyed at times). Otherwise it would be just a run-of-the-mill long ride with deadlines - rushing to get started and eye-on-the-clock to get home by a certain time. Go for the big one, I say. You can have little 'uns any time.

thebikeman.ie

RV wrote: »

When I do mine, an enjoyable part is knowing that there's a few days ahead without home comforts and without thoughts of work. And the feeling of escape and adventure and being alone with nature that it brings. Time to think and soak up the wonder and stuff. (I cycle a bit wide-eyed at times). Otherwise it would be just a run-of-the-mill long ride with deadlines - rushing to get started and eye-on-the-clock to get home by a certain time. Go for the big one, I say. You can have little 'uns any time.

Great stuff RV. A perfect explanation of the joys of long distance cycle touring, couldn't have put it better.