Cycling Kippure - North Bog Access

Anyone done it? There seems to be a bog road at the North of Kippure with about 2km of "road" (link: https://goo.gl/maps/0mhje) and then about 2.5km of bog (see below). Am wondering if it'd be manageable on cyclocross - there seem to be plenty of hikers who walk that way.



Was considering heading up that way with a buddy at the weekend to scout it to see if it's possible, and if I get to the top come down the road to the gates.

Don't Chute!

I tried this last year on my mountain bike. I got as far as the of the 'road' you mention but i didn't fancy going any further. It was kind of hard to find where the track begins and looks very boggy around there. Might be ok on a mountain bike but i doubt very much if its suitable for cyclocross.

smacl

Went down a bit of it on the road bike last month for the craic, some pictures here and here. Looks like it could be good fun on a cross bike so long as there hasn't been too much rain. It gets very boggy as soon as you leave the gravel.

Micilin Muc

I have run this route for an Irish Mountain Running Association race. All I can remember is how soft the boggy sections were on the downhill and my ankles giving way every few minutes. I wouldn't even consider taking a cyclocross bike down it, you'd need the wider tyres of a mountain bike. It would be great craic for a downhill MTBer going down it, but nearly impossible to go up it, for me at least. Best to climb it by road!

Enduro

MTB only, and then preferably only when the ground is dry. Otherwise bring a good pair of walking shoes/boots. Best to go up the maintanance road and then down this route towards the featherbeds. If there is any mist/fog then you'll need proper navigation tools (map and compass or GPS), and the ability to use them, or else have no worries about ending up in Glenasmole via a random routing.

ThisRegard

Have you ever gone down from the summit by bike Enduro ? I'd imagine you could be arse over heals several times due to the amount of hidden bog holes on that route when you get away from near the top, and then closer to the river further down.

Enduro

I'm not 100% sure of the legalities of cycling the route. Some of the land nearby is definitely National Park, but I'm not sure of the route itself (So I won't directly answer the question, your honour!).

But I would say that its 99% cyclable when the route is nice and dry, even on an XC bike. There's 3 or 4 points where you'll definitely need to get off and carry the bike, but mostly it would be good to go.

Another good thing about the route, as you would know from hillrunning on the route, is that if do take a fall it mostly like landing on a matress. About as forgiving as you'll find anywhere.

ThisRegard

Enduro wrote: »

s that if do take a fall it mostly like landing on a matress. About as forgiving as you'll find anywhere.

That's exactly how I would describe it. Unless you're unfortunate to go down one of the deep bog holes, the sudden jolt bringing you to a stop is a sore bugger, like reverse whip lash.

pats22b

I was on the irma race up this way on the 04/10/2014.
it had been raining heavily the night before and the going was pretty tough
I'm no mountain biker but wouldn't have fancied going anywhere near it on a cyclocross - there some very large bogholes and the bog surface up towards the mast was constantly slipping under foot - felt like i was running towards that tower at the end of the first lord of the rings film.

Alek

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