Slieve Bloom Spin

Koobcam

I'm thinking about a long spin in the Slieve Blooms tomorrow (Newbridge out to the Cut, Wolftrap and back) and will obviously need a nice spot for coffee/lunch etc. Anyone got any recommendations? Kinnitty Castle is potentially on the route, are there tea rooms or a cafe there possibly?

Ansconeio Flanderas

AFAIK the bar in Kinnitty Castle has a basic menu, but I have been caught out there in the past where on arrival I have been told that the kitchen was closed. Maybe give them a call before hand. That failing, there is a small tea room in Cadamstown, a few km from Kinnitty, and you should be able to find something in Clonaslee.
Be warned that I was up that direction over the weekend and the section of relatively recently resurfaced tarmac on the decent from Wolftrap to Kinnitty has a fine layer of green slime on it in the corners which makes it particularly slippy (I can't post URLs due to post count but the section is at 53.091884,-7.674152).

nilhg

Koobcam wrote: »

I'm thinking about a long spin in the Slieve Blooms tomorrow (Newbridge out to the Cut, Wolftrap and back) and will obviously need a nice spot for coffee/lunch etc. Anyone got any recommendations? Kinnitty Castle is potentially on the route, are there tea rooms or a cafe there possibly?

The choice is small once you go up into the Blooms, there are two pubs in Kinnity but I'm not sure if they're open during the day weekdays and in my experience more often than not not open morning times Saturday and Sunday.

If you're coming back the lower road instead of over the mountains again then Kinnity castle is an option or there is a Texaco garage back nearer Clonaslee and a Londis in the town itself, I think both have delis but don't hold me to that and there is a pub thaere that might be open.

Apart from that maybe stock up/top up in Mountmellick on the way out and back?

I'd be interested to see how you get on, I'd be hoping to be up there plenty again this year.

Koobcam

Ansconeio Flanderas wrote: »

AFAIK the bar in Kinnitty Castle has a basic menu, but I have been caught out there in the past where on arrival I have been told that the kitchen was closed. Maybe give them a call before hand. That failing, there is a small tea room in Cadamstown, a few km from Kinnitty, and you should be able to find something in Clonaslee.
Be warned that I was up that direction over the weekend and the section of relatively recently resurfaced tarmac on the decent from Wolftrap to Kinnitty has a fine layer of green slime on it in the corners which makes it particularly slippy (I can't post URLs due to post count but the section is at 53.091884,-7.674152).

I'm undecided as to whether to do the cut followed by wolftrap, or the other way around-I know the descent of the cut towards Clonaslee is always covered in gravel, hence the plan to go up that side and then the wolftrap, descending towards Kinnitty/Kinnitty Castle/wherever has food and coffee. Green slime sounds a bit dodgy, but then again, the Slieve Blooms are not noted for the stellar quality of road surfaces.

Koobcam

nilhg wrote: »

The choice is small once you go up into the Blooms, there are two pubs in Kinnity but I'm not sure if they're open during the day weekdays and in my experience more often than not not open morning times Saturday and Sunday.

If you're coming back the lower road instead of over the mountains again then Kinnity castle is an option or there is a Texaco garage back nearer Clonaslee and a Londis in the town itself, I think both have delis but don't hold me to that and there is a pub thaere that might be open.

Apart from that maybe stock up/top up in Mountmellick on the way out and back?

I'd be interested to see how you get on, I'd be hoping to be up there plenty again this year.

Texaco garage sounds like a plan if there's nothing in the castle. I'll stock up at home and then do the coffee & cake bit when the climbing is done and the wind is at my back.

nilhg

Koobcam wrote: »

Texaco garage sounds like a plan if there's nothing in the castle. I'll stock up at home and then do the coffee & cake bit when the climbing is done and the wind is at my back.

It's not a huge place, don't be expecting too much.

https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.152111,-7.555682,3a,75y,21.95h,87.52t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1ssSByDGiU16bv7QOKtypTGw!2e0

Koobcam wrote: »

I'm undecided as to whether to do the cut followed by wolftrap, or the other way around-I know the descent of the cut towards Clonaslee is always covered in gravel, hence the plan to go up that side and then the wolftrap, descending towards Kinnitty/Kinnitty Castle/wherever has food and coffee. Green slime sounds a bit dodgy, but then again, the Slieve Blooms are not noted for the stellar quality of road surfaces.

My favourite climb down there is back up out of Kinnity to the Wolftrap, especially the lower bits on the woods. Road surfaces have improved, I was down there recently, coming back down the Cut to Clonaslee is mostly OK, at least till you get back near the bottom.

https://www.strava.com/activities/254740612/analysis

If you feel strong on the way home it's not far out of your way to the Ridge of Capard, that'll get the heart beating...

Koobcam

nilhg wrote: »

It's not a huge place, don't be expecting too much.

https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.152111,-7.555682,3a,75y,21.95h,87.52t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1ssSByDGiU16bv7QOKtypTGw!2e0



My favourite climb down there is back up out of Kinnity to the Wolftrap, especially the lower bits on the woods. Road surfaces have improved, I was down there recently, coming back down the Cut to Clonaslee is mostly OK, at least till you get back near the bottom.

https://www.strava.com/activities/254740612/analysis

If you feel strong on the way home it's not far out of your way to the Ridge of Capard, that'll get the heart beating...

I think two climbs plus around 150km distance will do the job for tomorrow, I'll leave the extras for another day. That Texaco does look a bit barren, maybe I'll just stop in Mountmellick on the way back, big enough place, must be something half decent there

pointer28

I've never had a problem in Kinnitty Castle, even when the place was empty on a weekday I still managed to get a sandwich and a coffee in comfortable surroundings. Not the cheapest but not horrendously expensive either and I always found the food to be very good quality.

Also, they're very cycle friendly and happy for you to park there too once you don't take over the whole place or strip off your bibs while there's a wedding photo shoot in progress.

Koobcam

pointer28 wrote: »

I've never had a problem in Kinnitty Castle, even when the place was empty on a weekday I still managed to get a sandwich and a coffee in comfortable surroundings. Not the cheapest but not horrendously expensive either and I always found the food to be very good quality.

Also, they're very cycle friendly and happy for you to park there too once you don't take over the whole place or strip off your bibs while there's a wedding photo shoot in progress.

Thanks for the info, this is more-or-less the type of thing I was looking for-I don't mind paying a bit extra as long as the food is half decent and the surroundings nice. Think I'll head in that direction on the way back and hopefully they will be open for business.

Dono1975

Looks like a cracking route. Where exactly are the Cut and the Wolf trap climbs if I'm heading towards Kinnity from Clonaslee ? over the Slieve Bloms ?

I cant find them on Google maps

Thanks
dono1975

nilhg

Dono1975 wrote: »

Looks like a cracking route. Where exactly are the Cut and the Wolf trap climbs if I'm heading towards Kinnity from Clonaslee ? over the Slieve Bloms ?

I cant find them on Google maps

Thanks
dono1975

As you approach Clonaslee from Rosanalis there is a garage, take a left turn there and you are immediately on the climb up to The Cut, when you go over the top and down the other side you'll eventually come to a T junction, you turn right there and follow the R440 over the climb of the Wolftrap and down into Kinnity.

Should all be on the strava link I posted above.

Dono1975

Thanks for that Nilhg

Koobcam

Dono1975 wrote: »

Looks like a cracking route. Where exactly are the Cut and the Wolf trap climbs if I'm heading towards Kinnity from Clonaslee ? over the Slieve Bloms ?

I cant find them on Google maps

Thanks
dono1975

The Cut (going north to south ish) starts just before Clonaslee, if you are heading in a westerly direction on the R422. There are those brown tourist signs saying Slieve Bloom way every now and then. The climb of the Cut is around 7-8km, then you have a descent until you meet the R440. You take that road , turning right towards Kinnitty, heading over Wolftrap and down again either to Kinnitty or Kinnitty Castle. My plan then is flat roads and a taliwind back to Kildare. I haven't done the Wolftrap climb before, so looking forward to that. The roads around the Slieve Blooms wouldn't be the best surface-wise, but the scenery is really great. I think it's really one of the hidden outdoor gems in the Eastern part of Ireland.

Dono1975

Cheers Koobcam ill give that a go in a few weeks

Stevieg2009

Koobcam wrote: »

The Cut (going north to south ish) starts just before Clonaslee, if you are heading in a westerly direction on the R422. There are those brown tourist signs saying Slieve Bloom way every now and then. The climb of the Cut is around 7-8km, then you have a descent until you meet the R440. You take that road , turning right towards Kinnitty, heading over Wolftrap and down again either to Kinnitty or Kinnitty Castle. My plan then is flat roads and a taliwind back to Kildare. I haven't done the Wolftrap climb before, so looking forward to that. The roads around the Slieve Blooms wouldn't be the best surface-wise, but the scenery is really great. I think it's really one of the hidden outdoor gems in the Eastern part of Ireland.

Was up there last week roads were ok cold coming down off them,the trap I find is the worst at the start but ok towards the middle and end roads are better on the trap then the cut enjoy the spin

andy69

if ye wanted a bit of a loop, then when ye come down off the Wolftrap and into Kinnitty, take the left in the village (little crossroads, sort of at the 'village green' so to speak).
Takes you south to Roscrea - but not on the R421, although it does join up with that near Roscrea. Savage hard little road, about 13kms of either 10% up or 10% down, hardly any flat on it. No mountains, just little hills.

From Roscrea then ye can head east back for home via Borris and Mountrath. From there ye have the choice of routes back via Portlaoise/Monasterevin or via Mountmellick etc

Might be a bit much, mileage-wise, just to get in that little 13km stretch of road though

Enjoy! I'm heading over there for a few spins over the coming weeks to get the legs used to climbing again!

Koobcam

Koobcam wrote: »

I'm thinking about a long spin in the Slieve Blooms tomorrow (Newbridge out to the Cut, Wolftrap and back) and will obviously need a nice spot for coffee/lunch etc. Anyone got any recommendations? Kinnitty Castle is potentially on the route, are there tea rooms or a cafe there possibly?

Koobcam wrote: »

I think two climbs plus around 150km distance will do the job for tomorrow, I'll leave the extras for another day. That Texaco does look a bit barren, maybe I'll just stop in Mountmellick on the way back, big enough place, must be something half decent there

depends what time you get into town. There's a few cafes/cake shops, a big supervalue with a cafe beside it too. The cafes will close early enough and theres also a Topaz garage with seating in it. The slime on the bottom of wolftrap is fine once you slow it down before reaching it. It starts about halfway down in the wooded area. Easier to warm up on the cut fists too, gentler gradient. Pity you didn't want to do that Saturday last. We did both and a few Kms for change and could have done with another rider along................... ah well.:)

Koobcam

Just finished the spin, pretty wet day, but at least the heavens didn't open and it wasn't cold. The Wolftrap is a nasty little climb, especially when you have a hunger knock, kind of similar to the Sally Gap from Blessington. Seems like maybe Offaly county council have more money to spend on their roads judging from a comparison of the surfaces on the Cut (Laois-bad)) and Wolftrap (Offaly-pretty good). I'll have to go back and do this spin on a day when I can actually see more than 50 metres in front of me.

Scall4life

Nice cycle there Koobcam. I'm local to the area and regularly cycle around the Slieve Blooms. The descent from the Cut towards Clonaslee is in a poor state and Laois County Council don't seem interested in spending much money on what is a lovely area.
I wouldn't say Offaly County Council are brilliant either. The Wolftrap is nicely surfaced near Kinnity but you should of seen it before it was surfaced.
The next time you are around you should try Glendine. Check it out on Strava. Much steeper than the Wolftrap if you approach the climb from the Laois side. Gradient approaches 20 percent for a short distance. Good surface on the climb but the descent once you get into Offaly is in awful condition.

Daroxtar

Thread is making me want to head over there......

nilhg

Koobcam wrote: »

Just finished the spin, pretty wet day, but at least the heavens didn't open and it wasn't cold. The Wolftrap is a nasty little climb, especially when you have a hunger knock, kind of similar to the Sally Gap from Blessington. Seems like maybe Offaly county council have more money to spend on their roads judging from a comparison of the surfaces on the Cut (Laois-bad)) and Wolftrap (Offaly-pretty good). I'll have to go back and do this spin on a day when I can actually see more than 50 metres in front of me.

Good going there, for a man with hunger knock you made fair time up the Wolftrap.

How did you fare with the food stops, it'd be nice to learn of somewhere decent?

Koobcam

nilhg wrote: »

Good going there, for a man with hunger knock you made fair time up the Wolftrap.

How did you fare with the food stops, it'd be nice to learn of somewhere decent?

I rang up Kinnitty Castle yesterday, turns out they are only open on weekends in the off-season. I planned to do the food thing in Mountmellick, but ended up just rolling on to Portarlington and stopping at a garage. I had a few missed calls from my other half and was pretty wet, so I just fuelled up quickly and kept going.I passed a few random garages on the way, but I'd say that Kinnitty Castle would be the best place for a luxury food stop, and there are a good few filling stations and one or two cafes in Mountmellick.

Koobcam

Daroxtar wrote: »

Thread is making me want to head over there......

I'd suggest waiting for sunshine, was really wet in the hills today, very poor visibility, so no opportunity to enjoy the views. Probably good to do with company as well, I was on my own and to be honest, it's a very isolated place, so if you get into difficulty you would have a hard time getting help.

benneca1

I also lived there. There is a mad climb to wolftrap from the offaly side up whores hill. It is the junction before Kinniyt as you come from Cadamstown. Great climb also but I like glendine too except the descent is terrible surface.

andy69

Koobcam wrote: »

...so no opportunity to enjoy the views...

yeah a pity you missed that moment just as you would crest the Wolftrap, and the world just seems to open up in front of you with a view as far as the eye can see - it is something special, I love seeing that.

well done, that's some going!!

Daroxtar

Anyone been over here recently? Probably going to head down in the morning, just wondering what the roads are like. I was thinking of parking in Kinnity, doing the Wolftrap, then over and back The Cut and then Glendine from the Laois side. If the legs are fkd when I get up top of Glendine I can descend into Offaly and cycle back the flat to Kinnity, or if im OK I could descend, come back up Glendine again and then do Wolftrap towards Kinnity. Option 1 is about 75km with 1500m, option 2 is about 100 km with 2200m. Any suggestions or advice?

devonp

did the wolftrap audax start of july, roads ok, coming from Laois side up the cut fine descent ok to wolftrap up the wolftrap ok but once over the top descending to kinnity rough enough first part, then its very smooth tarmac with a layer of shiny algae/moss which is very slippy , one guy crashed on this section i think (keep off the green stuff)

safe cycling

also saw there is a sportive from Tullamore sometime in Sept 125Km(4 peaks??) doing cutx2 wolftrap and glendine, (never been up glendine, very tough i heard?)

nilhg

Daroxtar wrote: »

Anyone been over here recently? Probably going to head down in the morning, just wondering what the roads are like. I was thinking of parking in Kinnity, doing the Wolftrap, then over and back The Cut and then Glendine from the Laois side. If the legs are fkd when I get up top of Glendine I can descend into Offaly and cycle back the flat to Kinnity, or if im OK I could descend, come back up Glendine again and then do Wolftrap towards Kinnity. Option 1 is about 75km with 1500m, option 2 is about 100 km with 2200m. Any suggestions or advice?

We usually park in Rosanallis and go from there, last time we did this,

https://www.strava.com/activities/348706543

but easy enough to slip over to the Laois side of the Glendine either

https://www.strava.com/activities/197506792

That was my only time up the Glendine, been meaning to get back up this year but never managed yet, one of our lads was up there though and he reports that the road conditions are the same as last year, ie: fine on the laois side and diabolical on the descent into Offaly, it's much worse than coming back down off Kippure or Turlough Hill, probably would be easier to go up cause you'll have more time to pick your line through the craters.

The climb up tothe Ridge of Capard is well worth considering too, probably steeper at its worst than the Glendine but maybe not as sustained.

One thing to consider too is that you won't get much quick food in Kinnity, there's no tea rooms (one pub might be open if you're close to lunchtime, but often not) or garage deli, one old style general store in the middle of the village has a burco boiler and does tea/instant coffee and you'll get biscuits/buns/fruit in there but only the prepacked stuff.

There is a Deli in the shop in Clonaslee, if you need it.

Great cycling area though, I love it and a great change from Wicklow, I'm near enough half way from both so nice to have the choice.

devonp wrote: »

did the wolftrap audax start of july, roads ok, coming from Laois side up the cut fine descent ok to wolftrap up the wolftrap ok but once over the top descending to kinnity rough enough first part, then its very smooth tarmac with a layer of shiny algae/moss which is very slippy , one guy crashed on this section i think (keep off the green stuff)

safe cycling

You can come down into Kinnity on the side road that heads toward Cadamstown, It's a lovely climb back up but coming down the road is patchy in places but certainly not smoth and slippy.

One of our lads came off on the bit devonP is referring to, so I'd be careful, the road invites pushing on, but there are the odd damp patches under the trees that catch you out.

devonp wrote: »

also saw there is a sportive from Tullamore sometime in Sept 125Km(4 peaks??) doing cutx2 wolftrap and glendine, (never been up glendine, very tough i heard?)

The Sean Kelly tour of the midlands is I think at the end of Sept/early Oct, takes in the Cut and Wolftrap, if you get any more details about the other on let us know, I'd be interested in that.

Daroxtar

Thanks for the info guys. I'll see how I get on in the morning, it's great planning a load of climbs from the flat of your couch but a different story when you're losing half a lung on a +10% section

I'd say this is the sportive http://tullamorecycling.com/
It's on the 30th of this month.

devonp

Pedal the peaks/ The Pat Colgan challenge
Tullamore cycling club
30 Aug;
sounds good but not sure i'd have anything left as i hope to do the long heron audax on 23rd (on a hybrid/MTB)

http://tullamorecycling.com/?page_id=1031

nilhg

Daroxtar wrote: »

Thanks for the info guys. I'll see how I get on in the morning, it's great planning a load of climbs from the flat of your couch but a different story when you're losing half a lung on a +10% section

10% is a veritable recovery section on the Glendine





I'd say this is the sportive http://tullamorecycling.com/
It's on the 30th of this month.[/QUOTE]

Going to be busy in the Blooms that morning so, the Cycle for SID from Portlaoise is going over the Cut then too.

http://laoiscycling.com/events/cycle-for-sid-sportive/

Enjoy your spin Daroxtar