Commuting from Blessington to City Center

OleRodrigo

Anyone commute in from Blessington ? Whats it like ?

rollingscone

OleRodrigo wrote: »

Anyone commute in from Blessington ? Whats it like ?

Sadly I'd moved away from Blessington by the time I discovered cycling.

But I know the roads well enough. My main concern would be Crooksling and the townland just after Crosschapel where the road narrows.

You could take the back road to Manor Kilbride for the first bit, not sure if the locals still drive at death wish speed on weekdays but it feels pretty safe when I'm on it now.

Crooksling could be avoided by going via Saggart but is actually a pretty safe descent apart from the y junction at the end. Again potential ropey drivers notwithstanding.

Once you get to Jobs town it's all pretty plain sailing although you might take the offroad cycle lane to avoid the M50 roundabout at busy times.

About 30-35k each way.

OleRodrigo

Right. Last time I came in that way the road was in bad nick - think it was the quarry just outside the town but I ended up covered in crap.

There's a few bottlenecks further down too (into town ) IIRC, again staying on the N81, once you hit Tallaght though its straightforward.

Might be worth looking at some of the side routes but it does add on some time by the looks of it..

rollingscone

OleRodrigo wrote: »

Right. Last time I came in that way the road was in bad nick - think it was the quarry just outside the town but I ended up covered in crap.

There's a few bottlenecks further down too (into town ) IIRC, again staying on the N81, once you hit Tallaght though its straightforward.

Might be worth looking at some of the side routes but it does add on some time by the looks of it..

The Lisheen road will bypass the Kilsaran plant too but does add a 2km dogleg. To get back to the N81.

Alternatively you could try to get at Dublin via Kilteel and (at least crossing) the N4?

OleRodrigo

Hmmmm.....that's not a bad idea.

I guess the N81 would be alright during peak hours but my experience was outside of those hours and not in Winter.

Rackstar

Madness unless you've a death wish. Trucks buzzing by shedding half their load on the way down the road spewing crap up in your face, lunatic drivers doing the craziest of overtaking manoeuvres.

OleRodrigo

I was afraid that might be the case alright.

Unknown Soldier

You might go by the lakes to manor Kilbride and then do the "last" bit via the N81 into Tallaght, even though the very last bit after City West can be quite stressful.

Though you could go back onto the N81 and then off again at Brittas and do Ballinascorney into Firhouse and make your way into town via Terenure etc. Avoiding the M50 roundie and the dual carriageway.

Or head out of Blessington and take the left where that statue is and end up in Kilteel and head over via Rathcoole/nangor road etc.

I'd probably do the Manor Kilbride/Ballinascorney/Firhouse route myself.

I'd rather a tough, relaxed and safe spin than a short one!

OleRodrigo

I agree. But I know during winter I'd rather a few more minutes in bed by taking the shortest route

Myself and the missus are considering a move out from the City Center and it seems the cheapest prices on the commuter belt have the hairiest commutes.

Unknown Soldier

OleRodrigo wrote: »

I agree. But I know during winter I'd rather a few more minutes in bed by taking the shortest route

I'd do whatever it takes to mean I get somewhere or home in one piece, on the bike.

I know that at any time of the year I'd prefer to get out of bed earlier, if it meant I was safer on the road


Though that theory failed me on the Walkinstown Roundabout in January. It actually went against me

OleRodrigo

I remember that. Its a rough area on a bike. City West to Terenure is as well, roundabouts are lethal.

laraghrider

Rackstar wrote: »

Madness unless you've a death wish. Trucks buzzing by shedding half their load on the way down the road spewing crap up in your face, lunatic drivers doing the craziest of overtaking manoeuvres.

I do it every day and have done for years and never had an incident.

I go straight N81 down through Tallaght and into Tempelogue and eventually Harrolds X up the quays and in. At times I'll vary the city center bit but it's normally N81 straight. Also at times on the way home for a bit extra hill work I'll go Balnascorney or Mount Seskin. It's savage training.

crosstownk

The N81 is probably not the most enjoyable road. That said, I use it regularly on spins and I find it doable. As others have said, you can divert via Manor Kilbride and Lisheens then Ballinascorney.

Winter will be a different story. You'll need to be well lit up on any road out that way on dark winter mornings and nights. In colder weather Lisheens is exposed and prone to ice. Some of the more sheltered roads around Manor Kilbride will also be icy in cold weather and may not thaw where shaded on very cold days.

On the plus side, the route back to Blessington will be great training.

laraghrider

crosstownk wrote: »

Winter will be a different story. You'll need to be well lit up on any road out that way on dark winter mornings and nights. In colder weather Lisheens is exposed and prone to ice. Some of the more sheltered roads around Manor Kilbride will also be icy in cold weather and may not thaw where shaded on very cold days.

This is the main issue. During winter the N81 can be very icy and slippery. I go from March to October full route. Nov - Feb driving to Tallaght, parking up and cycle from there.

OleRodrigo

Thanks fellas .

ThisRegard

I suppose you'd have to take into account your fitness level. While it may be great fun heading into the city, it may be a killer doing it every evening after work as it's deceptively uphill from Templeogue onwards.

crosstownk

ThisRegard wrote: »

I suppose you'd have to take into account your fitness level. While it may be great fun heading into the city, it may be a killer doing it every evening after work as it's deceptively uphill from Templeogue onwards.

Add the prevailing headwinds to that. The wind howls down that Tallaght Bypass!

ThisRegard

Yes, the bloody winds, how could I forget that. Another reason too why it's a flier commute into the city, but not vice versa. There was times I used to head via Crumln and Greenhills just to avoid the bypass.

OleRodrigo

I was commuting out to Citywest for a while, those winds can be fierce alright.

rollingscone

OleRodrigo wrote: »

I was commuting out to Citywest for a while, those winds can be fierce alright.

Just climb up from the lakes to the Gap every single morning and enjoy your license to stomp around on your superlegs screaming "BEEFCAKE!" as you kick cars across the road.

It's the commuting dream

Redderneck

Lived far side of Blessington and commuted into Tallaght area for a year and a half. Not a journey I'd fancy on a bike. In fact, I can remember on more than a few occasions saying to myself I wouldn't even fancy it on a mororbike during Winter months. You'd need to be properly fit to do it AND a bit of a bike-nut (my own technical term) IMHO rather then reasonably fit, reasonably experienced cycling commuter and banking on it improving your fitness.

The word 'committed' springs to mind. In a few different senses of the word.

Blessington's a grand spot, but deffo one where a car is required.

This said, there were two or three lads on decent bikes with bags on back suggesting they were commuting who I can recall passing regularly enough on the drive to/from...

ford2600

Redderneck wrote: »

You'd need to be properly fit to do it AND a bit of a bike-nut (my own technical term) IMHO rather then reasonably fit, reasonably experienced cycling commuter and banking on it improving your fitness.

The word 'committed' springs to mind.

1000km spin on a fixie I think OP qualifies..

smacl

OleRodrigo wrote: »

Myself and the missus are considering a move out from the City Center and it seems the cheapest prices on the commuter belt have the hairiest commutes.

Slightly off topic, but where else have you looked? Last time we moved (also out of the city centre), we more or less ignored location and just made list of what we wanted in the new locality. (e.g. nice parks in walking distance, shops in walking distance, not a rough area, handy for schools, etc...). When we were focussed on location initially, we were looking at Terenure, Rathgar, but ended up in Ballyboden and are well chuffed 10 years later. I think a pleasant and safe commute should be a reasonably high priority on choosing where you end up, as if you don't have this, it will take a huge amount of pleasure out of the new place.

OleRodrigo

smacl wrote: »

Slightly off topic, but where else have you looked? Last time we moved (also out of the city centre), we more or less ignored location and just made list of what we wanted in the new locality. (e.g. nice parks in walking distance, shops in walking distance, not a rough area, handy for schools, etc...). When we were focussed on location initially, we were looking at Terenure, Rathgar, but ended up in Ballyboden and are well chuffed 10 years later. I think a pleasant and safe commute should be a reasonably high priority on choosing where you end up, as if you don't have this, it will take a huge amount of pleasure out of the new place.

Same criteria as ourselves. As well as a good chance of bikes not getting nicked, a decent ride into work (but not too long ) would suit me. Lusk, Rush, Dunshaughlin, Leixlip, Naas, NewtownmtKennedy, Greystones...those points would be the furthest out in each direction. You seem to get more for your money at those points, especially heading out West.

tomasrojo

Proximity to decent public transport and walkability/cyclability were very high up my list when I was looking for a place. Rather damning of our society that these basic criteria can be hard to meet ... in a city!

I used to commute (until about 2001, so a good while ago) to Citywest via the Tallaght bypass (from Terenure and Kilmacud). It was absolutely fine, but I always cut through Jobstown. The Blessington road was very hazardous, I thought. Tried, very much in desperation, the footpath, but met a guy coming the other way on the footpath screaming to inform me that I was on the footpath. He was on a motorbike. So, took a right through Jobstown after that.

ROK ON

Ole

I think a lot of us cycle to Blessington without much drama - but that is mainly at weekends.
I had a day off work a few weeks back and cycled back to Dublin from Blessington. It was nuts. Road is very busy with trucks. Not one of them seemed to scrub off speed as they passed me. There are areas without hardshould where I was had the horn blown at me aggressively by van driven and trucks skimming past. By the time I got to Saggart turnoff I was pretty stressed out. If I had to commute that daily I know that I would be driving to work.

There are many places west of Dublin that while may be not as in a picturesque setting as Blessington have quieter roads to commute on plus better public transport should you need to.

If I was in your position I would be looking around Celbridge and Leixlip. Nice coutryside there and while you can commute in on the N4 (mostly fine) there are also plenty of adjacent side roads for a prettier commute.

This for me is not about danger per se but about stress. Im on the bike for a relaxing commute not a stressful one. best of luck with the search.

smacl

OleRodrigo wrote: »

Same criteria as ourselves. As well as a good chance of bikes not getting nicked, a decent ride into work (but not too long ) would suit me. Lusk, Rush, Dunshaughlin, Leixlip, Naas, NewtownmtKennedy, Greystones...those points would be the furthest out in each direction. You seem to get more for your money at those points, especially heading out West.

Sounds like you've thought it out pretty well already. FWIW, the place we ended up buying had a substantial shed out back that I converted into an office, whether that's a viable solution is obviously also depends on the job. I'd agree with ROK_ON that the last thing you want is to sandwich your working day between stressy commutes.

Redderneck

ford2600 wrote: »

1000km spin on a fixie I think OP qualifies..

Reckon that's fairly committed right enough. Still a hoor of a commute...

OleRodrigo

smacl wrote: »

Sounds like you've thought it out pretty well already. FWIW, the place we ended up buying had a substantial shed out back that I converted into an office, whether that's a viable solution is obviously also depends on the job. I'd agree with ROK_ON that the last thing you want is to sandwich your working day between stressy commutes.

Redderneck wrote: »

Reckon that's fairly committed right enough. Still a hoor of a commute...

I'll nip out some evening when I get a chance and perhaps do an early morning loop in and out to get a feel for it. My gut tells me the N81 will have its share of unpleasantness, but maybe not a showstopper. The side routes might be a little bit longer time wise - a delay in work with a strong headwind might see me get home close to 8pm on some nights.

On the plus side, more space might faciliate an N+1 and a dedicated winter hack with proper tyres to tackle any icy roads.