Dublin to Galway or other way round ?

killalanerr

The race season is winding down for me so this is a trip i have wanted to do for a while, as normal no planing I'm just going to go next week if the weather looks ok
My preference would be Dublin Galway with a few scoops and bus it back the next day but what way are the winds normally,I don't want to be doing battle with a head wind for over 200km
If anyone wants to tag along your more than welcome keeping in mind I'm aiming for a 28ish kph average

godtabh

killalanerr wrote: »

The race season is winding down for me so this is a trip i have wanted to do for a while, as normal no planing I'm just going to go next week if the weather looks ok
My preference would be Dublin Galway with a few scoops and bus it back the next day but what way are the winds normally,I don't want to be doing battle with a head wind for over 200km
If anyone wants to tag along your more than welcome keeping in mind I'm aiming for a 28ish kph average

It's easier Galway -Dublin. The wind will in your favour then. Depending on the day 28km/h should be easily doable

Wishbone Ash

godtabh wrote: »

... Depending on the day 28km/h should be easily doable

If he gets the normal westerly, I've no doubt he'll sicken us all and probably average 33km/h.

WillyFXP

Been almost constant SE wind the last few days here in the Wesht....

EDIT: Just checked the forecast, westerly for the next week

Euro Fred

Whats the most popular route when doing this?

godtabh

Euro Fred wrote: »

Whats the most popular route when doing this?

Old N4/N6. Thats what I do anyways

Subcomandante Marcos

Euro Fred wrote: »

Whats the most popular route when doing this?

When I've done it I tend to go Galway - Attymon - Ballinasloe - Athlone - Moate - Ballynagore - Rochfortbridge - Kinnegad - Enfield - Maynooth - Lucan - Down along the Canal into Dublin CC.

Keeps you off main roads for most of the trip.

L'Enfer du Nord

When I did it went past Clonmacnoice and crossed the Shannon at Shannonbridge in order to avoid the sprawl of Athlone. The prevailing wind is certainly in the other direction and we were into the wind all the way, but it wasn't very strong unless we were heading south west.

The thing the swung it for me was that I'd rather arrive tired in little Galway than cycle tired for 15 km across Dublin at night (on a Saturday to boot).

killalanerr

Thank you for the replies,so the plan now will be to bus it to Galway the night before then have an early start the next day ,I will be heading back to the north county so going to Dublin city will not be an issue for me,I have penciled in next tue and wen
It would be nice to have a coast to coast knocked off the the bucket list to add to the lap of the lough,the rind of kerry, miz to malin,now if only I could get that IC medal to add to the list.To many variables involved in that one but I will keep plugging away
.

Luxman

i did this last year, Galway to Dublin with a southerly wind so not helping that much. Added about 10k to the trip with a wrong turn, but actually this was the best bit of the trip (trying to locate a route back to the planned road). Had a sambo in Athlone and from there its as boring as hell (on your own) so if you can get some company , then do. All in all 211k with 28.5 avg.

Koobcam

Why not do both directions?:)

flazio

How are you planning to cross the Shannon? Bypass or through town?

quozl

I'm planning on doing this on Saturday morning with a friend. Train down then cycle home.

killalanerr

flazio wrote: »

How are you planning to cross the Shannon? Bypass or through town?

Why don't you do it yourself one way is enough thank you,

I tend not to over plan I have I'm thinking the r446 through the town as I plan to stop also considering Lanesborough as home is a good bit north of the city , why do you ask ?

killalanerr

quozl wrote: »

I'm planning on doing this on Saturday morning with a friend. Train down then cycle home.

Best of luck let me know how you get on,

flazio

killalanerr wrote: »

Why don't you do it yourself one way is enough thank you,

I tend not to over plan I have I'm thinking the r446 through the town as I plan to stop also considering Lanesborough as home is a good bit north of the city , why do you ask ?

The thought of using the dual carriageway scares me and the traffic management systems in Athlone messes up my flow. I tend to divert after Loughrea towards Portumna, cross the Shannon there, head on to Birr then to Tullamore then back to the old N6 at Kinnegad. Nice roads, a bit hilly but quiet mostly.

Bloggsie

Good luck, I will be with you in spirit as I type away on the PC I am chained to 5 days a week.

mr spuckler

flazio wrote: »

The thought of using the dual carriageway scares me and the traffic management systems in Athlone messes up my flow. I tend to divert after Loughrea towards Portumna, cross the Shannon there, head on to Birr then to Tullamore then back to the old N6 at Kinnegad. Nice roads, a bit hilly but quiet mostly.

the bypass in Athlone is fairly harmless imo, but each to their own. does that route through portumna add much distance to the journey?

agreed on another poster saying athlone to dublin being boring for the most part. only gets interesting when the road narrows and you have no hard shoulder!

Midnight64

When I did it I was told it was downhill all the way from Galway, don't believe it!

Bloggsie

Did Dublin to Athlone a couple of years ago in a group so it wasnt so bad, on your matt malone it could be as boring as fcuk though.

mr spuckler

Bloggsie wrote: »

Did Dublin to Athlone a couple of years ago in a group so it wasnt so bad, on your matt malone it could be as boring as fcuk though.

it is, i'm from Athlone and live in Dublin so have cycled down home a fair few times. gets worse when fitness is poor and you're struggling badly, nothing to distract you!

-K2-

I did Galway-Dublin last year. Good tailwind and flat roads.

https://www.strava.com/activities/168630172

godtabh

mr spuckler wrote: »

it is, i'm from Athlone and live in Dublin so have cycled down home a fair few times. gets worse when fitness is poor and you're struggling badly, nothing to distract you!

I went down last year one time thinking the weather isnt the best but it'll be grand. It got worse and worse and worse. Had to call the wife after 115km into a strong headwind. Only time I havent made it down

Bloggsie

mr spuckler wrote: »

it is, i'm from Athlone and live in Dublin so have cycled down home a fair few times. gets worse when fitness is poor and you're struggling badly, nothing to distract you!

The thoughts of a warm shower, Pints & a big Ruby Murray usually are enough to keep me going, no matter were I am going(got home one day as a piece of roast beef was being taken out of the oven to rest, enough time for a shower & then eat)

devonp

Bloggsie wrote: »

Did Dublin to Athlone a couple of years ago in a group so it wasnt so bad, on your matt malone it could be as boring as fcuk though.

tell me about it...did 121Km to nealy Ballinasloe a few weeks back with a headwind
i intend to do galway before the summers out:D, i'll pick my day carefully east SE NE wind and earplugs for some company

Bloggsie

sod it get the bus, have a skinfull in Galway head home the following day in ribbons!

FullGasCycle

I'm dying to do this cycle. I did Dublin-Westport last summer and Galway is my target this year. Post up how your your cylce goes.

imurdaddy

I did a charity cycle from Dublin to Galway about 5/6 years ago and I have to say it was hell! Pi$$ing rain and a savage wind from the west all day, even got lashed with hail stones around Athlone, the only saving grace was been able to shelter in the bunch for a few minutes, solo would have been impossible that day?

Enjoy your cycle!

quozl

Doing this in the morning so just writing up a cue-sheet as a backup to my Garmin and phone.

I'm going to be going through Blue Ball and Kilcock - seems kind of suitable for a 9 hour cycle

shansey

How do you carry clothes etc??

whacker00

quozl wrote: »

Doing this in the morning so just writing up a cue-sheet as a backup to my Garmin and phone.

I'm going to be going through Blue Ball and Kilcock - seems kind of suitable for a 9 hour cycle

Best of Luck

killalanerr

killalanerr wrote: »

Thank you for the replies,so the plan now will be to bus it to Galway the night before then have an early start the next day ,I will be heading back to the north county so going to Dublin city will not be an issue for me,I have penciled in next tue and wen
It would be nice to have a coast to coast knocked off the the bucket list to add to the lap of the lough,the rind of kerry, miz to malin,now if only I could get that IC medal to add to the list.To many variables involved in that one but I will keep plugging away
.

Im not sure if I will make this now i took a big hopper in a race during the week and the body is a bit 2nd hand just now, i,ll see how I'm feeling next week
:mad:

quozl

A friend and I cycled from Galway to Dublin on Saturday - https://www.strava.com/activities/364388939

Got the 7:35 am train down after booking the the 2 bike spots and got home by 7pm. It was very enjoyable. I took some of the advice from this thread and went Shannonbridge instead of Athlone. The route was nice - good roads and not too boring.

We got good weather for it - almost no wind turning into a mild SSW wind. So not much help but definitely not a hindrance. I wouldn't like to do it into a head-wind, especially with just 1 or 2 people.

mr spuckler

quozl wrote: »

A friend and I cycled from Galway to Dublin on Saturday - https://www.strava.com/activities/364388939

Got the 7:35 am train down after booking the the 2 bike spots and got home by 7pm. It was very enjoyable. I took some of the advice from this thread and went Shannonbridge instead of Athlone. The route was nice - good roads and not too boring.

We got good weather for it - almost no wind turning into a mild SSW wind. So not much help but definitely not a hindrance. I wouldn't like to do it into a head-wind, especially with just 1 or 2 people.

did you carry a bag or just stuff extra gear from train journey into pockets? especially curious about shoes!

quozl

I wore my road shoes with cleat covers and wore my cycling gear on the train - leg and arm warmers are good to have with you anyway and keep you warm on the train. I cycled to Heuston station to get the train so there's nothing really needed apart from the usual stuff you'd have on a long cycle. It's all very handy

devonp

quozl wrote: »

A friend and I cycled from Galway to Dublin on Saturday - https://www.strava.com/activities/364388939

Got the 7:35 am train down after booking the the 2 bike spots and got home by 7pm. It was very enjoyable. I took some of the advice from this thread and went Shannonbridge instead of Athlone. The route was nice - good roads and not too boring.

We got good weather for it - almost no wind turning into a mild SSW wind. So not much help but definitely not a hindrance. I wouldn't like to do it into a head-wind, especially with just 1 or 2 people.

planning on doing this Dub to Gway ; whats the rd like Athenry to Ballinasloe?(via Kilconnell/New Inn) and the Shannonbridge bit(where did u turn off to go this way)

good going

quozl

The exact routes in that strava link - I don't know the area at all so did it based on suggestions here and mapping it on strava to put in my garmin for navigation.

I'd consider it very good roads the whole way but I do spend all my cycling time in the Wicklow mountains so my standards aren't that high!

Esroh

devonp wrote: »

planning on doing this Dub to Gway ; whats the rd like Athenry to Ballinasloe?(via Kilconnell/New Inn) and the Shannonbridge bit(where did u turn off to go this way)

good going

Roads would be pretty good Athenry to Balliasloe.. Those roads were used alot for trucks when building the Motorway and have been resurfaced. Not overly busy but narrow enough in places

coppinger

Did this dublin to galway with a headwind and it was crazy slow -
strava.com/activities/253633404 - its much easier the other way with a tailwind

killalanerr

Today it is so,
I needed a bit of r+r after my racing crash but I'm going to tackle this to day, looking forward to it .......I think!

cdaly_

Have fun...

killalanerr

cdaly_ wrote: »

Have fun...

Done and dusted 230km a long day but happy to have it off the bucket list

cdaly_

Well done. Now for your next challenge...

killalanerr

cdaly_ wrote: »

Well done. Now for your next challenge...

I don't know may be theres a Ras in me :eek:

devonp

Dublin Galway
I'll sneak this one in as i did Leixlip Salthill
N4 N6 to Ballinasloe then the scenic route on the old old Galway Rd, those old enough will know what i mean:)
https://www.strava.com/activities/415687904

made it back to near Horseleap next day to pick up a lift
https://www.strava.com/activities/415687907

hopefully something left for the Dying Light next week

Qualitymark

If you went Galway-Roscommon-Mullingar-Dublin, would that be more scenic, and not that much longer? And can you follow the Royal Canal all the way from Mullingar to Dublin?