Tell us about your new improved government regulations compliant cycle part II

Weepsie

DaveyDave wrote: »

What sort of laps are you doing there? Up and down Chesterfield Ave or going around the roads? Never thought of doing some laps there.

Most people would do loops either direction which is about 9km and then smaller loops on the Khyber loop/magazine fort which is about 3km maybe.

It gets a bit boring, but you've got the lower road near by and rugged lane, somerton Lan and tinkers hill to mix it up without venturing too far.

I'm temporarily staying with parents so doing a lap of the park en route and then looking for back roads between Lucan/leixlip/clonsilla. Some nice quiet roads I'd never known about,at least when I did them

rushfan

DaveyDave wrote:

What sort of laps are you doing there? Up and down Chesterfield Ave or going around the roads? Never thought of doing some laps there.

Usually enter at the Cabra gate, head up towards the roundabout at Mountjoy corner, over past Ordinance Survey, bypass the Furry Glen cos of walkers and dogs on extended leads, on down to gate at bottom of St Mary's hospital, around the back of the 15 acres, Magazine, cross Chesterfield Ave & past the zoo. 10km loops but it can be monotonous. Plus you need to have your wits about you around the zoo with car parking, reversing, etc

LennoxR

Mini bike trip in Co Cork this weekend. Got the train from Dublin to Cork city, on the Friday, cycled out to Skibbereen, stayed overnight and back to Cork the next day. About 85 km each way (plus or minus a few wrong turns). Had a bikepacking saddle bag which worked pretty well for most of the clothes etc and a small back pack for the rest. Backpack is handy but even nearly empty it does grate on your shoulders after a while.

It was reminder that local knowledge is a must when planning touring routes. First of all, Cork city: it ain't easy to get out of by bike. It seems every route out of the city is a really busy dual carriageway. I ended up taking the N71 as far as Bandon, which was frankly pretty terrifying. Plus there was a biblical downpour the whole time. After Bandon I got on the road to Enniskeane which wasn't so bad but still pretty busy (and the rain got worse) before finally finding some quiet roads via Drinagh to Skib.

On the way back I followed the R roads and after Bandon took the road through Crossbarry, which to be honest was also pretty busy. Then took the airport road back into Cork. Sweated over the climb which wasn't too hard, but the always seem harder when you're not expecting them. A nice long descent into the city followed, albeit on the N27 dualer, which was again, pretty scarifying.

Good little trip but I think to get the most out of touring you need to plan really well and use the little 'L' roads so that you can just potter along at your own pace. The dual carriageways are dicing with death and the R roads, while better are not that much better!

One more kind of wider observation ,while Skibbereen is beautiful prosperous looking town, towns like Bandon appear to be very run down and economically depressed. All the shops and cafes on the main street (which is dug up) seem to have closed down? Any insight Cork folks?

Passed through Bandon this morning on a spin to Clon and back to Cork, and you're right it's been badly hit. My understanding is that it's been badly flooded a number of times over the last decade and has struggled to get back on its feet. Businesses closed down and nothing replaced them as insurance was way too high or impossible to get with the constant threat of flooding. As you probably noticed they have done major works on the river which should hopefully solve the issue, but as you also probably noticed they did a really ugly job and what was once a beautiful river looks like a concrete canal now.

Weepsie

Down to Aughrim to visit the OH and her mother.

Got caught out by the half marathon in the park and took longer to get southside.

Got chatting to someone from Sorrento on old long hill and left them as I headed for Roundwood and they turned off.

Didn't bother stopping as legs felt good. Arrived an hour earlier than planned, could've done a few more km to get the 100.

85 km in 3h10 with 950 m up.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2609244774

LennoxR

Deleted User wrote: »

Passed through Bandon this morning on a spin to Clon and back to Cork, and you're right it's been badly hit. My understanding is that it's been badly flooded a number of times over the last decade and has struggled to get back on its feet. Businesses closed down and nothing replaced them as insurance was way too high or impossible to get with the constant threat of flooding. As you probably noticed they have done major works on the river which should hopefully solve the issue, but as you also probably noticed they did a really ugly job and what was once a beautiful river looks like a concrete canal now.

Yep. But also the main street is totally dug up and looks like it's been that way for months? The place needs some major investment. Which is a shame as its a very historic town.

shaka

80km with the club, back road cycling in wet conditions

McGrath5

Cycled on part of the Royal Canal for the first time, joined at lock 5 around Phibsborough. Made it out just past the M50 where the surface wasn’t really suitable for my road bike. Enjoyable none the less, 39km.

dahat

3hr round trip for a race which was abandoned after a serious crash, hope all are OK as it looked & sounded bad.

A quick 20km or so to spin the legs around Shannon.

LennoxR

LennoxR wrote: »

Yep. But also the main street is totally dug up and looks like it's been that way for months? The place needs some major investment. Which is a shame as its a very historic town.

The Main Street is closed to traffic until the 25th of the month as part of the drainage works. The place feels like a ghost town any time I pass through. It used to be a thriving, wealthy town as it is historically a garrison town and considered the gateway to west Cork

hesker

LennoxR wrote: »

Mini bike trip in Co Cork this weekend. Got the train from Dublin to Cork city, on the Friday, cycled out to Skibbereen, stayed overnight and back to Cork the next day. About 85 km each way (plus or minus a few wrong turns). Had a bikepacking saddle bag which worked pretty well for most of the clothes etc and a small back pack for the rest. Backpack is handy but even nearly empty it does grate on your shoulders after a while.

It was reminder that local knowledge is a must when planning touring routes. First of all, Cork city: it ain't easy to get out of by bike. It seems every route out of the city is a really busy dual carriageway. I ended up taking the N71 as far as Bandon, which was frankly pretty terrifying. Plus there was a biblical downpour the whole time. After Bandon I got on the road to Enniskeane which wasn't so bad but still pretty busy (and the rain got worse) before finally finding some quiet roads via Drinagh to Skib.

On the way back I followed the R roads and after Bandon took the road through Crossbarry, which to be honest was also pretty busy. Then took the airport road back into Cork. Sweated over the climb which wasn't too hard, but the always seem harder when you're not expecting them. A nice long descent into the city followed, albeit on the N27 dualer, which was again, pretty scarifying.

Good little trip but I think to get the most out of touring you need to plan really well and use the little 'L' roads so that you can just potter along at your own pace. The dual carriageways are dicing with death and the R roads, while better are not that much better!

One more kind of wider observation ,while Skibbereen is beautiful prosperous looking town, towns like Bandon appear to be very run down and economically depressed. All the shops and cafes on the main street (which is dug up) seem to have closed down? Any insight Cork folks?

Getting out of Cork is fairly easy via the Western Road if you want to avoid dual carriageways. At Victoria Cross you have a few options. You can follow the Carrigrohane straight road or you can go left there and choose from a couple more options. My preferred route to get away from traffic is to go left towards the Bandon Road roundabout and turn right before reaching it and head for Waterfall. Other times I will take the straight road and go to Kilumney skirting Ballincollig and then climb Begley’s Forge and drop down to Crossbarry.

From there you can route to West Cork via Kinsale, Timoleague and Clon if you have time on your hands.

Kilumney, Crossbarry, Bandon, Enniskeane, Reenaskreena, Cononagh, Leap, Skib is a less taxing route and fairly quiet apart from the Bandon to Enniskeane stretch which can be a bit hairy with truck overtakes at times.

P_1

Wee bop about Cork on the singlespeed. Somehow managed to winch my way up Patrick's Hill. Feck me that hurt!

Eamonnator

P_1 wrote: »

Wee bop about Cork on the singlespeed. Somehow managed to winch my way up Patrick's Hill. Feck me that hurt!

What gearing have you on the SS?

P_1

Eamonnator wrote: »

What gearing have you on the SS?

Not one that's suitable for hills anyway!

strmin

Did East Meath Cycle Tour. 99.8km at 34.3km/h average. My first sportive this year. Good day on a bike.

docker.io

No Cycle Yet, but today I am Starting Week 3 of the Zwift TT Tune Up

Jim Gazebo

First proper spin today. Out from the city in cork, down to passage and looped back over a few hills before returning via the line at mahon. Lovely day, and just avoided the rain showers. approx 35km but not tracked very well.

Mercian Pro

strmin wrote: »

Did East Meath Cycle Tour. 99.8km at 34.3km/h average. My first sportive this year. Good day on a bike.

That's some average for a route with plenty of hills in the second half. Could have done with a bit less of the busy R152 and a few more hundred metres to get it over the 100k. Very friendly volunteers and good signage throughout helped.

Seth Brundle

Cycling home this evening, I came across a fella on the Adamstown Rd who had a puncture. I had tyre levers so was able to help him out.
Afterwards I continued on my way for about 500m when my rear went just outside Finnstown Castle.
I put my spare tube on whilst it was absolutely bucketing down and went on my way again.
About 300m down the road (near SuperValu Lucan) I got a second puncture in my rear tyre.
Walked home to Leixlip and thankfully the rain held off.

Weepsie

Back home from Wicklow today. OH dropped me to Brittas and I took the coast road the rest of the way. Avoided most of the forecast thunder but got caught in a 10 min downpour between Wicklow and Rathnew.

Gabba did it's job, but had to throw on another layer to keep warm.

From shankhill was a real slog as I seemed to get nearly every traffic light . Got caught at 1 for 5 mins and then a level crossing too

78 km in 3h10. Tired legs from today and yesterday

https://www.strava.com/activities/2613245256

DaveyDave

Seth Brundle wrote: »

Cycling home this evening, I came across a fella on the Adamstown Rd who had a puncture. I had tyre levers so was able to help him out.
Afterwards I continued on my way for about 500m when my rear went just outside Finnstown Castle.
I put my spare tube on whilst it was absolutely bucketing down and went on my way again.
About 300m down the road (near SuperValu Lucan) I got a second puncture in my rear tyre.
Walked home to Leixlip and thankfully the rain held off.

It wouldn't be a two puncture kind of day without rain!

LennoxR

hesker wrote: »

Getting out of Cork is fairly easy via the Western Road if you want to avoid dual carriageways. At Victoria Cross you have a few options. You can follow the Carrigrohane straight road or you can go left there and choose from a couple more options. My preferred route to get away from traffic is to go left towards the Bandon Road roundabout and turn right before reaching it and head for Waterfall. Other times I will take the straight road and go to Kilumney skirting Ballincollig and then climb Begley’s Forge and drop down to Crossbarry.

From there you can route to West Cork via Kinsale, Timoleague and Clon if you have time on your hands.

Kilumney, Crossbarry, Bandon, Enniskeane, Reenaskreena, Cononagh, Leap, Skib is a less taxing route and fairly quiet apart from the Bandon to Enniskeane stretch which can be a bit hairy with truck overtakes at times.

See that's what I mean about local knowledge! I could've used a local guide like you.


Believe it or not that is more less what I had intended to do, but the signage wasn't great and nobody I stopped to ask seemed to know the road to Waterfall, plus is was bucketing down rain, so I ended up taking the course of least resistance and following the signs for Skibbereen and the N71.

Jim Gazebo

LennoxR wrote: »

Mini bike trip in Co Cork this weekend. Got the train from Dublin to Cork city, on the Friday, cycled out to Skibbereen, stayed overnight and back to Cork the next day. About 85 km each way (plus or minus a few wrong turns). Had a bikepacking saddle bag which worked pretty well for most of the clothes etc and a small back pack for the rest. Backpack is handy but even nearly empty it does grate on your shoulders after a while.

It was reminder that local knowledge is a must when planning touring routes. First of all, Cork city: it ain't easy to get out of by bike. It seems every route out of the city is a really busy dual carriageway. I ended up taking the N71 as far as Bandon, which was frankly pretty terrifying. Plus there was a biblical downpour the whole time. After Bandon I got on the road to Enniskeane which wasn't so bad but still pretty busy (and the rain got worse) before finally finding some quiet roads via Drinagh to Skib.

On the way back I followed the R roads and after Bandon took the road through Crossbarry, which to be honest was also pretty busy. Then took the airport road back into Cork. Sweated over the climb which wasn't too hard, but the always seem harder when you're not expecting them. A nice long descent into the city followed, albeit on the N27 dualer, which was again, pretty scarifying.

Good little trip but I think to get the most out of touring you need to plan really well and use the little 'L' roads so that you can just potter along at your own pace. The dual carriageways are dicing with death and the R roads, while better are not that much better!

One more kind of wider observation ,while Skibbereen is beautiful prosperous looking town, towns like Bandon appear to be very run down and economically depressed. All the shops and cafes on the main street (which is dug up) seem to have closed down? Any insight Cork folks?

Only just read this, fair play. I drove to clon on the Friday evening and it was absolutely shocking conditions. That cycle would terrify me.

Haven't stopped in Bandon in years and would have always stopped for a coffee. Now it is only if petrol is needed. It's a bit of an eyesore

LennoxR

Jim Gazebo wrote: »

Only just read this, fair play. I drove to clon on the Friday evening and it was absolutely shocking conditions. That cycle would terrify me.

Haven't stopped in Bandon in years and would have always stopped for a coffee. Now it is only if petrol is needed. It's a bit of an eyesore

Thanks. Yeah it's sad seeing Bandon like that. I actually stopped there on my return trip looking for a coffee and something to eat, but literally everything was closed down (like for good, or so it seemed) except a little newsagents where I got a coffee and a snickers. The town has a zombie apocalypse kind of vibe at the moment.

I didn't see many cyclists on my little trip to the rebel county. Maybe three or four on the Saturday (not counting commuters in the city). Were all the Cork cyclists on different, and better routes?

You'd see a lot more at the weekends in Wicklow, but it's probably not comparing like with like I suppose.

LennoxR

LennoxR wrote: »

Thanks. Yeah it's sad seeing Bandon like that. I actually stopped there on my return trip looking for a coffee and something to eat, but literally everything was closed down (like for good, or so it seemed) except a little newsagents where I got a coffee and a snickers. The town has a zombie apocalypse kind of vibe at the moment.

I didn't see many cyclists on my little trip to the rebel county. Maybe three or four on the Saturday (not counting commuters in the city). Were all the Cork cyclists on different, and better routes?

You'd see a lot more at the weekends in Wicklow, but it's probably not comparing like with like I suppose.

That road you took is not very popular as beyond Innishannon there is no hard shoulder - for the most part - and the traffic is very busy and fast. I've had a few hairy moments on it, even very early on a Sunday morning when it's much better.

Most people tend to head for Kinsale (turning off at the Halfway roundabout or turning off just before Innishannon) and on to loops around there, but I was out on Sunday morning in the same area you were in but on quieter roads and remarked to myself that I had never seen so many cyclists. I must have passed 60 or 70.

Next time you're down, make sure you ask for tips...

Jim Gazebo

[Deleted User] wrote: »

That road you took is not very popular as beyond Innishannon there is no hard shoulder - for the most part - and the traffic is very busy and fast. I've had a few hairy moments on it, even very early on a Sunday morning when it's much better.

Most people tend to head for Kinsale (turning off at the Halfway roundabout or turning off just before Innishannon) and on to loops around there, but I was out on Sunday morning in the same area you were in but on quieter roads and remarked to myself that I had never seen so many cyclists. I must have passed 60 or 70.

Next time you're down, make sure you ask for tips...

Yeah agree re the road. Rarely seen people cycle it, and reckon you'd have a death wish sadly. Seen a lot of people out and about alright, you were just on the wrong roads for them

smacl

LennoxR wrote: »

See that's what I mean about local knowledge!

I find having a garmin or similar that you can load routes into makes all the difference. Sketch up a route in Strava or mapmyride that avoids main roads before you leave so you've turn by turn navigation when you get there. Mooching google streets when you're planning the route also lets you take in any local points of interest. Personally, i prefer l-roads where possible on solo cycles even though the surface can be crap.

Utter Consternation

I got absolutely soaked and also sun burned on my 12km commute home yesterday.

Large bottle small glass

LennoxR wrote: »

See that's what I mean about local knowledge! I could've used a local guide like you.


Believe it or not that is more less what I had intended to do, but the signage wasn't great and nobody I stopped to ask seemed to know the road to Waterfall, plus is was bucketing down rain, so I ended up taking the course of least resistance and following the signs for Skibbereen and the N71.

You didn't need local knowledge or to ask here.

On basis of replies so far you would be much better with a labtop and a gps device/phone app and use local/L/county roads.

N71/R586(Bandon to Dunmanway road)/R600(Kinsale road) are all pretty horrible on a bike.

To get to south of Dunmanway (Reenascreena or similar) it is really easy to stay close to N71 but south of it, just popping up in Innishannon to cross bridge before disappearing again on L roads.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30832261

Something like that but there is an endless and better ways of doing it. I've ridden a lot but not all the roads on that route.

cycle.travel if you are prepared to pay for it is really good for someone in your position.

This is what it spat out
https://cycle.travel/map?from=cork&to=skibereen&fromLL=&toLL=

It used a section of my route following Bandon to south rather than R586, but other than that completely different

Large bottle small glass

Large bottle small glass wrote: »

You didn't need local knowledge or to ask here.

On basis of replies so far you would be much better with a labtop and a gps device/phone app and use local/L/county roads.

N71/R586(Bandon to Dunmanway road)/R600(Kinsale road) are all pretty horrible on a bike.

To get to south of Dunmanway (Reenascreena or similar) it is really easy to stay close to N71 but south of it, just popping up in Innishannon to cross bridge before disappearing again on L roads.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30832261

Something like that but there is an endless and better ways of doing it. I've ridden a lot but not all the roads on that route.

cycle.travel if you are prepared to pay for it is really good for someone in your position.

This is what it spat out
https://cycle.travel/map?from=cork&to=skibereen&fromLL=&toLL=

It used a section of my route following Bandon to south rather than R586, but other than that completely different

In my opinion, nothing beats asking someone who knows the roads and more importantly someone who has cycled them.

But of course it depends on what you are after - are you touring or looking to cover long distances quickly on a road bike?

I cycled from Cork to Glandore a few weeks ago using a route I mapped out on my laptop first and then followed using the GPS on my phone. I found it incredibly frustrating - not to mind slow! - following the tiny back roads and having to check my phone all the time, but each to their own I suppose.