Route: South Dublin to Galway

25sean

Looking for a route from Dublin, south coast to Kinvarra, Galway.

Google maps gives me plenty of primary road etc but looking for something more scenic.. anyone from midland/west clubs have any sections of their training spins?

Is the Grand Canal any good?

Would like to avoid the Curragh, I've spent plenty of time on it battling headwinds.. bad for morale...

any stretches, sections much appreciated....

grmíle

OleRodrigo

Having done this a few times, there are couple of options:

1. Across to Heuston, make your way out the N4 Lucan, turn on to the R148 and keep going until Kinnegad, then the R446 to Craughwell, then left on the R347 to Kinvarra. Its grand but exposed to the headwind in places and a bit boring.

2. Same as above but take a left at Enfield along through Edenderry and to Clara. Then, straight out to Gort and up to Kinvara. From Clara to Kinvarra this route is part of the Celtic Knot 1000 ( on the website or PM for more info ). About 218 km.

25sean

number 2 looks the better alright... I just see the cycle path from Athlone to Mullingar....

getting out of Dublin you dont mind putting the head down and doing a couple of hours...

OleRodrigo

Yeah, second option is better. Its not so bad to Enfield. Depending on the time of day you might get artic lorries avoiding the motorway fees, but once you're off that stretch its quiet enough.

Planet X

http://cycle.travel/

This, I find, is one of the best sites for mapping a route from A to B, or A to B and back again. It is auto routing, avoids main roads where possible, takes a more rural route, avoids, where possible, major climbs.
You CANNOT plot a route yourself.

It'll also do a return route, different from outward.

I used this site to do my Rapha Festive 500 over Christmas. It'll route you instantly saving you hours of plotting for eg., Ride With GPS.

Have a look.

ford2600

Planet X wrote: »

http://cycle.travel/

This, I find, is one of the best sites for mapping a route from A to B, or A to B and back again. It is auto routing, avoids main roads where possible, takes a more rural route, avoids, where possible, major climbs.
You CANNOT plot a route yourself.

It'll also do a return route, different from outward.

I used this site to do my Rapha Festive 500 over Christmas. It'll route you instantly saving you hours of plotting for eg., Ride With GPS.

Have a look.

Just used that for a route I've done 10 times a year for 4-5 years.

It's from west Waterford to Crosshaven; it basically involves either climbing knockmealdowns or going eat or west of them, climbing out of Suir Valley, crossing Blackwater, Bride and Lee Valleys before getting to Owenboy river.

I've done it a lot of different ways, but never the way that site linked. Really interesting route, really quite roads and it avoided the highest way through Knockmealdowns, high point of 210m (versus 300,330,420m) for well known routes but fcuk was it a lumpy route.

1300m total climbing versus a typical 900-1100m for 100km odd

OleRodrigo

The prevailing winds are southerlies/ westerlies. Easterlies aren't that common but they have been recently.

nilhg

An alternative for the OP, avoiding the need to go north and that horrible Enfield road,

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/18950940/

I know all the roads there as far as Birr, if you wanted to make it a little less flat and a bit more interesting you could turn up the Cut in Clonaslee, then over the Wolftrap and back into Kinnity.

The only reason to go into Naas is to avoid the Curragh, personally I'd go out by Punchestown, Athgarvan, Ballymany, and on through Kildare and Monasterevin into Portarlington, but much of a muchness really.

Edit, I started my route at rathcoole, wouldn't be great on routing out of Dublin