Best Road Bike Route - Dublin to Galway?

Paddy McGinty

A large group of us cycled Mizen to Malin a few weeks back and now a handful of us are proposing to do Dublin to Galway, just so that we can say "we've cycled the length and breadth of Ireland!"

Not interested in the most easterly or westerly points etc, probably looking to start from Dublin Port and finish at Salthill, utilising good cycling roads but also trying to avoid dual-carriageways etc as much as possible. I'm not sure on the pros and cons of using Greenways or other cycle paths as we'd prefer to pass through towns and villages - unless there are pubs on those Greenways?!!!

We'll do it over a Saturday/Sunday, with a B&B stopover around the halfway mark on the Saturday night, ideally somewhere between Athlone and Tullamore.

Be great to hear from cyclists who've done something similar or anyone who can give us some useful pointers on what to include or avoid. Thanks in anticipation.

magicbastarder

haven't done it on a bike, but a lot of the old main road is lovely and wide and very quiet, mainly between (IIRC) enfield and maybe moate or athlone.

Weepsie

I'd probably go Dublin TO Athlone via Mullingar then if you're spitting it up a bit that way. You'd pass through or close enough to Leixlip, Maynooth, Kilcock, Enfield, Kinnegad and CLonard. Could follow the canal at sections and then do the last stretch to Athlone on the Greenway.

and if you're going via Leixlip, I would go around the back of it and behind Carton House. Nicer, if narrower road.

Paddy McGinty

Cheers for that Magic... when you say "old main road" I'm assuming you mean it's since been replaced with sections of motorway/bypasses? If so that sound perfect.

Weepsie

Also from there, though its a bit further you could go to Moylough-Abbeyknockmoy and into Galway via the there. The stretch from Moylough to the N84 has been resurfaced at some point in the last few years. I've cycled it the other direction and it's a good. Galway itself I hate cycling near though/ The n83 is busy but has a hard shoulder.

magicbastarder

Paddy McGinty wrote: »

Cheers for that Magic... when you say "old main road" I'm assuming you mean it's since been replaced with sections of motorway/bypasses? If so that sound perfect.

yep, e.g.

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.394096,-7.363263,3a,75y,71.67h,82.61t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1ssArqdv3n-UNngKXQie1XAQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DsArqdv3n-UNngKXQie1XAQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D312.27826%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100

mr spuckler

magicbastarder wrote: »

haven't done it on a bike, but a lot of the old main road is lovely and wide and very quiet, mainly between (IIRC) enfield and maybe moate or athlone.

There's a longish stretch (13km or so) between Kinnegad and Rochfortbridge that has next to no hard shoulder. Other than that Kinnegad to Athlone is pretty quiet and on wide roads. In my experience of it though Leixlip to Kinnegad can be much busier.

West of Athlone the old N6 should be pretty similar, wide roads & hard shoulder apart from one stretch near Aughrim iirc.

uncle-mofo

I'd recommend going Galway to Dublin and you're likely to have a tail wind the whole way.

mr spuckler

uncle-mofo wrote: »

I'd recommend going Galway to Dublin and you're likely to have a tail wind the whole way.

There is that - wind is an important factor alright!

mr spuckler

My advice fwiw would be greenway from Enfield / Moyvalley to Athlone and roads from Athlone to Galway. Especially with a group the greenway should be very enjoyable and is so peaceful compared with being on the road.

There's a pub at Moyvalley (Furey's) which does food and is a popular trucker stop. Nanny Quinns is further along and is directly on the canal / greenway. Then you'll reach Mullingar and can either circle around the town on the greenway or else dip into the town and rejoin the greenway later. Between Mullingar and Athlone there's not a whole lot that's easy to access other than Moate, though that's only around 12km from Athlone.

West of Athlone there's no greenway so would be old main N6 or back roads. My recommendation would be the old N6 but that's really because that's the only road I'd know in that direction which I'd cycle on.

Don Juan II

I'd recommend making a decision on the direction you go (Galway-Dublin or Dublin-Galway) on the night before and make that decision based on the forecasted wind direction. The hotel/b&b will still be the same, roughly in the middle.


Regarding route - Galway to Athlone will be easy, just take the old Dublin road.
From Galway, that would be:
Galway -> Oranmore -> Craughwell -> Loughrea->Athlone
It's a pretty good surface and the road is wide and quiet with a hard shoulder for 99% of it. Don't take the ring road around Athlone - go through the town. The ring road is pretty dangerous.

From Athlone to Dublin, I'm not sure. I've done it a few time and each time I've taken a different route but everytime I reach Maynooth/Leixlip the roads get VERY busy (maybe that's because I'm the country cousin not used to traffic).
I'd recommend taking some/all of the cycle route from Athlone towards Mullingar.

poochiem

I've done it a couple of times from Dublin to Moylough which is kind of on the Athlone-Ballinasloe-Galway old road. Basically up the canal after Chapelizod and all the way to Mullingar then the greenway to Athlone and then the roads from there. Mullingar could be a halfway point perhaps. I was taking it in one day although I've camped along the canal and down by Lough Owel as well. Other advice here is good. I don't like the Galway roads for cycling to be honest.

Paddy McGinty

Thanks very much to you all, plenty of good stuff in there...