Ireland

[Karen in NY]

Grrr. I just spent a long time typing a message about Ireland and my post is not showing up!! I get an error message when I try to submit. What's the deal with that??

[administrator]

Administrator: I'm not sure why this post didn't appear -- this is new software and there may be a few kinks to work out. I was able to recover the post, shown below.

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Ireland is a wonderful place to go on a cylcling trip. The West coast is especially interesting, with challenging routes and nice little towns to stop in, beautiful, dramatic scenery, warm friendly people to meet along the way. In a week I will be doing my 5th tour there as a matter of fact! I will be in the SW - the Ring of Kerry. It's very hilly but the scenery is worth it. I am a 'hill slug' for sure but I don't care ;-)

One day in 1997 while surfing I found a great tour company called Irish Cycling Safaris. They are a small company in Dublin.

They offer 9 trips in Ireland and have added other countries now also. (the other countries cost a bit more though but they are still a bargain compared to what American tour companies charge - almost $1,000 less!)

The trips are all 1 week long (Saturday to Saturday). The price is 385 Irish punts. Right now the exchange rate is pretty good so its like $425 US.

And they might even have some openings for the late Sept. routes - and airlines are having sales now too - so you might be able to get away for some adventures!! September is a great month in Ireland, that's why I like to go in September.

That price includes: all B&B/ hotels; 1 tour guide / SAG wagon, maps & other info about the area, water bottle, use of a 21 speed Trek hybrid bike. You need $$ for lunches and dinners, any train or bus travel to get to the starting point / airport; and you need to get your own plane ticket over there.

There is 1 guide per group. This isn't like some tour companies that have the guides filling your water bottles and cycling along side the group. It's a little more laid back and casual. It's fun and sociable without having someone hovering over you. The guide carries the luggage and makes dinner reservations and then sweeps back along the route to see if anyone is stranded with a puncture or is too tired. etc.

You usually cover 35 - 40 miles in a day. Sounds easy? Well some times you are going up a mountain! And sometimes there are things to stop and see along the way - old castles, cultural centers, stone forts, shops, beaches, etc.

One of the greatest thing about ICS is, the groups consist of people from many countries so you get to meet interesting people. The group size is around 16 as an average. Singles are welcome, I did 2 as a single and had a great time. They fix you up with a same sex roomie but you might get your own room if there are an uneven amount of gals / guys.

The web site is www.cyclingsafaris.com
Tell them Karen in NY sent you. They have a message board also.

[Karen in NY]

OK, now I am home from my latest tour. And I am happy to report I did so much better on the mountains than I have ever done before! This route, the Ring of Kerry - Dingle Peninsula - is the same one I did in 1998. Back then I had to jump off the bike and walk up the steep bits. This time - guess what - I cycled! Some times slowly - in the granny gear as the Irish and English say - but I was thrilled! Yaay! I could not wait to tell my friends from spinning when I got home.

The biggest accomplishment for me was making it up and over Connors Pass. That is a steep 4 mile climb. I know 4 miles does not sound like much but its sort of a narrow cork screw shaped road. And we did 10 miles to get to the start of the Pass. It has no guard rails and a sheer 1500 drop on one side. It's actually scarier driving up it than cycling. (In 1998 I did not even attempt this, OK, I got a lift in the van!). Beautiful scenery all along the way which goes without saying. (In fact I will post a link to a site I found with amazing photos of Ireland, sorted by county, it really is breathtaking.)

Our crazy tour guide and some of the other people who were in the van had gone on ahead and written our names in chalk on the road. Along the way I met 3 pairs of German college kids riding with their pannier bags. Thank goodness I did not have to worry about my luggage! Two of the young German guys were stopped at a lookout point chain smoking. Well at the top my crazy guide and all the people in the group were cheering wildly as each cyclist made it to the top. Even the German kids who were not in the group. Four of them had passed me on the way... and when I finally got there everyone cheered for me too. Even tourists who had driven up and didn't know us. It was funny. ;-)

Right now I would love to be there trying it again. I returned home late on Sept 10 and now the trip seems like it was a 100 years ago.

I will post a link to the photos on a separate post. I need to make sure its still an active link....