Far from busy main highways, I spent day after day cycling on narrow country roads that wound and soared over great headlands and peninsulas, each ringed by massive sea cliffs, and around the long sea inlets that slashed inland. Though motorists were unbelievably courteous and patient, it was soon clear that most main roads were narrow and often filled with cars and trucks.
As a result, I focused on cycling through the incomparable seascapes, and the equally dramatic landscapes like the rich brown and purple bogs and mountains of Mayo and Connemara. In fact, I spent so much time exploring Ireland's lightly-trafficked backroads that I wasn't able to cover all the places I had planned to. There simply wasn't time to cycle the famous Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula nor to take the ferry to the Gaelic-speaking Aran Islands.
Then, on the last day of my tour, while riding the train back to Limerick, I met a group of 4 American cyclists from Pennsylvania. Jerry and Ethel Shank, and Ed and Rhoda Longenecker had just spent a week cycling a similar route to mine and their trip had included an overnight visit to the Aran Islands. As we rode the train together, I also learned that the 4-cyclists (as I shall call them) were headed for Killarney to spend a second week cycling the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula.
After we all returned home, Jerry sent me a day-by-day journal of their trip. Each of the four had written one-fourth of it. And since I've drawn on their journal to fill in details about the areas I missed, I gratefully acknowledge their assistance. Their log helped me immensely in describing how to tour the best of western Ireland by bicycle-- while minimizing travel on main roads and maximizing biking on rural lanes through colossal scenery.
For good measure, I've also drawn on the experiences of other cyclists I met to add an extension to Donegal, a wild, rocky land where lonely roads wind past awesome sea cliffs and great sea loughs and spectacular inlets. While my itinerary may still not be perfect, anyone who follows it is fairly guaranteed a world class bike ride.
The main itinerary takes 16 days. Or it could take 24 days or more if you add Donegal. Shorter versions are also easy to plan. In 10 days ,for example ,you could ride from Limerick north to Westport and return to Limerick by train. Just about all Irish trains carry bikes and Ireland's rail lines are key to designing a shorter trip. Buses also carry bikes when space is available and both buses and trains can be used to avoid having to cycle on busy main roads.
So here is a day-by-day account of the tour. (Also listed are overnight accommodations used by myself and the 4-cyclists: GH = Guest House and B&B = Bed & Breakfast.) Be sure to read the additional advice given at the end of this report.
At this point, you must look ahead to Day 5 and decide whether to take the ferry from Doolin (near Lisdoonvarna) to Inishmore, largest of the Aran Islands, where you will stay overnight and continue on Day 6 by a different ferry line to Rossaveel in County Galway. Rossaveel is near the route of the Day 6 ride to Clifden.
By taking the ferries (recommended), you avoid cycling through the busy industrial city of Galway (less desirable). But you must make ferry reservations in advance at a tourist office en route. Almost all larger towns have tourist information offices. Do check before booking to make sure that the boat you will travel by carries bikes. From Doolin, boats recently left for Inishmore at 10 or 11 a.m., and you continue next morning from Inishmore to Rossaveel at 9 a.m. These sailings allow ample time to explore Inishmore and you stay overnight at a B&B on the island. Provided you can make ferry reservations, ride tomorrow only as far as Lisdoonvarna. If you decide not to visit Inishmore but to ride through Galway, cycle tomorrow as far as Ballyvaghan. If you would like to visit Inishmore but cannot make reservations on the Doolin ferry, it is possible to take the ferry over to Inishmore from Rossaveel which you pass on Day 6.
Both Lisdoonvarna and Ballyvaghan lie on today's circular route and you start and end the ride at the same town. Starting from Lisdoonvarna, for example, you climb uphill on R476 to Kilfenora and fork right on R480. By now you're in the Burren, a vast hilltop moorland webbed by ancient stone fences and vast domes of gray rock. Stay on R476 to the huge ruined hulk of Leamaneh Castle and continue on R480 to a lonely dolmen beside the road. Behind it, people have built an amusing series of miniature dolmens. On past fields where men dig peat by hand, the Burren road drops towards the sea and Black Head. Right about lunchtime you ride through the village of Ballyvaghan, where I saw more cyclists than anywhere else in Ireland. (Most cyclotourists I met were Dutch, German or American while others were from New Zealand, Britain, Denmark and even Poland but bike touring doesn't seem trendy enough for the Irish themselves.)
Narrow R477, a popular bike route, then winds on around Old Head, providing a balcony view of rocks and cliffs and thousands of seabirds. Vast expanses of blue sea reached away below as I pedalled on around Old Head and back to Lisdoonvarna--surely one of the most spectacular one-day rides in Ireland.
The following morning, the 4-cyclists left by the 9 a.m. ferry for Rossaveel on the Galway shore where they joined the main route of Day 6.
By now, traffic had dwindled and R336 headed into the bogs and mountains of Connemara. Far ahead loomed the rounded peaks of the 12 Bens, a Connemara landmark. Wild primroses bloomed beside the road and black-faced Connemara sheep were everywhere, many with gambolling twin lambs that looked like stuffed toys. Off in the distance, I could hear the constant call of cuckoos while gray and black hooded crows soared overhead.
To avoid the main road, I forked left on R342 and continued through Cashel village and around the rocky coast to Roundstone. A working fishing village clustered around a boat-filled harbor, Roundstone is known for its Gaelic ambiance and friendly pubs. Here I stopped to visit the bodhran (Irish drum) workshop with its cassettes and CDs of traditional Irish music (all for sale, of course). After another two hours of cycling around the wrinkled coast, I rode into Clifden, a cheerful town with a choice of raucous pubs to enjoy craic (partying) and hear the jaunty Irish music. GHs: Waterloo House; or Smuggler's Lodge Hotel.
Heading north from Clifden on N59, today's ride took me around three spectacular capes. First came Sky Road, with its plethora of marine panoramas. Next, I branched off N59 to ride around the Cleggan Peninsula and through Cleggan village with its workstained fishing harbor. Back on N59 again, it was just a few kilometers to Connemara National Park. Here the Visitor Center depicts early day life in the bogs and I hiked a trail towards the 12 Bens. Also beside N59 here is Kylemore Abbey which you can visit by self-guided tour.
For me, though, another great headland beckoned nearby: Rinvyle Point. The circular road to the point led past Lough Fee with a final 8 kilometer run between the mountains of Killary Harbor into Leenane. Ringed by steep, green mountains, this tiny village has several B&Bs and pubs and a tiny foodstore that sells Connemara wool socks at the lowest price I found in Ireland.
By now I was getting used to staying at B&Bs. Charging an average of $28 for one person or $40 for two, breakfast included (summer rates are higher), these exceptionally comfortable and modern accommodations all had private shower, toilet and heat. Guest houses were similar but are slightly more expensive. B&B. Avondale House. Book your room for two nights.
The Joyce Country Loop traverses miles of wild bog and mountain country on narrow, winding roads some of which don't even have numbers. From Leenane, you head southeast on R338 and take the first paved road on the left to Finny and Clonbur; then take a left on R345 to Maum, and return to Leenane on R338. Following this route, I began by climbing up a pass 300-meters high, then dropping down to Lough Nafooey and cycling beside Lough Mask into the larger village of Clonbur for lunch (foodshop, pubs). Next, I cycled for an hour beside huge Lough Corrib before riding back across the moors to Leenane. Almost everywhere, traffic was light or nonexistant. Sheep and lambs wandered all over the roads and throughout the day, it was evident that this part of Ireland was little changed from Joyce's time.
ACHILL ISLAND: With a couple of extra days, you could--as I did--cycle north from Westport on N59 to Mulrany then head west on Atlantic Drive around the rugged, cliff-lined coast of the Correan Peninsula to the village of Achill Sound on Achill Island. You need to stay here at least two nights (B&B. Rose Cottage). Next day, I biked on around the rest of the Atlantic Drive that hugs the shore of Achill Island. En route, I passed a church with mass graves of victims of the potato famine, a fishing harbor beside a castle, and miles of hillsides aflame with golden gorse and rhodedendron. If you enjoy a good climb, take the backroad from Knockmore to Cashel. En route, you'll pass an incredibly steep (18% grade) paved road that soars skywards for several kilometers to Maumon Heights, a TV tower with a mind-blowing panorama of cliffs and seascapes. At 464 metres elevation, this is the second highwest point in Ireland accessible by paved road. Another worthwhile ride takes you to the western tip of Achill where the road climbs over a high headland to a secluded bay with a coastguard lookout tower.
| Dep | Arr | ||
| Westport | 0720 | Dublin | 1105 |
| Dublin | 1125 | Mallow | 1338 |
| Mallow | 1405 | Killarney | 1523 |
There's no shortage of places to stay in Killarney, especially along Muckross Road. If you decide to layover here an extra day, consider biking over the Gap of Dunloe.
Starting out on N71, the 4-cyclists climbed steeply through Killarney National Park to Ladies View, a belvedere with far-flung views of the Killarney Valley. From the heights of Moll's Gap, they sped downhill on R568 (not used by tour buses) into Sneem then it was up and down all the way to Caherdaniel. Here they stopped to visit Derrynane National Historic Park, the home of Daniel O'Connell. A stiff climb followed to the heights of Coomakista Pass (208 m), with its gorgeous views of cliffs and islands scattered below. N70 then drops down through the pass with vast panoramas of Ballinskelligs Bay and Waterville. Waterville is a pleasant resort with plenty of accommodations, pubs and restaurants. B&B. Ashling House, Main St.
| Dep | Arr | ||
| Sligo | 0745 | Dublin (Connolly) | 1100 |
| Dublin (Heuston) | 1320 | Killarney | 1701 |
This leaves two hours to get yourself and your bike from Connolly Station to Heuston Station, a distance of 3.5 kilometers through the heart of Dublin. Be sure to have a street map of central Dublin with your route marked out. A shuttle bus service operates between the stations but may not carry bikes. Another option is to return by train from Dublin (Heuston) to Limerick and end your tour there. Otherwise, to continue cycling from Killarney, look up Day 11.
Before leaving the U. S., send for a free copy of Bed & Breakfast Ireland and Hotels and Guesthouses, both available free from the Irish Tourist Board at 212-418-0800. Both guides give rates, locations and phone numbers for most of the leading accommodations in Ireland. Bord Failte, as it's also called, can send helpful general information including rail and ferry timetables; the same information is also available instantly on their website. The accommodations guides just mentioned are too bulky and heavy to carry by bike so you may want to jot down the names and phone numbers of a few B&Bs. Off-season rates are usually lower than those listed in these books.
And off season is the time to go. I recommend touring by bike only between April 15 and June 15 or from September 15 to October 21. Obviously, you'll need good raingear and warm clothes. That means a yellow Goretex jacket and black Goretex rainpants plus rubberized workgloves to keep your hands dry. Black rain pants are far less conspicuous than say, yellow pants, which many cyclists wear. Some bikers are lucky and encounter rain on only one or two days. Others report that blustery wind and rain can continue for days. There's no one best time for avoiding rain. On Achill Island, strong headwinds slowed my progress to 8 k.p.h. for hours at a time. Offsetting this was a period of ten dry, sunny almost windless days. Weather can be a real factor in touring Ireland and a strong gale could cause you to modify your schedule. Yet only on one out of the 21 days of my tour was I actually unable to ride and even then I went for a hike instead. The damp, cool and often windy weather also discourages tent camping but hostels with dormitary accommodation are plentiful.
I also recommend taking a mountain bike with Specialized Nimbus 1.5 inch tires or the equivalent. If you take a road bike, use 38C tires. Most roads are paved but surfaces are often coarse, broken or abraded and scattered with "chippings" (loose gravel).
Roads are not as well marked as in the U.S., or France. Road junctions are studded with unofficial brown signs pointing to B&Bs, hotels or scuba diving centers but there's an acute shortage of the official green ior white signs pointing to the next town with rarely a mention of a road number. Unless kilometers are specifically stated, white signs give distances in miles and green signs in kilometers. On country roads, signs are often non-existant or are neglected or twisted around to point the wrong way and at times, I found map and compass more helpful.
The first job on arriving in Ireland is to unpack your bike and make sure there's no damage. If a wheel needs truing, get it to a bikeshop as soon as you can. Then buy maps, calling cards and exchange money. Banks give the best exchange rate and virtually any bank will change traveler's checks to Irish pounds. Carry a lightweight pedal wrench and don't tighten your pedals too hard; they could be difficult to loosen. And don't forget to pack half a roll of duct tape to seal your bike box for the trip home plus stick-on and tie-on labels.
Try to get the airline to put red "Fragile" labels on your bike box
when checking in. And don't try to ride on the day of arrival, jet-lag
can sap your energy. Ed advises that it's not worth packing and unpacking
bikes for a tour of less than 14 days. And the 4-cyclists found that eating
evening meals in pubs was better and cheaper than dining in restaurants.