Ireland 2014 Jols

[brooker81]

Thinking of doing a ride in ireland next year anyone done one ? Have any do's/ dont's,Route details,Places to stay etc etc thinking about 4 days away.

[unfazed]

Will you be using a gps or map?
4 days may be a bit short for real fun
There are some great roads/routes which take in the Coast line.
A few questions,
Will you be coming in via Belfast, Dublin or Rosslare?
What time of year are you considering?
 
 

[brooker81]

can only do 4 days as work pressure etc,using maps id say with gps at night. i'm not sure where coming in from but i will be coming from liverpool,im open to suggestions and ideas. im thinking June-Aug time wide range i know.

[seangee]

Might find some inspiration here


From my rather hazy recollection of working there you may be better off leaving the bike at home and taking lots of headache tablets 

[unfazed]

Might find some inspiration here


From my rather hazy recollection of working there you may be better off leaving the bike at home and taking lots of headache tablets 

Obviously you did not travel outside of Dublin then of maybe did not pass the world famous brewery , despite what people living outside of Ireland think, Dublin is not Ireland, no more than London is not England   
If you care to return and call to me in Cork, I will take on a trip you will never forget.

[His Dudeness]

In four days you could probably do a full loop of the coast if you wanted to. It would probably be 8 to 10  hours a day riding though. It all depends on how much riding vs sight seeing you want to do.

[Bitfik]

If you are in Northern Ireland I can't recommend the North Antrim Coast highly enough. Love it and make the trip a couple of times a year. Mind you it only takes me around an hour to get there! Loads of coastal villages, not to mention friendly bikers!


NW200 is in May sadly, but quite a few other races during the summer if that's your thing.


You have an invitation from cork (about as far from here as it's possible to get in Ireland), so I'll extend one from the North, if you are close to here... Gimme a shout and I'll buy you a coffee.

[brooker81]

I'll have a look at the maps and yep I'm thinking 6-8 hours a day in the would be fine with me can't speak for me old fella tho !!  I will deffo take you up on a coffee and would be happy to meet up over your side and listen to ideas and routes. Keep the ideas coming

[unfazed]

Decide on the mileage you want to do per day first. The more mileage you do a day the less time you have to take in the sights.
Do you want to stay on the national primary routes or the secondary routes. I have to agree with Bitfik the North Antrim Coast is a fantastic ride and have been there many times, but it is difficult to beat the rugged south west coast of Cork and Kerry. I can send you on a few routes if you like of some of the best biking roads and some of the most scenic in the the Cork Kerry region.
The best way accross the pond is the fast Stena ship as it means you will have more time riding and less time sailing. That would mean taking the Motorway to Cork which is about a three hour ride (speed limits are higher on the motorways here) and then the fun begins.
 

[lew600fazer]

In 4 days you could do both the Antrim coast road , over Torr Head, Gaints Causeway, (for me just a pile of funny shaped rocks) Bushmills Whiskey Distillery. Head towards Coookstown / Magherfelt area, overnight at the www.clearwaterhouse.com B&B this is the best B&B in Northern Ireland , we stay there when the Cookstown 100 is on , Bernie is just a lovely woman and the breakfast leaves you full all day. Hit the motorways and you can be in Cork in about 5 hours. One of the lads from down that way can give you more ideas. Or head on over to Galway run down the west coast , stop off at the Cliffs of Mogher (spelling not my strong point) but it is a fantastic sight, 800 foot shear drop to the Atlantic. Bat on round to the ring of Kerry , fantastic but you will need to put some hours in on the bike.
Hit Cork and get to Blarney, back up to Dublin and catch the ferry back to Holyhead.
Book Stena line , Liverpool / Belfast and return Dublin Holyhead. Were are you travelling from? The fastest sea crossing is from Carnryan to Larne, which puts you right on the door step of the Antrim coast road.
No matter which part of Ireland you decide on it is a beautiful country, just make sure you bring your wet gear, the place is not called the Emerald Isle for nothing, Enjoy
Lew

[brooker81]

Excellent info lew thanks pal I'll look at that on google maps later

[FuZzBoM]

I went last year and had a really good time. The roads are either really nice or terrible it seems..

Here is he route we roughly took. https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr=Rosslare+Harbour,+Ireland&daddr=cork+to:Kinsale,+Ireland+to:Kenmare,+Ireland+to:51.8748543,-10.1941244+to:Limerick,+Ireland+to:Dublin,+Ireland+to:Rosslare+Harbour,+Ireland&hl=en&ll=52.52959,-8.162842&spn=2.085349,5.921631&sll=52.527905,-8.250568&sspn=2.085507,5.921631&geocode=FapKHQMdjTyf_ymvIEdDZBdoSDGwljGXqccACg%3BFTziFwMdVIJ-_ylhub6RCJBESDHQxTGXqccACg%3BFcL4FAMd-_R9_ykrAdKY-2FESDFw7zGXqccACg%3BFUiYFwMdJ8Rt_ykZnfwIq2xFSDHwFzKXqccACg%3BFSaMFwMdNHNk_ylfb8-rV4xPSDEOeIqNdCsGhA%3BFXSmIwMdH098_ykTUVQfYVxbSDEwczGXqccACg%3BFa0NLgMdqnmg_ykvrCfqgA5nSDGgcTGXqccACg%3BFapKHQMdjTyf_ymvIEdDZBdoSDGwljGXqccACg&oq=ross&t=h&mra=ls&via=4&z=8

Ended up doing 1400 miles in my 4 days.
In my book the ring of Kerry is a must do. Been resurfaced and lovely flowing bends.
The long boring slog from Limerick to Dublin was something I would rather not do again.

[caretaker]

unfazed, i'd be keen on those kerry/cork routes if you can post them up. i'll be heading from fishguard.

[Pat]

Personally I'd say not to try & do a complete lap of the island, you'll just be blatting about & will be missing out a lot by doing it in 4 days, you need to head off the beaten track a bit & make plenty of stops to really appreciate the place. 

According to your profile you're in Liverpool, so I'd suggest something like getting the ferry to Belfast & following Bitfik's recommendation about heading up the Antrim coast first, then head over into Donegal the following day, it's a pretty deserted & stunningly wild landscape. Then head down through Sligo to Mayo before ending up in Galway via The Connemara Loop, before heading back to Dublin for the ferry back home.

As for when to go, I'd recommend Late April through to mid June, it may be a couple of degrees cooler but it tends to be drier during that time, plus there's not so much tourist traffic about.

Oh yeah, and by staying in the northern half you'll also save a few bob on the trip costs, as you'll not have to hire yourself a translator in Cork.... 

[unfazed]

unfazed, i'd be keen on those kerry/cork routes if you can post them up. i'll be heading from fishguard.

There you are, follow the letters A to X, they not only give some great routes but also the direction which give the best views even the route back to Rosslare is a great run and has a nice bit of scenery also.
It includes a few of the must see places like the most scenic route to Kinsale, the Old Head of Kinsale, coast road to Clonakilty, the very enjoyable main road to Skibereen the road to Ballydehob, Mizen Head, Bantry, Glengarrif, Castletownbere, Beara Penisula, Back to across the Healy Pass (south to North)  then Kenmare and back accross the Caha Mountain Pass to Glengarrif, then cross the Borlan Valley and into Killarney and up to Moll Gap and back to Kenmare and most of the Ring of Kerry and on to the ride through the famous Gap of Dungloe and back to Molls Gap back to Killarney, Miltown, Castlemaine and all the way to Dingle circle Slea Head and back to Dingle to ride the Connor Pass, then Tralee, Castleisland, Mallow Fermoy, Lismore, Dungarvan and back to Rosslare.
Many of the routes here are missed by tourist. If you like these there are many mome more I can add. Give yourself at least 5days to have the most fun and mind the sheep in places.
http://goo.gl/maps/4KUYV
The route through the Gap of Dungloe may not be for the faint hearted, but well worth the effort, but if you are well used to riding in all types of roads and conditions, then you will have no problem. I have been on all these roads on my the 600 and 1000 Fazers two up and any of the Fazers are more than capable of doing even the 400. You can always call to my house near Cork Airport for a cup of coffe/tea and a chat including a few suggestion of where to eat and sleep along the way.
 

[caretaker]

that is brilliant, thanks! just what i was looking for.

[Hamos]

I pretty much did the same route as Fuzzbom.  Really nice scenery.  Just pick a place to stop and there are always B&Bs.  We tended to get ones that said they had safe parking, as not all do, i.e on street.  We stopped in some quite villages, always felt welcome in the pubs and the guinness is to die for.

[chr999chr]

If you are up near Bushmills and are looking a B&B my mate own's this one. EX biker due to a crash.
 
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g209952-d1728774-Reviews-Links_View_Bed_Breakfast-Portrush_County_Antrim_Northern_Ireland.html

[JZS 600]

For me, the whole coast from Belfast anti clockwise to Cork takes some beating, you could do it in sections, half one trip, then you will be sure to go again for the second!