Dungarvin to Waterford - Aug 10, 2022

My final day! It was amazingly hot overnight. Noise from the road overwhelmed my earplugs. The compromise between the open window and road noise was tough.  After some restless sleep, I headed back toward Waterford, with plans to catch the train back up to Dublin. I enjoyed the greenway enough coming out to head back that way. I had hoped to grab some breakfast before heading out, but nothing opened until 9AM, so I decided to head to Kilmacthomas, where I found a great cafe with a delicious breakfast. 

It was a great trip. I realized later that I should have planned it differently, with a solid two week stretch in Ireland before or after The Netherlands. I assembled and disassembled the bike a lot! And spent a fair amount of time on trains. Still it's nice to be able to get around easily by train, even with the goofy angled bike racks! I definitely enjoyed both Tipperary and the wet coast, and look forward to returning and exploring even more.

 

 

 

Lismore to Dungarvin - Aug 9, 2022

I booked an AirBnB in Dungarvin. The proprietor asked when I would arrive. I think checkin was after 5, so I said after 5 and she questioned that it would take me that long to cycle there. I told her I wasn't going the direct way and could keep myself busy in Dungarvin, if I arrived early! In retrospect, it should have been a warning sign. Despite being advertised as walking distance to town, with a lovely garden, the road one would walk into town was a highway. And when I asked about the garden, I was told it was off limits. The noise from the road was horrible, so I did not get much sleep. It was the first time I gave a bad review on AirBnB!

At least the ride there was lovely! My roundabout route took me back up The Vee, for another look at the Knockmealdown Mountains, then south through Cappoquin and past Dromana House. I took in a few more gravel roads along the way, and will definitely try to do more on the next visit. 

Tipperary - Aug 8, 2022

The plan for the day was to head up to The Vee, taking in a few dirt roads. Unfortunately my front brake decided to stop working, and I got very nervous about the dirt descents. It took a few hours for the brain to kick in allowing me to figure out what was going on and get it working again. It continued to be problematic for the remainder of the trip though I replaced it once I got back home. As I'm finally writing this up a couple of years later, I don't remember the details, but my titles on strava say it was a front brake issue that I fixed at lunch!

The first time I rode The Vee, I had no idea what I was about to experience. After cresting from the south, you come around the corner and there is such an amazing view. While it wasn't such a surprise this time, it was still mind-blowing. Definitely make your way to The Vee (from the south) when you are in Tipperary!

I continued down into Cahir, went by the Swiss Cottage and then stopped in town for lunch. I loaded up my route from a few years back to get back to Lismore. This time, I stopped for dinner before climbing up to the BnB!

Kilmacthomas to Lismore - Aug 7, 2022

I started the day weaving around under the aqueduct before climbing up on top of it. Lots of climbs and descents followed and I even encountered another cyclist and we rode along together for a while. 

Oh how I've missed hills, it seems. This day was glorious. Loads of scenery and a monster climb at the end of the day. When I booked the BnB, the proprietor warned me he was at the top of a big climb! The view from up there was worth the descent back down to do a gravel loop and then dinner followed by the climb back up

 

 

 

 

Waterford to Kilmacthomas - Aug 6, 2022

After a week of minimal elevation gain in The Netherlands, my legs needed a gentle reintroduction to climbing. I took the train down to Waterford to start the third part of my trip on the Greenway. After a week on narrow bike paths in The Netherlands, the Greenway was like a multilane highway! Soon enough hills would return and my legs would quickly get back into the groove of climbing. At some point, I discovered a routing error, when I came to a locked gate. Luckily I was able to climb a small bank rather than backtrack. The bnb in Kilmacthomas was very pleasant, making my reintroduction to touring quite enjoyable. 

 

Back through the Phoenix Park to catch the train

Bike racks on Irish rail were designed by someone who hates mudguards!

A Bridge too Far - Aug 4, 2022

Our final day an we rode out a bridge too far! It actually wasn't an overreach for us that day. We were well trained by then!

 

 

 

Holterberg - Aug 3, 2022

While we had almost no climbing on this trip, it was hard at times, because I was chasing three big guys, laying down some watts, when the other ladies weren't around. This was initially to be a fairly long day, but we decided to take advantage of the van and everyone took a lift out to the remote start. I enjoyed a nice moderate pace until Paula and Sandra headed back to the van, an the lads and I continued back to base. At some pojnt, I gave Henry the GoPro to see if having it mounted higher woul give a totally different perspective. Mainly, it allowed me to appear in video!

 

 

 

Whipped Cream Ride - Aug 2, 2022

Looking back at this trip, we seemed to do a lot of eating of sweets. I suppose I have a reputation for this sort of thing. 

 

 

Radio Kootwijk - Aug 1, 2022

Henry kept promising hills. I think I shifted gears a few times on this ride! With Mt Washington coming up later this month, I needed some hills. I guess I'll have to find them next week in Ireland. 

Sandra and Paula drove out to meet us partway. We had a quick pastry stop where I picked up some chocolates that we would enjoy in the evening. Our lunch stop featured lots of interesting trailer bikes.