Cycling Ireland - Anyone been there or biked there?

[JuniperPark]

I'm considering cycling around Ireland late this summer. I'll probably do it alone, but a few others might come along. It looks like the best way to go is land in Dublin and work my way clockwise around the island on the smallest roads closest to the coastline, doing 100 - 150 km per day, finding Bed & Breakfast places as I go. I'll be carrying minimal gear on the bike - repair stuff, water, change of clothes, camera... no support vehicle.

A few assumptions I'm making:
- It rains about 30% of the time
- I'll be able to find places to stay with vacancy easily in the small towns
- There aren't any "must avoid" or high crime areas
- It's not extemely anti-American
- There are trains between the bigger cities in case I can't ride to Dublin in time

Questions:
- Are my assumptions correct?
- Which areas are unusually scenic - and which are NOT scenic?
- Is it safe/easy to enter Northern Irelend by bike? Is it scenic?
- Any good non-touristy places to meet single Irish women?

Thanks!

 

[jasdon11]

Cycling round Ireland 'eh - got a couple of days to kill?

 

[JuniperPark]

I'm probably looking at about 12 days... depending on what I can learn over the next couple of weeks.

I biked around Vancouver Island (Canada) last September, which was nice but too easy with support vehicles, a cook, and bike michanics riding with us. If this works out well I'll do more challenging endurance rides, with mountains and such. Ireland is virtually flat compared to San Diego. I want do do more trips where I return in much better shape than I left in.

 

[dolansco]

1) Weather is unpredicable , to say the least .. in summer , you may see little or no rain ..... Or get totally washed out .. .. Be prepared for both .
2) Accommodation is the easy bit ... buckets of hotels & B&B`s ( http://goireland.com/ )
3) Crime areas in the larger cities , but tame compared to UK or USA.
4) anti-american ? lol ... Nope ...
5) Trains... yea , but not great IMO... All trains lead to Dublin ..

-thus you assumptions are fairly good

-Scenic --- South & West Coast.. Killarney , West Cork , Wicklow Mountains , Galway..... ( stick near the coast and you`ll be grand )

-Not Scenic --- North east , midlands , Bigger towns near Dublin ... ( basically just housing estates )...

- Northern Ireland ---.. Yep its safe .... there are no borders etc. between North & South , just cycle where you want ... Co Down is quite nice . ( remember currency is different .. Euro in South , Sterling in North ). The North of ireland is actually well worth a visit .

- Irish Women ? ... are u mad ?
..... bars are prob the best place ... esp weekends , same as anywhere I suppose .

 

[JuniperPark]

Dolansco -

THANK YOU! Very valuable info! There is a lot on the web of course, but most of it is very biased (seller of tours, or tourism promotions).

Based on this, the clockwise route of the coastline is the right way to go, and perhaps plan to end in Belfast and get a train back to Dublin.

And YES, Irish women! They're fun, aren't they? Do you know any specific bars that are good? Or are you married and required to disavow all knowedge of such things

Again, MUCH appreciate the advice!

 

[dolansco]

bars .... aah

dublin : Copperfacejacks ... Nurses midweek
cafe en seine ... and buckets of others

Any town you visit , will have its trendier bar .. just ask a local ..
... locals are obviously the best source of knowledge on everything !
( ask local girls ... with your best US accent ... and an "Im lost" face ... you may be invited )

 

[JuniperPark]

Haha... thanks again!

I think I'm going to put a sign on the back of my bike:

I'M SINGLE
(but I'm sweaty and I need a bath!)​

Think that would do the job?