Phil's Wild Atlantic ride

The last day of cycling - had everything today weatherwise!

Plan was to meet Claire in Galway for lunch so I had to get a wiggle on - the first hour or so was fantastic with the wind behind me and a lot of lovely downhill sections through the Burrens which is a rocky area with an almost ethereal quality - helped by the mist! Had a quick look at Glenihagh Castle and then wizzed into Galway. Claire and I then had a look around the buzzing town made even better as the sun had come out by then! 51 miles with 592m climbing. The end!

The last day of cycling - had everything today weatherwise!

Strong northerly wind (and I was heading north!) made it very hard work but then started to get more coastal views and wind eased off a bit so became more enjoyable! I liked Lahinch - it has a surfers vibe and some nice cafes....and I had a great lunch here. Then we got to the real action - Cliffs of Mother are very popular but once out on the cliffs everyone is spread-out so not a major problem. Then a lovely ride into Doolin via a back route and as I was there early I had a good explore of the lovely village and had coffee/scone out In the sun- felt like I was on holiday! 609m over 39 miles.

Day 11 - that bloody wind! Straight in my face for first 15/20 miles which was hard work but then eased off a bit....but not raining - fantastic!

Headed straight to Tarbert and got ferry across Shannon (beats cycling into the wind!), lunch in Kelly’s pub in Kilrush and then into Loop Head. South not too much to rave about and the lighthouse at Loop Head was a disappointment as couldn’t get any backdrop in the photo’s…….but the north coast was fantastic! The only problem was that there was an extremely strong northerly wind which was difficult to ride in (it was hard enough to walk in) - at one point I got off and had to walk the bike into the headwind. So, fantastic scenery in the latter part of the ride but I was also pleased to get to my B&B! 996m climbing over 74 miles

Day 10 - stayed dry but very, very windy!

Straight into the famous Conor Pass which was the highlight of the day - long grind to get up there but magnificent views and no-one around. Bit of an anti-climax after that but nice riding which got even better north of Tralee when it was more coastal and the sun came out! I believe Tralee is an interesting town but didn’t have time to explore. 75 miles and 1013m climbing - and about 450m just on Conor Pass!

Day 9 pic's - rain forecast for early morning but never came - and lots of sun after lunch

Day off in Dingle - lots of good restaurants, gift and food shops with some nice cafes too. Went on a boat trip to look for the famous local dolphin called Fungie who's been in the area for about 30 years - only spotted his dorsel fin briefly so you'll have to make do with the statue! Apparently home for him is the cave in the shot with me!

Took a detour to Minard Castle and another location for Ryan"s Daughter! It’s situated on ‘storm beach’ and given the size of the boulders I can see why. Stopped in the Celtic & Prehistoric Museum which has a Woolly Mammoth skull and a baby dinosaur skeleton. Could just about see Blasket Islands In the mist and it was a lovely stretch of cycling road along here….despite the wind and rain! So, a good day even though I was a little damp at the end! 916m climbing over 53 miles

Day 8 pic's - well, the rain had to come sooner or later and it came with a vengeance from late morning - which meant that all of my beach shots looked misty & dismal so haven't used them!

Nice ride today but not as spectacular as the previous days’….except for two beaches. I very nearly didn’t do the detour for Rossbeigh Beach but so glad I did - 7 miles of wild beach with hardly anyone there….see the pic’s with the horse riders. Then there was Inch Beach which was only about 3 miles long (!) And great location for watersports….and apparently used in the film Ryan’s Daughter. Nice cafe there too! Rode with a local rider for a while and he gave me some nice tips for areas to ride if I return. And Annascaul is renowned for its black pudding and Tom Crean the Antarctic explorer who owns a pub here called the South Pole - just thought you'd like to know! Easier day - 62 miles but only 663m climbing.

Day 7 - couple of showers but great riding day as less windy

I had been a bit concerned about this section of the trip due to the number of cars doing the circuit and particularly the tourist coaches - it turns-out that the coaches all travel anti-clockwise whereas I was traveling clockwise - this meant that I didn’t have coaches overtaking me which would have been scary! Stopped at the lovely village of Sneem and got talking to some cyclists who were practising for next Saturday’s Ring of Kerry charity race - I thought they limited it to 3,500 riders but turns out that they get upwards of 8,000! My initial plan for this trip was to have been here next Sat - fortunately I spotted that I would be in the middle of this event so pulled the whole trip forward a week - good move me thinks! The final climb (Coomanaspic) was a big one….or as one person commented when I reached the top: ‘You must be mad’! But it was all downhill from there. Walked around the Cliffs of Kerry which had great views of the Skellig Islands and Puffin Island. Then straight into Portmagee which is a lovely little village right by the bridge to Valentia Island. 57 miles with 1181m climbing.

Day 6 - bit of drizzle in the morning but otherwise mixed cloud/sun helped make it a great day - I lucked-out as apparently people couldn't see much yesterday due to low cloud & mist!

Kenmare - day-off today - looked at the stone circle, musician sculptures, sweet shop (for Dylan & Katie!),….and generally had a good mouch around. Raining quite heavily until mid-morning so wouldn’t have been a great riding day! I like Kenmare - right amount of hustle'n'bustle without being tooo touristy......and some nice pubs with live music too!