Ride it twice – once for the view, then for the ride

May 2007 marked my fourth trip to the Emerald Isle.  It’s a bikers paradise, punctuated with breathtaking scenery, wonderful food, delightful people and, of course, the Guinness.  The intention of this article is not to provide travelogue but to offer some tips which should maximise safety and enjoyment for those intending to make a similar trip.

When you talk about touring Ireland, the first thing people say is “I hear the roads are terrible”.  My experience is that the roads are mixed.  Main roads between towns are generally better than our rural roads both in terms of surface and opportunities to overtake (many roads have tractor lanes).

Moving away from the main roads, the quality of surface can be much more variable.  At the extremities around the south-western peninsulas, the roads can be as challenging as they get, best described as a pot-holed roller-coaster.  But this is where some of the best and most challenging riding is to be found.xx My experience of Irish drivers is that they are mostly courteous and “bike-aware”, frequently pulling over into the tractor lane for you to pass.  Unfortunately, it’s the Brits you need to watch out for, hogging the centre line and sometimes deliberately blocking your progress.

The next thing people say is that it rains all of the time.  Well that’s not quite true but everything is very green and it does rain pretty often.  In my experience, it has rained about 25% of the time.  If you go to Ireland you just have to expect this and plan accordingly, then it’s not an issue.  In fact with this mindset every dry day is bonus

Accommodation in Ireland
Irish B&Bs are excellent in my experience.  There is usually a correlation between the price and quality of accommodation.  I have toured Ireland both with and without pre-booked accommodation.  On balance, I would recommend pre-booking as it makes the afternoons much more relaxed and enjoyable.  Most B&Bs have a large hot press (that’s Irish for airing cupboard).  This is invaluable for getting your kit really dry for the next day.

Planning for rain
The temperature on the West coast may be a couple of degrees colder than home, so take the same kit you would normally wear.  Remember that you are likely to be wearing your wets quite often and these may cause you to over heat!

·         Fabric kit is most convenient
·         If wearing leathers, make sure that your wets are really easy to get at as the weather can change in an instant
·         Take at least two pairs of gloves – summer and waterproof

Navigating
All speed limits and distances are now in kilometres.  There was a stage where distances were metric and speeds were imperial – a glorious Irish compromise – but this has now been sorted.  Until last November only the major roads featured on digital maps, so your GPS was pretty useless

·         Make sure that you have the latest maps for your GPS or leave it at home
·         150 miles on twiddly little roads represents a hard day’s riding
·         plan for breaks to take on water and top up on carbs
·         garages can be sparse in the less populated areas
 

Bike preparations
No special preparations ar needed.  No beam deflectors as they drive on the left.  As you are likely to get wet, electrical issues could potentially be a problem

·         Do the usual POWER checks (petrol, oil, water, electrics, rubber)
·         Irish roads are harsh on tyres – make sure you leave with plenty of tread
·         Take spare lamps, the bumps can take their toll
·         If you have an immobiliser, take the code so that you can do a reset
·         Make sure that your luggage is waterproof
·         Check your insurance and recovery policy

At the end of a hard day’s riding, you might want to consider jet-washing your bike.  I did this one day on my recent trip as the bike was so dirty that the number plate was no longer readable!

Favourite parts of IrelandIf Ireland were a clock face, the 7 o’clock to 9 o’clock area is simply the best.  You may be surprised that I have not listed the Ring of Kerry amongst my recommendations.  This is because it is full of coaches and there are currently lots of road works.  If you do ride it, check the direction of the coaches and go the opposite way.  Here are my recommendations, in no particular order:

• Connor pass (near Dingle)
• Gap of Dunloe (in the middle of the Ring of Kerry)
• Ring of Bera (three Michelin stars for this)
• Healy Pass
• the coastline between Dungarvon and Bunmahon on the Eastern side (approx 4 o’clock)

Kenmare is probably my favourite town; it’s not as commercialised as Killarney and there are excellent pubs, restaurants and live music to be found there.  It’s a good central location for touring.

Which Ferry?I have always taken the Fishguard Rosslaire Route with Stenna but would consider Irish Ferries who go from Pembroke to Rosslaire.  This could shorten the UK leg by 30 minutes or so.

If booking with Stenna, you can get a discount of 20% by quoting MCN.  The return trip cost me £68 for bike and rider.xx The fast ferry takes 90 minutes while the standard ferry will occupy you for 3.5hours.

If getting an early ferry, I can recommend the fishing village of Kilmore Quay for an overnight stopover; it’s 30 minutes from Rosslaire and there is a pub which is frequented by the fisherment and known locally for the best fish in the area. 

The Guinness is good too.

The are more photos from Ireland in the Gallery