Bicycle Tour of Ireland 1985

My flight on Pan AM from Seattle to London was late and my bicycle and luggage didn't make the connection to Shannon airport near Limerick. So I had to wait a day for it in Limerick. But it came the next day. The terrain is hilly everywhere. The roads are terrible, consisting of patches on top of patches. I broke an axle, the only time that's ever happened to me. It was cold and rainy. One day the temperature got to 70 and everyone was complaining about the heat. I was there for 30 days and it rained every day except for three. I stayed in B&Bs. There are few campgrounds.

The tour went through all 32 countys on the Island. There are 26 countys in the Republic of Ireland and 6 countys in the U. K. I started in Limerick and went to Dingle. I went south to the south coast and then east along the south coast through Cork. I zigzagged along the south coast and up the east coast. I went around Dublin, and through Belfast. I followed the east coast and then the north coast and went through Londonderry. I zigzagged south along the west coast and crossed my own path just after I took the ferry across the Shannon river. I then did a loop through Tipperary and the center of the island and back to Limerick. The tour was 26 days an 1720 miles.

I stopped at some castles and museums. I went into Marble Cave. I tried to go to Blarney Castle, but I was trampled by 2 bus loads of American geezers and barely got out alive. I went through Belfast on the "Glorious 12th" (of July). There were many parades and marches and drunken partying in the street. There are bicycles everywhere. People use them to get around. Question: How can you tell when an Irish Bicycle is coming? Answer: You hear squeek-clank squeek-clank, unless it's going down hill when you hear squee-squee-squee. A mineral is a drink, not a rock. A large is 8 oz. Cattle farming is big and all the cattle have to go down the road to get to the barn. So the roads get covered with cow manure and flies. I left my luggage and bicycle box with the hotel in Limerick to keep until I got back. But they threw them away. They found me a satchel and I found a bicycle box at the airport and made it home.

Map of the trip

Map from Software Toolworks World Atlas

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