Ireland Trip 2014 Part 2

Staring our first long ride with a shot of Irish whiskey

     Our second week in Ireland we did a bike trip with Trek Travel.  They provided the bikes, Trek Domane 5.9 carbon road bikes with electronic shifting.  Nice bikes!  The weather was cool and rainy though we did get some sunshine.  Here is how we started our first long ride, with a shot of Irish whiskey.  Good at keeping you warm while you ride.

One of many climbs, we had been at the beach level

     I wasn't prepared for how hilly it was even though we had been told.  The hills were steep but also very long, we would climb for 45 minutes or so and then do a descent.  

Climbing in sunshine

     The scenery was absolutely gorgeous, when I was able to look.  The roads are rather rough and with the climbing and then fast downhills you really needed to keep an eye on the road.

What's a little rain?

     The rain didn't stop us at all.  One day was really rainy, necessitating a change of socks at lunch but otherwise it was more or a drizzle followed by a little sun.

We made it to the top, at least for that day

     The nice part of the trip was that you did not have to do all of the ride everyday.  This day I did do the whole ride, rain and all.  Another day I chose to do the last climb of the day but skip the downhill.  Those downhills were scary for me, I usually rode the brakes the whole way down.

Stone bridge in Kenmare

     We also did a tour of the town of Kenmare one evening with a local resident.  He had lots of stories to share with us.  

Last night together

     I was sad when the trip was over but also a little glad as I was starting to get a bit sore from all the riding.  Our last evening we enjoyed a wonderful meal in a local pub.