Motorbike trip around Ireland!
Myself and Tom went around Ireland recently, partially by motorbikes, partially in car.
The original plan was to spend 2 weeks riding around Ireland in motorbikes. Tom was going to come over on the ferry on his bike. However about a week before he was meant to come over, he took his bike our for a ride and it broke down 1km from his flat. There’s a problem with his electrics. The battery is being drained faster than it’s being rechargered. Disaster!
After much frantic searching, it turns out there’s a place (and only one place) in Ireland that rents motorbikes.
Day 1
The bike rental company (Motorcycle Rental Ireland) was out in Naas, and opened at 9am,. We got up early and Tom drove both of us out there. It’s located off a slip road onto the motorway. The guy running it is doing it from a side building of his house. Tom was expecting an industrial estate. He can be so english at times :P The owner seemed quite copped on and passionate about bikes. Tom took the bike along the dual carriageway with me on the back. It was actually the most comfortable pillion trip I’d taken. It was quite windy and big roads can be annoying on a bike due to cross winds. However it was fine.
We went back to my flat and packed up all the bikes. Then we headed off and went to call into my mum’s house. She met us and offered tea and scones. After a chat, we headed off. My mum provided us with some home made ham sambos for lunch.
By this time it was 12noon, and we were only leaving Dublin. We had originally planned to stay the night in Cork with a friend of mine. We had to get a move on. We also wanted to go a slightly scenic route, so wanted to go via Wexford. We took the N11 dual carriageway down through Wicklow and Wexford towards Enniscorthy.
The dual carriageway was boring. Just lots of big roads. The weather was OK, with some spots of drizzle along the way.
There was also some strong winds and some strong crosswinds. On a motorbike you feel the wind much more and a strong wind can literally blow you around the road a bike. You need to steer/lean into the wind more. Winds like that make riding more of a chore than an enjoyment. I felt like I learned a lot more about riding and how to turn and lean and steer. I was never very confident at doing it, however after a good few hours in some strong crosswinds going down a major road and big trucks going pass.
My bike is only a 125cc, which is basically the smallest type of motorbike you can get. It doesn’t go very fast. I can get it up to 100km/hr max. On the dual carriageway, I was in top gear, with the throttle all open (like having the pedal all the way down), the rev counter thing was hovering just before the red area. Doing this for about 5 minutes on a straight road could get me up to 100km/hr. Maybe
We followed the main road down to Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford and turned west towards Waterford City. We pulled up in a car park on the quays and ate the ham sambos my mum had prepared. It was about 3pm now, so we needed to figure out where to stay that night. The original plan was to stay with M, a friend of mine who was away in Zambia in 2007 with me. However we weren’t making great time, and she was a bit ill at the time. We found a campsite near Dungarven, Co. Waterford.
We were sick of the main roads, so at Waterford, we went to Tramore and then west along the coast. The little AA map my mum gave us (that fit snugly in the tank bag) has marked out scenic routes and was a good guide. There were some really nice narrow country roads that hugged the coast. Up and around bays and inlets. It was very pretty.
Campsite was right on the beachfront which was nice. It was fairly empty then. I suppose the holiday season hadn’t properly stared yet. We went looking for food and had to go to several local pubs and hotels to find them all shut. Eventually a pizza take away in Dungarven town provided food. Back to the campsite with some pizza and drink we went. It was an early day, so we went to bed early.
Day 2.
We got up early. It’s hard to lie in when camping, since you can hear all the birds singing. It’s what Tom calls the ‘Dawn Chorus’. Weirdly all the birds sing at dawn, and then quite down. Also you’re woken up by the sun light. It’s nice to get up early, since then you have more of the day.
We packed up and hit the road to Cork straight away. We went along the main roads to Cork city. Cork has a nice big southern ring road that’s a dual carriageway. I didn’t know Cork was so well developed and was so busy. We went under the Jack Lynch Tunnel under the harbor. It was kinda cool. We then continued along the main road southern Cork road.
Breakfast was in Inishannon, a teeny little village with only one street. We stopped in a fancy café, and I ordered a full Irish breakfast. The café was a strange mix of old and new Ireland. The tea was served in glass cups and the plates were fancy square ones. However I was still able to get a full Irish breakfast, and all the customers were locals with strong Cork accents. After breakfast, we hit the road again towards Bandon and Skibbereen some nice scenery but not amazing. We didn’t stop in any of these places and just continued on though.
We stopped in Bantry for some tea. We parked in a free car park in Bantry at the seafront. As we were taking off all our bike stuff an elderly parking attendent started ambling our way. Tom, being ever so English, asked if it’s OK to park our bikes there. He replies “Sure, I thought you were going for a swim!”. :) After a nice cup of tea in ‘The Snug’, we rang up a campsite up the road in Glengarrif.
Glengarrif is a nice little village at the south end of the Béara Peninsula. It’s very hilly. There’s a little graveyard there that’s all lumpy up and down. Our campsite was 2km out of town towards Castletown bearhaven. The road from the village to the campsite was lovely and a hint at what was ahead. It was very mountainous and some great mountain views.
It was a nice campsite at first, with a backdrop of mountains. However as soon as we set up the tent, we were swamed with migies. They were everywhere in the campsite. We walked around the whole campsite trying to find the spot with with least migies, but they were everywhere.
Ensuring our tent was zipped all the way up, we went back to the village to find some dinner. The only chipper was closed! Instead we went to the bar across the road and had a bacon and cheese burger, with chips! nomnomnom. We had the bikes parked outside and some old guy was talking to us about bikes and how crappy the old british bikes were, and how “it took the japs to make a good bike” :) After dinner we went back to the campsite and dived into the tent as soon as possible. Tom bought some insect repellent and was trying to kill them all. Some of them followed us into the tent.
Photos of the trip
The original plan was to spend 2 weeks riding around Ireland in motorbikes. Tom was going to come over on the ferry on his bike. However about a week before he was meant to come over, he took his bike our for a ride and it broke down 1km from his flat. There’s a problem with his electrics. The battery is being drained faster than it’s being rechargered. Disaster!
After much frantic searching, it turns out there’s a place (and only one place) in Ireland that rents motorbikes.
Day 1
The bike rental company (Motorcycle Rental Ireland) was out in Naas, and opened at 9am,. We got up early and Tom drove both of us out there. It’s located off a slip road onto the motorway. The guy running it is doing it from a side building of his house. Tom was expecting an industrial estate. He can be so english at times :P The owner seemed quite copped on and passionate about bikes. Tom took the bike along the dual carriageway with me on the back. It was actually the most comfortable pillion trip I’d taken. It was quite windy and big roads can be annoying on a bike due to cross winds. However it was fine.
We went back to my flat and packed up all the bikes. Then we headed off and went to call into my mum’s house. She met us and offered tea and scones. After a chat, we headed off. My mum provided us with some home made ham sambos for lunch.
By this time it was 12noon, and we were only leaving Dublin. We had originally planned to stay the night in Cork with a friend of mine. We had to get a move on. We also wanted to go a slightly scenic route, so wanted to go via Wexford. We took the N11 dual carriageway down through Wicklow and Wexford towards Enniscorthy.
The dual carriageway was boring. Just lots of big roads. The weather was OK, with some spots of drizzle along the way.
There was also some strong winds and some strong crosswinds. On a motorbike you feel the wind much more and a strong wind can literally blow you around the road a bike. You need to steer/lean into the wind more. Winds like that make riding more of a chore than an enjoyment. I felt like I learned a lot more about riding and how to turn and lean and steer. I was never very confident at doing it, however after a good few hours in some strong crosswinds going down a major road and big trucks going pass.
My bike is only a 125cc, which is basically the smallest type of motorbike you can get. It doesn’t go very fast. I can get it up to 100km/hr max. On the dual carriageway, I was in top gear, with the throttle all open (like having the pedal all the way down), the rev counter thing was hovering just before the red area. Doing this for about 5 minutes on a straight road could get me up to 100km/hr. Maybe
We followed the main road down to Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford and turned west towards Waterford City. We pulled up in a car park on the quays and ate the ham sambos my mum had prepared. It was about 3pm now, so we needed to figure out where to stay that night. The original plan was to stay with M, a friend of mine who was away in Zambia in 2007 with me. However we weren’t making great time, and she was a bit ill at the time. We found a campsite near Dungarven, Co. Waterford.
We were sick of the main roads, so at Waterford, we went to Tramore and then west along the coast. The little AA map my mum gave us (that fit snugly in the tank bag) has marked out scenic routes and was a good guide. There were some really nice narrow country roads that hugged the coast. Up and around bays and inlets. It was very pretty.
Campsite was right on the beachfront which was nice. It was fairly empty then. I suppose the holiday season hadn’t properly stared yet. We went looking for food and had to go to several local pubs and hotels to find them all shut. Eventually a pizza take away in Dungarven town provided food. Back to the campsite with some pizza and drink we went. It was an early day, so we went to bed early.
Day 2.
We got up early. It’s hard to lie in when camping, since you can hear all the birds singing. It’s what Tom calls the ‘Dawn Chorus’. Weirdly all the birds sing at dawn, and then quite down. Also you’re woken up by the sun light. It’s nice to get up early, since then you have more of the day.
We packed up and hit the road to Cork straight away. We went along the main roads to Cork city. Cork has a nice big southern ring road that’s a dual carriageway. I didn’t know Cork was so well developed and was so busy. We went under the Jack Lynch Tunnel under the harbor. It was kinda cool. We then continued along the main road southern Cork road.
Breakfast was in Inishannon, a teeny little village with only one street. We stopped in a fancy café, and I ordered a full Irish breakfast. The café was a strange mix of old and new Ireland. The tea was served in glass cups and the plates were fancy square ones. However I was still able to get a full Irish breakfast, and all the customers were locals with strong Cork accents. After breakfast, we hit the road again towards Bandon and Skibbereen some nice scenery but not amazing. We didn’t stop in any of these places and just continued on though.
We stopped in Bantry for some tea. We parked in a free car park in Bantry at the seafront. As we were taking off all our bike stuff an elderly parking attendent started ambling our way. Tom, being ever so English, asked if it’s OK to park our bikes there. He replies “Sure, I thought you were going for a swim!”. :) After a nice cup of tea in ‘The Snug’, we rang up a campsite up the road in Glengarrif.
Glengarrif is a nice little village at the south end of the Béara Peninsula. It’s very hilly. There’s a little graveyard there that’s all lumpy up and down. Our campsite was 2km out of town towards Castletown bearhaven. The road from the village to the campsite was lovely and a hint at what was ahead. It was very mountainous and some great mountain views.
It was a nice campsite at first, with a backdrop of mountains. However as soon as we set up the tent, we were swamed with migies. They were everywhere in the campsite. We walked around the whole campsite trying to find the spot with with least migies, but they were everywhere.
Ensuring our tent was zipped all the way up, we went back to the village to find some dinner. The only chipper was closed! Instead we went to the bar across the road and had a bacon and cheese burger, with chips! nomnomnom. We had the bikes parked outside and some old guy was talking to us about bikes and how crappy the old british bikes were, and how “it took the japs to make a good bike” :) After dinner we went back to the campsite and dived into the tent as soon as possible. Tom bought some insect repellent and was trying to kill them all. Some of them followed us into the tent.
Photos of the trip