Galway Races

The way out of Westport was some great riding. The weather was mixed, but it was easier to take it in stride. The way through Murrisk was natural and beautiful, with several major outdoor outfitters offering mountain and sea tours. I visited Kylemore Abby, a west coast “must do” but had to come back the next day when they could not offer a safe place to put my bicycle. The Abby was run as a catholic girls school until 2010, and now appears to be in transition without a clear core business. The tour was disappointing, with only four (4) of the 70 rooms open to the public. One of the rooms had a slide show of the areas they wouldn't let us into. Thanks. The walled gardens were more worth seeing, with historical insights and a functional history of the watering systems and early greenhouses that were used to grow tropical fruit. I also had time to climb Diamond mountain, met a few nice people along the way. I met a Wyoming girl and had a good Irish stew. I'm finding the Irish are very generous in hospitality.

I was then able to make it to Galway in one day, though I had to truncate some of the peninsulas along the coastal route that may have prevented this. During the day, I was the only soul on the horizon as I rode through the bog lands; by night, I was packed shoulder to shoulder in some American themed bar celebrating some girl's birthday who I met in the hostel. After about two hours of primping, the whole lot of us were finally off, with plenty of drunken girl drama to ensue, but I can't make fun, they invited me, and it was good company.

I decided to go to mass, seeing as I'm in Ireland, and I have free time on a Sunday morning. It was nice. I went to Galway Cathedral, which is actually fairly new at 50 years old. I visited the museum, and toured the very nice shopping district downtow
n. One of the shopping areas is built around the cities historic stone walls. It is literally a giant stone wall through the center of the mall, where historic preservation meets modern commerce, yet the design of the mall, textures and colors, make it all come together well. The city is famous for its horse racing an oysters, neither of which I partaked in, but I did learn a few things about Rugby and Hurling. There is also some famous “Galway Hooker” fishing ships, but I could not find any charters. I went out again with a different group from the hostel, and had more relaxed, overall nicer time talking about culture, travel, and life with the German and Australian girls.

Today I walked all over town looking for new brake pads to no avail. I guess the style I have is unique and somewhat dated now, but I called ahead to Limerick and they should have them for me there. The pedestrian areas are very nice, but the automobile areas can be hazardous with narrow sidewalks and mixed driver reactions. The city is clean, but does have a lot of late night pubs where the streets are cleaned early in the mornings. Galway was a good city to see for few days, with good day and night life, and overall good score. Tomorrow I'll head off to the Cliffs of Moher, another “Must Do.” Weather looks good, time to roll out.

County Mayo

The past few days have taken me through county Mayo, which has been remote but “unspoiled.” The ride out of Sligo took me along some spectacular coastline, with roads edging along coastal cliffs, jagged and irregular from the ocean waves beating the layered sedimentary cliffs into all sorts of formations, where the waves continue to pound and play, ever evolving the landscape. The gulf stream winds makes this a popular area for surfers, and I've seen more surf shops then I ever thought. Some palm trees also survive in the temperate climate. The countryside was quiet and unpopulated, with none of the shore side condos that I would expect for such a view. Also, there has been no Wallmart, Petco, Pannara Bread, or any of those other annoying places since I arrive, that has been a mental relief. Instead there has been a mix of inns, B&B's and locally owned pubs. Some of the signs and other literature have been in Gaelic, which has been interesting. The weather has been mixed, but the terrain has been much flatter.

Overall, I've been much more comfortable provided the steady workload. I also found cycling shorts usually sufficient, changing zipper vents in my jacket, headgear, and gloves as necessary. I had been following the Wind Atlantic Way on my way south. Progress was good, but rain and a side wind developed late the first day that stopped me 20 miles short of my destination. I remember watching the water spin off my front tire and get blown sideways. When it starts feeling like the Marine Core, it's time to call it in. Luckily, I found a B&B where a fisherman and his wife were happy to take me in, and provide a fish dinner from his own catch. My bike was stored in the shed along the the peat which they still used to heat the house. We talked at length about local issues, it was a good night.

I backtracked to Céide Fields, a neolithic settlement that was burred by a meter or more peat which grew over the millennia, and only rediscovered in the 1920's. There was an interesting exhibit on the settlement. The settlement was quite large and well organized, the museum had artifacts that were well preserved in the boggy soil. I decided against the field walk, and took a short day in the rain, going to Bangor to refill on food and cash. The chocolate chip mini-breads were good to have on hand, I'm also carrying more fresh fruit and fruit juices. I felt a little wimpy calling it a short day, but the next day would make up for many of the miles. I went to Achill Island and did a loop there, which again, offered some picture perfect scenery in a hilly sort of environment.

 I wanted to camp on the grassy hills overlooking the ocean, but could not find anyone to ask. The riding was amazing and this side trip was well worth while. I then found the Greenway, Ireland's longest off-road cycle path, that lead right to Westport with a good tail wind and plenty of inexperienced rental bikes along the path. I helped someone with a flat, and provided them with a spare inner tube, only partly repaying the generosity people have shown me on my trip.

I don't usually stop for lunch, so when I arrived at Westport I had a pizza, burger, pile of chips and two milk shakes. I tried to rally for a beer, stayed for a song or two, before returning to the hostel and sleeping for 12 hours. Today I did some shopping, bike adjustments, visited the tourist into office, and walked around town a bit. One of the hostelers offered some extra stew around that I've been working on, may go out later for a pint after taking some time to plan my way down south.

Donegal

The past week has been difficult but beautiful. The weather has been good, with clear skies and generally low winds. The tourism season seems to be over, and accommodation is no longer a problem. The Wild Atlantic Way has been called 'the most scenic route in the world', and after riding some of it, I can agree that it must be in the running. There have been all sorts of scenic beaches, green mountains, cliffs, rock formations, castles, monasteries, whatever you prefer. However, the terrain is challenging, and +10% grades are common, leaving me in my low gears and wearing out my brakes for what has been slow progress. The steep hills make for hot climbing and cold descents that leave me cold and sweaty at the end of the day. It is not uncommon to be at ocean level, then climb 500-700 feet where the mountain passes resemble the Scottish highlands, to go back down again. On my way to Malien Head, there were several such passes which caught me off guard, one of several days where conservative planning was well justified. I arrived at the hostel later and much more tired then I anticipated, only wanting to shower, eat, and pass out.

I've been following the Wild Atlantic signposts for guidance. The route strings together popular sites, and supports mixed amounts of useful tourism information, side trips, accommodations, and so on. The route nicely provides scenic turn by turn direction whereas my GPS only does point to point navigation. People have noticed, as I have, that some of the natural phenomenon are under represented, and on more then one occasion I missed something where there was no obvious signage or entrance. The Wild Atlantic has also been problematic in that it often joins highways that are unsuitable for bicycles. Navigating around these sections been tricky but doable with GPS and cell phone coverage.

Aside from this I've also had some equipment problems and a lingering cough that has gone on for about a week. I was glad to take a rest day today, do some necessary shopping, bike adjustments, laundry, and get extra sleep. I feel guilty for having to shortcut or otherwise bypass some of the sites, but there is just too much to do and I'm feeling worn out. I already took a shortcut through Donegal, bypassing much of the coastline by cycling through the interior. The remainder of the Wild Atlantic is quite a long way (1500 miles I believe) and I'll likely end up turning off towards Dublin early then I anticipated, for the sake of time, colder temperatures, and an actual desire to get going on real life. In the mean time, I'm trying to make the most of my time here, not stress out about what am missing but what I'm still able to do, and what's yet to see. 

Derry

The rest of the ride to Derry was present, with strong tail winds that made it colder to stop and feel the wind the rather then ride along with it. This is also the fastest I've been on the bike, just about topping off my high speed gears on quiet country roads that provided a good opportunity to do so with good visibility, low traffic, and high quality road surfaces. I was able to make many stops along the way, such as cross the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, Dunluce Castle, the Gient's Causeway, and the Bushmills distillery, and many other smaller roadside viewpoints offering some amazing scenery of the cliffs and the sea. This route was not all inclusive, and I did miss some of the attractions listed in the brochure, but I had to balance my time and energy. The actual ride into Derry was a bit tricky as my GPS gave crazy directions, leaving me to navigate by paper and phone on a turn by turn basis on less then ideal roadways as country roads turned into divided highways as I neared the city. I spent a half a day resetting and re-updating the GPS, so hopefully these problems are resolved.

Derry / Londonderry (henceforth the “city”), is much the same way I remember it from 2005. There has been significant progress in keeping the peace, but the town has yet to really turn around. Emotional murals are still about, with new ones still being created which display the underling tensions that reside in the residents. I hear there are problems with policing the city as the officers face religious biases and harassment, insofar as it restricts there ability to enforce. This reminds me of the racial issues facing our police in the US. Because of this, business open late and close early, which surprised me and seems to be hurting economic viability of the city. I learned the city has the highest unemployment rate in Ireland. Thought the city seems safe from a general crime standpoint, there is still unforgotten tensions in the air. Fences, barred windows, and multiple locked doors at the hostel are good examples. There is a seaport mentality left over from WW2 that has contributed to many bars and a somewhat tumultuous drinking culture with plenty of late night street noise and drunken hostelers coming in late at night.

Yet it is not all bad news. There seems to be much opportunity, and a silver lining as I believe the city is on the rebound. There has been significant progress in removing cameras, demilitarizing areas, and several political milestones of forgiveness and admittance to help ease tensions and move things forward. There also seems to be an evolving arts culture that began with political murals.

One thing is for sure, there is a ton of history here that cannot be easily simplified. The relatively recent history is only part of the cities long story that faced a 105 day siege, a five year famine, involvement in both world wars, and much more. These events cemented a “never surrender” mentality, a stubborn attitude that may be hinder cooperation and the cities' future at large. A walking tour along the cities walls and a few hours in the museum was helpful, but again, a bit overwhelming with information. I often times believe the big picture is lost in the details of specific events, and it is difficult to put it all into context along a time line, and then try compare to US history as a reference point. I also visited a exhibit on the “La Trinidad Valencera,” a ship of the Spanish Armada, which sank off the north coast of Ireland with many artifacts on board.

My overall experience with Derry has been mixed. There is a ton of culture and history, but there are still problems, and an uneasy tension as I avoided sensitive topics in my interactions with people I met. I am looking forward to getting back out in the country, crossing over into official Ireland, and starting on the Wild Atlantic Way.

Belfast

The way out of Glasgow was much as the same way in. Despite contradictory directions from the Garmin, I followed the UK bike routes that were fairly well signed. It was safer, and at times, faster with direct and priority paths passing over busy highways. Other sections of the paths were narrow or twisty, which prevented fast riding. The paths do not always lead in the ideal direction, which caused some extra miles. There was a lot of foot traffic, strollers, and dog walkers, which intensified as I unwittingly entered near an air show (of all things). Large crowds and closed roads delayed my progress along the ocean side paths as planes screamed overhead to the delight of onlookers, so I eventually stopped to watch some of the show also. The red planes flew in all sorts of formations over the harbor, trailing blue white and RED smoke over Scottish waters; perhaps a political statement? I camped nearby but it felt like a justification for carrying all the equipment, which is just as well as I'm sure the air show booked the town out. I cooked some pasta on the stove which worked well, but slept marginally as the wind banged my tent around.

Being stopped so close to the Troon ferry, I decided to go Ireland from there. I met a few other cyclotourists along the way. One younger guy who was going home after a week in Scotland, he seemed ill prepared and fairly beat up by the experience. His plan was to ride another 25 miles in the dark to nearest bus station, and huff it all home. I didn't see any lights on his bike. The other guy bragged about cooking on a twig fire, but I can't imagine boiling, or cooking anything nearly enough to eat on a wet pile of twigs. Still, we shared a comradely for the journey to Ireland. The ferry got in at 9:30 at night, so I took a B&B and left for Belfast the next morning.

The decision to go to Belfast was not an easy one. I was last there in 2005, and had memories of a divided, nay, torn town still with many problems. I remember vacant properties, dark streets, and overall gloominess to the city. But, I made the decision to go as it was close by, and it was chalked by the tourism glossies I'd seen over the past few days. Since it was short ride, I stopped at a waterfall and Carrickfergus castle, and spent a few hours there before heading on. Once in Belfast, I stayed at an International Youth Hostel downtown, which went well aside from my GPS sending me around in circles and non-existant pathways for several hours. I met a friendly Guatemalan fellow in the hostel, and we went out for drinks that same evening. Northern Ireland was playing Hungary, so we went to a bar packed with green shirts, which nearly exploded when Northern Ireland scored a point to tie, which then spread onto the streets in chanting and jubilee that I've never seen anywhere, over anything. “Ulster boys make all that noise!” I couldn't pretend to be excited enough to blend in. Memorable, for sure.

The next day I took a bus tour. I like these as they are relaxing ways to see the city, and double as daily transit with hop-on hop-off options. I saw Belfast “castle” the freedom wall, murals, fortified police stations... I think it was a good representation of the city and it's mixed history. I spent most of the day at the Titanic museum, which is situated at the head of ship yard 410 where Titanic was built. Iron gantries stand around the yard, and it was interesting to walk across the slip to get feel of scale. I tried to imagine the ship there. Inside, they had much history of Belfast, the design of the ship, and hard construction job of building her. They had replica staterooms, furniture, flatware, menus... sounded like a nice trip for the first half of the tour. They had a replica handrail built over a screen of ocean waves that was particularly well done. They had no artifacts from the ship itself. Overall the tour was well laid out with a comprehensive history of the Titanic and the era she was built in, as well as the effect on Belfast and the world. My trip to Belfast was good, and I left with a much more positive impression then 10 years prior.

I stopped at the PO to mail more unnecessary things home, then headed out of Belfast the next morning. My stop in the Belfast tourist info station turned me onto a “Causeway Coastal Route” that ran along the north coast of Ireland and strung together twenty some odd attractions. The signed route was supposed to be a beautiful Oceanside drive, and this did not disappoint with stark green mountains and bleached white rocks on the left, and the north Atlantic on the right. I stopped here and there at old church, a ocean side point, and for a greasy burger which was delicious. A strong tail wind developed and it turned into one of the best days of riding I've had, perhaps for the whole trip. I stopped at a campsite, and was offered a small AstroTurf hut at half cost, which saved the wind, and provided heat and power which I am using now.

Overall things are going very well. I plan on continuing on along the north coast tomorrow, and hopefully get to LondonDerry before the next bout of rain sets in.

Glasgow

Over the past few days the weather started cooperating wonderfully. I forgot how much depends on the weather, I can be OK at best in the rain, or OK at worst in decent weather. The ride to Mull was scenic, winding through dormant volcanoes with eagle sightings along the way. The geology is very complex, and I now know more about lava vents and cone sheets then ever before. I attended a religious service, but it could not really be called a Sunday Mass, in rural town near the ferry port. The hostel in Tobermory was booked, and others did not answer calls, but the sun was shining that made this more of an annoyance rather then any real hardship. I did an impromptu 20 miles to the next place that welcomed me in for two nights. I met a nice German girl who helped me say “apple,” thought I still don't think I have it down. The next day I visited Duart Castle, and did some light cycling along the coastline, but decided to take a short day, take a nap, and spend time cooking at the self catering kitchen. It should be noted that the landscape had moderated; hills lower and not as steep, and low forests blocked the winds that I experienced in the highlands. Think I am getting stronger too, but not to the point where I was before. Cell phone coverage was also improved which again, you don't miss it until it's gone. 

I took the ferry to Oban and spent the night there visiting Dunollie Castle and taking the distillery tour that evening. Both hostels were great to work with and had bike storage and self catering kitchens. They seem to welcome cyclists, which is nice. You get to meet some real interesting people too. I met a real Scotsmen in the bunk above me who shared some stories.

The next day I rode south, but wrong turn put me going north again, and I didn't realize this till I stopped at a B&B and talked with the owner. She suggested a different route rather then backtrack. Taking this as the sign that the roads were getting complex, I updated and mounted my GPS that took me right to the hotel doorstep in Glasgow. I was also glad to be back on the UK's national bike route system, where I rode on converted railway tracks straight into the center of the city, which was faster and much safer then going through traffic. This was one of those epic 80 mile days where you arrive sorta forgetting where you started. But again, the weather was great, and a slight tailwind kept things humming along nicely. There was one more ferry, and some jockeying of accommodations as again nearly everything was booked. My first attempt at Air B&B failed, and I almost skipped Glasgow all together when my reservations fell through in route. But being in cellular range, I was able to use mobile apps to check multiple offers and quickly book a substitute, which felt good. Still, the fancy hotel did not offer any of the services I like, or even try to accommodate, which was annoying at the 5x price difference.

Glasgow has a long history of heavy industry, especially steelworks like ship and locomotive building. The city was depressed for a long while thereafter, and only recently has seen a resurgence. I saw both on my ride in. The hotel is in a somewhat poor part of town, with plenty of cheep places to eat nearby. I stayed in Glasgow two nights, and took a full day to explore the city. I visited the 245 foot tall ship Glenlee, which has an interesting history, and was interesting comparison to other ships I've been on. The Transportation museum was right next door, which had locomotives, trolley cars, and all sorts of vehicles on display. Most of the exhibits showcased Glasgow's history in such matters, including a cable driven subway system, early steam powered cars, and models of the many, many ships that were build there. Glasgow was also the departing point for thousands of refugees making their way to America, which in itself is a somewhat moving fact.

Still with some time to go, I visited the Kelvingrove Art Museum which was surprisingly well done, and had exhibits from many major painters. The experience did re-affirm my suspicion there were few noteworthy Scottish painters, but there were a few. Lastly I visited the central shopping district, but did not stay long. I bought a new bike chain, and picked up some cheep eats on the way back to install it. 

The story has been great weather turning this into a great past few days. It was a rough start, and accommodation is still much more difficult then I remember, but I hope this will get better mid September when summer vacation ends. I plan on staying in the UK for another day or two before catching the ferry to Ireland.