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.