me and my bro have got a week in ireland booked.
Any suggestions on routes, sleeping, food, drink and merriment???
Best suggestion gets a free tax disk holder.
Cheers
Stu
biking in Ireland
biking in Ireland
red is the fastest colour;)
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loosescrew
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Tue Jun 01, 2004 11:15 pm
- Location: belfast
sensible lads!! 
Where to go depends on when u go and where u start from?
There's plenty of other storm owners on here who will be more specific about routes, places of interest, etc etc
but i would suggest u try to ride all the road racing circuits...eg Dundrod, Skerries, NW200, Cookstown, Temple, Carrowdore, etc etc! Would be an exercise in map reading and take u all over the country!
mike
Re: biking in Ireland
1 Routes- the one closest to the pubstu9000 wrote:me and my bro have got a week in ireland booked.
Any suggestions on routes, sleeping, food, drink and merriment???
Best suggestion gets a free tax disk holder.
Cheers
Stu
2 Sleeping-with a blonde goddess
3 Drinking - as much as possible and try the Guinness
4 Merriment- bit inbetween the drinking and sleeping with the blonde goddess
Perfect holiday
The voices made me do it
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yellafella
- Posts: 1276
- Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2004 9:58 am
- Location: Middlesbrough
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Johnny Wishbone
- Posts: 124
- Joined: Tue Aug 10, 2004 3:21 pm
- Location: Dublin, Ireland
superb
Cheers folks.
Ive heard the Irish are hospitable but this is impressive.
Cheers for all the generous offers to meet up and show us the good roads.
And is someone offering hot n cold running blondes or am i getting confused?
Were arriving in Cork on the 9th Aug but I have not booked anything beyond the ferry yet.
Nice to hear there are not too many cameras and police.
Roads ok?
Like the sound of the road race tracks loosescrew, ill check that out on the web.
RQ, hadnt thought about the finances yet. Figured beer and fuel and a bed for the night should'nt break the bank (famous last words).
Basically Im keeping it pretty flexible. Just want to ride in the day and party with the locals at nite. Pack leathers, T shirt and toothbrush. Travel light n fast.
Would love to hear about bike friendly pubs especially if can sleep and eat.
Ive got a feeling this hol is gonna be good.
Ive heard the Irish are hospitable but this is impressive.
Cheers for all the generous offers to meet up and show us the good roads.
And is someone offering hot n cold running blondes or am i getting confused?
Were arriving in Cork on the 9th Aug but I have not booked anything beyond the ferry yet.
Nice to hear there are not too many cameras and police.
Roads ok?
Like the sound of the road race tracks loosescrew, ill check that out on the web.
RQ, hadnt thought about the finances yet. Figured beer and fuel and a bed for the night should'nt break the bank (famous last words).
Basically Im keeping it pretty flexible. Just want to ride in the day and party with the locals at nite. Pack leathers, T shirt and toothbrush. Travel light n fast.
Would love to hear about bike friendly pubs especially if can sleep and eat.
Ive got a feeling this hol is gonna be good.
red is the fastest colour;)
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Johnny Wishbone
- Posts: 124
- Joined: Tue Aug 10, 2004 3:21 pm
- Location: Dublin, Ireland
Not a great time of the year for the road racing Stu, the only meetings that are on around the start of August are Dundrod and the Ulster GP, and it looks like you'll be at the wrong end of the country.
Have you any plans as to where you want to go from Cork??? I suggest you head West and take in the ring of Kerry then head North to Clare and RQ land... A few of his buddies own hotels out that way and he'll be able to tell you where to stay etc. Dunno how the roads are down Kerry way now - some are bad, some are good, but it seems in the last couple of years they have been resurfacing a lot of them. Try and get up the Conor Pass for a blast, the road surface is ok, but the roads are narrow, and beware sheep on the road if you're in the habit (as I am) of gassing it out of bends 
I'm sure there'll be a few of us tipping around that week so we might meet up en-route somewhere. RQ might be in the rozzers at that stage so we might have to bust him out of copper school for a day or two
Have you any plans as to where you want to go from Cork??? I suggest you head West and take in the ring of Kerry then head North to Clare and RQ land...
A few of his buddies own hotels out that way and he'll be able to tell you where to stay etc. Dunno how the roads are down Kerry way now - some are bad, some are good, but it seems in the last couple of years they have been resurfacing a lot of them. Try and get up the Conor Pass for a blast, the road surface is ok, but the roads are narrow, and beware sheep on the road if you're in the habit (as I am) of gassing it out of bends I'm sure there'll be a few of us tipping around that week so we might meet up en-route somewhere. RQ might be in the rozzers at that stage so we might have to bust him out of copper school for a day or two
Out of my way or I'll eat the lot of ye!!
anyone see the TT?
Inspirational stuff from McGuiness and co.
Pretty impressive seeing the bikes bumping and squirming over bog standard tarmac.
Not that im suggesting doing 150 mph down the high street but that mountain road was stunning. Are there any of those around the ring of kerry?
Cheers Johny for letting me know about RQ's hotel "connections". RQ, can you recommend any bike friendly places to crash?
Meeting up en route could be cool. Bit of local knowledge goes a long way and its certainly worth a couple of beers to us. Suggest we sort out a sort of "if youre there youre there" meeting point closer to the time.
Gotta say, havnt looked forward to a holiday so much in ages.
Pretty impressive seeing the bikes bumping and squirming over bog standard tarmac.
Not that im suggesting doing 150 mph down the high street but that mountain road was stunning. Are there any of those around the ring of kerry?
Cheers Johny for letting me know about RQ's hotel "connections". RQ, can you recommend any bike friendly places to crash?
Meeting up en route could be cool. Bit of local knowledge goes a long way and its certainly worth a couple of beers to us. Suggest we sort out a sort of "if youre there youre there" meeting point closer to the time.
Gotta say, havnt looked forward to a holiday so much in ages.
red is the fastest colour;)
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Johnny Wishbone
- Posts: 124
- Joined: Tue Aug 10, 2004 3:21 pm
- Location: Dublin, Ireland
Stu, just back from Kinsale there at the weekend - it's been a few years since I was there, but I have to say, you have got to head down there for a day or two - maybe before you get the ferry back, stay there the night before - lovely roads from Cork to Kinsale, but it's only about 23km. Some gorgeous twisties around Kinsale itself, but the pubs and restaurants there are second to none - if the weather is fine there it really is a stunning spot.
Dunno if there's anything quite like the mountain circuit in Kerry... maybe. As I said, a lot of the roads have been resurfaced there in the past few years - the road from Cork to Killarney was listed in Bikes "Best Roads" booklet, and the Road from Killarney to Dingle is class. I'd say, go from Cork to Killarney, to Dingle, maybe around the penninsula and then North to Limerick and Clare. Maybe we could meet you on the way back down to Cork and head on to Kinsale or something.
Dunno if there's anything quite like the mountain circuit in Kerry... maybe. As I said, a lot of the roads have been resurfaced there in the past few years - the road from Cork to Killarney was listed in Bikes "Best Roads" booklet, and the Road from Killarney to Dingle is class. I'd say, go from Cork to Killarney, to Dingle, maybe around the penninsula and then North to Limerick and Clare. Maybe we could meet you on the way back down to Cork and head on to Kinsale or something.
Out of my way or I'll eat the lot of ye!!
Stu,
Your journey depends on a number of variables!!!
A) Scenery : Good Roads
B) Scenery : Bad Roads
C) Twisties : Good Roads
D) Twisties : Bad Roads
E) Long Journeys : Main Roads
F) Long Journeys : Secondary Roads
BTW, if you ever see secondary roads, they are your equivilant of a category 4 in the UK if there was such a thing!!!
My recommendation for a tour is as follows ( if anyone has any other ideas for Stu add them in!!!)
If you are sailing in to Cork, then stay that end of the country for a bit and do Kerry when down there. Dingle and the Conor pass, serious views if the weather is clear. The place is littered with B&B's down that way, I'll do a MAG search in a min and see if they recommend any in particular. From there head up the west coast roads (fookin basic roads, surfaced but not many have the white lines!)
Clare has some crackin scenery too, The Burren, The Cliffs of Moher, and all the pubs that line the route. Always remember, round the next corner there could be a cow or a sheep in the middle of the road. Definately try to stay in Burkes Armada Hotel ( http://www.burkesarmadahotel.com ) in Spanish Point. PM me and I'll give you details of who to contact there.
From there head up to Galway, and out towards Clifden. Beautiful scenery all the way out to Clifden from Galway. Great pubs around Clifden too.
If I were you, I'd then head East towards Dublin. Stay in Blessington in Wicklow in The Downshire House Hotel, a mate of mine for years (also a Stormer) owns that hotel. Amazing roads up there for spins, oh wow. Mountain roads with major twisties that you can see forwards for miles. All resurfaced in the recent past because a stage of the Tour de France (?????) was held there. Johnny Wishbone and Bink can take up the tour guide from there!!
http://www.theaa.ie will give you a good guide to mileage, when it gives average speeds of 60kph, it usually means that's all you'll be doing! Get familiar with the conversion of Kph / Mph in your head as we are all metric over here now. The important one is do 75mph on motorways (be aware not all dual carriageways are not motorways even though they look exactly the same!!) 60mph on main roads, and 30mph through towns and villages.
Euros, we are at about Eur1 to .68p Stg at the moment, You are on a winnner!
Petrol is 103.0c per litre at the moment.
Be careful entering motorways low on fuel, we haven't quite figured the Little Chef concept yet, and therefore don't have services on the motorways.
Gardai are more flexible towards speeding on bikes than in cars, so as long as you don't take the piss, you'll be ok. We don't have unmarked traffic cars anymore, all cars patroling the roads are fully marked. The detective branches do have unmarked cars but don't patrol roads. Cork is notorious for getting caught speeding in!! At the moment a speeding fine is Eur 80.00, but you are not liable for points on a UK licence. If taking the piss, you will be summonsed to court though.
I'll do a list in a minute in a seperate post for accom along that route.
Your journey depends on a number of variables!!!
A) Scenery : Good Roads
B) Scenery : Bad Roads
C) Twisties : Good Roads
D) Twisties : Bad Roads
E) Long Journeys : Main Roads
F) Long Journeys : Secondary Roads
BTW, if you ever see secondary roads, they are your equivilant of a category 4 in the UK if there was such a thing!!!
My recommendation for a tour is as follows ( if anyone has any other ideas for Stu add them in!!!)
If you are sailing in to Cork, then stay that end of the country for a bit and do Kerry when down there. Dingle and the Conor pass, serious views if the weather is clear. The place is littered with B&B's down that way, I'll do a MAG search in a min and see if they recommend any in particular. From there head up the west coast roads (fookin basic roads, surfaced but not many have the white lines!)
Clare has some crackin scenery too, The Burren, The Cliffs of Moher, and all the pubs that line the route. Always remember, round the next corner there could be a cow or a sheep in the middle of the road. Definately try to stay in Burkes Armada Hotel ( http://www.burkesarmadahotel.com ) in Spanish Point. PM me and I'll give you details of who to contact there.
From there head up to Galway, and out towards Clifden. Beautiful scenery all the way out to Clifden from Galway. Great pubs around Clifden too.
If I were you, I'd then head East towards Dublin. Stay in Blessington in Wicklow in The Downshire House Hotel, a mate of mine for years (also a Stormer) owns that hotel. Amazing roads up there for spins, oh wow. Mountain roads with major twisties that you can see forwards for miles. All resurfaced in the recent past because a stage of the Tour de France (?????) was held there. Johnny Wishbone and Bink can take up the tour guide from there!!
http://www.theaa.ie will give you a good guide to mileage, when it gives average speeds of 60kph, it usually means that's all you'll be doing! Get familiar with the conversion of Kph / Mph in your head as we are all metric over here now. The important one is do 75mph on motorways (be aware not all dual carriageways are not motorways even though they look exactly the same!!) 60mph on main roads, and 30mph through towns and villages.
Euros, we are at about Eur1 to .68p Stg at the moment, You are on a winnner!
Petrol is 103.0c per litre at the moment.
Be careful entering motorways low on fuel, we haven't quite figured the Little Chef concept yet, and therefore don't have services on the motorways.
Gardai are more flexible towards speeding on bikes than in cars, so as long as you don't take the piss, you'll be ok. We don't have unmarked traffic cars anymore, all cars patroling the roads are fully marked. The detective branches do have unmarked cars but don't patrol roads. Cork is notorious for getting caught speeding in!! At the moment a speeding fine is Eur 80.00, but you are not liable for points on a UK licence. If taking the piss, you will be summonsed to court though.
I'll do a list in a minute in a seperate post for accom along that route.
RQ.
The Stig of 2 wheels as well as 4 !
The Stig of 2 wheels as well as 4 !
whew...
trully impressed by the feedback.
Cheers lads.
still checking out the advice before working out a possible route.
General view seems to be do the ring of kerry and the west coast first.
At this rate ill be able to start a bike festival or write a guide.
Stu
Cheers lads.
still checking out the advice before working out a possible route.
General view seems to be do the ring of kerry and the west coast first.
At this rate ill be able to start a bike festival or write a guide.
Stu
red is the fastest colour;)
Stu,
I did some biking down that end and had a brilliant time.
The roads aren't going to be great and worse in places but it will improve your riding skills ;-)
Driving from Cork into Kerry is truely a biking experience you'll never forget. You'll pass through a small tunnel which is the border between Cork & Kerry (N71). The scenery will get more and more stunning as you go.
http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichelin/ ... &x=30&y=11
You must stay in Dingle - Great place!! The Dingle Peninsula is regarded for the most dramatic and magnificent scenery in Ireland.
Dingle pubs are first class. Check out Richard Mac's (World Famous) and Foxy Johns (you won't believe this place - old set up, bar/shop/bicycle hire). Scenery round there is FANTATSIC! Slea Head has to be visited. Look out over the Atlantic while have a cupper at the Tig Slea Head coffee shop.
When leaving Dingle go via the Conor Pass - road surface is crap but it not to be missed!
AAAarrrghh, I want to go back!!!
http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichelin/ ... &x=30&y=11
Here are some great pics...
http://community.webshots.com/photo/876 ... 3136xtTOGv
Don't just take my word for it - do a Google search on the bold words above - I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time! I'm gonna stop now as I am getting depressed sitting in the office and not being down there!!
Good luck!
PS - This is the Pub I stayed at during my biking visit. Pub downstairs, Bed upstairs and Parking at the back - all you need!
http://www.iol.ie/~murphyjn/
I did some biking down that end and had a brilliant time.
The roads aren't going to be great and worse in places but it will improve your riding skills ;-)
Driving from Cork into Kerry is truely a biking experience you'll never forget. You'll pass through a small tunnel which is the border between Cork & Kerry (N71). The scenery will get more and more stunning as you go.
http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichelin/ ... &x=30&y=11
You must stay in Dingle - Great place!! The Dingle Peninsula is regarded for the most dramatic and magnificent scenery in Ireland.
Dingle pubs are first class. Check out Richard Mac's (World Famous) and Foxy Johns (you won't believe this place - old set up, bar/shop/bicycle hire). Scenery round there is FANTATSIC! Slea Head has to be visited. Look out over the Atlantic while have a cupper at the Tig Slea Head coffee shop.
When leaving Dingle go via the Conor Pass - road surface is crap but it not to be missed!
AAAarrrghh, I want to go back!!!
http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichelin/ ... &x=30&y=11
Here are some great pics...
http://community.webshots.com/photo/876 ... 3136xtTOGv
Don't just take my word for it - do a Google search on the bold words above - I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time! I'm gonna stop now as I am getting depressed sitting in the office and not being down there!!
Good luck!
PS - This is the Pub I stayed at during my biking visit. Pub downstairs, Bed upstairs and Parking at the back - all you need!
http://www.iol.ie/~murphyjn/