Preparing to Cycle Around Ireland

This will either be the greatest trip ever or I have finally gone mad. As exclusively revealed in my last blog I’m undertaking a long bike ride around the coast of Ireland; a cycling holiday and a fitness challenge all in one. The planets have aligned and I’ve been given a window of three or four weeks to pull this off. I may never get this opportunity again so despite the short preparation period, I’m planning on taking off tomorrow.

This is How I hope I will look on my trip

I have been keeping fit with some excellent functional training classes in recent weeks that I’ll write about in a future blog however the only cycling training or cycling workouts to speak of since I came back from parental leave have been limited to a few ‘Dublin Bikes’ trips around the city centre!

Cycling Ireland has always been something I’ve wanted to do. The redundancy has given me the opportunity to make it a reality. I’d love to make it around the entire coast and while it’s probably achievable in the amount of time that I have at Tour de France pace, I actually want to enjoy the trip as much as possible by taking my time passing through the countryside and by stopping and exploring the villages and towns that I encounter.

I picked up some quality panniers during the week and have filled them with what I hope will be the clothes and equipment needed for the trip. Click on the vlog below to see what I’m packing:

I don’t have a definite cycling plan for the trip. I’ll be heading south from Stoneybatter on the north side of Dublin on day one and I want to complete a reasonable distance every day allowing for weather, how I’m feeling and where I end up stopping and exploring. A rough target is to make it to Killarney in one week. While not on the coast, I have access to a safe house there where I can recharge for a few days if necessary! It’s also a great base to complete the Ring of Kerry, a cycle I’ve always wanted to tick off the bucket list.

For route planning I’ll be using Google Maps and a mobile app that will also, hopefully, track my progress. On week one of my Ireland tour I’d love to be able to visit towns like Brittas Bay, Gorey, Rosslare, Kilmore Quay, Dunmore East, Tramore, Dungarvan, Ardmore, Cobh, Kinsale, Baltimore and who knows where else before reaching Killarney. If you’ll be in or around any of these locations over the next week then drop me a line to say hello and to meet up for a coffee. I’d also love to hear about any baby slings that you can donate as I mentioned last week.

I’m all set and very excited for tomorrow morning. Here’s hoping for good weather and a safe journey.

Yours in health, Brian