Planning my Dream Trip to Ireland - part 3

The reason I wanted to cycle around Ireland is because it is a cycling-lover’s dream. You can cycle the coast, the hills, the farmlands and through the villages. There’s only one problem – I won’t be able to do it all by bike in three days.

Yes, I have been training.  I've been cycling every weekend since May and can easily do 60 to 80 miles a day if there aren't that many big hills.  I thought this was a good amount of distance to cover, but when doing my research, I quickly learned Ireland is a lot bigger than I thought.

For some reason, I thought it was small like Prince Edward Island or Vancouver Island or even Hawaii.  But it's not.  It's big. In fact, driving from Dublin to Cork is over 3 hours – never mind cycling all that way.

IRELAND IS A CYCLING-LOVERS DREAM
This trip was getting harder by the minute. So ignoring the distance issue, I figured I’d research the best cycling areas and then narrow down my options.

Here’s what I learned:

1) Coastal Bike Tour from Dublin – The company Dublin by Bike has a great coast tour that is 14 km and goes by the Medieval village of Dalkey. Dalkey has seven castles and everyone says I need to see at least one castle when visiting the country. The tour sounds lovely and it's a one day guided tour. Website: http://www.dublinbybike.ie/index.php/coastal-bike-tour-of-dublin-south-coast-ireland/

2) Cycling Safaris – Cycling Safari also has a similar guided tour from Dublin to Dalkey, but with them I could also rent a bike and go off on my own and bike farther. The 14 km route the other trip had sounded kind of short. Plus, what is cool about Cycling Safaris is that I could leave the bike in Dalkey and take the train back if I got too tired to cycle home. Website: http://www.cyclingsafaris.com/index.php?q=day-tours-and-around-dublin

3) Limerick area – I want to see more of Ireland than just Dublin so decided to branch out my search. I learned that the company "Ireland by Bike" in Limerick has a 3-day self guided trip or I could rent a bike by day. Not sure about Limerick though. I really wanted to see the coastline a bit. Website: http://www.irelandbybike.com/Short-Cycling-Breaks/

4) The Antrim Glens and Causeway Coast – But there are even more options. I found a weekend cycling trip through Irish Cycle Tours, but my plane schedule won’t have me there in time as I land Sunday afternoon. But at least there is a chance I could rent a bike and go on my own trip in the area. Website: http://www.irishcycletours.com/the-antrim-glens-a-causeway-coast

5) Ireland’s Northwest Trail – Then there’s the Northwest trail. This is a 326 km circular cycle route that goes through scenic landscapes and along quiet country roads. The website says I’ll also see the Atlantic Ocean in areas and pass through some towns. All I need to do is rent a bike. Sounds adorable. Website: http://www.northwest-trail.com/default.aspx

6) Cork City-Beara-Gougane Barra Cycling Route -- This cycling route starts in the Mardyke, off the Western Road in Cork City, and goes for 94 km (58 miles) so it’s totally doable in a day. If I decide to go on this route, I’ll cycle along quiet country roads and through a bunch of villages. Website: http://www.discoverireland.ie/Activities-Adventure/the-cork-city-gougane-barra-beara-cycle-route/9745

So basically, I have a lot of options. Going to plot them out on a map tonight and narrow them down. Plus, I've still got to find some picturesque places to stay.

Whew! The plan is back on!!