Touring in Ireland

[jags]

what does that mean

[LollyKat]

swank
swaŋk/
British informal

noun: swank

1.
behaviour, talk, or display intended to impress others.

In other words - show-off! (Sorry eileithyia - only joking!)

[jags]

i had to much gear with me on that tour and my tent although great is to heavy at almost 4kg.mind u i find hills hard at the best of times especially on a loaded touring bike.

[bikepacker]

Got to agree you had too much gear with you but don't put yourself down, you did alright on the climbs.

[jags]

well i have even less these days as i sold the lot bike all my camping gear sold it for a song.

buy yeah i built up a nice lightweight touring kit just need a new lightweight tent and a new touring bike
since i seen u last i went back to road cycling bought a new Terry Dolan letape carbon bike love it but not much good for touring....dolan also make touring bikes so i might look a getting one sometime or other. .

i still love the idea of camping on a tour hostals are not for me to bloody busy and noisy, BnB are to expensive and if you want to get away early in the morning you will most likely miss breakfast
so putting a good lightweight kit together is the secret of a good tour well would be for this kid.

sorry bikergirl im rambling again but hey i'm irish we like to talk.

jags.

[bikergirl]

Thats ok - I'm enjoying the dialogue. I'm not too hot on hills , but - hey - that's what I've got gears for, nice low ones. In fact, the lowest is so slow it's hard to stay upright lol. Bike's quite heavy - Thorn Nomad - but an ace bike. I have got a trailer for it now too, altho I haven't used it for touring. I use it to haul my rotavator to and from my allotment and to go shopping. Have thought about touring with it - less dead weight on the bike.

Love the pic, can't wait to be there. Always got waterproofs - just as well, the day we set off from Bordeaux one year, in August, it was p'''ing down and cold.

Thanks for the offer gordonyoung - might take you up on that if we pass thru Limerick. Thanks to vjosullivan too for the link. Lots of nice places to visit now - definitely going to warrant more than one trip.

Is there a law about camping wild in Ireland. We have camped wild in Germany when we couldn't find a campsite - but I know it's acceptable over there. I'd prefer to be somewhere with amenities obviously, but if we get stuck.......????

[jags]

on the west coast there plenty campsites .
not sure if it's illegal to wild camp but if you spot a good safe spot them camp away you will be fine.
my last touring bike was a Thorn sherpa excellent bike but it was a dog on hills built like a tank much like the nomad.still if u travel slow then it's no big deal.

northern ireland can be expensive for camping i camped in 2 ..£15 for a small pitch but i suppose if you hunt around theres bound to be much cheaper sites.
i think me and bikepacker paid 7 or maybe 9 euro for camping , hostal in dolin was 15 nice but wouldn't use hostals again .

[pwa]

Irish farmers, approached with a smile, are often happy to suggest a field you can use for the night. And you can use your chat with them to explore the best, quietest roads to take the next day. Offer them a few quid, though they will usually refuse it. There's no shortage of farms in Ireland.

[bikergirl]

Thanks Jags, camping is certainly our preferred accommodation - always need to keep costs down. Have got an MSR Hubba Hubba (2 man) - brilliant tent - quick and easy to put up. Has withstood high winds, torrential rain, and just enough room under the fly sheet to store our gear outside the sleeping area. Opens both sides too so no climbing over a sleeping partner in middle of night. They are a bit pricey, but we got ours in USA - much cheaper than here and weighing in at 3 1/2 lbs is pretty light. There is also a one man - the MSR Hubba. Now I'm rambling - and I'm not Irish - my grandmother was tho so it must be in the genes.

Like your blog "robing". I use a Caxton too - but now I've got the new one that will do up to 22 currencies - saves having different cards for Europe, USA and anywhere else.

Beara peninsula certainly looks interesting. Lots of history there, and scenery. Think its a must.

Like the bit about the farmers - thanks - that appeals to me.

[jags]

i had the hilleberg akto but when i sold the bike it was part of the deal ,ah i never liked it ,the tent i have now is mountain hardware spear gt2 looks a lot like hilliberg nallo gt2 but it weighs near enough 4 kg .
friend of mine has the msr hubba hubba he like's it toured across america last year , mind u he used warm showers for most of the tour.
i think my next tent will be vango banshee looks good and not to expensive .
great auld craic this touring if your lucky enough to have a good touring partener but man oh man pick the wrong guy and your in a world of grief

[bikergirl]

I love touring - partner is hubby - been together nigh on 38 years so I guess we know each other pretty well by now - I'm the boss anyway. Originally bought my Hubba hubba to do the Great Divide Ride in the USA, but never made it to do it. One day - perhaps. I also belong to Adventure cycling - an American cycling organisation . They've just started doing guided rides along the Great Divide again after a 5 or 6 year gap. You'd need to be with someone - too dangerous alone, all those bears and things that go bump in the night. At least we don't suffer from such things in the UK and Ireland, or most of Europe.

[eileithyia]

swank
swaŋk/
British informal

noun: swank

1.
behaviour, talk, or display intended to impress others.

In other words - show-off! (Sorry eileithyia - only joking!)

I was a lot younger, slimmer and fitter and was not carrying camp kit..... I know it was a fair steady climb...... and i had a nice low range of gears courtesy of my original Dawes Super Galaxy.

[jags]

I love touring - partner is hubby - been together nigh on 38 years so I guess we know each other pretty well by now - I'm the boss anyway. Originally bought my Hubba hubba to do the Great Divide Ride in the USA, but never made it to do it. One day - perhaps. I also belong to Adventure cycling - an American cycling organisation . They've just started doing guided rides along the Great Divide again after a 5 or 6 year gap. You'd need to be with someone - too dangerous alone, all those bears and things that go bump in the night. At least we don't suffer from such things in the UK and Ireland, or most of Europe.

check this out on my friends american tour,
https://daveandgerrystransamcharitycycle.wordpress.com/

[bikergirl]

Oh yes - love the link. I just returned from the States, not cycling, but went to Idaho and also to Yellowstone - brilliant. I'd love to do the transam too

[jags]

they had a great time but although Dave is a very strong cyclist he found the going tough mainly the heat and the wind.still a tour to remember i think next year there doing the danube cycle route.
great to have money to do these big tours i havent the cross of christ.