On the move….again 😊

Hi everyone. Thank you for staying with me while I’ve been somewhat stationary in the UK and Ireland. But time has come to move on. Before I left Cork on Wednesday Barry and I cycled to the ferry port at Ringaskiddy crossing over the Lee estuary on the small car ferry, and met two ex colleagues, now friends, Sinead and Karen (who had brought enough food to feed an army….which I appreciated as I had loads to eat on the ferry 😊).

There was a sadness in leaving Ireland…for now. I’ve no idea what’s ahead or how long it’ll be, but I know I’ll be home again when the time is right.

Trouble comes in three so they say…!!
Bonjour! Well I slept very well on the ferry last night and we pulled up to the quay at Roscoff bang on time. It was 8 am local but pitch dark! Not what I had planned for,so a mad scramble ensued to find lights! I popped in to Roscoff town for breakfast and had the very best coffee and croissants- so delicious. Got chatting to an Italian guy who has been in Ireland for a year and is now hitting the Brittany coast chasing the waves. A real surfing dude! It was so good to reconnect with like minded travellers.

When I left, the slight drizzle had turned to rain! So I headed off knowing I only had a very short 45 or so to do today. It really didn’t take too much effort to ride on the right – I was a little apprehensive about it but it was actually pretty easy!
Following my maps I stayed on the D roads, but then got pulled off one section as, well, apparently cyclist aren’t allowed. It was frustrating as it meant adding significant Ks to my trip.

So I turned my Maps reader to cyclist mode and sure enough, before long I was off down tracks and wooded paths….but it was good fun….I knew the bike could handle it so off we went. But by this time Bob was making an unholy racket….bottom bracket…again! Notwithstanding the advanced warning of my presence (thanks Bob) the scenery was wonderful, and the small towns were delightful even in the rain!

So I got to the farm campsite early enough and set about pitching my tent. Only to discover that one of the inserts that allows the carbon poles to join together was…not there, rendering the whole tent useless. But once I’d worked out how I could fix it, I sat patiently for over an hour until I had a solution done! Tent up, food had and a walk to the small village shop followed! Then I got on to fixing the bike, which I managed to do (for now) then….got stung by a wasp that had decided my tent was a great alternative to the hive. Sweet god it hurt like feck. For hours. I can’t use my right hand as it’s swollen up like a balloon and I could cook my tea on it it’s so hot! But hey….that’s three things so I’m hoping thats it 🤣🤣! Rain forecast all day tomorrow but then brighter the following few days 🌞. Really looking forward to where Maps.me will take me tomorrow…foot paths, tracks and trails. Given it’s gonna be wet I’ve opted for a warm bed tomorrow…sod the cost!

Sending my love and warm hugs to the two most important girls in my life – Charlie and Niamh. Miss you both so much.

Well I’ve been here for nearly two weeks now. It’s been an interesting time – meeting old friends, cycling the byways of Cork, and generally just stopping and being. Whilst I’m always happy to be here, there’s a weird sense that I’m not home, not yet. My arrival in Ireland was premature given the situation with dad. I had not planned to be here (insofar that i planned to be anywhere) , so it all feels ‘temporary’….it’s difficult to describe, but I know I’m not happy to put down anchor just yet….in time, for sure, as west cork has always been my final ‘home’ when the time is right, a place I can retire to disgracefully 🤣. That time is not right m, now.

These past two months have been quite discombobulating – being away, but not traveling, focussed on various things that had to be done – a sort of suspended reality. So I’m yearning to get back to the solitude of the open road, to be back in my own head and thoughts, whilst simultaneously being challenged physically and mentally and experiencing new experiences each day.

I’ve been able to get a few days of riding in, thanks to my mate Decky who lent me a racing bike whilst Bob was again in for surgery! I’ve managed to get up to the mist covered hills around Beal Atha na Marbh (Bealnamorrive….I think it means hill/town of the dead), Cobh (pronounced ‘Cove’) and my favourite ride around the Old Head of Kinsale.

Sooo…what’s next? I’m heading to France, and then on to Switzerland before hopefully flying to Thailand to give me access to those parts of Asia I wanted to do back in August – Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. But as the saying goes – ‘wanna make god laugh….tell him you have a plan’! Whilst a staunch non believer, the principle is so true. I’ve learnt on this trip to look no further than the road immediately in front! But due to something called visas I’m having to do some minimal planning, and Claire, my long suffering but outstanding travel agent in Adelaide, keeps me on my toes when it comes to ensuring I’m lined up in advance!

I’ll write again when I’m in France …sur mon velo🇫🇷🚵

Tuesday: Fishguard to Wexford
God it’s so so good to be home 😊.
After a great nights sleep in Fishguard, I boarded the ferry to Rosslare with some trepidation as well, the ‘vomit comet’ usually lives up to its name! It was blowing a gale and raining when we pull away from the quay. I met another Aussie cyclist who was heading to Ireland – she had been through Europe and traversing the UK, but it seemed she had spent more time on trains than the road! Two days ago she was on the South coast of England, so I was naturally in awe at the distance she had traveled, especially as her loaded bike weighed a massive 40kg…I couldn’t lift it! Anyways, it turns out she had got a train to london, then a train to Birmingham. Then a train to Cardiff. ‘Oh, so you rode from Cardiff to here….that’s a tough gig’. Nope….train to the ferry port! I’m a bit perplexed why you’d haul a fully loaded bike around the UK on a train….but, hey Ho! Perhaps she’s got the right idea and I’m the fool!

The crossing was absolutely fine as it turned out. The ferry was pretty empty so I was able to lie down and sleep 😊.  I got in to Rosslare at 4:30 and was greeted with cold, wet and windy conditions. But it was such a delight to cycle on the road to Wexford…on a well maintained bicycle lane 😊😊. I decided not to camp and spoil myself in a B and B, tho finding one was a challenge and….eye wateringly expensive! But just to be home, to watch RTE news, to have a cup of Barry’s tea, hearing the Angelus at 6…was great. The host was also so so Irish…she could talk the legs off a table, and before I even got to my room I knew her life story 🤣.

Tomorrow the weather is shite..,or simply, Irish! After the heatwave of the summer, it’s like winter has come along and said ‘so you think that was challenging…hold on to your hats’! I’ll see how far I get tomorrow towards Cork which is 185k from here. But given the sheer cost of things here, I’ll prob need to sell a kidney to get accommodation tomorrow night en route. I’m sitting writing this while having a pretty ordinary burger and chips from the local ‘greasy spoon’…when he charged me i thought he was quoting me the sale price of the shop!! ‘No, that’s fine, just the burger and chi….oh, that is for the burger and chips…well, does that come with three nights accommodation and a coffee making machine…?’

Wednesday- Wexford town to Cork. I had the bestest best breakfast I’ve had since leaving Adelaide….fruit bowl, cereals, toast, coffee and fried eggs, bacon, sausage and beans. Fully loaded up I left Wexford town quite unsure if I’d make it to Cork in one sitting or two. The roads were undulating with long sweeping climbs and short descents but what knackered me was the unrelenting wind and the occasional drenching. At times I was pedalling harder downhill! It’s a little soul destroying when you’re putting in so much effort and clearing 13-14k an hour! But, I plodded on, loving the lush green fields, old cottages and Irish pubs, tractors, slurry spreading and…fantastic bike lanes ALL the way! I felt safe on the roads which, after the trauma of England and Wales, was such a delight – I wasn’t gripping my bars tight and was so much more relaxed. I got to Waterford- I had to leave the main road/bypass to get to the city centre where I had another full Irish breakfast 🍳 ! I then realised I had to cycle the 4K back to the main road adding 8k to a ride distance of 185! I wasn’t happy! But slowly I made it to Dungarvan, then on to Youghal and got in to County Cork around 5:45. I still had 45k to go in fading light and periodic downpours. I made the decision to light up and push on to Cork, arriving at my best mates house around 7:45. He had moved since I last stayed with him..he’s now in Dublin Hill…,a shocker of a climb out of the city which I crested at a magnificent 4.5kph!! I was utterly spent, but so pleased to have made it. We shared a great evening of banter and laughs before I collapsed in to bed. Barry and I have been friends since the early 90s – a dear friend, godfather to Charlotte and an incredible work colleague and mentor. Barry is a pen and paper guy, resisting the push towards technology 🤣….so it was absolutely no surprise to learn when I arrived that he had….no wifi!! So typical! So connecting to the outside world has taken on a new level of complexity but like everything this trip has thrown at me I’ll find a way around it!

Sunday: Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth. After a very cold night I awoke to a lovely sunrise with promising weather forecast. It was 2 degrees but my thermals paid for themselves! I was snug as a bug in a rug 😊. The tent was saturated though with morning dew and condensation so I had to pack it up wet…not good! The ride, around 115k, was overall lovely going in to Wales and basically going east to west of Wales. The roads were undulating and then I hit the whooper of climbs over the Brecon Beacons…wild, windy and wet, but stunning scenery. And oh how delightful it was to drop down to Aberystwyth 😊. Another day of absolute madness of drivers. I was so so lucky to survive a car overtaking loads of cars coming towards me at crazy speed and oblivious to my presence. So scary – nicked the side of my pannier! And another madness when at a set of roadworks lights the driver behind me thought he could squeeze in to a space that didn’t exist on the single roadway – knocking me in to the roadworks. And just carried on!

I had booked in to a small B+B but when I got there the owner was..out! So I sat in the front garden for an hour…until the neighbour made me a lovely cuppa and just as she did the owner arrived!

Monday – Aberystwyth to Fishguard. I think I can safely say today was undoubtedly the toughest so far. I was greeted with rain, and howling winds this morning. 800 metres in to the ride and the first of what turned out to be one of countless 15%+ climbs. All day I slogged against the elements and incredible hills. At one point the wind was just too strong to ride as it was throwing me off the road…a bit scary in the driving rain, though I can’t complain-in the main the wind was either behind me or across me, though occasionally it was bang in my face! Whilst I cussed a few times it was also a great mental and physical challenge which I quite enjoyed. Met another mad cyclist, cycling the coast of the UK for the MS Society- she had 1500 miles left. An incredible effort. We both bemoaned the idiots on the road, swapping stories of near misses…I had two today. I’m glad I had my brakes serviced a week ago!!

I booked in to this incredible hostel – and I’m the only resident in the place. It’s a converted old school house, and the dude running it was so welcoming. And the shower was out of this world!
Tomorrow I’m heading ‘home’ – across the sea to Ireland 🇮🇪 😊😊.

Well, I decided to hit the road today to make a ferry to Ireland on Tuesday -so had 355k to cover in three days, so reasonable. After loading up and saying goodbye to my lovely rellies in Great Dalby I set off towards a camp site just the other side of Shrewsbury. It was bloody cold! The first 49-50ks were pleasant apart from morons behind their precious car….I had forgotten just how moronic English drivers are, with an unswerving sense of entitlement! Through the days riding I kept thinking – I really hate cycling here, and I don’t feel safe at all’. A very unpleasant experience for 160 odd Ks.

And then it belted with rain! I arrived bedraggled, wet, pissed off and cold. One thing that’s bewildered me is the complete absence of places to eat or buy supplies….I thought this was the land of shop keepers! Perhaps it’s just my routing but I have traveled all day and must have passed a couple of shops! I’d see a sign to what I assumed was a village only to find it was just a hinterland or ‘area’ which was utterly devoid of a shop!

Once I got the tent up I went for a welcome hot shower to prevent hyperthermia….only to be greeted with cold showers 🤣. Oh, can this day get any better..!?. There’s a small ‘bar’ at the site which did a mean fish and chips, so that helped ease the stress!

I think for the first time this trip I simply didn’t want to be here. I have felt quite discombobulated today – just wondering what the hell I’m doing, and why! I think part of it is that the impacts of the past few weeks have finally caught up with me. I didn’t really allow myself to think too much about what was happening- I just got on and did what needed to be done. But undoubtedly it was emotional and tough. I hope I can find a way through these doldrums 🤔.

Tomorrow I’m heading to the coast of Wales. 115k of undulating roads. My bike urgently needs a new bottom bracket so I’m hoping it’ll hold till I get to Ireland for serious intervention!

Off to bed in my cold tent – let’s see how good these thermals are!! Night everyone.