Our first day of biking.........
Today we are on our own - yikes! First task - decide whether to head left or right out of the driveway. After due consideration we decided to turn left. Good guess...... Today was Killarney Loop 1.
The weather was coolish (low teens C) and threatening a bit of rain. But we were ready for it .......
We have route instructions and maps from Iron Donkey, but they have not been customized to/from our house so the first day is a bit of an adventure as we find our way around. Also - we're on the left side of the road, shoulders are non-existent and roundabouts are in abundance.
We were on busy roads for a bit and then onto smaller and quieter roads on our way to the Gap of Dunloe. This is one highlight I had been told about a few months ago, so I was looking forward to it but a bit disappointed that the weather wasn't better. Nonetheless it was stunning, and the climb challenging. I saw up to 15% grade at times. Thank goodness there were a few pullout spots where we could pull over to let cars pass (and catch our breath).
Because the road is so narrow, cars are not banned but they are discouraged. Instead, jaunting car tours are popular. These poor guys didn't look like they were having much fun today, though.
As we came down the other side we all realized that these rental bikes don't have the best of brakes. Not much we can do about it, but not a good feeling especially on wet roads. But - saw this cute house on the way down.
The light rain persisted as we climbed up the next pass - Moll's Gap. Another gorgeous part of the ride and the climb was long but reasonable. There was a coffee/gift shop at the top so we joined the bus tour throngs and went in to warm up and get something to eat. My soup was delicious! Always a risk when you stop and put things down, though. It seems someone from one of those bus tours helped themselves to Nada's sunglasses which were left unattended in the washroom for a few minutes - grrr!
As we headed back toward Killarney our route took us through Killarney National Park (Ireland's first National park). We stopped at Ladies View - so named from the admiration of the view given by Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting during their 1861 visit.
An old ruin along the way .....
A brief stop beside one of the Killarney Lakes and then a short walk to Torc Waterfall.
We were close to town by now. The tough part should be over - right? Wrong..... Heavy traffic became an issue and the group got separated. Ron and I went one way (the wrong way) and the rest of the group went another way (also wrong, but less wrong). One of the riders in the larger group hit a curb and went down hard. Multiple citizens to the rescue and she & her bike got a lift back to the house. In the end we all found our way and it was a good lesson on how to get home!
Stats for the day:
71.9 km
3774 feet of climbing & descent
