August 9, 2009
Cooraclare and through Milltown Mowbray
Kilkee is rather overcast when we leave our B&B with our jackets on.
Today is Sunday and it feels like it.
There are some market traders setting up their stalls just across the road from the B&B on a parking lot and we look around and I try on a pair of Keen sandals which are a bit too small before we make our way out of town and find another small country road.
We pause in the village of Cooraclare and rest in a cafe with a nice pot of tea.
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The road goes up and down and cuts through some tiny villages, past abandoned crofters' cottages and in the distance we can see the dark Atlantic ocean. The lane eventually re-joins the N67, but we leave this artery ASAP and then drop gently down into Milltown Mowbray on a blackberry-lined farm lane that had just one or two cars on it for the whole few miles. These detailed maps are a must.
Milltown Mowbray: there's a Celtic band playing in the town's main street and we eat some stuff we just bought from a nearby supermarket and stand and listen to them jam, then leave on a back lane which veers across the green pastured landscape and takes us past a graveyard at Kilmacreehy, with its ruined church harboring an array of headstones within the surviving three stone walls. There are tombs constructed of huge slabs that bear family members' names as well as relevant dates standing along the perimeter. They look neolithic.
Once back on our bikes and riding along, we bump into a French cycle-tourer who looks like he's been sleeping rough for a few days and he confirms our guess, but says he's having a great time nevertheless.
It's drizzling when we get to the coast again yet we're lucky because a pub has a tasty double room going.
Later we dine in the bar/restaurant where the food is delicious but quite pricey. It must be what is known as a 'gastro-pub'.
Today's ride: 50 km (31 miles)
Total: 492 km (306 miles)
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