Day 13: Tralee to Carrig Island

May 27, 2024

The birthday ride

After a scrumptious breakfast served by Rory at the Castlemorris House, we stepped outside to load the tandem. The sun was shining, the sky was blue with big white fluffy clouds. It was so much warmer than the weather forecasts indicated. Being conservative, we didn't take off any of our layers before heading out. Within 5 kilometers, we donned our wind jackets for an extra layer under the gray cloud covered sky. That was the way the whole day went - blue sky and sun for a few minutes followed by complete cloud cover and cold wind. The jackets stayed on until the last 20 kilometers of the day.

Saying goodby to Castlemorris House - a really nice B&B. Rory made a fantastic breakfast!

Garmin and Ride with GPS directed us to a bike path as we left the B&B. All was fine until it took us on a walking path that entered the Rose Garden that we walked through last night. Chuck's Garmin indicated going down the road and my Garmin took us through the park. Now how can one route loaded on two Garmins give different directions?!! We went through the park . . . we should've followed his route as it would have been easier.

We rode thru the Rose Garden as we tried to figure out how to get out of town. Most of the roses haven't bloomed yet.

After a bit or seat of the pants navigation, we finally made it out of Tralee and on our way. The roads were a bit busier than we like, but sometimes you have to be on those kind of roads to get to the next quiet one. We did discover the quieter road and rode through the little village of Ardfert and stopped at the church as we passed by.

The church in Ardfert - unlike many churches this one's altar was all white.

Following the quiet roads through the countryside we saw farms, rock walls, farms, rock walls, cows, and green. When the sun would come out, we would try and decide if we should shed a layer. By the time we thought we should, it would turn cold and gray again.

Remnants of another old castle that was most likely destroyed by Cromwell under Queen Elizabeth I orders. There wasn't any access to it as it sat on a hill right behind a farm.

This part of Ireland is fairly flat, but green and scenic.

You just never know what you'll see when you touring on a bicycle in a country you've not visited before. Objects on hill tops are always intriguing and must be explored.

As we approached Ballyheigue we saw the ruins of a castle on the hill above town. We found our way up there and to our surprise, it has been turned into a golf course.

The parking lot was fairly empty, as were the fairways. We're sure it was because of the weather.

Every golf course should have a castle, don't you think?

Many kilometers later as we were getting nearer to Ballybunion, we saw this grand structure perched on the hill above the coastline.

To our surprise, it's another golf course. It was established in 1893. After googling it, we learned that there were 2 courses here and that the "Old Course" is a world famous course.

Beautiful driving range and practice area!

This links course is right along the sand dunes of the Atlantic. After googling it, we decided it's out of our league - 350 euros per person plus you have to hire at least one caddy per foursome.

Enough golf courses, we're on a bike ride. We set off in search of a grocery store in Ballybunion to buy a bottle of wine to go with tonight's dinner at our B&B. Before shopping, we found the beach and walked around.

Yesterday we rode by Telegraph Field, and today we see where the first voice transmission was sent from.

The other side of Ballybunion Beach with such a colorful cliffside.

The Castle Green at Ballybunion Beach. This is the most easterly wall that remains. Time and tide eroded the seaward walls even though the walls were 2 meters thick and mortared. Lightning struck this wall in 1999 and destroyed the upper part of the tower. Conservation efforts have been done to save the remains.

We have left sheep country it appears; because all we see (& smell) now are cows.

It was getting late in the day and we were pushing to reach the B&B before Chuck's doctor appointment (by phone call, of course). The final road into the B&B was less than desirable, but we only had a couple of minutes to spare. So photo ops were completely curtailed. We made it in plenty of time, because as we have learned, French doctors are always late.

The Carrig Island Lodge is a B&B offering breakfast and dinner. One needed dinner since we were isolated and about 10 kilometers from the nearest village. When I researched the village for accommodations, I couldn't find a place to eat. The proprietor mentioned bringing our own wine or beer should we want it - hence, the reason that we were looking for a grocery store in the last town we cycled through. A bottle of St. Emilion red and a bottle of stout fit quite nicely in our new frame bag. We had to have something to toast my latest adventure around the sun.

Dinner with the other guests was fun. There was a couple from Australia who had fascinating stories to tell. Another couple was from about an hour south of Paris and they were touring on bicycles, too, but only for 3 weeks. The third couple was from Brest. So dinner was broken French and English and a great time was had by all.

Note to ourselves: It was cold and windy today and we wore arm & knee warmers, plus vests, plus wind jackets for most of the day. No rain, but we fear it's coming.

Accommodation: Carrig Island B&B - was just fine considering where we were and what was available. Most likely would reroute and figure something else out. Dinner was basic but filling: vegetable puree, roast chicken and vegetables, and strawberries with whipped cream. It worked.

Today's ride: 77 km (48 miles)
Total: 869 km (540 miles)

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Bob KoreisBike touring for "only" three weeks.

Wish I had that problem. Then there is this journal, which has given me another problem of one more route I want to cycle. Looks ike quite the adventure.
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6 months ago

Sanna PhinneyTo Bob KoreisThis is our second bike touring adventure. I wish we had started doing this years ago even if it could only have been for a week at a time.
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6 months ago