It was another moving day - moving from one location to the next. It was a day for a bike ride, not a day spent touring (tho we tried).
It felt a bit sad to leave Doolin and the Daly's House B&B. So far, this is our favorite B&B, and Doolin was the ideal town for a 3 night stay. If you find yourself in west County Clare, we highly recommend staying here. The host, Susan, is definitely the hostess-with-the-mostest. Our breakfasts were created by a semi-retired chef/sommelier and were fabulous every day. The experience was absolutely first class in every way, yet quite homey.
We learned that we want to ride Irish roads that start with and L and have 4 or more numbers after it. This identifies the small, less traveled roads. Today was full of these kinds of roads. So, before we hit the edge of Doolin, we turned off onto a small farm road. The scenery was a scattering of farms here and there with their rock walls designating the various fields. As we were riding along, we noticed some upturn soil - the kind where it looks like a tree fell over and you can see the roots. We stopped for a closer look. Not only was it one tree, but it was about 6 trees toppled over all together leaving just one tree still standing.
A bit further down the road we saw a couple more trees blown over, but it was just one here and one there. Based on the vegetation growth, we assumed it happened during winter.
We entered a gorge that was green and inviting with several farms scattered about. It was a great descent into the gorge and we passed a sign indicating a 10% descent ahead. We also knew the climb out was going to be a tough one. According to our research the road out of the gorge would be a good challenge as it had a section of about 0.5 kilometers at 12%, and we could see it ahead of us.
These two rock walls line a dirt road going up and over the top of this rise. From a distance, I thought we had another doozy of a climb, but our road actually began to descend at this point.
We had routed ourselves along the Eurovelo 1 route as it is shown on Open Street Maps. We came to a junction where our Garmins told us to go straight, but the Eurovelo 1 signs indicated a left turn. After some pondering and looking at electronic maps, we decided to follow the signs rather than our Garmin route. It was a pleasant ride into Kinvarra. We noticed a castle on the outskirts of town and turned around to check it out before continuing onward.
Where we turned around there were several of these white thatched roof cottages.
Dunguaire Castle . . . that was temporarily closed. It was built in the 16th century. The website indicates that it is closed for the season beginning on September 20. Quite odd.
After Kinvarra, the ride was pretty and with the slight tailwind it passed by rather quickly. We came across a ruined manor house, the Tyrone House. It was built in the 1770s along the Kilcolgan river. During the Irish War of Independence the house was destroyed by the Irish Republican Army. It must've been a beautiful house in its time. The properties we rode past after this were very expensive and we assumed they were "horse" properties. Sure enough, after passing dozens of huge estates we rode past jumping facilities and stables.
All in all it was a lovely day for a bike ride. That's what today was - a bike ride, not a day of touring. It felt great to get back on the bike after a day off, especially when the weather was perfect for a ride through the Irish countryside.
Once we were settled in, we set off for the old town center and shopping. You see, we passed by the Aran Sweater Market on our way to the B&B and there was a big sign in the window "Free Shipping to Anywhere in the World". We popped in and walked out completely empty handed. But our house sitters will be receiving a parcel in about a week's time.
Note to ourselves: No rain!! It was rather warm inland, but once we hit the water front again with a bit of a headwind, it cooled off quickly.
Accommodation: The Stop B&B - we received a very warm welcome and the promise of fresh baked cookies in the evening. The tandem is comfortably parked in the dining room, but needs to be moved outdoors before 8:00 when they start serving breakfast.
Today's ride: 82 km (51 miles) Total: 1,190 km (739 miles)
