Day 21: Cashel to Clifden

June 4, 2024

Happy for a short day due to the wind

Due to various reason, today's route will be short. We delayed leaving the lovely Cashel House B&B as long as we possibly could - checking out at 11:00 after walking around the various gardens and sitting on the same bench that General Charles de Gaulle and his wife sat on in 1969. Lovely place that reminds us of what family vacation properties might have been like back in the 1950s and 1960s. We watched the weather while waiting for our planned departure - showers followed by sun followed by more showers. We stepped outside with our panniers and went to retrieve the tandem in a light shower. When we rolled the tandem out of it's comfy shed it was sunny. So, we set off on today's short ride to Clifden via Roundstone and Ballyconneely.

The view from General de Gaulle's bench.

One of my favorite flowers in the garden.

No sooner than starting down the road did we notice the wind. Today's wind was blowing between 30 and 50 kilometers per hour and it wasn't blowing in a direction that was beneficial for our route. It was coming from the northwest and we were headed north and west most of the ride. We were buffeted about and were grinding along into the stiff headwind at 11-12 kilometers per hour at times.

Irish fisherman's cottage with thatch roof. We saw quite a few cottages with thatch roofs today.

Gurteen Beach. This beach and Dog's Bay are two beaches that were formed by a sand spit and tombolo (tied island).

The view south from Gurteen Beach. There was a wind surfer out here when we pulled up, but he disappeared by the time I was ready to take the photo.

Looking down on Dog's Bay, the beach on the right, and Gurteen Beach on the left of the sand spit.

White caps are abundant in today's wind.

At kilometer 33 of our ride, we had the option to continue out the Errislannon Peninsula or take a shortcut (direct route) into Clifden. The shortcut was 4 kilometers. The peninsula route was another 17 kilometers. The wind was insane and we considered the shortcut, but wondered what we might miss. We stayed the course and as soon as we turned the corner we found a little respite from the wind. This 10 kilometer loop on the peninsula was the best part of today's ride. Going out west we were mostly protected and coming back in we had a great tailwind. Good decision.

The high point of the ride out Errislannon Peninsula.

The road down from that high point - the Atlantic below was breathtaking.

Holy Trinity Church was built between 1850-1855 with a galvanized steel bell tower that was added in 1975. Services are held in it during July and August. Population on the peninsula was too small to keep the church going all year. It is currently funded by volunteers.

Memorial to Alcock and Brown, the men who made history by being the first to fly non-stop across the Atlantic. They crash landed about 1.5 miles south of this monument in the bog land near Clifden.

We arrived in Clifden around 3:00 in the afternoon. Even though it was a short ride, it took a long time. The town of Clifden is lively and it is obviously a tourist destination. We had dinner at Guy's Bar & Snug - great dinner of lamb burger and goat cheese pasta washed down by a local craft brewer's red ale.

Our accommodation for the night in Clifden.

Note to ourselves: Today was all about wind!

Accommodation: Ben View B&B is a cute old property run by Desmond and his sister. Our welcome was very warm and Desmond will do anything to make the stay comfortable. The tandem is stored securely, but not covered. Hope it stays dry tonight.

Notes from the front saddle: End of week 3

The tandem continues to perform very well. We did experience our second flat of the trip. We were able to pump it up and complete the last 8 km to get to our destination instead of changing in out on the road.

Road conditions this week were a little bit of everything. Local farm roads, high rent district subdivisions with sketchy pavement, and good paved highways. It seems that living in wealthy neighborhoods doesn't mean good road surfaces. For the first time, we had a couple of stretches of new chip seal. We navigated both with no problems.

It is hard to believe that we are a little more than half way through the trip. The days just seem to fly by!

Today's ride: 45 km (28 miles)
Total: 1,327 km (824 miles)

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