Fueled with porridge and the full Irish breakfast we rolled away from Hillhead House in search of the bike shop that we noticed on our way in yesterday. We found it only to realize that it was Sunday and it was closed. Well, so much for pumping up the tires. We should really keep better track of what day it is!
Hillhead House B&B in Ardara, County Donegal. Our next door neighbor was the Garda Station.
The first thing we noticed today was that we weren't riding through the same looking farmland with rock walls. The sheep were still present, some wooly and some sheared. But the terrain has changed to more of a grassland with lakes between each of the rolling hills. Granite boulders have appeared once again.
At one point when we weren't following the Eurovelo 1 route (it was on a bike path along the highway) we came to an abrupt dead end. It appears that this was the old EV1 route and had been shut down once the bike path was built. So, we traipsed through someone's yard, checked out the special statue, and used the trail down to the highway that had been freshly cut. We think we aren't the only ones . . .
I had heard that there was a Lady Liberty house along today's route. I guess we found it.
Each of the short climbs were brutal with our Garmins indicating up to 12%+ inclines. After a dozen of these we came across a 3 kilometer climb with lots of steepness to it. Our legs were screaming! The scenery and views made all the pain worth it though. I am still not sure if the ride was really that hard or if we felt that way because we didn't sleep well the night before.
We've already gone up and down a lot this morning, but now we are down along the river once again. However, not for long to our surprise.
We had been seeing this huge sand dune for several kilometers now. It looks like someone pushed the sand over the middle of this green hill. It was the strangest thing.
Sanna PhinneyTo CHRISTOPHER JAMESThere’s a lot of this in County Donegal - so we’ve learned. We passed on the 18%’er today. The descent worried us being loaded and windy. Reply to this comment 6 months ago
After all the climbing, we ended up on a rail trail for a bit. Thankfully we could travel a bit faster . . . but the pavement condition was really rough. Many times there were more patches than original pavement.
The end of the rail trail section. We were actually glad to get off of it due to the rough conditions.
The last few kilometers into Bunbeg were along a somewhat busy road. We passed through the tiny village of Dore. What we didn't know at the time is that this village is the home of the group "Clannad". The family owns the pub in town and it has been the location of the launch party for many of their CDs.
There weren't any historical sites to visit today, but the scenery kept us engaged all day long. One thing we have noticed is that most of the houses in this part of Ireland are painted white with accent colors on windows and doors. In the southern part of the country, the houses are much more colorful including bright blues, purples, yellows, and many more colors.
Note to ourselves: We put on the waterproof socks before setting out due to the weather predictions for the day. It was barely misting as we set off and we put on the light rain jackets and helmet covers with arms, knees, and vests. The vests came off later in the day. We experienced several mists, but nothing that got us very wet. Actually, the sun came out later in the day and warmed us right up. The rain did arrive about 5 minutes after we were settled into the B&B.
Accommodation: Teac Cambell B&B in Bunbeg (or Derrybeg). The exterior was a bit tired looking, but the welcome was warm. Our room was basic but comfortable and spacious. The tandem was housed in the boiler room and stayed warm and dry all night.
Today's ride: 77 km (48 miles) Total: 2,163 km (1,343 miles)
