Day 7: Kenmare to Portmagee

May 21, 2024

A day on the Ring of Kerry

Our view from the summit above Waterville. There is a circular stone fort in the foreground, too.

Unlike yesterday, today we started the ride wearing arm warmers and vests and the tandem was loaded once again with the panniers. We set off in the "fresh" morning air and enjoyed a relatively easy, but long day. The Eurovelo 1 route went inland on this peninsula, but we opted to take the coastal route instead - riding along the Ring of Kerry. This is a bigger road than those we've been riding, but thankfully the traffic was quiet and respectful of our space. Our choice didn't disappoint, but I would not consider doing it during weekends or summertime.

Even though we are riding a main road around the peninsula, the bridges are narrow.

An abandoned home that has a sign posted outside - someone wants to renovate it.

Last view of Kenmare River before entering Sneem.

We have visited: Cork, Kinsale, Clonakilty, Skibbereen, Schull, Mizen Head, Bantry, Glengarriff, Castletownbere, Alliheis, Eyeries, Ardgroom, Kenmare, Sneem, Waterville, and Portmagee. We will be visiting: Cahersiveen, Killorglin, Dingle, Castlegregory, Tralee . . . and many more.

Sneem was a cute little village, colorful, full of cafes, and a bridge over an unusual looking riverbed.

River Sneem - notice the pyramid structures in the top left corner.

As we pedaled along we were treated to a wide variety of scenery - never a dull moment on the bike today.

We have seen these yellow irises since we left Cork. They appear to grow wild along side of roads and in the fields.

Here's a batch of the 'yellow flag' irises. We saw an information board a couple of days ago saying they bloom June - August, well these are in bloom in May.

Rolling along we came to the Cove. Brilliant blue waters and white sandy beach were such a welcoming sight.

People were swimming and enjoying the sunshine.

I think we're headed towards those hills in the background.

There was a penny farthing sign that informed us that the route we had chosen should only be ridden by experienced cyclists. Hmmm . . . This route will take us down to the Derrynane House which is the ancestral home of Daniel O'Connell and is now protected as a national monument. Daniel O'Connell was a lawyer, politician and statesman, and hailed as "The Liberator". He made an interesting impact on Irish history by liberating the Catholic people from the Penal Laws imposed by British Parliament.

Sign that explains Derrynane House, Beach, Reens Beach, and Lamb's Head.

Since we consider ourselves experienced cyclists, we continue on our planned route and discovered seawalls before finding the Derrynone House.

The seawall that borders the Derrynane House vast acreage.

The inlet where the tide is out appears to be mudflats.

Ogham Stone located very near the seawall.

The gardens were well tended and full of a wide variety of shrubs and flowers.

The chapel attached to the House where mass was held at 9:00 every morning just before breakfast at 10:00.

O'Connell's carriage that has been restored. It was quite grandiose.

A new plant to my inexperienced eye. It is a Giant viper's-bugloss. It grows to 2 meters high and can spread 1 meter wide. It is said to resemble missiles preparing to shoot.

As we were finishing the climb out from Derrynane House, we were given views of what we think is the idyllic Irish coastal scene.

Green fields surrounded by rock walls with the ocean and islands in the background. The Emerald Isle!

Summit top view of Waterville (at the base of the darker hills) and an old stone fort (in the center right).

The bike path leading us into Waterville.

Charlie Chaplin spent many holidays in Waterville.

Our home for the next two nights - Carriag Liath House - is across the river/inlet from Portmagee on Valencia Island. It's a wonderful B&B and we highly recommend staying here.

It was another very scenic day riding in Ireland. This section of the Ring of Kerry and the Wild Atlantic Way is worth a visit.

Captains Log - Tour date: end of the first week

We weren't sure what it was going to be like to navigate on the other side of the road. Maybe riding on the other side of the road on Zwift all winter has helped a little? The first couple of days were a bit shaky and had a couple of challenges. Leaving the B&B on the second day I noticed immediately a bicycle coming up the wrong side of the road. Oops! He was quite amused at my quick move to the correct lane. We made a pact to remind each other at the start of each day to stay on the left side. I made a couple of memory joggers that left turns are "easy" and right turns are "hard" to help when Sanna instructs me to turn right or left.

Our week started off by finding a damaged ratchet on a cycling shoe while getting ready to ride the first morning. This necessitated an adjustment to the buckle to get it to stay latched and a hope that the shoe would come off at the end of the day. That night it was a quick search of the internet for a replacement buckle and some time working with the host of the B&B on our first layover day to receive the package. Fortunately the replacement buckle arrived the day before we did and permanent repairs were made after only a week of hassling with the damaged buckle. It was a far cry better than having to find new shoes to buy in rural Ireland.

The road surfaces have been pretty rough, even by Pyrenean standards. Some of the small farm roads around Cork were challenging. We have only had one flat tire so far. It was on the rainy day and caused by the tire picking up a small, sharp stone. The tires we chose have performed well on the surfaces that we have ridden so far.

The bike is a dream to ride even fully loaded and is very solid, and inspires great confidence on fast descents. We haven't been able to locate and solve the clicking noise yet, but we will keep trying things until we figure it out.

All in all a fantastic first week from the front half of the bike.

Note to ourselves: Another day of no rain jackets! The morning was brisk, but it warmed up quickly enough to shed the arm warmers.

Accommodation: We stayed at Carraig Laith House B&B on Valentia Island. It was just across the bridge from Portmagee. The host, Frances, was a sweetheart. The room was comfortable. However, the garages weren't available after all to store the tandem. We left it outside and felt very comfortable with the safety of its location. It didn't rain, so it ended up not being a problem. Breakfast was continental only: fruit, yogurt, bread, and croissant/chocolatine. Lovely property and we would definitely stay here again.

Today's ride: 82 km (51 miles)
Total: 553 km (343 miles)

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Scott AndersonWe just arrived in Plymouth after three months in Spain and are going through the same left-shift adjustment. It’s the same with us - I start the day with a reminder, which I promptly forget myself. It takes about two days until we’re reliably reprogrammed.
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5 months ago

Sanna PhinneyTo Scott AndersonChuck’s been doing great. I am still boggled at a 4-way intersection. It just doesn’t look right to me.
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5 months ago

Scott AndersonTo Sanna PhinneyIntersections are the scariest, alright. Its really hard to train yourself to look to the right first.
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5 months ago

Bob KoreisNow that you've ridden it, how would you interpret the penny farthing sign re "experienced cyclists"?
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5 months ago

Sanna PhinneyWe think what they mean by ‘experienced cyclists’ is cyclists who are comfortable and used to riding with traffic. A newbie who wobbles all over on a bike would probably have trouble on the narrow road with cars passing. Traffic was minimal for us, but come tourist season I could imagine a steady line of cars, motor homes, etc.
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5 months ago