Another lazy start with a really nice breakfast at the Sea View B&B. I rolled down the hill and had a look around Dingle. It’s a nice place with a harbour, some tourist shops and a lot of pubs but nothing that I needed at that moment.
I made my way up the hill and out of town. There was even a bike path which teased me into thinking that the EV1 might be a quiet path all day. It didn’t last long, but the early roads were quiet, avoiding the main road out of town. I started a steep downhill on a really bumpy stretch of road that had me concentrating so hard on the road that I didn’t see the GPS telling me to turn around. I got almost to the bottom before realising and riding back up the bumpy road.
For the next hour, I made my way through undulating farmland with views of the valley below, the mountains either side and the sea.
I also had a great view of the rain clouds coming straight at me and before long, it was pouring.
I stopped at a cafe for an early lunch, hoping to stay out of the rain while the shower passed. The cafe was just a shop with nowhere to sit, so I stood under the doorway awning and ate my sandwich. Setting off, I was immediately on a bike path and again thinking of a quiet route today.
This one lasted on and off for about 5 kms into Annascaul. By this stage the rain was heavy, and I finally turned off onto a quiet road and rode up the hill of the day. On the elevation map, it looked like a needle and felt the same. I walked the last 100m of 16% incline.
From there, the rain eased temporarily and I descended to Inch beach where the Atlantic swells were absolutely pumping in. It’s a bit of a surfing destination but today, only the odd dedicated dog walker was on the beach. Everybody else was in their cars driving past me on the wet roads.
And it just continued for 30kms – wind, rain and cars whizzing past. I was getting sick of it when I saw a petrol station with a cafe, so I parked the bike and walked in. I probably spent 45 mins there, but I warmed up and ate some food, then as I left, the rain almost stopped and wouldn’t be too heavy for the rest of the day.
However, it would rain intermittently and I got sick of putting the wet weather gear on and off. Whereas yesterday, I would put the poncho on and the rain would stop a minute later – today, I’d take the poncho off and the rain would start soon after.
At the end of the day, the poncho was amazingly effective. I arrived in Killarney just a little damp but certainly not wet at all.
It sounds like I wasn’t having any fun at all, but all around me was the stark beauty of Ireland. There’s something satisfying about completing days like today – a ride of around 70kms with about 40kms in the rain.
The Airbnb is great. It’s dry and warm which is the important part, and it’s close to the lovely town centre for food.
It’s a holiday weekend which explains the scarcity of accommodation as well as the high prices. And the school holidays are starting which means my accommodation nightmare will continue. Not sure how much more of this I really want to endure, as I’ve already ticked off all of my objectives for this part of the trip. I’ll decide soon.