It was cool and foggy this morning, so no hurrying from me. The fog meant that it was going to be a nice day but initially, everything was wet. I was near the Cliffs of Moher and looking forward to the 77kms to Limerick.
I headed into town, took some photos as the fog quickly disappeared and followed the Eurovelo sign up a steep hill. At the top, my GPS told me to turn around as I was off the route. Whaaaat ??
My hastily planned route bypassed the coastline in this area but there was no way I was going to miss this scenery on a day like this. I continued along the coast, assuming that it could cost me about 5kms. In the end, it cost me 11kms and a load of climbing.
What a stunning day. I got to the cliffs and joined the bus loads of tourists for a walk along the trail for a bit. This is such a beautiful place especially on a clear day like this. Back to the bike, I had a call with Minou and set off again. Oh boy, 80 more kilometres to go and it’s past midday -that’s a busy afternoon. I’d booked accommodation in Limerick so I had to do it,.
I didn’t take many photos for the rest of the day as I just wanted to get the ride done before dark. I stopped in Ennis for some lunch and picked up some snacks for the rest of the ride.
Leaving town, I had to take a pretty empty main road for a couple of kilometres before turning off. In that short distance, there was impatience, a few close passes and some verbal abuse. I immediately felt homesick 😁. Sorry Irish drivers, but that little display has sent you to the very bottom of my list of driver ratings for European countries. And all of that on a Sunday afternoon – just pathetic. By the way, the French are still the top of the list by a mile.
From there, the lanes undulated through beautiful countryside and it was a really enjoyable ride … until the final hill of the day. It wasn’t the biggest climb in the world, but after 75kms, I didn’t feel like it. With no alternative, I cracked on, up the long 8 and 10% inclines. Halfway up, a red van came from the other direction and stopped for a chat. He suggested an easier route from the next intersection, and when I made it there, I planned the alternative in Komoot.
The fact was that it was a pretty minimal height saving but added about four kilometres to the trip – definitely not !
It just proves rule 3 of cycle touring – Never take route advice from drivers. (Rule 3.1 is – Only take route advice from cyclists of similar abilities. But that’s a story for another day).
So I continued up the hill, and from the intersection, it got easier and even pleasant in the failing late afternoon light. The downhill was fantastic and brought me quickly to the outskirts of Limerick, then over the bridge and into the city as darkness fell.
The hotel is central and quite nice but at 7pm on a Sunday night, there weren’t many food options, so I walked to the Locke pub for a big meal and some Irish music. They even had Irish dancing happening. It was really nice. Back at the hotel, I had a terrible sleep with ridiculous people having ridiculous arguments in the corridor at all hours.
