If you assume that having two days in one entry means that not much happened, you’d be right. I followed the Royal Canal Greenway and not much happened.
It was overcast and cool as I left the hostel in Dublin. Dublin is nice. I like the history and stories but I shudder when I think of the poor people living through the British oppression over so many years. Dublin is also very very busy and very very expensive. These two things detract massively from the place.
But … it has a Decathlon, and that meant thick, goretex gloves and long running pants for riding. I also got some new shoes which I’m currently breaking in (it’s taking a while). They’re water resistant as well, so I think I’m pretty well set up for Ireland.
I expected today to be super wet. They expected 33mm of rain, but in the morning, the forecast had changed – it nearly always does and that means all my concern and prep is wasted.
I took the train to Maynooth to avoid the Dublin traffic and started on the Greenway immediately. It’s a nice path without being stunning. All of the people who were walking dogs, kids etc were really friendly and I got a smile, a hello, and wave from everyone.
And that’s why I’m in Ireland, the people.
I shouldn’t have gone to Wales first though. Ireland is beautiful but in comparison, Wales is far more stunning.
It hardly rained much today. I put on the poncho while eating lunch under a tree but took it off by the time I’d finished. The rain was never far away, but thankfully I never got wet and arrived at the B&B with minutes to spare. In fact, I got wet while unpacking the bike. The owners lovely little dogs didn’t help. They wanted to get into every bag as I took it off the bike.
I went to my room, had a shower, got ready to look around town but fell asleep for an hour. I finally set off in the steady rain and had a quick look around Mullingar. There wasn’t much happening that I could see, on this miserable Thursday night.
I found a good indian restaurant, went home and slept like a log.
Mullingar to Athlone
I overslept. I suspect that a few nights of bad sleep in Dublin contributed to that.
Breakfast was the highlight of the day. It wasn’t the food, which was very nice. It was the host, Lorenzo who was full of stories and jokes. I don’t know how he got time to cook. He’s a great guy who made myself and the other guest feel immediately at home.
The 50kms to Athlone was anything but exciting. I rode into town in the light drizzle and got some ride snacks then left, along the Royal Canal Greenway. After a few kms, the trail left the canal and followed a rail trail.it was dead flat,dead straight and dead boring. A little harsh, but true.
After 20kms, there was a sign pointing to a cafe so I turned off. After a few hundred metres, I realised that the cafe wasn’t close at all. Google told me that it was another two and a half kms, meaning a round trip of more than five kms. Not many cyclists would do that, and I certainly didn’t. That’s ok. I wasn’t expecting food before Athlone anyway.
Then I came to the old Streamtown station and it had a fantastic little cafe/restaurant. I thought it was a mirage. I’ve never had carrot and orange soup before, but it was superb.
That fueled me for the rest of the ride to the station at Athlone for the train to Galway. I’d booked two nights in an Airbnb there to escape Storm Babet which would devastate parts of the UK. As time went on though, the forecast changed and it wasn’t such an issue here. Still, a day off is always good – especially when you can cook some decent food and watch Netflix while it rained.
