Day 5 of riding. I think this was my favorite stretch.
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| An Abbey we spotted along the way. I stopped for quick pic then had to rush on (I definitely felt rushed in the riding, I would have liked to spend more time on the bike at a leisurely pace rather than hauling ass to the pickup point). |
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| Rich, Joan, Sarah, and I took a side road to visit a sheep farm that was giving tourist demonstrations of sheep herding and shearing. This was not part of the official group plan, but we wanted to see more than just the main road between points A and B. |
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| Absolutely gorgeous scenery and the dog herding these sheep was astounding. |
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| Rich and Joan stopping to watch the sheep. This was the country road leading to the farm. It was probably a two mile detour. I wish all the roads were like this. I was really not happy on the main roads with the cars. My next tour on the Wild Atlantic Way will be much different. I hope to one day return and spend a month slow peddling the back roads. |
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| Those lines in the water are muscle crops. I guess they somehow grow on the lines and the fisherman collect them when they are mature. We didn't have time to visit a muscle farm, but I did try a bowl full at one of our dinners and they were good. Of course, the buttery garlic sauce they were in was good, the muscles themselves were just chewy bits. |
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| The sheep along this stretch were not enclosed in fences, they just wondering around the fields and across the roads as they pleased. They were not the least bit scared or interested in us. |
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| I had to stop every few hundred feet to snap another picture, it was so beautiful. |
Our stopping place for riders that had enough (and I had enough). I handed over my bike and got an ice cream. Then the van followed the scenic path to the second stopping point to pick up more riders, then off to the hotel.
This was the second stopping point to pick up more riders. The memorial was to the victims of the great famine. Very sad story of people dying from hunger and finding no help (I gathered from the plaque that if those who had a little something were to give it away, they would starve themselves, so many went looking for food and failed in their quest... really sad, but part of this country's history).
Beautiful scenery for us to ride through now though, fat and happy with all of our bike snacks.
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| And at the end of the day a well deserved Guinness. I was hesitant to order one thinking I didn't like dark beers and guess what, it was great!! Next time I'm in an Irish pub in the states, I'll order one and see if it's just as good, or if you have to be in Ireland to truly enjoy it. |
This was one of my favorite towns on the trip, Clifton I think was the name. So cute. Lots of shops and restaurants within walking distance of the hotel. And flowers everywhere and the streets and sidewalks were spotless. They must have an army of cleaners at night because it was a busy little place.
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