Karen at Fifty Four

Day 5 of riding. I think this was my favorite stretch. 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). 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.  Absolutely gorgeous scenery and the dog herding these sheep was astounding.  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. Those lines in ...

Everyone took a day off of cycling to allow us time to visit the Cliffs of Moher. It was an amazing place; not near enough time to explore; and I left my binoculars in the car!!  The day started off with the leader telling us the driver had an appointment and we would not be leaving the hotel until noon. The Florida part of the group decided to Uber it over to a nearby castle (and tourist attraction). It was very nice, but super touristy. I think we were all just ready to start our day and did not want to wait around the hotel (my biggest bitch about the trip - waiting in the mornings for the driver). Bonratty Castle This man did an awesome job playing relaxing, yet lively, Irish tunes. It was very hot and muggy that morning and after walking around the castle and grounds for an hour I was happy to sit still in the shade and listen to him. Minutes after the the sky opened up and there was a downpour so we were stuck inside the gift shop café for another hour.   A stop alo...

This should have been a riding day, Tralee to Limerick, but I opted out and let Vinny use my bike. Truthfully my butt bones were aching. The reasoning that went into me opting out was Ciarin said the route was 44 miles or nothing, and I was a little leery of 44 miles with an aching tush. I asked about a shorter option and was told no. So, Vinney and Steve said, if we want a shorter option, we'll just refuse to finish the ride and they will have to pick us up. I didn't feel like testing the system, so I told Vinny she could use the bike. Turned out great for her because she and Steve did a little side route to a famous golf course and bought a shirt. Also turns out they all opted for a shorter route and we picked them up at the 20-mile point. My off-riding day was spent with Liz in a boring little town. We found a tearoom where the ladies pointed us in the direction of a nice hike. A little girl in the tearoom told us about the Wishing Tree, so of course, that was a must! Our wa...

Day 4 in Ireland was day 2 of riding. We did 27 miles and 1200 feet of climbing. Most of it was on a main road, which I wasn't crazy about. Vinny was with us for most of the ride, but I felt terrible that she had to ride that urban bike when we were all on road bikes.  The group at ride start. Lots of beautiful old churches surrounded by flowers. Amazing scenery. Unfortunately, this was taken when we were stopped to catch our breath from a long fast run on a busy road. The car drivers were very courteous, but they were still cars passing us constantly, and I hate that. I was after the relaxing country roads. Us at the end point.