Day 4 – What a day!
Blue skies and a ride through what must be one of the most beautiful places on earth, Connemara. Somehow this part of Ireland seemed to gift us with not only exceptional scenery but I’m sure there were more descents than ascents! Beautiful, quiet sweeping downhill sections hidden between stunning lakes, it was like we had booked this place for the day!
Whatever you do put Connemara on your bucket list and get there, preferably by bike so you can really take it all in! If the photos don’t inspire you to book on to our Ireland tour then there is no hope for you!
The riders are getting stronger and everyone is finishing the day strong, the body just seems to adjust to being in the saddle and turning the pedals, it’s going to have a shock when it doesn’t have to – I just hope I can tone down on the calorie intake when I’m not putting the miles in!
The riders are a really mixed bag with relative newcomers to the sport looking to develop their strength with a view to getting in to racing and those who do a great deal of cycling, have been on training camps and are members of clubs. The trip is ideal for a range of levels of cycling and an ideal taster for end-to-end challenges.
We arrived in Castlebar in good time and still in the sunshine, It was a glorious evening and the first job was to get the bikes secured for the night and have a cold beer! The Harlequin hotel hosted us well and the food was excellent.
Day 5 was a steady day with no major climbs or descents, we just rolled over the beautiful Irish countryside. We invited some fellow cycle touring cyclists to join us for tea and cake at our 25mile stop a lovely couple from Holland, passionate about cycling and getting many miles behind them unsupported. Weather wise it was how I had been warned a typical Irish summers day could be, a mix of showers, sun and clouds. Some showers after lunch gave us a good soaking but the clouds cleared to dry us out by the time we reached Bundoran.
Bundoran is a ‘traditional’ seaside town, it has a lovely beach and we had a great Indian but I’m not convinced I’ll be booking a holiday back there again any time soon! We all ready to take on to the penultimate day of the tour tomorrow and keeping our fingers crossed for sunshine!
