Travellers’ tales: An Irish cycling odyssey

My tour around the coastline of Ireland began in early June sunshine in Strangford, County Down. It included much of the Wild Atlantic Way (WAW), and I managed to visit 100 of the 187 WAW discovery points, which provided an insight into wildlife, natural features and local history along the route.

Each day featured stunning scenery, idyllic beaches and rugged coastlines. The joy of cycling was the ability to easily stop and soak up the amazing views as I made my way around the coast. Standout moments included reaching the summit of the Conor Pass, the Kilkee Cliffs view and the Ring of Kerry viewpoint at Com an Chiste.

I did the tour on my new Spa D’Tour, having retired my old Dawes Galaxy. The D’Tour performed well, with only two mechanicals: a broken spoke and a broken gear cable.

The welcome I received along the way was warm and generous, and the food was generally excellent. Almost all my accommodation provided convenient, secure parking for my bike, although amusingly in Belmullet, the bike was so secure that not even the staff could unlock the room. Eventually the hotel handyman cut the lock!

The first three weeks of my tour were dry and sun filled but the final two weeks were much more typical with a good deal of rain and wind. I finished my trip back in Strangford in pouring rain, having ridden 2,874km and climbed a total of 26,844 metres – three times up Mount Everest.