Day 1: Mizen Head to Glengarriff

We started Day 1 by boarding a motorcoach to drive us 80 miles (and nearly 3 hours) from Cork to Mizen Head, our starting point.

Our bikes had made the trip earlier that morning in a van, but when we arrived we needed to spend half an hour or so getting set up to ride.

After the group photo, we were off. It was glorious weather, sunny and warm, and, for the first half especially, a beautiful route through fields of wildflowers with vistas of the sea far below us.

The last twenty miles into Glengarriff were less interesting, but we were rewarded by a charming town, with a main street lines with pubs and small shops.

At 9 p.m., a quarter of musicians began a set of traditional Irish music, seated on the sidewalk in front of a pub.

Tomorrow is a more challenging day of riding, so everyone is off to bed early.

In addition to 18 or so Brits, the group includes 3 South Carolinians, a Floridian, a German, and me and Larry from New Jersey.

Day 0

We start pedaling tomorrow morning. Larry and I spent the day exploring Cork by foot, followed by a group dinner. We were hoping to take our rental bikes out for a test drive today, but they won’t be ready until the morning. Today’s weather was lovely, warm and sunny. A bit of a breeze from the NNE, which will be the case tomorrow as we head exactly in that direction. But, as my boys learned in elementary school, you get what you get and you don’t get upset.

This is the first Irishman we met, after arriving in Dublin Tuesday morning. He very kindly allowed us to change our bus ticket so we could take the first available bus to Cork after we got through Border Control.

Typical street in the old part of the city, with the Cathedral of St. Mary & St. Anne in the background.

Apparently, Cork was once the world’s largest producer of butter. Larry’s making a beeline for the museum so he can learn all about it.

Some essential nutrition before Day 1, with Larry and Craig, my roommate for the next 10 nights.

Why am I doing this?

As with LEJOG two years ago, I’m going to blame this on Larry. After we finished our epic trip the length of the United Kingdom, I said to Larry: “How about for our next trip we do the Channel to the Med?” That’s a 870-mile trip beginning at the English Channel, heading southeast across France, over the French Alps, and ending in Nice. Fewer miles than LEJOG. OK, slightly more climbing, at 62,400 feet vs. 59,000 for LEJOG, but that’s minimal.

The always sensible Larry countered with, “How about Ireland?” So, here we are, eighteen days from our flight to Dublin and a bus to Cork. A massive heatwave in the eastern U.S. is curtailing our training, but Larry (or Legs, as I’ve started calling him) is ready to roll and I’m almost ready I think.

This will be my first trip to Ireland. I’m particularly excited about Day 6, when I’ll be cycling by the sheep farm owned by my future daughter-in-law’s family.

Here are some details from the Peak Tours website:

The Mizen Head to Malin Head cycle tour, or “Head to Head,” conjures up a variety of images, ancient hill passes, rolling green fields, fantastic pubs, the “Craic,” stunning scenery, a pint of the black stuff, and a sing-song at the end of the day. In devising this route we have heard on numerous occasions from our customers that “it’s only on our doorstep and I don’t really know much about it.” Well, now is as good a time as any to find out! This cracking tour arrives to Cork and then the following day we transfer by coach to the wildness of the Mizen Head lighthouse to begin our fun. The cycling straightaway is amazing. As we head up through the ridiculously picturesque county of Kerry you would be forgiven for thinking that you had seen all the spectacular stuff, but this is the tour that keeps on giving. Right the way up through county Galway and county Clare you are treated time and again to some of the best scenery this Island of Ireland has to offer. Pushing further north you will hear the accents change but the scenery doesn’t let up a bit, culminating in two challenging final days to reach our destination at rugged Malin Head.

Highlights
– The stunning ride through the Gap of Dunloe
– The brooding, atmospheric region of the Burren on the way to Galway
– Secluded white sand beaches and winding coastal roads
– The superb cycling in and around Connemara and the villages of Clifden and Westport
– The wild remoteness of Glenveagh national park
– The warmth of the Irish people and their stories and music!

Duration 10 nights / 9 days cycling

Total distance 570 miles / 917 km

Average daily elevation 3795 ft / 1157m