Won't be in for the Trip, no holidays plus my mother is over for a visit so have family commitments, did a bit of reconnaissance for you however to make sure the roads are K worthy. No need to worry, WAW offers some pretty great riding 

some pics from my wild atlantic way + photorally trip


https://s1315.photobucket.com/user/sagmeise/WAW%20%20phtorally/story

Good pics, Sagi.
Have you got many from the Photo Rally?

Think I got 16 or so now, but not sure if I'll get to the rest, made it to Coleman Heritage Center in Sligo, and have all the others between there and Cork, but the remaining ones are quite far away, maybe I can take a trip up north over a long weekend before winter comes.... 

But 16 is not to bad for a first timer I'd say

Sagi

Don't forget Norn iron September might take you to some of them.....

As for this weekend, am at work, its chucking rain just now after quite a passable day out on the K....

Checked weather: Monday and Tuesday are looking nasty in south west [as in force 5-7 potential and serious rain] so looking at alternatives with 88KE. South east looks like will be ok so may discuss some alternatives as Nore Valley is very central.

BBQ packed! Head off late morning.

What time do you think you'll be setting up camp at Nore Valley?
Might be in the area tomorrow. 

At least that'll mean you'll get one reasonable day's weather.

Hi Comberjohn,

That would be rather nice to see you. Might even have spare room in the tent for you.!!! That would guarantee two good days.

Not sure yet, trying to get some work finished here and don't see me being up before 3pm. Stuff is all sorted, bike is juiced up but have to go to town first thing to collect something.

Tent! :pale:
Doing a Photo Rally shot just east of Carlow so might head on down.

I thought a tent would get you excited?

There is a B&B not too far but might be kind of full. I could ask at camp site if they know anywhere.....?

Am I  the right place??? Nore Valley Park??

Yes Curley just made it down for a visit, I could only stay one night. Here we are pitched up at Nore valley...


Heidi and the Bullion brick...

Ahoy! 

See you tomorrow!

We are planning to reach Stradbally at around 10. 

Magda

Just sitting in my b&b in Carlow town. Ahhh!
Decided to ride down this evening and get one of my Photo Rally Shots on the way. Lovely run down through Blessington and around the Wicklow mountains. Very little traffic and beautiful weather.
See y'all in the morning. 

More reports on this one.


23 turned up at Stradbally Fayre on Saturday morning....nice to see the K100 becoming a young ladies [Becky, Jedi Gril] bike. Looks good for the future.


A good mix of 2 K1s, K100LTs, K100 RS, K100RT, K1200LT, even a K100 Café Racer. Trying to sort out just now how many bricks in total. I counted off 18 bikes at one point [sgmayhew came but his K is now parked up.....another story] but that did include 2 FKJRs, a CBR600, 2 boxers but possibly 3.

Born Again Eccentric will have the exact number.....


Should have mentioned.. Comberjohn must have worn out the weather stone. Sun was out Thursday Friday and Saturday and Sunday. At least this time he kept the rain off us altogether.

Sorry I missed it guys,
was meeting my brother, his wife, and three friends from Australia. They spent the last two WET weeks on Indian motorcycles in Scotland.

Glad to hear you had a good time, and will see you at the next one.

I pity John if you all get soaked and frozen one day.

RicK G wrote:I pity John if you all get soaked and frozen one day.

For those days we have Guinness and Bushmills whiskey.....

92KK 84WW Olaf wrote:
A good mix of 2 K1s, K100LTs, K100 RS, K100RT, K1200LT, even a K100 Café Racer. Trying to sort out just now how many bricks in total. I counted off 18 bikes at one point [sgmayhew came but his K is now parked up.....another story] but that did include 2 FKJRs, a CBR600, 2 boxers but possibly 3.

Born Again Eccentric will have the exact number.....

Well, since you asked...

I noted....2x K1, 3x K100 LT, 2x K100 RS, 2x K100 RT, 1x K100 Cafe Racer, 1x K1200 LT, 1x R1100, 1x R1200 GS, 2x FJR 1300, 1x F650 GS and 1x CBR600F.....17 bikes by my count, including 8 bricks.

A cracking good turn out to top off an excellent week. Ride report and photos to follow when I get a chance to upload photos, sift through 192GB of video and work out where we went etc.

The hidden benefit of writing a ride report is that it teaches you how to use some of the lesser known features of the toys you have. In this case, my Garmin Zumo 590 GPS diligently logs my every move, but until now I have not used the "basecamp" software to process any of that data. Until now ...and it's so much easier than recreating the route in google maps and provides tons of data, all available at the click of a mouse....

Anyway, having created maps, sifted through countless gigabytes of video and still footage, here goes my account of a wonderful week riding in Ireland with the Irish Eccentrics and others during the first week of August 2015.

Overview: Saturday 01 August - Sunday 09 August 2015 (Total 1605 miles)



Largely organised and orchestrated by Olaf, the plan was for a week of riding around Ireland culminating in a grand meet up at Stradbally Fayre for breakfast and an Irish Eccentric ride-out on Saturday 8 August. 

The original intention was to meet up at Nore valley campsite and, from there, ride down to the southwest (Kerry) and then head north up the wild atlantic way, camping and wild camping on route. We would then scoot back down to Nore Valley to be ideally located ready for the Stradbally meet. However, the forecast for the start of the week was for wet and windy weather, particularly across the South West, so we decided to spend the first couple of days at Nore Valley and miss out Kerry altogether.

Day 1: Saturday 01 August 2015 - Home to Nore Valley campsite (via Stena Line ferry from Fishguard to Rosslare) - 235 miles




Timing for this trip was not ideal, my house sale had finally gone through and I'd spent most of the previous week packing up, cleaning and moving me and my daughters into rented accommodation (yet more cleaning!). I really could have used the time to unpack and sort out the new place, but the girls were already booked to stay with their mother for the week and I was booked on the ferry. Head said "cancel" heart said "go". Heart won! 

The ferry was booked for the 14:30 sailing and I had a 170 mile ride to the ferry port at Fishguard in south Wales, so I figured on giving myself a leisurely 4 hours to get there. Saturdays in the middle of the school summer holidays is never a good time to be out on the road - guaranteed heavy traffic heading to and from holiday destinations. Also the bike was fully loaded with camping and fishing gear, so I was not going to be breaking any land speed records.

So with fluids all checked, fuel tank full and luggage loaded and securely strapped down, I rolled out of my garage and hit the road north. The bike was noticeably heavier but purred up the road without any difficulty. I was glad that I had taken the opportunity for a trial run back in June when I had joined Side Car Paul for a camping weekend at Cullompton though. 

The weather was dry, overcast and warm - no complaints with that and all was well until I passed through Bristol. The traffic was slow going with a lot of stop and starting and I became alarmed when the rear brake decided to stop working - feeling absolutely no resistance to my foot on the brake lever. At first, I wondered whether it was overheating - with the extra load on the bike and the slow manoeuvring and the regular braking through the city could support that theory. This was not the start I wanted though, just 25 miles into my journey. I figured that if it was overheating, then I would ride on and avoid using the rear brake at all and give it a chance to cool down - I was about to hit the M4 motorway westbound, so reckoned that I wouldn't need to be braking at all for quite a few miles. Half convinced by my theory, I did ride a little more cautiously as I pressed on and was soon flying along the M4 towards Wales.

My next problem came at the toll booths at the Severn Bridge crossing. A great deal of traffic was backed up at the tolls, despite the motorway spreading out into about 20 lanes. Bikes are free, but still have to stop, so I picked a lane behind a view blocking 4x4 and crawled my way towards the booth. At the last minute I realised that my chosen lane was an unmanned one that was marked cars only and specifically had a sign saying no bikes! Unfortunately, all lanes around me were solid with traffic and there was no escape. I had a choice, pay the £6.50 and pretend I was a car or get off and press the help button. I elected for the latter - out of principle. I assumed that the operators would simply open the barrier from remote and let me on my way, but that would have been too easy. Instead, an operator had to walk across the width of the toll gate and then radio back to control to get the barrier raised. I could feel the angry eyes of the cars stuck behind me burning into the back of my helmet and as soon as the barrier was up, I was off without a backward glance....but feeling somewhat embarrassed!

Now, I have already mentioned that Saturdays in school holidays are not good driving/riding days. When heading towards a very popular holiday destinations (Wales and Ireland), not good becomes hideous and the traffic was exceptionally heavy all the way to Fishguard. Contrary to my theory that the rear brake was overheated and would cool down if I avoided using it, the rear brake remained inoperative and I had to adjust my riding style to rely solely on engine braking and the front brake to slow me down. Effectively, this meant that I decided not to filter through the lines of stationary traffic and this slowed my progress quite considerably, but a safe option. I had experienced a similar rear brake failure on my previous K - that had proved to be a perished rubber hose between the brake reservoir and the rest of the brake system. I must have had a premonition of today's impending failure because, just as I was about to leave home, I had grabbed the piece of hose left over from the earlier repair and chucked it in my top box! It is a fairly simple job to change the hose, but not ideally done at a busy road side, so riding extra cautiously, I continued with my journey and made it safely to the ferry port. Hill starts are a little more challenging without a rear brake and stopping distances a little bigger, but other than that, there is little need for the rear brake (the front brake would have been a different issue altogether).

Despite the traffic delays, I  still arrived in good time and re-fueled and bought a small bottle of brake fluid. I didn't particularly want to be riding around all week with no rear brake if I could help it. Following another bike, I checked in for the 14:30 sailing and took great delight being told "Lane 1" and then riding past hoards of cars to the front of the queue - just as they commenced boarding. Once on board, with bike suitably secured, I settled into a strong cup of coffee and took my seat ready for the 3 ¼ hour crossing. The ferry was packed and very hot - made worse by wearing bike gear, but the crossing was reasonably calm and I dozed my way over the Irish sea and before I knew it, it was time to return to my bike. I got a call from 88KE (Will) saying that he would meet me near New Ross and ride up to Nore Valley with me. The rendezvous was a "right turn just before getting to New Ross", but Will reckoned that he would be there before me, so it shouldn't be a problem.



For this part of my journey, I had loaded a route into my GPS that had been recommended by Will and getting off the ferry ahead of most of the cars, I had a clear road ahead of me. I duly approached New Ross a short while later and the GPS said turn right. Expecting this to be the rendezvous, I looked for Will - hmmm no sign...perhaps I was in the wrong place. I returned to the main road and took the next right turn....still no Will. In the end I rode right into New Ross and stopped at the N30 road side and waited. I tried calling Will, but, unsurprisingly, went to voicemail. I left a message saying where I was and that I would wait 5 minutes and then head on to Nore Valley. After 5 minutes, there was still no sign of Will so I pressed on. The route I had loaded into my GPS was based on Wills recommendation, but I had clearly added some interesting deviations to it. Several times, it sent me up a road that quickly narrowed into a track with a grassy green centre and I marvelled at how they managed to join so many potholes together with so little tarmac. At one point (Mount Juliet), despite the GPS insisting that I continue to follow the road, an impressive set of iron gates said otherwise and I had to turn back.

As I finally neared my destination, I noticed a white K100RS heading in the opposite direction and gave a friendly wave. Initially, when I saw the distinctive headlight, I thought it was Will coming to look for me - but I quickly realised that it was not his bike - wrong colour, wrong model. The other rider waved back anyway as we passed. Eventually, and a half an hour later than I had expected, I rolled into Nore Valley and there was Will with Olaf, Becky and Dave. It seems that I had actually been ahead of Will when I got to the rendezvous, but as I meandered off down some the less well trodden parts of the Irish countryside, he had then got past me and hence arrived shortly ahead of me. 

Nevertheless, it had been a good days ride and, while Olaf reloaded the BBQ to feed the new arrivals, I unloaded my bike and pitched my tent and poured myself the first glass of Guinness of the week.  Being the Irish bank holiday weekend, the camp site was very full and there was only just enough room for me to put up my spacious tent. Will was only staying with us for the night as he too was in the process of moving house, but due to the forecast, we decided that the rest of us would stay at Nore Valley until Tuesday morning. 


Olaf & Will at Nore Valley Camp site

Day 2: Sunday 02 August 2015 - Nore Valley campsite to Hook Light House - 97 miles




After a sound night's sleep, I awoke early and cooked myself some breakfast as snores still emanated from certain tents. 
In due course, the others appeared and we discussed the plans for the day. The intention was to have an easy day, riding the relatively short distance down to Hook Light House. 


A crowed camp with Olaf's RT, Will's Bullion Brick, my LT (Heidi) and Becky's FJR (hiding under the cover)

The first thing I wanted to do though, was to take a look at my rear brake. It quickly became apparent that the failure was exactly the same as I has suffered on my previous K - the hose to the brake reservoir had perished where it had rubbed against the frame (for the last 24 years) and whilst I had not lost any brake fluid (the reservoir was still at the right level), the system was no longer airtight. Without any difficulty, I removed the old section of hose and installed the new piece that I had fortunately packed at the last minute. Before connecting the hose to the reservoir, I carefully filled it with brake fluid to minimise the amount of air getting into the system. All reconnected and bike reassembled, bleeding the rear brake and ABS unit was quite easily achieved using the old piece of hose and an empty wine bottle.




A quick test ride around the campsite later and it was confirmed that I was blessed with having a rear brake again.

After bidding farewell to Will, we set out for our day trip to Hook Lighthouse. Olaf took the lead, with Becky and Dave in the middle and me bringing up the rear. Whilst I was confident that my brake repairs were sound, I did leave a slightly bigger than necessary gap between me and Becky - I didn't want her first encounter with me to result in a repeat of the rear ending that she previously got from Snodders! I think she appreciated the space while we all got used to riding with each other.

It was only a short ride, but due to our leisurely start, as we passed though New Ross we decide to stop for a coffee. Well, of course coffee quickly became lunch instead and we enjoyed a good plate of food before heading on down the road. By now, the weather had turned decidedly pleasant - blue skies, white clouds, sunshine and a warm breeze. 



As we approached Hook Lighthouse, it was clear that the rest of Ireland had also decided to visit the same place and the car park was overflowing - no problem with parking 3 bikes though. With the obligatory cup of tea and ice creams out of the way, we wandered over the rocky shore, enjoying the feel of the salt spray carried on the wind, the sound of the waves crashing relentlessly against the jagged rocks and the unmistakable fresh smell of the ocean. As the sun beat down, we stood awhile, lost in our own thoughts as sea gulls reeled above us and curious seals poked their heads out of the foamy water to wonder at the strange beasts staring at them from the rocks. It reminded me why I preferred the seaside to the country side - I've lived in the countryside for far to long and am sick of the persistent smell of manure and the mud laden roads.






Olaf, Dave and Becky lost in their thoughts near Hook Lighthouse

Suitably re-invigorated by the sea air, we returned to the bikes and headed back to the campsite. Earlier, we had noted a fishing tackle shop a short way up the road and decided to stop on the way back to stock up on some special Irish lures etc. Sadly, the signs advertising fishing tackle (and bait) were substantially larger than the actual stock in the shop - I think I had nearly as much already with me on my bike. Disappointing would be an understatement - we left empty handed.

By the time we got back to the campsite, the blue sky was long gone and ominous low rain laden clouds were scudding across the evening sky. Within minutes of us arriving, the rain began and boy did it rain! Luckily, the camp site had an open barn with picnic benches inside, in which we could cook our supper - I guess it wasn't luck, I suspect that the owners are well used to a little rain trying to spoil things. As the rain lashed down, we set up our BBQs and over the next 4 ½ hours cooked up and consumed a veritable feast of corn on the cob, homemade kebabs, sausages, bacon, chicken and burgers. All washed down with a suitable quantity of drink (Guinness, of course in my case). I don't think the swallows nesting in the rafters above us appreciated the fugg of the BBQ smoke, but perhaps they are used to it.

Satisfied, we washed up our utensils and returned, in the darkness, to our tents. By this stage, one of my boots had decided that its sole would come unglued - I repaired it a while back after it was damaged when I was knocked off my previous K. I guess the somewhat damp weather and puddles were something to do with the latest failure. Foolishly, I had already decided that I would replace these boots after the Ireland trip - perhaps I should have got my new boots before the trip. Oh well, another repair to do....in the morning.

One of the satisfying things about camping - in a good tent - is lying back listening to the rain beating down on the flysheet, knowing that you are warm and dry inside. We had had a good day out and were ready for a good nights sleep.

Day 3: Monday 03 August 2015 - Nore Valley campsite to Dublin (via Sally Gap) - 231 miles




At some point overnight, it stopped raining and the new day dawned and showed much promise for the hours ahead. I cooked myself another heathy fry up and then went for a shower. When I returned to the camp, there was no sign of Olaf, Becky or Dave....I reasoned that they couldn't have gone far as their bikes were still there. I decided that I really needed to do something about my boot, so set about a temporary fix. It then occurred to me that Olaf mentioned something about a BBQ for breakfast - I headed up to the BBQ barn and sure enough, there they were, in a barn full of smoke and with enough food cooking to feed a small army. I broke the news that I had already had my breakfast and left them to eat even more.

I went off on my own to try and find a petrol station that stocked glue for my boot, but the strongest glue any of them had was a pritstick (kids paper glue - the non sticky sticky stuff). Useless! I ended up doing a quick tour of Kilkenny before heading back to the camp site empty handed. 

Olaf, Becky and Dave had finished their epic breakfast by the time I got back and we discussed plans for the day. Becky and Dave wanted to stay local. I had only 3 things I wanted to do - most importantly was to get out and ride, but I also wanted to find some glue and possibly visit Stephen near Dublin. Now some may recall, Stephen put up a post a few months back saying that his K days were over and offering his beloved K100LT for sale. I had exchanged a few PM's with him saying that I was interested, but unable to commit until my house had sold and freed up the necessary Kash. He hadn't found another buyer, so I was keen to get up to have a look at his bike. A few text messages later and we determined that he was going to be at home later in the day and our visit was agreed; we expected to arrive about 15:00. Of course we could have been there in just over 2 hours if we had taken the motorway - but where's the fun in that. Instead we decided to take the scenic route and wind our way North East and pass through the Wicklow Mountains National Park. 


Heidi and the tent-mansion

Before we left, I looked up hardware stores on my GPS - and found a Halfords (bike/auto store) near Kilkenny. If I'd turned left at a roundabout earlier, instead of going straight across, I would have seen it - doh! So with the GPS in charge, Olaf and I set off. Now GPS's and Ireland are a bit mischievous at times - guidance of wise men and adherence of fools etc., so it was no great surprise when it took us straight past the entrance to the retail park where Halfords was and tried to send us in by a non existent turning. Still, not a problem, I had eyeballed the place and it was surely a simple matter of doing round the roundabout ahead and back tracking...well it would be, but heading in the opposite direction, there was no right turn into the retail park and we had to over shoot again to the next roundabout before we were able to finally make the left turn that was needed. Of course, being a non-GPS believer, Olaf was secretly delighted that once again their weakness was exposed!

Halford had both gorilla glue and gorilla tape - I bought both and set too re-attaching the sole of my boot. It felt much better without half the sole flapping in the breeze! Repair effected, Olaf took the lead and we headed out of town and vaguely in the direction of Stephen. Now it is only fair to say, there were a couple of occasions when Olaf's intimate knowledge of probably every road in Ireland went awry and we had to stop and do a U-turn. It seems that, in Ireland, neither GPS nor local knowledge is infallible - I blame the leprechauns. In reality, the odd deviation made little difference, the weather was perfect and it was just great to be out on the quiet roads and riding.

Olaf decide that we would go up through the Sally Gap - a route that he and Stephen had taken Bill during his visit earlier in the year. An excellent choice. I had previously ridden through Glendalough, but had not done the Sally gap before, so it was a must do ride. I was not disappointed, the road rose quickly as it twisted and turned up the hill. We passed a Garda/police patrol car (doing well under the speed limit) - apparently they regularly patrol the area to "educate" rather than prosecute bikers, and with good reason - there has been many a biker who has ridden their last ride, too fast, on those treacherously, snaking, narrow roads. We pulled over at a view point and let the copper continue on his way.


Water fall in the Sally Gap


Olaf

After a brief interlude, we headed on up the hill. The views across the surrounding moorland were awesome and well worth the ride and largely uninterrupted for miles around aside a scattering of cars on the narrow ribbon of tarmac. It was definitely not a fast ride, the road surface was bumpy to say the least, but there was no need for speed. Beautiful! It certainly was exposed up on the top plateau though, the strong wind swept up the valley and across the moorland plain and buffeted us at every turn. It was several degrees cooler up there too.



I would not like to run out of fuel there and it would not be much fun in winter with sleet and snow drifting across the road.
Half way across the moor, we came to a cross roads - breathtakingly desolate, the road could be seen heading in each of the 4 directions - a thin grey line almost totally consumed by the majesty and vastness of the open countryside. A few cars and bikes could be seen in the distance, puny and ant like following each other into the wilderness. Awesome!


The Sally Gap ride - Uploaded at minimum quality to save hours!!

Before I knew it, we were heading down hill again and back into the shelter of trees and valleys. The wilderness quickly gave way to suburbia as we approached the outskirts of Dublin. Somewhat later than anticipated, we eventually rolled up at Stephens house.

It was good to meet Stephen again, he invited us in and, not only did he and Mary offer us a cup of tea with cake, we were also treated to a delicious casserole for supper (and a Guinness!  ). Wholly unexpected, but very welcome nonetheless. His K was parked up outside ready for a viewing - and without too much haggling, we did the deal! Now I just need to arrange a trip over with the car and trailer to pick it up and add her to my growing K-Stable!!

I'm hoping that we did not overstay our welcome, but Stephen and Mary were such generous hosts that it was hard to leave. Another cup of tea/coffee and biscuits after supper and more amiable chatting. We started to make our move at 22:30, even so, it was 22:50 before we finally stopped talking and got back on our bikes and left them in peace!

The motorway south was the clear choice for the return journey, it was the quickest and most direct route and, as it was dark, there was little point opting for a more scenic route back to the camp site. We made good time on the very quiet motorway, dodging several short showers over the next 1 ¾ hours until finally rolling into the camp site at 00:30. Another great day out, but definitely ready for my bed!

Day 4: Tuesday 04 August 2015 - Nore Valley campsite to Doolin campsite - 187 miles




The day dawned cool and grey and far too soon! It had rained more overnight and the tents were still wet. With more rain looking likely, we packed up our camp and, just as I thought I'd nearly made it, the heavens opened and I was left rolling up the tent in the downpour. The worst thing about rain when you're packing up, I decided, is your head gets horribly wet and then putting on a crash helmet is pretty unpleasant. I should have learnt this lesson at the Cullompton camp, but old dogs and all that. I told myself that I really must get a rain hat before the next time!

Of course, as soon as I was all packed up, the rain stopped! It then did exactly the same for Olaf - pouring as soon as he got to the point of no return. Those pesky leprechauns!! By the time we were ready to leave, the rain had stopped again.

The plan for the day was to ride across towards Galway an perhaps meet up with Reg. We were thinking about perhaps some wild camping near Fanore. It was windy, but the rain held off and the roads dried quickly. With bikes fully laden again, we headed westwards, mostly keeping off the major roads and motorways.  There really is no fun in riding on motorways unless you have to. However, we did take the toll tunnel to bypass Limerick - at a cost of 1 euro, it wasn't a big deal! We stopped off in Ennis at a service station to re-fuel and get a bite to eat for lunch. It was good timing, a sudden squally shower soaked the road and everything on it. The rain passed as quickly as it had started and by the time we had finished lunch it was dry again.

Finally we reached the west coast at Liscannor, in glorious sunshine, and pulled into a beachside car park. As soon as we entered, Olaf U-turned and headed back out again. I wasn't paying attention and lost sight of him, so in the slow moving traffic instead of turning left on the exit, I turned right. Becky and Dave behind me turned left to follow Olaf - they must have wondered why I turned right! Of course it was all part of my master plan - as I was looking for a suitable place to turn around, I spotted a Red K1100 coming towards me. It was Reg. I pulled over and turned round, just as he did the same, but eventually we were both heading North and looking out for Olaf and co.


Reg

At some point Olaf must have realised that I was missing from the convoy and turned back. He found me waiting at the roadside with Reg! Just as I had planned (not!! - but a happy coincidence from a flash of intuition).


Olaf             Becky & Dave

It might have been sunny, but it was sure windy. My bike was sitting unusually upright on it's side stand and I was concerned that it was going to get blown over. It didn't but I was glad when we were on our way again. While we were stopped, we discussed where the best place was to camp - Reg recommended staying at Doolin rather than Fanore, and given the strong wind, I think that any thought of wild camping was definitely off the cards. When we set off again, Reg was in the lead and we  had a good ride north up the wild atlantic way towards Doolin. We stopped briefly at the Cliffs of Moher, but decided against going in in favour of getting to the camp site and setting camp while the weather remained good.



I was staggered how many cars and buses were at the Cliffs - the vision is of a wild and remote place, precipitous cliffs plunging vertically into the tumultuous ocean below. The reality is a tourist hot spot and, whilst still dramatic, somehow missing the rugged romance of the vision. 

We pressed on towards Doolin and found a campsite near the harbour. Sadly, Reg didn't remain with us and we bid him farewell as we went onto the site to find suitable pitches.


Reg at Doolin....and an interesting sign. I guess it means don't chase the dolphins.

Having selected pitches that were sheltered by a high stone wall, we set about getting the tents up. The wind was still pretty strong and, even in the relative shelter of the wall, it was a struggle to get my tent-mansion up. The ground was so soft, the pegs just kept pulling out until, with Becky's help, I finally had enough pegs in to hold the tent in place!



Tents up, thoughts immediately turned to supper. Both Olaf and Becky remembered seeing a fish & chip shop a couple of kilometres back up the road, so we all decided that would be a good place to eat. Oh those naughty leprechauns! We rode one way, we rode another way, we turn round and turn round again and could we find the elusive chippy - could we hell! I hadn't noticed it on the ride in, so was no help at all.


Another U-turn...I think when Olaf saw the American flag, he realised that he had gone too far west this time!!

Finally, we ended up back at the campsite. Time to consult the GPS. The nearest chippy was over 10km away, but had been on the route in towards Doolin. I input the waypoint and took the lead. It was more than 10km....if I had trusted the GPS and left the main road and gone cross country, maybe it would have been 10km, but I was wary of the cross country route and disappearing tracks and I was hungry so stuck to the coast road. "You have reached your destination" bleated the self-satisfied GPS voice in my helmet as we turned off the road at the chip shop. Just one small snag, the big sign proudly proclaiming "Fish & Chips - open 7 days a week" belied one small but significant fact - it was closed!! What is it with Irish businesses and their big inaccurate signs?

There was nothing for it but to dial in the address of the next closest food place, back in Liscannor, and we headed there to eat. Fortunately, there was a choice of a few open places and, after a bit of dithering, we selected Nelly's restaurant and were soon seated upstairs and rewarded with a good bit of fish and chips for all our trouble (pizza for B&D). Fancying a bit of pudding, Dave was dispatched downstairs to find out what was on offer. It wasn't a long walk down stairs and back up again, but it had been quite a long day on the bikes, and Dave managed to invent items that weren't actually on the menu (lemon cheese cake), much to the disappointment of Olaf! The rest of us enjoyed our puddings.

After supper, we headed back to the campsite and, after a quick walk down to the harbour to look at the raging sea (and to suss out any good fishing spots) we settled down for the night.

Day 5: Wednesday 05 August 2015 - Doolin campsite and surround -  40 miles



During the night, the wind dropped completely, but the rain was lashing down and obviously wasn't going anywhere fast. Visibility was down to about a mile and it was clearly not a day for any ambitious riding. After a hearty breakfast, in the dry and spaciousness of the tent-mansion, I discussed plans with Olaf. He agreed on the staying put and settled down to doing some work! I had no work to do, but did have a fishing rod in need of using. The harbour had not shown any promise, so I set off fully dressed in my bike gear (bar helmet - that just would have looked creepy) along the rocks to the north of the campsite. The sea was pretty calm, luckily - the rocks would have been dangerous if the wind had still been whipping up the sea as it had the previous day, but the rain was persistent. I found myself a good vantage point and started fishing. Quite quickly, I was rewarded with a pollock of about 1kg and this was soon followed by another slightly smaller one and a mackerel. I was hoping to hit a shoal of mackerel, but must have caught a stray, because that loner was the only one I got.
I caught another couple of small pollock, but they went back to grow bigger. Unfortunately, they must have warned their friends, because I didn't catch any more after that (or maybe it was just the state of the ebbing tide).


Catch of the day: Mackerel and pollock - the little one lived to be caught another day!


A grey old rainy day on the jagged edge of Ireland

After losing a couple of sets of tackle, and nothing else being caught, I decided enough was enough and squelched my way back to the campsite where, in the comfort of the campers kitchen I set about filleting my catch. Pollock are quite a bony fish, so I took extra care with their preparation. 

Rousing Olaf, Becky and Dave, we got together potatoes and salad to accompany the fish and, aided by a couple of glasses of red wine (a chef needs his refreshment) I gently fried the fillets in a little butter. In a word - they were delicious (and virtually bone free)!!

 After lunch, despite the rain, I walked down to the Doolin shops hoping to be able to buy some more fishing tackle - but all the shops were art & craftsy so of no use, although I did buy a rain hat! I was told that the nearest tackle shop was in Lisdoonvarna. 


When it rains in Ireland, it really rains and the land empties straight into the sea!


Looking south towards Cliffs of Moher...and the rain is stopping too

By the time I got back to the campsite, it had stopped raining and Olaf agreed to joined me for the ride out to the fishing shop. We didn't have an address and the GPS was only of use in getting us to the town, but we managed to find the place and bought up a load of extra lucky fishing lures and feathers. Rather than go straight back to the camp site, we decided to ride on further around the Burren. Olaf recalled a twisty section of road called Corkscrew Hill that was nearby, and I managed to find it on the GPS. I plotted a circular route back to the campsite, clearly forgetting all my GPS/Irish lessons to date!

Corkscrew Hill was good fun, but then the GPS took us off the main road. Once again, I should have realised that whenever the centre of the road turns green and grassy, it is not going to be a good road for a K. 



However, the GPS insisted straight on and straight on we went. "Turn left" it commanded - I went straight on and quickly regretted it as the tarmac gave way to loose stone and mud. 



We turned the bikes round on the slippery narrow track (without dropping them) and I turned right when told to do so my the GPS. The tarmac also was short lived that way and the skinny track headed off uninvitingly up into the hills. 


Seriously?!

Don't always trust the GPS - a dotted track is not necessarily a good route, especially over a hillside, no matter how much it says "turn left".

We turned round again and headed back the way we had come and found a more acceptable route back to the coastal road back to the campsite. After a while to recover from the ordeal, it was time to go fishing again and full of bravado, I headed off across the rocks to my lucky spot. Not so lucky, the tide was still low, the wind had picked up and made the sea quite choppy and the fish weren't biting - but at least it was sunny again. the downside was that the sunshine brought out hoards of other campers and walkers and the peaceful solitude was gone along with the fish. I caught a solitary pollock and lost another two sets of tackle in the rocks. I got a text from Olaf - "there'll be 5 for dinner". I replied "Best I catch some more fish then". Nearing defeat, I sent another text "better get some sausages", finally I gave up and, tail firmly between my legs, went back to the campsite with one small pollock as my feeble offering. It tasted good though - but it was only enough for a taste. Fortunately Olaf had suspected my failure and had supplemented the BBQ with proper quantities of food and we ate well again. Owen was to be the fifth person at dinner - he rode up from Cork on his CBR600F and was to join us for the rest of the week. Think I had another Guinness too:drnl:.

Day 6: Thursday 06 August 2015 - Doolin campsite to Westport campsite -  173 miles




Moving day again....down with the tents and time to hit the road and ride further north. 

 
Loaded and raring to go...

The convoy had grown to 4 bikes, 2 classic German K's and 2 Japanese efforts. Not that I'm biased. The leprechauns had been playing tricks with Olaf's mind again and it took several attempts to get clear of Doolin. It shouldn't have been hard - the wild atlantic way basically goes north or it goes south, but somehow we managed to do a big loop and hit the trail southbound. Once actually headed in the right direction, we enjoyed a clear, dry road that hugged the coast and we enjoyed the sunshine and far reaching views across the water to Galway. Sadly, we didn't see any basking sharks or humpback whales in the glittering, calm ocean.


Passing Fanore - wild camping here with the wind and the rain as it had been, and precious little soil over the flat limestone would have been a challenge.


At Black Head, Olaf noticed a line was painted across the road - strangely the German bikes sat one side and the Japanese the other.


Olaf on the WaW ....the eagle eyed will spot the Aussie banner along for the ride with him. I think he will miss it when it goes home!


We continued north at a steady pace and pulled off the road at Kilcolgan. As with previous stops, we stopped for coffee/tea but as it was nearly lunch time, this was probably the best place and time to eat before we hit the pleasures of Galway city. 
I don't think Dave was enjoying being a pillion (he has plans to change that) and wanted to press on while he still had feeling in his legs. As a result our group split, Olaf, Owen and I tucked into our lunch while Becky and Dave rode on, with the intention of stopping after Galway. However, after being left on their own for a short time, they decided that they would head back east and take life a little easier. Not that we were exactly tearing up the miles and spending all day in the saddle, but at the end of the day, that's the great thing about riding in Ireland - if you want to do something different, then that's perfectly OK.

We headed on towards Galway, which was awful! I don't know about the city, but the roads were congested and the traffic lights seemed to last about a minute before they changed, resulting in near gridlock. We were glad to be out the other side and back on quieter roads. 

Connemara - now there's a reason to suffer Galway traffic. Fabulous - lakes and steep sided hills border the road as it twisted and wound its way along. Fishing lodges and secluded hotels looked tempting stop overs, but somehow I didn't think I would be allowed to use a beach-caster and feathers or lures to catch those elusive wild trout. We stopped for a glass of coke at the Peacockes Hotel - not because we had to, but because it was too nice a day not to stop, and we sat outside in the sunshine lazily watching a very small percentage of the world drift by. Leaving the hotel, we turned off the main road in favour of an even more scenic route. I noticed that my camera had stopped recording - damn, another 64GByte memory card full! I pulled over to insert a new card and watched as Olaf and Owen sped off into the distance. I figured that they would realise I wasn't there eventually and perhaps stop. Card changed over, I had the pleasure of an open stretch of road and rode hard in pursuit, until slowed by a couple of cars, eventually finding them pulled over and waiting a few miles on. 

A brief pause at Leenaun, we had the choice of taking the N59 straight to Westport or...the twisty minor road through Delphi. No contest - twisty minor road it was and thoroughly enjoyable it was too.







Sadly all things do come to pass and we arrived in Westport for a one night stay. The campsite was very busy, but we managed to find a space big enough for our 3 tents and bikes and cautiously pulled off the tarmac track, across the car tyre ruts and onto the soft ground. Putting a pad under my side stand to stop it sinking into the mud, I took the additional precaution of tying a guy rope onto the handlebars and pegging it down. I really couldn't face digging the bike out of the mud if it fell over!



With tents up, we headed off to the local shops to get some food for breakfast. While we were out, we found a suitable takeaway and got some more fish and chips for our tea. Well, there wasn't much point breaking out the BBQ for just one night! Not a good choice as it turned out, the takeaway bag proudly boasted "fresh fish", but it was as tough as old boots and very dry. I suppose the fish had been fresh once - just that time was not very recent! We had of course been spoilt with the freshest fish that the Atlantic could give us, back at Doolin. At least I had a glass or two of Guinness to help wash it down!

It was a clear night, we sat around talking and drinking (hmm... hot chocolate) as the darkness fell. The campsite fell quiet and there was a distinct chill in the air, so it wasn't long before we slunk off to the warmth of our sleeping bags.

Day 7: Friday 07 August 2015 - Westport campsite to Nore Valley Campsite -  219 miles



Rising early, it was a beautiful morning, but the sun was still hidden behind the trees and it was still cold. 7.5 deg C, according to the bike temp gauge. The tents were dripping with dew. I went for a shower and regretted it -  the free hot water was clearly not available until later in the day and it was freezing! Still, we were heading back to Nore Valley today and I knew there was hot water there!

As usual, there was no hurry to get to our destination, so we took the scenic route, stopping for coffee at Kylemore Abbey (where Olaf finally got his lemon cheese cake!) and then took a detour along the Sky Road to Cliftden.





As we made our way back to Galway, we got separated - something to do with an old fashioned English habit of stopping at red traffic lights! It was hot as I sat waiting for the lights to go green again - some 8 minutes later! Of course, once the lights were green, I was at the front of the traffic and had a lovely clear road ahead of me to make up some time. I caught up with Olaf and Owen as they hit the centre of Galway and just in time to pull over for a fuel stop and a bite to eat. It's hungry work all this riding about! I had wondered if I would miss where they would stop, but at the end of the day, I had my trusty GPS to get me back to Nore Valley if needed.

The ride back to Nore Valley was fairly uneventful, we had been spoilt with the scenery over on the west coast and we were all glad to roll into the campsite and set up camp next to Becky and Dave's tent. Time for another BBQ, oh and perhaps one more Guinness?!

Day 8: Saturday 08 August 2015 - Stradbally Fayre and Eccentric ride-out -  160 miles




So this was the day of the gathering, we needed to be at Stradbally Fayre for breakfast at about 09:30. Another perfect day for riding. Becky and Dave packed up their tent as they were heading straight back to the Dublin/Holyhead ferry after the meet. We cleaned our bikes while waiting for the off. We had a pleasant ride to Stradbally, arriving nearly bang on 09:30. There was no missing this rendezvous - the impressive line of K bikes and their eccentric owners (and a few other) was already building up outside the cafe. As we stood talking, the rest of the pack steadily rolled in until there were 17 bike in all.


14 down and 3 bikes yet to come...





It was good to meet with familiar faces again and to meet new ones too. Too many to name and I would struggle to get it right! It was good that those without bikes, made the effort too and came by car to join the gathering. We took over the side room at the cafe, which was only just big enough to seat us all.





...and after travelling all those miles, of course the Aussie banner came out (along with the Eccentric duplicate) for signing.

The cafe staff did well to feed all that wanted feeding and it was a great meet up, but it was over all too fast. Becky and Dave had to leave to get their ferry, and others started drifting away too. 

The ride-out was reduced to just 7 bikes: Comberjohn, Cluain Si, Ringfad, 92KK84WWOlaf, Owen, Curley and me. We started out initially in the direction of the Sally Gap, then Curley peeled off to make a phone call and we stopped further up the road in Baltinglass to wait for him. Coincidentally, we just happened to pull over right next to a local hostelry and just happened to drift inside,  where there was no resisting the apple crumble and ice cream with a nice cuppa. Curley never showed up, he had ridden past, so pudding scoffed and bills paid we headed a bit further up the road to meet him. Cluain Si was keen to avoid the rain that was forecast to come through later in the day and peeled off for home. We rejoined Curley in Blessington, where we stood around talking in an Aldi carpark (not the most interesting destination in Ireland) - mostly discussing and planning the Norn Iron meet in about 6 weeks time! From there Comberjohn detached and headed back north of the border, Ringfad and Curley off back to Dublin, leaving just Olaf, Owen and me behind. Well, since we were in Aldi, might as well buy some stuff for a BBQ later!

With no particular plans, we decided to put out trust in the GPS and set the parameters to curvy road, avoid motorways, avoid u turns, avoid tolls and... a setting that I didn't realise I had...avoid unpaved roads. Perhaps that was why the device had kept trying to put me along some of the most impassable roads in Ireland. Sometimes, it is nice not to have a clue where you are and put your complete trust in a box of electronics planning your route for you. It was an enjoyable ride back to the campsite, although there was one occasion when the road started to adopt that worrying green tinge down it's centre, but all came good and we made it back to the campsite without incident.

With rain in the air, we took the safe option and took our BBQ stuff....and final Guinness(!) up to the BBQ barn and cooked and ate until we could eat no more, finishing off with the regulatory hot chocolate. 

 Day 9: Sunday 09 August 2015 - Nore Valley campsite - Home (Via Stena Line Rosslare - Fishguard): 263 miles




If you have made it this far - well done, you'll be glad to know Day 9 is the final day of the adventure and this lengthy account is all but done...

Rising at 05:30, my plan was to have a shower and strike camp (as quietly as possible) and get away by 06:30. After a week of camping, I was pretty used to pitching/packing my tent and loading the bike and it all went like clockwork. The weather was overcast, but dry, although the tent was still wet from the overnight rain. 

Olaf (another habitual early riser) was soon up and about and bang on schedule at 06:30, I bade him farewell and set off on the long journey home. I enjoy the emptiness of an early morning road and it was a good run down to the ferry port at Rosslare. The only traffic encountered was a brief jam of UK cars and lorries as I neared the port, but I was soon past them. Not that I needed to rush, but there is something dull about sitting at the back of a line of traffic, when the opportunity is there to scoot past them all. I made it to the ferry port and checked in. Once again, I enjoyed the pleasure of riding up an empty lane alongside several lanes that had been packed full of cars since who knows when. I boarded the ferry and was parked close to the exit door - ideal for a queue busting get away! Bike suitably secured, I found myself a seat at the stern and settled down with a croissant and coffee for the 3+ hour crossing. 

The ferry was quite busy again and quite noisy - loud, unruly kids in particular. It was too hot again, so I moved to a seat in a much cooler area that was considerably quieter and managed to doze for most of the crossing. We were a little delayed in sailing, so arrived about 20 minutes late into Fishguard, but it was another smooth crossing and, just before 13:00 I was back on Welsh roads and starting the final 170 mile run home. I ignored the road signs out of the ferry port (leads you onto main roads and bypasses Fishguard, but it's a longer route) and let the GPS take me on the shorter route. Unlike the main route that would be full of cars and lorries from the earlier Irish Ferries arrival, my route was nice and quiet and a much more of an interesting bike road, so I made good time and had a far more pleasant ride. Of course, eventually I did join up with the main road, but I had cut off quite a big corner. The rest of the ride was fairly dull main roads and before joining the M4 motorway. It was fairly busy, but the traffic was moving and I cranked along at a steady pace.

Crossing the River Severn, back into England, I noticed a car and caravan that had come to a holiday spoiling end  on the opposite side of the motorway. Don't know how he managed it, but the back of the car and front of the caravan were about 6-8 feet up in the air. The rear of the caravan and the front of the car were planted firmly in the tarmac. Not only did it spoil their holiday, it was starting to spoil the day of everybody in the traffic jam building up behind them. Coming off the M4, I was on familiar turf and within an hour I was rolling up at home, about 3 hours after leaving the ferry.

Bike parked up, stripped of it's load, tent hung up in the garage to dry, it was time to collect my daughters and then sit back with a nice creamy glass of Guinness and reflect on a cracking good week with my Irish Eccentric buddies.

Cheers guys and gals for another great week of fabulous riding, great Kompany and pretty good weather (mostly). 
As Arnie says....I'll be back.... (actually - this weekend coming, briefly, with car and trailer to pick up my new K!)

Paul

That is a brilliant post and sums it all up very nicely!

Yes, I got the lemon cheesecake and it was excellent and maybe we might consider another trip next year!!

Sneaky trip over next weekend for the K??????

Olaf

Great story, BAE.

A great pity I couldn't have another taste of Irish hospitality with you all, though the frequent mentions of rain do put a little dampener on that regret. 

My wife loves our GPS because it gives her another thing to argue with. Having previously studied the map, she will loudly remonstrate with it about why it chose this particular route when there is clearly a better one if it followed her advice!

Even the "avoid unpaved roads" setting wouldn't have helped on one occasion in France when it told us to drive our 1.6m wide car down a 1.2m wide paved road with high stone walls on both sides! Would have been fine on the K, though. 

Thanks for your report, and greetings to the Irish and British K fraternity and Becky. (since I can't think of a proper both-gender encompassing alternative to fraternity.)

Bill

I did bring my computer with me as work beckoned on a few occasions. A Powerbank also meant  I never hooked up anything electrical at any point. Still haven't wired up the bike for charging the phone.
 
Kept in touch with weather reports and it looked like south west as in Kerry was not good. Not much point in heading into the rain and we decided better to have sunshine and see what else was there. So, we stayed in Kilkenny until Tuesday. The Sunday gave us that excellent run to Hook and the Monday gave us Sally Gap in sunshine and of course Born Again Eccentric got his third K!!

Bill knows all about the Sally Gap in sunshine.

We went to Doolin on the Tuesday knowing it would rain Tuesday night/Wednesday morning so were prepared for it and for the sunshine we knew was coming after it.

After I got home I met some friends who had gone to Kerry for that weekend and described it as miserable.

The advice for over here really is be flexible, watch the weather and be prepared to follow the sunshine when its there.

Am considering a camping trip next weekend too......in Kilkenny.

Wow, what a great read.
Thanks for posting BAE.
Can't be too many left to sign the banner.

One question, from what do you drink your Guinness? We get it here on tap, in bottles and 440ml cans with the widget in the bottom to provide the gas.
All but the tap option are pretty second rate as far as I am concerned.

rosskk(k)o

Love the ride report!

Keep 'em coming!

rosskko wrote:Wow, what a great read.
Thanks for posting BAE.
Can't be too many left to sign the banner.

One question, from what do you drink your Guinness? We get it here on tap, in bottles and 440ml cans with the widget in the bottom to provide the gas.
All but the tap option are pretty second rate as far as I am concerned.

rosskk(k)o

 Hi Paul great report again, if you need anything this weekend in Dublin let me know.

rosskko it is not what but where you drink your Guinness is the question   

Therefore one of the best places to have one must be the home of Guinness in Dublin - the Guinness Storehouse serves a very good pint so an invitation goes out to you if you ever make it to Dublin (and of course any other forum members).

Bill has already tried it

well put together , a very enjoyable report. 
the brake issue does keep you on your toes if you haven't experienced it before . 
once you realise how wel the K engine operates for braking , it becomes less worrisome . Pick a suitable gear and make the engine work . 
glad to hear all went well , and friendships old and new were kindled on this wonderful adventure.

Ringfad wrote:

rosskko wrote:Wow, what a great read.
Thanks for posting BAE.
Can't be too many left to sign the banner.

One question, from what do you drink your Guinness? We get it here on tap, in bottles and 440ml cans with the widget in the bottom to provide the gas.
All but the tap option are pretty second rate as far as I am concerned.

rosskk(k)o

 Hi Paul great report again, if you need anything this weekend in Dublin let me know.

rosskko it is not what but where you drink your Guinness is the question   

Therefore one of the best places to have one must be the home of Guinness in Dublin - the Guinness Storehouse serves a very good pint so an invitation goes out to you if you ever make it to Dublin (and of course any other forum members).

Bill has already tried it

If anyone else is planning a visit  do let us know. We will arrange a suitable welcome party. !!

We would hate to see anyone having to come and drink a Guinness on their own. I must say I really enjoyed the weekend Bill was over and was a pleasure to take him around on the pillion.

So now Gaz and Rossko, how are the travel plans coming on?

The convoy had grown to 4 bikes, 2 classic German K's and 2 Japanese efforts. Not that I'm biased. The leprechauns had been playing tricks with Olaf's mind again and it took several attempts to get clear of Doolin. It shouldn't have been hard - the wild atlantic way basically goes north or it goes south, but somehow we managed to do a big loop and hit the trail southbound. Once actually headed in the right direction, we enjoyed a clear, dry road that hugged the coast and we enjoyed the sunshine and far reaching views across the water to Galway. Sadly, we didn't see any basking sharks or humpback whales in the glittering, calm ocean.

A word of warning about this....... The Wild Atlantic Way [WAW] is signed by agreement in a convention that sets the Cork end as south and the Donegal end as North. That's fine except at many places you will see two signs, one pointing towards the Cork end and reading WAW (S) and the other pointing to the Donegal end as WAW (N). So far, so good. Except that sometimes the road north travels south alongside a bay, inlet or mountain and you WILL be heading south but travelling North. It may sound confusing but it was by far the best option.

Loved the read of your week BAE. A first for me was seeing the photo of the bike with a guy rope attached. Many of us also carry a plate to slip under the side stand when the ground is soft (don't have to use it much here though).
Our friend rosskko introduced me to the Glympse smartphone app last year which proved very handy when organising a rendevous with people coming from different directions. When you arrive at the nominated location it allows you to see the location of those still travelling. Worth a look.
Cheers

Thanks for all the positive replies. Those of you that have done ride reports know how much time it takes, but it is good to re-live the adventure all over again, make sense of were we went and it is good to share. If it gives just one forum member the desire to get over to Ireland and try it themselves, then it is my time well spent.

In answer to various questions or points:

Gaz - I remember reading Rosskko's post about the Glympse app and actually downloaded it for a while. Only limitation was my phone which has a capped contract and set data allowance - when outside the UK (this includes Ireland) the allowance gets eaten up very quickly if data roaming is enabled....and Glympse doesn't work without a data connection. Besides, getting lost is all part of the adventure...

Rosskko - The best Guinness comes out of the tap (and as Ringfad says, out of a tap in Ireland), the less gassy the better. I don't like the bottled stuff, so on adventures like this I rely on carrying a stash of cans (with widgets) and take along a pint glass to decant it into. I picked up the glass tip from Side Car Paul - while a little more hassle carrying glassware, drinking Guinness or red wine is so much more civilised from a glass.

Ringfad -Think I'm all sorted for coming over this weekend to pick up my new K. I'll have my daughters with me, so am on best behaviour and we'll be heading off out of Dublin long before the brewery opens! Got a bit of sight seeing and some horse riding planned before picking the bike up and heading home. Rather be on a K!

Indian036 - To not mention the rain would be wrong - but as Olaf says, a bit of flexibility in the planning and it can be possible to avoid the worst of it. It certainly didn't spoil our week at all and, of course brings a lovely fresh green-ness to the place.

Olaf - you know I'm pulling your leg, after all, there's no such thing as a leprechaun...or is there?  
As I said above, getting lost is all part of the adventure.

To those of you planning on visiting soon (Gaz, Rosskko), if you have time, remember that there's plenty of nice parts of England , Scotland and Wales to explore too. Anybody would be more than welcome to visit me over here in Somerset...and, subject to insurance, I might even have a spare K you could borrow...

What a fantastic report...thank you. These are our archives for the forum and all can partake in exploring new worlds, ideas and friends...as well as appreciating our bikes more. Once again thank you.

Born Again Eccentric wrote:Thanks for all the positive replies. Those of you that have done ride reports know how much time it takes, but it is good to re-live the adventure all over again, make sense of were we went and it is good to share. If it gives just one forum member the desire to get over to Ireland and try it themselves, then it is my time well spent.

In answer to various questions or points:

Gaz - I remember reading Rosskko's post about the Glympse app and actually downloaded it for a while. Only limitation was my phone which has a capped contract and set data allowance - when outside the UK (this includes Ireland) the allowance gets eaten up very quickly if data roaming is enabled....and Glympse doesn't work without a data connection. Besides, getting lost is all part of the adventure...

Rosskko - The best Guinness comes out of the tap (and as Ringfad says, out of a tap in Ireland), the less gassy the better. I don't like the bottled stuff, so on adventures like this I rely on carrying a stash of cans (with widgets) and take along a pint glass to decant it into. I picked up the glass tip from Side Car Paul - while a little more hassle carrying glassware, drinking Guinness or red wine is so much more civilised from a glass.

Ringfad -Think I'm all sorted for coming over this weekend to pick up my new K. I'll have my daughters with me, so am on best behaviour and we'll be heading off out of Dublin long before the brewery opens! Got a bit of sight seeing and some horse riding planned before picking the bike up and heading home. Rather be on a K!

Indian036 - To not mention the rain would be wrong - but as Olaf says, a bit of flexibility in the planning and it can be possible to avoid the worst of it. It certainly didn't spoil our week at all and, of course brings a lovely fresh green-ness to the place.

Olaf - you know I'm pulling your leg, after all, there's no such thing as a leprechaun...or is there?  
As I said above, getting lost is all part of the adventure.

To those of you planning on visiting soon (Gaz, Rosskko), if you have time, remember that there's plenty of nice parts of England , Scotland and Wales to explore too. Anybody would be more than welcome to visit me over here in Somerset...and, subject to insurance, I might even have a spare K you could borrow...

Of course there are leprechauns. Didn't you see Ringfad's pictures in March?

Bill

Thanks for the words, BAE. Almost makes me regret being on my annual pilgrimage to Dorset and Wales, but that trip is too well ingrained into my calender.

Super read Paul, I'm glad you persisted west and got some Sunshine to finish the week. The first days were anything but promising.

I must say I really loved the setup. Lipscombe towers is an impressive tent residence even if it is hard to peg in the wind and the way the camping table etc sits so nice and lightly on the load makes an impressive, neat and very comfortable setup.

Good luck for the return to collect my Stpehen's bike (I really had my eye on that but life is what happens when you make plans!).

@ ROSSKO - Guinness out of taps is the go (to borrow your vernacular) but the cans with the widget are a good substitute however it is the water used in the Dublin brewery together with home grown hops and barley that gives it it's uniquely Irish flavour. The ones brewed under licence abroad just don't compare, So you'll have to wait!

Hi Olaf. I'm on here now, keep me posted on runs and camping weekends.

Hi Jerh

We usually set up a new thread for a new meet up. The Stradbally meet up seems to fall into place the Saturday after the August bank holiday. This would be 6th August 2016. My thought for now is to make that the start of a week long camping trip. There has also been a little discussion of a camping week from Saturday 4th June. Currently Rossko is planning to be up from Australia in May/early June so we might get something in May too.

Also a meet up around Patrick's Day too, possibly the Saturday before or after.

Olaf.