Three weeks around Ireland

Well, I can finally write to tell my experience in green Ireland.

My journey start on 4th of August, with the fly from Bologna to Dublin and, it's better, I explain my project in two words: Ireland in MTB.
My intention was to travel as much as possible in Ireland with my MTB, with a series of stages that I had set out to do.

My journey was divided into five stages, which I reached every time using the train (mine is not a travel bike so I could not move only with that):
1) Dublin (4 - 9 august)
2) Athlone (9 - 12 august)
3) Galway (12 - 19 august)
4) Limerick (19 - 22 august)
5) Kildare (22 - 24 august)
6) Dublin (24 - 25 august, only for the return trip to Italy).

Well, the first few days I walked around Dublin, from Phoenix Park to the Poolbeg Lighthouse, with a visit to Trinity College and all the pubs that were possible, with the help of a friend who lives in Dublin.
Along with this friend I also went to the Howth Peninsula, a really nice place.

And finally, my first bike journey: as my first mountain bike trip I chose the Powerscourt Waterfall, here below a picture.

A journey of 70 km in the countryside south of Dublin.
But this picture is not enough to explain my experience in Dublin, on the contrary ... I traveled around the city and I could see Temple Bar, Portobello (I had the hostel there), the center with Hal'penny Bridge, the Spire, and I I'm in love with Dublin.



And, last but not least, Tracy, my bike!


At the next post for the Athlone step!

The second step of my journey was at Athlone, from the 9th to the 12th of August. I arrived in the early afternoon and the first view I have of Athlone is this:


I fell in love with the colors and the people... for the first evening I went to one of two pubs in Athlone: the Sean's Bar (the next photo) and here, one of the best experiences that I've had in Ireland.
I was at dinner, strictly at the bar counter and two guys next to me, as soon as they heard me order with my "school English", they were curious and we started to chat. Moral, two hours spent chatting and toasting. One of the most beautiful evenings spent in Ireland.


The next day I had my first MTB ride in Athlone: destination the abbey of Clonmacnoise. In the thirty km that separate Athlone from the abbey I have been able to admire the Irish countryside and its colors... they are a beauty.

Tracy at Clonmacnoise's Abbey:


The third day of Athlone I spent to relax and visit the castle: it has an interactive exhibition done really well and very interesting while the next day I went by bike to see the Corlea Trackway, a wooden road dating back to 2000 years ago, perfectly preserved. This is also a very interesting visit, thanks also to the museum manager who told me how it was found and kept this wooden road.


The next day it was time to leave for Galway.

Hello Nicola and Tracy,

Welcome to our community! Such a wonderful adventure with your MTB, I really enjoyed reading about it and looking at your nice pictures. I have to admit that the idea of fixing some stops and then let the rest of your journey follow the flow of events is great and will for sure be of inspiration for other people planning a bicycle tour through Ireland. 
The encounter you had with the two people in the bar in Athlone sounds really Irish: people on the island are so friendly and curious to exchange a word with someone from another country and all that gives the experience a value added on a human level that contributes to the magic of Ireland.

I'm glad you had the chance to see the Corlea Trackway, a real treasure. So much you still have to let us know, I can't wait to read more about your trip!

Marcella

p.s. The community gathers people from all over and we like the fact that it is so multi-cultural. If you'd like, you could write in Italian, there's always the Translate function for others to read your post in English or their own language. Anyway, it's up to you!