Tag Archives: biking

Ireland by the numbers

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  • first day, first Guinness
  • Newgrange, Neolithic passage tomb
  • Bray Head
  • Glendalough, Wicklow Mountains National Park
  • Rock of Cashel
  • sunshine!
  • Hore Abbey, County Tipperary
  • St. Colman’s Cathedral, Cobh
  • cliff walks!
  • Killarney National Park
  • Allihies, Beara Peninsula
  • stone forts
  • Valentia Island
  • Gap of Dunloe
  • Sybil Point and the Three Sisters, Dingle Peninsula
  • Cliffs of Moher
  • Inishmore, Aran Islands
  • Clonmacnoise
  • River Shannon
  • Clonmacnoise Castle
  • Killary Harbour
  • Downpatrick Head
  • sea pinks
  • Benbulben
  • Slieve League Mountain
  • Cumber Upper, County Derry, home of my great-grandfather
  • Ballintoy, Antrim Coast
  • McArt’s Fort, Belfast
  • months spent planning this trip: 3
  • books read in preparation: 18
  • films watched in preparation: 10
  • TV series watched in preparation: 5
  • days on the island: 83
  • cars rented: 3
  • jaunting cars rented: 1
  • miles driven: 3452
  • accidents or fender-benders: 0
  • countries visited: 2
  • counties visited:
    • Ireland: 22 of 26
    • Northern Ireland: 3 of 6
  • national parks visited: 5 of 6
  • fjords visited: 3 of 3
  • stone forts visited: 5
  • coastal rings driven: 3
  • days over 70°F: 1
  • hikes: 25
  • wild goats seen on hikes: 29
  • snakes seen on hikes: 0 (thank you, St. Patrick!)
  • bike rides: 1
  • yoga practices: 7
  • Airbnbs rented: 14
  • blogs written: 62
  • photos saved: 2762 
  • favorite pubs: 11 (of approximately 80)
  • delicious Irish craft IPAs: 12
  • Irish whiskeys sampled: 11
  • ginger snaps consumed: 166 (approximate)

We biked a marathon!

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Well, in distance anyway. 26.2 miles along the County Mayo Greenway from Achill Island to Westport, where we are staying. We’ve never ridden that far before. Yay, us! But, man, is my tush sore!

We had reserved bikes the day before when the weather forecast promised no rain. But on the day of the ride, as the owner of the bike shop drove us out to our launch point, it started to rain. How was I going to do a four-hour bike ride in the Irish rain? Irish rain, as the locals call it, is that fine, non-stop rain that you can barely perceive is falling. It’s more like a hovering mist, or a cloud descended to earth. It penetrates everything, makes you wonder when it was that you were last dry, and sends you scurrying for the nearest pub with a fire going in the hearth. Miracle of miracles, the rain subsided during the 45-minute van ride and the black clouds kept their distance for the remainder of the day.

  • the bog
  • a fixer-upper with a view
  • roadblock
  • tide’s out
  • Why do I love these guys so much?

We couldn’t have done it if it hadn’t been such a level ride—love these rails-to-trails conversions! Well, level until we were seven miles from the finish line. Newport must have been the town where railway service ended, or diverted to some place other than Westport, because the ride from Newport to Westport was relentless downhill plunges and uphill struggles while simultaneously navigating 90° turns—nothing a train could ever negotiate. Think about it: It’s impossible to gain downhill momentum for the uphill climb when you have to turn a corner at the bottom of the hill. So, I have to confess, there may have been a hill or two or three that we walked, but in our defense, the terrain was so hair-raising in parts that signs insisted cyclists dismount and walk it. We didn’t need to be told twice.

a wee swally for a job well done

All in all, it was a great ride, and we’re very glad we did it. After all, knees can be replaced, right?

home again

Oh, Atlanta

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view of downtown Atlanta skyline from Piedmont Park

And so the 2018 Fall Family and Friends Road Trip draws to an end. We said goodbye to Chattanooga, and my nephew and his wife, and headed for home. Atlanta, Georgia, just happened to be directly in our path, so we thought we’d stop for a few days to see what the city has to offer. It’s been almost 40 years since we last visited.

I was immediately struck by how beautiful the city is—pleasantly hilly and beautifully wooded. I read somewhere that Atlanta is the most wooded metropolitan area in the US. The trees really make you feel more like you’re in the suburbs, rather than a sprawling city. Every section we drove through felt like a cozy neighborhood I could live in. I love the architecture of the homes. Most have a traditional, but modern, feel—lots of stately brick and stone. The more contemporary homes look stunning with all that wood and glass surrounded by trees. There’s new home construction everywhere.

potting shed in Piedmont Park–not your typical Atlanta architecture!

To see the city, we rented a tandem bike and rode the marvelous Eastside Beltline, a rails-to-trails convert. First stop was Jimmy Carter’s presidential library and museum. After visiting FDR’s library last spring in Hyde Park, I’m making a point of visiting every presidential library I come across. It’s fascinating to look back on the particular challenges each president faced while in office, especially given the perspective of time. To follow the issues while they are developing is completely different, I find, than seeing how they stand up in the context of American history.

Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum

We continued north up the Beltline to the fabulous Ponce City Market where we stopped to have lunch at an amiable little Cuban restaurant. Then on to Piedmont Park, the crown jewel of Atlanta. Lots of greenery to take in and great views of the downtown skyline.

Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site

On our return to the bike rental shop, we stopped at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site. A touching tribute to a man who devoted his life to bringing about change on such an emotionally charged issue through non-violent means. That his life was ended prematurely by the violence he worked so hard to avoid is a genuine tragedy. 

tomb of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King

Oh, Atlanta, we have enjoyed our time with you, but home beckons and we must go.

Lakefront bike ride

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Toronto Inukshuk Park

Activity for the day: a 30-kilometre (19-mile) bike ride along Lake Ontario. We rented bikes at the Harbourfront and started our tour on the west end of the lake trail at Toronto Inukshuk Park. I love these crazy man-shaped piles of rock created by the Inuits in northern Canada, Alaska, and Greenland to look like hunters lined up on the hillsides of the tundra. Two converging lines of inukshuks were used to funnel caribou into herds for easier hunting. They’ve become a symbol of native Canadian culture. Pretty ingenious, I’d say. But then, as my living room will attest, I’ve always had a fondness for stacking stones.

seven ducklings!

Next stop: Amsterdam Brewhouse for lunch. No better day than a biking day to order poutine. We eat this traditional Montréal dish every time we come to Canada: French fries topped with cheese curd and brown gravy. Comfort food at its tastiest!

poutine!

After carbo-loading, we rode the remaining nine kilometres to our easternmost destination, Tommy Thompson Park in Leslieville. You would never guess that this bird sanctuary, on a lacy peninsula extending into Lake Ontario, is so close to the city unless you happened to glance up to catch the Toronto skyline on the horizon.

Canada geese have returned for the summer

 

Toronto skyline from Tommy Thompson Park

 

the Distillery District

Our post-bike reward was visiting the Distillery District just east of Downtown. A refurbished old brick distillery originally built in 1832, it is now home to several boutiques, restaurants, cafes, and the Mill Street Brewery—forty buildings in all. According to Wikipedia, it is the largest collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture in North America. (You know how I love my superlatives!)

No spirits for us today, but we did enjoy a cold brew to help us cool off on this exceptionally warm and humid spring day. Great ride, great day!

Distillery District

 

crazy Jenga towers

Walkway Over the Hudson

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view of the Mid-Hudson Bridge from the Walkway

The Walkway Over the Hudson is, at 1.28 miles long, the world’s longest pedestrian bridge. Originally a railroad bridge, it was irreparably damaged in 1974 in a fire caused by sparks from the brakes of a train crossing over. It was later repurposed as a pedestrian walkway and reopened in 2009. On the Poughkeepsie side of the river, the walking and biking trail extends another twelve miles east of the bridge, continuing the rails-to-trails conversion. What a great asset to the area!

lovely homes on the Hudson

We were pleased to see so many people out getting exercise on a hot Wednesday afternoon. There is no shade on the bridge, but I think locals were just happy to be out in the sunshine after such a long and cold winter and spring. The views north and south on the Hudson were spectacular.

crew practice on the river

 

a working boat on the Hudson

Under construction

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We are home and planning our next adventure because the compass never stops spinning. Check out my Future Adventures tab to see some of the possibilities! I’d love your feedback and ideas.

Back in Anchorage

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riding the Coastal Trail on a bicycle built for two

We’re back in Anchorage after our three-week explore of the Kenai Peninsula. It was tempting to take a day off our first, full day here–we had a busy week in Girdwood–but I checked the weather forecast, and our first day was going to be the best weather-day of the week. So we hit the trail, the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, a brilliant 11-mile trail along the Knik Arm of the Cook Inlet. We chose to bike it, rather than hoof it, and opted for a tandem bike. It worked very well. I rode in the back, which meant I didn’t have to steer or shift gears while I navigated us through all the twists, turns, tunnels and train tracks on the trail. But I still provided power, especially on the hills. (Those spinning classes really paid off!) We covered a total of 20 miles–the trail and then some–and an elevation gain of 420 feet. Not bad for a day’s ride!

the Alaska Range across the Knik Arm

 

“I’ll be right with you. Just have to find my glasses.”

 

He looks like he’s made out of beads.

 

Finally! A moose in the wild, in Kincaid Park.

 

Lunch at the Lakefront Hotel, adjacent to the world’s busiest seaplane base, Lake Hood.

 

busy airport whether taking off from land or sea

 

Bikes and cars share the road with aircraft.