I fancy a trip to the Emerald Isle but I realise I know very little about cycling there.

There seems to be precious little info online about off-road riding of a bikepacky nature and rights of way info for cyclists sounds positively discouraging.

Is it possible to put together a longish off-road trip, or even a mix of road and off-road?

Anyone got any experiences to share?

Anyone got any experiences to share?

My experience is - the countryside in Ireland is shut to everybody but fly tippers. I've never seen so many locked gates, barbed wire and no entry signs. Ended up coming home early because I became bored of riding on the road while all the lovely looking hills looked down and laughed at me.

My parents live in the midlands area of Ireland. I've never come across any off road cycle access, it's the last place I'd be looking to take a mountain bike. I don't even bother keeping a bike over there.

Access is very limited my wife's family is from Dublin there's a bit in the Dublin mountains and Wicklow way but not much ,my brother in law lives up by the boarder in Leitrim and is a definite no no up there every bit of land is privately owned and that which isn't can be a bit iffy people up that way are still suspicious of strangers , beautiful country and a great craic in the villages and towns but for me out in the country can cause a few issues

Most promising lead I’ve found is the Royal canal greenway, which really doesn’t look that exciting.

The more I read, the more depressing it gets.

I rode on a 'Greenway' after a local chap said it'd be fine but I got sick of everyone tutting at me and giving me a Paddington Bear, so jumped back on the road.

Work in Ireland fairly regular, looked for routes myself. Beautiful as parts of it are, they just don't seem to do the countryside like we do

Friend told me about this a couple of months ago though-
http://www.deisegreenway.com/

I think there's a 'cycle route' that runs south from Dublin along the coast to the Rosslare area, but can't find it atm.

Couple of years a go looked into doing a bikepacking trip in Northern Ireland, as its a place i'd love to go & explore. People that lived there (no cyclists though) told me there was loads of places to ride. But when i looked i could hardly find anything suitable..

If you could be swayed to something road-based, might be worth looking at the Irish section of the Pan Celtic route..
https://www.pancelticrace.com/

There seems to be a bit more info about road routes (I started thinking about a trip after re-Reading Sweary Dave’s account of his end-to-end) but actually surprisingly little. I may end up doing the west coast by road but it’s depressing that such a beautiful country should be so inaccessible.

But...I do fancy getting the ferry and riding to Seán's Bar ( possibly the oldest pub in Ireland ) and bivvy/ pass out then back to ferry.

Could be a good weekend or month

Charliecres wrote: ↑Fri Sep 06, 2019 8:21 pm There seems to be a bit more info about road routes (I started thinking about a trip after re-Reading Sweary Dave’s account of his end-to-end) but actually surprisingly little. I may end up doing the west coast by road but it’s depressing that such a beautiful country should be so inaccessible.

It was a top road ride. Very quiet and I may still have the route somewhere

Dave Barter wrote: ↑Fri Sep 06, 2019 8:35 pm It was a top road ride. Very quiet and I may still have the route somewhere

That would be great, if you do have it handy

Just came across this thread and whilst I’m not sure about Southern Ireland, you could check out this
http://www.walkni.com/

Although this is for walkers I have used parts of the routes on a gravel bike( Salsa Vaya with 700x42 Resolutes) to link up with some short road sections. I have met walkers who if you stop be courteous and let them pass safely are usually friendly and intrigued. There are some spectacular routes in the Mourne Mountain section which have seriously stunning scenery and loads of wild camping/bivvying oportunities.

http://www.walkni.com/walks/194/mourne-way/

https://www.hikersblog.co.uk/mourne-way-in-a-day/

As well as the fantastic scenery there are superb pubs and restaurants in the area specialising in local caught seafood.

https://www.irishtrails.ie/

Is a fairly good site. I did a little planning for the last few years but didn't end up doing anything

If you are considering road there is the WILD ATLANTIC WAY AUDAX route https://www.wawaudax.com/route.html . I would have thought that a bit of googling might lead you to the route as ridden by previous riders.

Here you go how about this, you can even bikepack
https://www.irishtrails.ie/trail/Kingfi ... rail/1281/
https://www.ireland.com/en-gb/articles/ ... her-trail/

The Wicklow Way is a good route, about 130km and is mostly off-road with some quiet roads thrown in. I went from Clonegall to Marley Park then returned via road to the car (good shoulder, mostly downhil ). Here's a link to the track.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28801171

Sorry to resurrect such an ancient thread

However, looks like I'm doing a trip with some mates in late May and early June for up to 3 weeks. It's going to be mostly riding, drinking and just generally p1ssing about for sh1ts and giggles.

If anyone has more route (road, don't blame me ) information or anything that you think might appeal to a bunch of 50 year olds then I would be most grateful.

TIA

Just get over to the west coast Tim.

The Burren is criss crossed with ancient tracks and roads, not much distance but very interesting. West coast as Stu says and limestone karst so slippy as fcuk when wet, which it usually is. Also lots of showcaves to visit where you can re-enact Father Ted meeting Victor Meldrew. Limerick to Westport via Galway and Connemara would be a nice trip but take a coat!

Yep, west coast sounds like a plan. Also a festival in Westport with the stranglers and Johnny marr.

I can safely add if drinking and giggles is high on the list then head for Galway more pubs than shops