Tralee
30 Miles
1857 ft climbed
Today was always programmed to be a catch up day allowing us to potentially rest, get the laundry done and rest ourselves before the second half of the trip.
As usual Nigel and Monica got ahead of the programme and managed to get two loads of smelly cycling gear washed and dried yesterday evening. The weather continued to be damp and after a discussion we decided that a full circuit of the Dingle peninsula was chancing it but we would like to do the Conor pass. As the wind was a westerly it made sense to drive out to Dingle and then cycle back. Stopping for breakfast at Dingles Lidl we set off up the hill straight away afterwards.
At least it wasn’t raining and there were even a couple of small breaks in the cloud so we saw a bit of sun.
The climb was a comfortable 6 km long but never too steep and we were able to catch some good views over the Dingle peninsula.
After coming down the pass we then had a ten mile run along the coast to a lunch stop. With Nick leading the peloton we completed the ten miles in under half an hour thanks to a tailwind all the way. We reckon our fastest consistent ride ever.
The rain started again but we decided to get on the bikes for the final dash home. Nick as ever leading the peloton. The only criticism Chris and I had was that he decided to veer off the rout to a non existent viewpoint which required we climb back up to the main road. We then refused detours apart from a brief stop to see this windmill on the outskirts of Tralee we sped home in the damp and all had a rapid shower.
Rather than a camper cuisIne Nick & Chris took us out for a slap up meal in the best restaurant in town, Cassidy’s, where we all ate a fabulous meal in particular liking the Tralee Bay seafood chowder. The restaurant had a great old fashioned feel of a good local eatery.
After the restaurant we called into Sean Og’s pub where we enjoyed a proper Irish pub full of punters and singing along to the live musician Great fun to experience a real slice of Irish music and hospitality.
As Nick & Chris were staying in an hotel in town tonight. Nigel , Monica and I walked back to the campsite via Neil Armstrong Way. It s a strange fact that the first man on the moon visited Tralee in 2012 to open a history of space exploration.
nbjtours 