BetweenRides

Hi, All:


I'm taking a trip with the family to Galway the last week in June. I'm planning on taking my Pocket Rocket with me and wondered if anyone has suggestions on routes, local clubs or bike shops in the area. I will be there for 8 days and will try to get in rides on 5-6 of those, with one ride over 100k and the others of varying shorter distances.

This will be my 3rd trip to Ireland, first for my family, and we are all looking forward to it. We are staying at the University apartments - Donegan Court - in downtown Galway. Any help or suggestions will be appreciated.

Regards,

Dave

Bacciagalupe

I was just over there a few months ago, spent a week cycling in County Clare.

I did a "self-supporting" tour with Iron Donkey, which worked out pretty well. Long story short, they arrange the hotels, give you maps, and set you on your way. You can also rent bikes from them, or have them transport your luggage from one place to the next, for extra fees of course. They can provide some assistance in case you run into a problem.

I recommend you head down to the Burren in Clare. The Cliffs of Moher are pretty impressive, although personally I preferred the cliffs at Kilkee because there was no one there. The Loop Head area, southwest of Kilkee, was a lot of fun to ride.

I was not blown away by the Aran Islands, although other people (tourists) really seemed to enjoy it. Galway itself was kind of "meh," not much culture there, lots of people partying. Personally I don't think it would be that much fun to do 100k loops out of Galway and back again, since the countryside is really where it's at (as you probably already know).

As far as bike shops go, they seemed few and far between. The wrenchers are pleasant folks, but I never saw anything kitted out like a typical American bike shop, and they definitely don't keep the same hours.... I'd bring all of the stuff you need and a couple of extra spokes. There is supposedly one decent shop in Galway, but I can't remember where it is offhand.

Allen

+1 to the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher.
They are just south of Gallway, and the route around the Bay of Gallway is beautiful.
Ballyvaughan is a nice village at the southern end of the Bay, and is a good place to explore the Burren. There is also an art school in Ballyvaughn that has an old tower you can explore, very cool.

ShortCircuit

Dave,

I spent 6 weeks bicycling Ireland last summer, one of my best self-supported tours of all time. The Irish are wonderful folks. Although the roads are narrow and winding, there are NO shoulders, the roads always seem to be under construction (loose chippings), we really had no close calls at all, felt very safe bicycling there. The people were very friendly and waited behind us to pass until it was safe, then waved and smiled as they did so. I felt a lot safer biking in Ireland than I do biking here in the USA. When I got home, I was telling a friend about my trip, and she exclaimed "but you CAN'T bike in Ireland, the roads are absolutely too narrow!" She was wrong.

As for Gallway, we bypassed it, as we went from the Burren to the Cliffs of Moher, took the ferry from Doolin to the Aran Islands, and then took the return ferry straigt to Roosaveel and went north from there. But Galway's a big town, there is probably more than one bike shop there. My friend had his Bike Friday and even in the smaller towns was able to find spokes and tubes for his smaller wheels.

Good luck on your trip
Cheryl

Monoborracho

I have had several emails back and forth with these folks about the possibility of a week or so trip.

https://www.irelandrentabike.com/

They are in Limerick and basically are set up to make a hassle free trip. Just get off the plane with panniers, saddle, and pedals and they'll put you on a decent touring bike and make a reservation for your first night.

Mind you, I haven't toured Ireland yet..but I plan to.

BetweenRides

Thanks for all the replies. Even though I posted this in touring, I won't be. This is somewhat of a family reunion, with about 15 of us from the US and 12 or so from Scotland. We'll be based in the University dorms all week, so I will be doing day rides. Per my usual in season riding, I hope to get in 150-200 miles that week, with one long ride and other days from 1-2 hours. We won't have a car, so any riding I do will be from town. The rest of the time will be spent with family, pubbing and other 'cultural' activities.

I'll keep researching and be sure to post when I've returned.

Regards,

Dave

Allen

Check out Ballyvaughn, riding distance from Galway if you want to spend the night. The Burren College of Art is cool to explore, and the Burren itself is right there. Ask where the Italian restaurant is located. Best food in Ireland. I don't remember it's name but it's the only Italian restaurant in the village.

ernok1923

i would also recommend heading out west from Galway city towards Connemara. another very interesting place in addition to the burren.

bike is great, people are incredibly friendly, and the roads are terrible. but still some of the best cycling i have done was in ireland. actually, it's where i discovered that i loved cycling.