View Full Version : Hello fron Dublin.
Well here we are, first morning in Dublin. Groggy after a couple of pints of Guinness to finish a damn long day yesterday.
Left 9am yesterday from Bristol. I had planned a route through to Holyhead via some cracking routes through deepest Wales. Those plans changed when Messie pointed out that the red A roads through Wales could be nothing more than a dirt track. So last minute changes of the route were made and we set off. :lol:
I think we managed all of about 20 miles before we got lost. :oops: I blame the AA route finder on the web. What a load of crap that was. Anyway we eventually found our way to Hereford which was part of the planned route, stopped for a while and then carried on. 8). We got to the outskirts of the Cumbrian Mountains without much incident and decided to stop again before hitting the technical roads over the mountains. It was whilst we were stopped here that the heavy rain laden clouds decided to descend.
You know how it is when you can't decide if its going to blow over and become nice again? We did that for about 10 minutes and decided on putting all the wet gear on. Good job we did, as the rain was more or less constant all the way over the mountains. But wow the roads up there are fantastic. Had a great time, even two up and all the gear on the bike. Superb. Messie managed to go the wrong way on the only proper road through the mountains. :roll: . We soon found each other again though and carried on.
Coming out the other side of the mountains the weather was beautiful. The sun was shining and we made good progress. The views through these mountains was awesome. Didn't bother to stop though as it was peeing it down and I wanted to ensure that we got out the other side in time to meet the ferry.
We eventually hit the A55 which is dual carriage way all the way to Holyhead. Plenty of time was made up on this road.
:twisted:
Got to the ferry port, booked in and set sail. Nothing of any interest took place during the trip across. The sea was as flat as a pancake which was a good thing considering I get sea sick on a lake. :lol:
Arrived in Dublin just as night was descending. We needed to get to the Hostel that we are staying pretty quick, main reason for this is because numpty here has forgotten to bring his clear visor :oops: .
Now what was it that Sid Squid told me? Ah yes, when it rains in Ireland it doesn't really rain, it's just a sort of constant drizzle. Drizzle my ****. I chucked it down like someone had tipped water out of a very large jug. :shock: We didn't have our waterproofs on at this time, as when we got off the ferry it was bone dry. Because we did not have far to go we didn't think it we would get that wet before we found the place. Hah :!: We got completely soaked. There I am trying to see in the dark with a dark visor on, lift visor and there I am trying to see in torrential rain. :lol: Messie eventually found our place for the night and we dumped our stuff and went for a much needed pint of the black stuff.
So here we are first thing in the morning all ready for the day. We are heading for Cork today, it's about 150 miles, the longest trip of the week. Should the Hostel there have Internet access I shall let you know how the day went.
Top of the morning to yer all. :thumbsup:
the white rabbit
21-08-06, 07:16 AM
I shan't even start on the 'How on earth could you get lost between Bristol and Hereford....' :lol: :lol: :lol:
I was up in Hereford yesterday morning a similar time, it was grey and cold.
But Messie is correct, Wales is a deep, dark and uncivilised place. I'm glad you managed crossing the incontinent realtively unmolested.
Good luck in Cork :D
Keep us posted :thumbsup:
Glad you've had a good trip, even if it could of been made better by the gods of weather.
Left 9am yesterday from Bristol. I had planned a route through to Holyhead via some cracking routes through deepest Wales. Those plans changed when Messie pointed out that the red A roads through Wales could be nothing more than a dirt track.
Dr Rich, sorry to contradict... but Wales is great! (Just don't feed the locals!)
Whilst this it's very true that the roads can be bad, I happen to be a local :D I actually live just over the bridge as you were heading to Holyhead! If you've got a few days to spend in Dublin, I'll happily give a few suggestions for a route home. My daily commute takes me either on the A55, or A5/A543, working in Denbigh sees me spending 100miles/day playing around in the twisties.
Either drop me a PM if it's slightly off topic & we can post a finalised route home, or just via the thread. Also, depends on when you're coming back past my way, but give me a shout, and if I'm around, I'll give you directions to my place & you're welcome to use it as shelter/coffee stop :) It'd be around a 12mile detour to get from the A55 to mine & back to the A55.
The A55 has to be quicker of routes, but also the most dull & boring IMO. Also, plenty of places to watch out for Plod. I'll give you a heads up on common spots for whichever route back you decide :)
timwilky
21-08-06, 07:37 AM
I shan't even start on the 'How on earth could you get lost between Bristol and Hereford....' :lol: :lol: :lol:
I was up in Hereford yesterday morning a similar time, it was grey and cold.
But Messie is correct, Wales is a deep, dark and uncivilised place. I'm glad you managed crossing the incontinent realtively unmolested.
Good luck in Cork :D
Keep us posted :thumbsup:
Bloody hell I would have thought you would have gone there a civilised route.
Stay well away from Hereford. The women there are NAAASTY. I know from a close encounter with a Hereford cow with marriage on her mind just how evil they can be.
Great going through Cambrian mountains but once you get to Brunstrum country forget it. North Wales police deserve their reputation. and to be honest the unwelcoming anti English inbread residents of North Wales deserve their police.
the white rabbit
21-08-06, 07:40 AM
I cant wait for Tim's guide to the next places on Ape's route ..... :lol:
once you get to Brunstrum country forget it. North Wales police deserve their reputation. and to be honest the unwelcoming anti English inbread residents of North Wales deserve their police.
About the police, they certainly do deserve their reputation. Try doing 24k/year avoiding them!
As for the population, probably 95% of North Wales has emmigrated from either Liverpool, Manchester or Ireland. Myself, I'm from Leeds.
fizzwheel
21-08-06, 07:48 AM
8)
timwilky
21-08-06, 07:54 AM
I cant wait for Tim's guide to the next places on Ape's route ..... :lol:
Well Good Dr. My experience of Ireland is far better than Wales. And to be honest it is only North Wales I have a particular problem with.
Dublin. Beautiful city, but stay away from Temple Bar if you ever intend to ride next day. Cork, nice people, very welcoming. Although it has been a while since I have ridden in Ireland. My only problem was tractors. Far too many and they won't stay in the fields where they belong. Oh and bloody tourists driving down roads at 30mph saying "Isn't it so tranquil" when you want to hear the gorgeous roar of a straight through pipe :lol: and you can't see round the next bend to get past them.
timwilky
21-08-06, 08:09 AM
once you get to Brunstrum country forget it. North Wales police deserve their reputation. and to be honest the unwelcoming anti English inbread residents of North Wales deserve their police.
About the police, they certainly do deserve their reputation. Try doing 24k/year avoiding them!
As for the population, probably 95% of North Wales has emmigrated from either Liverpool, Manchester or Ireland. Myself, I'm from Leeds.
Bloody eck, a Tyke in North Wales. I bet you are popular :lol: The particular heddlu who formed my opinion went through my car at 8 am, forced me to empty the boot, breathalised me and tried to give me a producer simply because my registration plate was English. My tyres were legal, horn, wipers, washers, lights were all checked. He then called me and my friends ****ing English *******s and threatened to arrest us all for a breach of the peace after I gave him my licence, MOT and insurance. He had simply seen an English car with 4 lads in it and decided he would get his quota from us and failed miserably.
Strange then that when the car broke down in South Wales the local police stopped to see we were all ok, arranged recovery, who did the repair at the side of the road at the cost of materials only, and did not mind my mates having a drink whilst we waited. Far friendlier in the south.
Tim,
I think I know the officer you're talking about! If so, he has a number of pending complaints. He's also about to under-go a civil court case, but that's somewhat of a personal matter & not related to his job (I know some of the people involved with the case).
In my experience of the area, there are quite a lot of through & through welsh in-breds that hate the English. There's one that sits next to me in the office, and man do I wind him up on purpose :twisted:
The police, in general, are everywhere. But also, they're a pretty friendly bunch on the whole. When my CG125 ran itself dry of oil, and left me stranded between the A55 & the slip road coming down on to it (Tesco Junction - A55/A4080) I wasn't part of a recovery service, so called the police (being in the middle of the road isn't nice). They managed to drive past me 3 times, and pull a speeding car on the 4th attempt. When he finally got to me, his words were "I see you haven't got a tax disc, but you've had a bad day, and if the engine is ceased you wont be on the road for a long time anyway, so we'll forget that." :thumbsup:
The only one's you've got to watch out for, are (typically) the V70 drivers. They love those toy guns! Maybe I should start a new thread (would be better starting a new website!) detailling local hiding spots. Surely it wouldn't be THAT illegal, as there are laws that detail how visible fixed cameras have to be (and there aren't many round these parts), and the Arrive Alive team publish their plans.
Also, as I'm sure happens in other parts, bikers tend to stick together, and warn each other. The north wales bike community as a whole seem to have fashioned a whole new set of hand signals, detailing not only that there are police about, but also where, and if they're sat targeting drivers, or attending an accident.
Sid Squid
21-08-06, 03:06 PM
Now what was it that Sid Squid told me? Ah yes, when it rains in Ireland it doesn't really rain, it's just a sort of constant drizzle. Drizzle my @rse.
No, not what I said. I said that even when it isn't (according to the Paddys), raining in Ireland there's still a sort of light drizzle that hardened rain connoisseurs, (ie Paddys), wouldn't even notice.
You will though.
And then after that it'll start raining.
The Peoples Republic of Cork is a very fine city indeed, forget the cramped carpark that is Dublin and head down there as fast as you can!
I lived in Limerick for 8 years, it gets a bad press by the rest of the Irish but it'd be worth a stop for the night if you're touring around, the Locke bar is nice if its sunny, the Curragower bar is a grand spot if its not. And check out if there is a gig in Dolan's on the dock road too.
I'm not keen on Galway town or Killarney, they both are a little too keen to impress the tourists, both come across a bit plastic. And as Tim says, watch out for tractors, plus cows, cowsh*t, Garda with speed cameras (but only really on nice straight roads) and mansize potholes...
Hi. Here in Cork. What a great place it is too!
After the soaking we got in Dublin - and it wan't a light shower, even the locals were saying it was wet - we managed to dry out a bit and get going again this morning.
We had to find a bike shop on route though because Mrs Ape decided that the trousers she'd borrowed for the trip were too tight. So, after a shopping detour, we found ouselves on the N8 (or 9) bound for the southcoast of Ireland.
Then it decided to rain again. Sorry but that old joke about "if you can't see the mountains, it's raining. If you can see the maintains, it's going to rain soon" is just a little too true to be funny now. But it stopped after a few miles, a cup of coffee and some cake.
We found a lovely road down south, through Kilkenny and down to the coast. It's true there were tractors and stuff, but to be honest all road users were couteous to us bikes and pulled aside to let us pass whenever possible.
One observation is that the road signs here are sensible and informative. If there are junctions coming up the signs say so and tell you not to pass. There is plenty of notice for any road works and the wiggly arrow for twisty bits is perfect. I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow.
Anyhow, we've tasted the highlights of Cork and very fine they are. We're off again tomorrow towards Kerry. The place we're staying is Killarney but we're going dump the bags there first and ride around the Ring for the rest of the day.
Oh yes, forgot to say, it's been dry and sunny since about midday but I havn't seen the forecast for tomorrow yet :?
valleyboy
21-08-06, 10:11 PM
I shan't even start on the 'How on earth could you get lost between Bristol and Hereford....' :lol: :lol: :lol:
I was up in Hereford yesterday morning a similar time, it was grey and cold.
But Messie is correct, Wales is a deep, dark and uncivilised place. I'm glad you managed crossing the incontinent realtively unmolested.
Good luck in Cork :D
Keep us posted :thumbsup:
Oi!
I can arrange an ambush next time you lot are up here you know... :lol:
It's now just past nine am on Tuesday. The sun is shining and I have a hang over. It's true what they say you know. The Guiness over here is soooooo much nicer than in our land. So nice that I had to have several to savour the taste.
Messie, Jo and I shared a three person room. It was actually a two person room but somehow they magically managed to squeeze another bed in. Messie decided to throw stuff all round the room in her drunken state in the middle of the night. So that woke me. Then Jo had to go to the loo, so woken up again. Women. :roll: Why can't they just drink, get drunk and sleep all night :?: Works for me anyway. The room smelt less than pleasant this morning. :sick: Why are women so smelly. :lol:
I have been told that shopping is on the agenda first thing in Cork and then we are off to Killarney. It's only 50 miles so I think the plan is to arrive, dump the kit and then do some proper riding. Hope so anyway.
The roads from Dublin to Cork, are quite nice. Better than I was expecting. They do have some nice twisty bits that kept us amused for a while. Shame I had so much cargo on board. Or maybe it was a good thing that I had so much cargo on board, as they really were nice roads to have a lot of fun on.
So that's it. Time for me to go and get a shower, changed and get the fook outta here. Killarney watch out cause here we come.
Anyone got any headache tablets :?:
So I take it this means you won't be at Soho on Friday? :roll: :wink: Have a nice time.
.
the white rabbit
22-08-06, 01:24 PM
Why can't they just drink, get drunk and sleep all night :?:
You missed a bit out.
The room smelt less than pleasant this morning. :sick: Why are women so smelly. :lol:
Horrid things arnt they. :lol:
Enjoying reading this...do carry on.. :D
Just about to go in for breakfast so I'll make this part quick. We left Cork and headed for Killarny. We found some damn twisty roads. Bend after bend. It would have been an excellent road to ride had it not been for the extremely uneven road. I think Dr Rich's BMW would have had a superb time. I lost count of the times that the undertray smacked against the hugger.
We've stayed mostly dry for the duration apart from the complete soaking that we got on the first day. Weather forcast for today is rain. We shall see. We arrived yesterday and went to book into the hostel that we were supposed to be staying in. Asking where the carpark was they informed us that they did not have one. That's not what the website said :x . So after much searching around at all the local B&B's we gave up and booked into a Hotel.
Well after roughing it for the last three days, you gotta have one day off, right? :lol:
Had an early night last night as MrsApe was in need of some loving :wink:
Can't remember where were headed to today. But I know it's gonna be a long day so I'm outta here cause my full Irish breakfast is waiting.
TTFN.
Oh and Greg, we get into Holyhead about 1pm on Friday, so there is still a chance that I could be at Soho.
NOT. :lol:
the white rabbit
24-08-06, 08:10 AM
No more news.... :? :wink:
Are the intrpid threesome lost in thw wilds of Ireland?
Are the breakfasts still up to scratch?
Has Mrs Ape been getting enough 'sweet APe lovin'?
Would they have gotten away with if it wasnt for them pesky kids?
C'mon Ape, where's my breakfast read? :lol:
chazzyb
24-08-06, 08:42 AM
We got to the outskirts of the Cumbrian Mountains without much incident
Strewth, you did get lost then!
Glad you are having a good time, your kids are brill as usual. seeya on Saturday unless you are going to stay for another fortnight as Jo said to Kaz :shock:
Back now. Thought people were probably getting bored of my random sh*t* so decided not to post anymore. I know I was. :lol: Will post some pics later.
We got to the outskirts of the Cumbrian Mountains without much incident
Strewth, you did get lost then!
Just seen this thread and was about two post something similar. I suppose they could argue that it's an easy mistake to make as both are covered in sheep :lol:
As for getting lost between Bristol and Hereford....... :smt075
Pleased about the safe return :thumbsup:
the white rabbit
28-08-06, 02:26 PM
random sh*t*
But thats the best read. :(
Next time, more perseverance :wink:
Where's the pics and the low down then? :D
glad you all had a good time cant wait for your pics!! :lol:
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