Posted by jp.stacey on July 5, 2016 at 11:55am
Is anyone interested in cycling to Dublin? I appreciate that for a lot of people it would involve two sea crossings, but it could also involve some great cycling!
I've just started a wiki page with a few options:
https://groups.drupal.org/node/512425
If anyone's interested in expanding it, please do.
Right now I'm looking at going to Drupalcon for Sun-Sat, so arriving in Dublin some time on Sunday 25 September. But it depends on what accommodation I can get!
Any thoughts?
Comments
I like the idea of cycling to
I like the idea of cycling to Dublin, though I'm not sure if I will actually do that. It depends on how well such a tour is organized, if I manage to get all the required stuff on bike, on what accommodation I can get and how well the roads are.
I've heard that England isn't a great cycle country. Does that mean that some cities can't be reached by bicycle or does that mean you have to cycle on roads meant for cars?
UK not great; Ireland not amazing
@MegaChriz for you, coming from the Netherlands, cycling in the UK will seem very poor in comparison! There are some good routes, and (a few) excellent off-road routes, but they're rarely joined up together, and you can't avoid doing a lot of cycling on roads with cars at least in theory. But unlike Barcelona (which had a peculiar geography) most UK cities can be accessed reasonably safely by bicycle, but you can find yourself going a bit of a long way round to get into the city that way.
Ireland is probably a bit better, because (outside the cities) the roads are on average quieter, but I've never cycled there myself so I don't know. I'd love some feedback from the Irish contingent here...!
One option for you could be to get your bicycle somewhere on the trains (you'll often need to pre-book a space, or just hope you'll get one) that's out of the very busy south-east of England, and then take quieter routes from that point onwards. I imagine if we've got enough cyclists with local knowledge then between us we could find a good route.
The only other thing... how good are you with hills?
Don't let me put you off!
This sounds a bit too negative now I read it back to myself. I'm sure we can find some good cycling outside of the south-east of England, though. It really needs people who know the local routes. But, yeah, we can't do anything about the hills!
I should be up for 3 days
I should be up for 3 days cycling; that would be Friday, Saturday arriving on Sunday.
The Sustrans route 5 runs along the North Wales coast to Holyhead and could be one option for a couple of days ride in the UK. Chester to Holyhead looks to be around 120 miles (190 km) along route 5 which would be two easy days cycling or one and a bit days of harder cycling. It could be tied into a longer stretch in the UK or Ireland.
I've spent days happily keeping to the Sustrans long distance cycle routes on a reasonable touring bike. They generally keep to quite roads and bike lanes, but they can be a bit rough and so may not be suitable for road bikes with skinny tires.
An alternative would be cycling through South Wales to Fishguard and then up Irish coast to Dublin. Cycling in South Wales is great - as long as you don't mind the hills - but have no experience of cycling in Ireland.
Good to have personal experience of routes
Thanks, Stephen. It's useful to have personal experience of routes. For example, near here, the 6/67 is picturesque from Barnsley/Rotherham to Sheffield, but occasionally poor as it goes on south to the Rother Valley: lots of those shoulder-pinching gates; and occasional tracks topped with hardcore that's a bit too loose if you take it at speed or with a top-heavy load.
So they do vary a bit. I imagine it's less of a worry for us, than it is to someone from outside the UK that's used to properly segregated provision!
Chester to Holyhead definitely seems feasible. I'm hoping to figure out a way to do it on my Brompton, so I could train it to the start of a South Wales route, but the more northerly route I could do 100% from door to door!
Hilly vs flat
Alan mentioned to me the other day that cycling into Dublin from the north (e.g. Dundalk for one day's cycling) is a flatter (but not un-scenic) proposition than cycling up into Dublin from the south, where it is hilly. This led to my proposal of starting at Belfast or even earlier. Depends if you like it flat (I do!) or hilly, I guess...
Mind is willing, body is questionable
Love the idea, and would be up for giving it a go. My fitness could be better though, as could my love of bad weather when I have a laptop. So wonder whether a route with a few key train station stops worth considering, that way, in worst case, people can still get to where they want to in a happy mood even if their wheels fall off.
Station stops a good idea
Either route through Wales will run parallel to a rail route, I think, so that's a good idea. I imagine we'll have either Bristol or (as Stephen mentions above) Chester as a waypoint.
From DC Amsterdam, I remember fitness being less of an issue than bike roadworthiness. I know the Irish contingent really bombed it across the UK, and seemed a bit knackered when we met them near Harwich, but by the time we got a big enough crowd the pace becomes very steady, and then the limiting factor was mechanical faults, not physiological ones!
Laptop storage is key but I bet there's a few tips you could get here e.g. for Amsterdam I got an Altura laptop pannier, with a panel that swaps around to cover up the pannier fitting and turn it into a backpack. If I'm on my Brompton I'll need new kit again, but we'll see.
(Another option is giving your laptop to someone who's making the trip some other way!)
I cycled to Amsterdam from
I cycled to Amsterdam from Ireland, I started cycling in Manchester came across the peak district (Very hilly!) to Loughborough > Peterborough > Cambridge and then onto Harwich. Averaged about 130km per day. I packed & traveled light.
My advice for
Routes & Navigation
B roads are great for cycling, following a train is a great idea if you get knackered or need to cut down some distance.
I think the some of the guys coming from London took the train to Colchester or Manningtree I can't remember where we met up with them. (being knackered an all :p)
Navigation was a little tricky unless you had data on your phones coverage was sometimes an issue too and we were very lucky to have local guide for a bit too!
I had a skinny (23mm) tyres which unfortunately didn't work for me on the Sustrans routes I came across. But those routes looked lovely otherwise!
Bike & Gear
It makes good sense to get the bike the once over or have a mechanic take a look before setting out on such a journey and addressing any concerns.
You may need multi tool spares / puncture kit repair etc
At that time I would have been doing a fair bit of cycling on a weekly basis 180-200km. But i don't think anyone needs to being doing that much, but every little bit helps! Pack light!
And I don't know if anyone has thoughts on cycling from Rosslare to Dublin as the cycle from Dublin port to the venue is like 2km and it can be very busy with cars etc.
Great stuff
Thanks, Gavin. I remember meeting up with you all in Manningtree and you did seem a bit knackered by that point! 130km/80 miles a day is quite a stretch, especially over the Peak District. I think Stephen's suggestion of 95km/60 miles might be OK: that's close to what we did in the Netherlands, I think.
Otherwise, all really good info: once we're organized we might be able to share gear rather than all bringing repair kits etc. And I should get back in shape!
Ah here!
Hi JP
I let you away with it once, but I won't let you twice - :-)
We were not knackered at Manningtree. The extra beers you had in the pub has distorted your memory!
The biggest lessons I learnt on this spin was on the section from Manningtree to Harwich.
Have a decent bike, in full working order.
Have a repair kit - don't rely on someone else having one.
Know how to use said repair kit.
Wear proper clothes for cycling.
Cycle in daylight, unless absolutely necessary.
I won't name names, but certain people on the trip chose to ignore one or all of the above,
and it led to a very disjointed trip from Manningtree, where the 'knackered' Irish cyclists, were forced to stop and wait every few KM to allow people to regroup.
In terms of route, some tips:
The old A5 across Anglesey is actually pretty good, as most of the traffic is on the new A55.
On arrival at Dublin port, take care. The section from Dublin port to Dublin city is very busy and not entirely cycle friendly. We may well have a welcoming committee to cycle with you from the port, assuming you all arrive together.
The B roads across England and Wales, in general, felt good for cycling, for the most part. Not overly busy, but relatively well maintained.
Finding a route that follows a train line isn't easy [if people want to take the train for sections], but passing one or 2 stations per day might be more do-able.
Some of the Sustrans routes eg http://www.sustrans.org.uk/ncn/map/route/route-81 are at least in sections, completely off-road, and not suitable for a road bike. I learnt this the hard way.
Navigation is easily the hardest job - in hindsight I would have equipped myself with a proper bike GPS, proper maps, and a data connection, with backup battery. But navigation gets much easier when in a group and people share the load. [Big shout out to Tim who escorted us to Manningtree].
http://cycle.travel/ is a great site for planning a route.
Travel light - get a colleague to bring laptop, clothes etc to Dublin. Thanks Anthony!
Enjoy the trip - chapeau!
Dublin Port to Centre
Can't make any time free before DC, so won't be cycling TdD to Dublin, but will be coming with a Brompton again.
I noticed the suggested cycle route was to head directly south out of Dublin Port and then cycle along the north bank Liffey. Seemed to be on- & off- road cycle path from there to the roundabout of chaos near the Busáras?
Ah, now....
... Gavin started it! Thanks for all the details, though: really useful. For example, I was wondering whether to share repair kits but from the sound of it that might not be the best idea (also, I might have a Brompton which will have custom tools for at least a couple of things.) And maybe I should get that Garmin I was eyeing up....
Cycling in Ireland
Hi folks, not sure if anyone else is thinking of doing any cycling in Ireland. I'm somehow more attracted to that than going from Manchester to Holyhead.
My latest thinking is to cycle southwards into Dublin. One way to do that would be to travel to Belfast instead - and maybe even take a train to Derry and start there? Reckon that would be 3-4 days cycling. There is a ferry to Belfast from Birkenhead (Liverpool) with day or night crossings.
Anyone up for doing this with me? And anyone from NW England (or Belfast) who is interested but unable to do the cycle and who can therefore take my extra luggage down?
Now wondering whether I'm one of @Alan's unnamed names... :-o
Birkenhead is a thought
I'll have a look into the options later: being pushed out of my co-working space....
Three possible routes?
I think we're narrowing down on three routes: North Wales, South Wales, and Northern England / Northern Ireland. The next steps might be to gauge interest, and to decide roughly on who wants to do what route.
If you do find a luggage-taker, do pass my details on too!
I've booked my flight and
I've booked my flight and will arrive on Friday the 23th in Dublin in the morning.
My idea is to hire a bike there and then take a train to Belfast on the same day, arriving there at 17:29. Thus that will be the train from 15:20 from Dublin Connolly to Belfast Central.
http://www.irishrail.ie/
Then I would overnight in Belfast and cycle in two days to Dublin, arriving there on Sunday evening.
I would only execute this plan if the tour will be from Belfast to Dublin.
Please let me know at least two weeks in advance what the final plans are for the tour so I have enough time to make reservations for the bike and train. I've also booked two extra days in Dublin in case the tour is canceled. I would need to cancel this booking in time.
So let me know your final plans before September 10.
Good plan
I wont have any days off, but if there is a route from Belfast, I could look at flying over very early Sat morning, and meeting you somewhere along the route between the two, to cycle the last of it. Depends on where the route is, but would be nice to at least join for a few miles of it if I can.
Otherwise, see you all there when you arrive on the Sunday,
Dan
We'll try to thrash something out
Dan, Chris: appreciate you're waiting on a decision from others. I think it's looking like a route via Northern Ireland might suit us all, but maybe Martin, Stephen and I can discuss separately what we're all preferring, given currently we're the big three people who are likely to do at least some cycling in England....
Sounds good. I'm arriving on
Sounds good. I'm arriving on Thursday in Dublin and would love to do some cycling before the con. :)
Btw: https://www.thestar.com/life/travel/2016/02/19/bicycling-from-belfast-to...
Thanks, criz
That's informed some of the decisions we've made about stopping over.
That's great, Criz! Would it
That's great, Criz! Would it eventually be an option for you to take the train with me to Belfast on Friday? The earliest possible train I can make is at 15:20, but it could become later in case of a flight delay.
According to that article, it sounds like doing Belfast to Dublin in two days could be quite ambitious. Maybe we could make it if we skip some of the sightseeings noted in the article. Or we should examine if we can skip a part of the route by train.
But first we need consensus in what area the tour will be. JP and Stephen seem to prefer Wales, but JP sees Northern Ireland also as an option. Martin and I prefer Northern Ireland. I would see going from the south of Ireland to Dublin also as an option, but it would not be my preference as I understanded it is more hilly (and I'm not used to hills). Dan and Criz also like to join the tour (route preference unknown).
200km is two lots of Hoek<->Amsterdam, so doable?
We did 60+ miles, or 100km, travelling from Hoek to Amsterdam. So I think it's reasonable to do that journey in two days, especially if you've hired a bike in Dublin so don't have much luggage. I think as you say the people who wrote that article were doing a lot of sightseeing, in which case three days would make more sense.
Make sure you get a decent tourer with good gears if possible for if there are any big hills (the major difference between Ireland and the Netherlands!)
(And Martin convinced me re Northern Ireland, as you can see elsewhere!)
First group decided! Belfast-Dublin
Thanks for all the advice above. Really appreciated.
Martin, Stephen and I have bashed our heads together, having re-read it all, and come up with a Belfast-Dublin route, leaving on the Saturday morning just after the overnight ferry from Liverpool docks:
https://groups.drupal.org/node/513181
Please sign up if you're fairly interested, so that we can make decisions on the overnight accommodation near Dundalk.
Great JP that you have come
Great JP that you have come to a decision! Good idea to create a signup form for the tour. I have just signed up.