Mizen to Malin Head Ireland 2018

Today was wet! Stunning countryside nevertheless with the best of Connemara and County Mayo.   Out of our room we could see the show ground of the Clifden Connemara Pony Show . It was raining!  As Billy Connelly said, "There's no such thing as bad weather, just wrong clothing". Avoca is also a large store in Dublin, the top floor offering fabulous cake and coffee. We cycled up into  Ireland’s Lake District by beginning the day going the long way round along the “Sky Road”... ... with all it’s nooks and crannies with intermittent views out to sea.  A torrent of gushing water, made heavier by the rainfall. The roads were mostly empty. Most were safely ensconced, warm and dry. Not us! Scenery stunning - an eerie light, mountains appearing and disappearing in the mist. New plants in this region, more brambles, wild rose, reeds as well as the orange-flowered crocosmia. Evanescent mountain outlines and misty...

Today took us into Connemara, one of the main “Gaeltacht” regions of Ireland (predominantly Irish language speaking). We cycled through an area of incredible beauty  hugging the coastline for the most part around Roundstone and Ballyconneely. Accommodation for 30 cyclists was difficult in Galway as everyone was gathered for the Galway Races . Thus we stayed in a corporate type hotel out of town. Not as nice as the splendid B&Bs but functional. Bikes stored in the underground car park... ...prepped for 67 miles ahead. Leaving Galway was tough, 30 cyclists snaking out on a very busy coastal road One driver even wound down his window to advise us to ride in pairs to avoid long drawn out pelotons. Although this is in the UK highway code, most drivers hate this as we are appearing to block more of the road. Once clear of Galway city, the roads were wider and with much less traffic. We still had to content with a significant headwind A tip off from...