Ireland Day 1: Kinsale to Clonakilty | 38 Miles, 2,500 Feet Elevation | What We’ve Learned Already

Riding Stats (Link to Tom’s Strava)

Accommodations (daily mileage, elevation, etc.)

Route Tracker (track our northbound ride on a Google Map)

This is only day one of our northbound ride along the Atlantic Coast but it seems like it’s been two weeks.😂 Here’s the skinny:

☘️Most importantly, there is NO way our iPhones will capture the beauty of this country. It’s simply not possible. Given that, we’ll do our best to give you an idea of this spectacular scenery.

☘️Drones gonna do what they gonna do along the windy Atlantic coast in Ireland.💨

☘️There is a stout brewed in Ireland that we like a wee bit better than Guinness. Murphy’s!

☘️The roads are narrow but the drivers are patient and courteous.

☘️Ya can’t go to the clubhouse at Old Head Golf Links for a stout or cuppa tea without a tee time and clubs. That’s just not the way it’s done. We did get Tom’s pic by the gate tho!

The smallish villages and scattered townlands we cycled through kept us from counting the miles or elevation. We passed by Old Head and through Garrettstown, Timoleague, Courtmacsherry and we landed in Clonakilty.

Two more bits of history:

🚢The passenger ship R M S The Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine on May 7, 1915 with 1,959 people aboard and sunk in just 18 minutes. This happened a short distance off the southern tip of Old Head.

There is a memorial located at a scenic viewpoint we visited along the way. There’s some controversy about the contents of the ship of course. Some claim the Lusitania was carrying munitions to support the efforts of the British in WWI, hence the torpedo.

✝️ Near Timoleague we walked through the ruins of the Timoleague Friary. Prior to the Franciscans, the Augustinians were thought to have congregated there. The stone walls still remain firm and protect many gravestones within the friary although the structure’s roof is no more. It’s worth learning more about here.

By the way, Eurovelo 1 begins in Norway, ends in Portugal and is about 6,000 miles long. We’re cycling just a small portion of it in Ireland.

More pics from today’s ride in the video below.

14 thoughts on “Ireland Day 1: Kinsale to Clonakilty | 38 Miles, 2,500 Feet Elevation | What We’ve Learned Already”

    1. Thank you so much! The Friary was soooo cool. I didn’t even know it was on the route until we cycled past it. We decided it would be worth the stop and it was.

      Peace and all good to you!

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    1. Isn’t that the truth on the dates. There are so many old structures and fence lines here and that one of my favorite parts.

      Yes Tom got a drone a week or two before we left so he hasn’t had much practice yet. Hoping we can get to use it on the ride. 🚵

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  3. You are too modest, that is hardly a “small portion” – how many miles is the ride in Ireland? Safe travels. I just bought a new bike (an old lady high rise, step through with a comfy seat. My Trek was over 20 years old an went to a group of inmates who learn to assemble/fix bikes). Safe travels!

    V

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    1. I saw that you got a bike and think it’s a wonderful idea! And especially the fact you can step through and you don’t have to swing your leg over the saddle.

      The ride will be over 1,000 miles and could be as many as 1,300. We are going to change things up a bit.

      Right knee is feeling sooooo much better. Thank you steroid shot. 💉

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    1. It’s definitely different than Patagonia. The hills are much shorter here but steeper and of course it’s paved so that makes it a bit easier. 👍🏻

      Thanks for the follow. 💚🇮🇪🧡

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    1. Thank YOU for taking an interest. It really is amazing not just because what we are seeing now but also all of the history that that preceded us. 🥰

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