Roundstone Bog

For most of today we had no significant rain, by the Irish definition.  In the morning we rode through a beautiful area of lakes and mountains all covered in peat bogs.  The roads were good and had very little traffic, which is good because when you need to pull over, there are no shoulders on the road - people just stop in the middle of the road!

Achill Island

Have we mentioned that it rains in Ireland.  We've come to realize there are many categories of rain. Some so light the Irish might not consider it rain at all.  Then there's the extreme pelting rain where even they might don some rain gear.

Despite the rain, Achill Island was incredibly beautiful.  Rocky cliffs, worn mountains, crashing waves, and some castle ruins.  Sparsely populated it was truly rugged and unspoiled.  Mankind had not even added guardrails, lines on the road, directional signs or fences for the sheep. It was a lovely ride!

Tea Time at the Sizzler in Bangor-Erris

After a wet morning ride we needed some warm tea & hot soup to spruce us up.  The Sizzler was like having tea in someone's living room. We might have left a few puddles on the floor ( did we mention that it rains in Ireland).

Do We Know Where We're Going

Of course we knew where we were going,  just a little double check to be sure.

Arrival in Donegal

We arrived in Donegal just as the weather cleared, this has been the routine, we ride in the rain and as soon as we stop it's beautiful.

After negotiating the stone laden driveway, we checked in to the Manor. The Manor is beautiful, sort of a cross between Faulty Towers and the Ramada. The Breslins, who run the Manor, are very hospitable and made us very welcome.

We headed off to town with a few dinner recommendations and settled on The Harbour restaurant.  We're doing our best to drink enough guinness to fulfill all the toast and drink commitments we made.

Local intel advised us how to secure beer to 'take away'.  Mary and Marc, our security team crossed the town square (actually a diamond) and dashed into the alley maked "Off Sales", quite dodgy.

We picked up 6 pints of Smithwicks, pronounced Smit....cks.  The lad at the counter did not seem impressed with only 6 pints for the evening.  He said "Enjoy your ... (long pause)... few beers"  Marc thanked him and a few moments later we realized we had actually been insulted. Sadly we only managed to finish 5!  

Journey to the Northern Most Point

Da ting is... we had tuns an tuns o' rain t'day.  It rained so hard t'was bouncin'.  Dis meant we didn't get so many pitchers.

Marc did break away from the pack  (Mary tuned him up on this behaviour) and snapped this lovely picture of one of the bridges we crossed.

We had chance meeting with a local motorcyclist, Liam, who offered many tips, the most useful was "expect the unexpected" and "watch for badgers if you're on the road before 5:30, they're dense buggers".

We told him there wasn't much chance of us being out at that time.

The first part of the day was a trip to the northern most point of Ireland.  The roads got smaller the further north we drove.  It started with "double carriage", then changed to "two-track", next we lost the lines.  Finally, in the last few miles, we thought we were on someone's very long driveway. 

It was beautiful despite being a bit cold.  Unfortunately we didn't get to see the castle.

Picking up the Bikes

Stephen from Irishbike picked us up at 8:30 am (in the rain of course) and brought us back to his house to set us up on the bikes.  We signed some paperwork, packed our gear and received a quick briefing and words of encouragement.

Then he left us in the garage, as he said - This is when the riders start to get nervous if I stick around.

We mounted up - Marc on the big Adventure, Joe & Mary on the GS1200 and Jan on the Honda Transalp.

We headed north through Belfast on the wrong side of the road (the left) and successfully negotiated numerous round-abouts during the day.  Interesting day to say the least - don't ask what time our day finished.

Carrickfergus Castle

No visit to Ireland is complete without a tour of a 12th century castle.  This one was subsequently equipped with some impressive cannons.  Known as the 'maiden' castle, Carrickfergus was under siege 3 separate times but never penetrated.

Also, we learned, it's good to be the king - you get your own private bathroom equipped with medieval plumbing.  Can you spot it?

Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge

The trek to the bridge involved about 2 km of proper paths and not so proper stairs - mainly rocks stacked together in a clumsy fashion.  Once there, the views were stunning in every direction.

Giant's Causeway

We've come to realize that visiting Irelands natural wonders usually requires a 2 km hike and if that wasn't enough, Mary & Marc decided to jog it this time.

Bushmills - Too Late

Last tour was given at 4 pm, we arrived at 6 pm - Too Bad!

Birthday at The Crown

After the Black Taxi Tour we headed to the city center to find a proper pub for Marc's Birthday celebration and our first Guinness in Ireland at the Crown!

Continuing our pub crawl, and after a bit of wandering, we found Madden's for some more pints and some local music.  The musicians were joined by a young fife player from Toronto Canada.

Black Taxi Tour - Irish Republican

After a two hour bus ride from Dublin to Belfast, the last leg in our 16-hr journey, we arrived at 3:30pm local time. We dropped our bags, grabbed a coffee and had Charlie the concierge book our Black Taxi Tour.

Jack, our driver and guide, arrived to give us a personalized and political tour of both the Irish Republic and UK Loyalist sides of Belfast.

Above on the Republican side you will see the Falls Road murals, Bobby Sands memorial,  and the Peace Wall as seen from the Clonard Community memorial. This side focussed on the political martyrs of the cause.  Note the metal 'conservatories' protecting their courtyards from debris coming over the wall.  The community memorials recognize the people who have died in the cause, they are found in many neighbourhoods along the 32 different peace walls separating the two sides in Belfast.

Black Taxi Tour - UK Loyalists

We left the Republican side driving through gates in the Peace Wall which are locked each night at 9 pm. Upon entering the Loyalist side the biggest difference was the military tones of the murals vs the martyrs that are seen on the Republican side. Today, however, many of these are being replaced by murals that promote peace and Irish history.  

After seeing the two sides it seems that both are influenced daily reminders of the 'Troubles'.  As Jack said, this makes it difficult to change as long as they remain divided with segregated schools and communities.

Jack did such a great job representing both sides in a balanced way, teaching us both perspectives. 

Waiting for the Bus to Belfast

So after a 4 hour delay in Toronto, most of it sitting in the plane at the gate, we arrived in Dublin with all our gear.

I hope it all fits on the bikes because it almost didn't fit on the bus!

Role Reversal

Marc and Mary are going to handle the technology on this adventure. Joe and Jan will take care of security and watch the Irish version of "Man vs. Food".

Go Neiri AN Bothair Libh  (may the road rise for yee)

 Liam & Jean

A Limerick Titled: Rubber on the Road

I wish you all well on your trip
before you depart just one tip
The hills of the heather,
are best travelled in good weather,
In the eve find some Guiness to Sip!

Jeff