Had a little breakfast that the workawayer prepared for people then went to Patty's bike shop next door to rent a bike for the day. He checks it out and then gives me my lock/helmet and I set off on the epic day ahead; heading west on the Slea head Drive out of town. Today's trek made me realize why people train for bike races and/or why god invented motor assisted bikes; there were so many freaking hills that I actually pedaled a bike in first gear for the first time i can remember, maybe ever hahah. The scenery the whole way is absolutely stunning; green hills, ocean that goes on forever, rocky terrain, islands, etc. It was great having so many "kodak moments", as an old scout master used to call them, so I could take a break from the uphill pedaling (the total trip was about 42km with ~330m of elevation change - not including the getting lost probably 20 mins and having to backtrack a mile or 2 to find my pant leg that fell out of my pocket).
 |
| On the open road with Crinkly and our trusty stead |
 |
| Such lovely countryside |
 |
| Found us a beach to take a break at |
 |
| Beach goes on for a bit |
 |
| Crinkly back enjoying the grass |
 |
| Loving the mountains in the distance |
 |
| Oh yeah thats the face of making a bad decision (to do this ride :) hahaha) |
 |
| The trusty stead |
 |
| Just a bunch of islands off the coast |
 |
| Going around the bend |
 |
| its like night and day |
 |
| Random christ statue at the point of this peninsula... after seeing how narrow the road gets, I understand it :) |
 |
| Small hamlet on an island across the way but they got their own private beach there... pretty good for getting away from it all |
 |
| Traffic jam... i waited for them to figure it all out as I didnt want to be a complication driving through... other bikes did but yeah not taking that role haha |
 |
| So glad i decided to take this ride |
 |
| Sheepses |
 |
Couple asked if we wanted a pic together so we went for it... I am sweaty haha
|
 |
| My stead chilling while I relax |
 |
| Once more before I head out |
 |
| Cave in the rocks... |
 |
| Met a lil butterfly friend |
 |
| Better view of the dude |
 |
| Finally some refreshment to refuel and relax |
 |
| Cheers to the brewery that motivated me to do this bike trek today |
 |
| Had some nice flowers and a cat outfront... |
 |
| Heading back towards town |
 |
| Can you imagine coming home to this view? |
 |
| Cant get used to these views. |
 |
| Michelin restaurant for dinner? yes please |
 |
| First course - wine |
 |
| 2nd course - bread and butter |
 |
| mmmmm bisque |
 |
| Got the tuna stack as well |
 |
| tried to get it all in a pic together :) |
 |
| Got the John Dory and scrimps too.. Like I said... too much food |
 |
| Celebrating the day before heading back to the bar from last night for some more music |
Once I got to the back end of the trip, I stopped at Tig Bhric and the West Kerry brewing company which is in the middle of nowhere I feel for a couple beers to refresh from sweating constantly for the past god knows how many hours. The way in once you get back to the main road is a nice downhill shot that made finishing possible (if I had more of those hills I may not have made it back hahaah). The trek was incredibly grueling for someone who hadnt trained for a bike ride and did it on a rental clunker, but it was definitely worth it for the scenery, the exercise, and the sense of accomplishment. Return the bike and grab another juice before grabbing a shower; the first attempt had no hot water so I had to get dressed and go have the hostel fix it before continuing with my shower. Chill in the room for a little bit before treating myself to my first michellin rated restaurant experience at Out of the Blue. Ordered way too much food as I just wanted to try things and really enjoy the experience; this too was worth it hahaha. After dinner, walk over to Foxy Johns pub which the front looks like a hardware store and couldnt tell if it actually doubled as a hardware store during the day or if it was just the decoration; it looked enough like a hardware type store that I still am not sure. Have a guinness on the back patio until its time to meet the hostel folk back at Dingle pub for more live music (new musician, same bad ass dancer dude). Yet again, there to close down the pub before heading back to the hostel for bed.
Hostel review - nice location. Rooms fine but no locker (they are working on it) so stored my stuff in a locked closet downstairs. Advertise free breakfast but not well organized as if it doesn't exist. Small common spaces.
No comments:
Post a Comment