Micke Trippers

July 13 & 14 Sunday was an easier biking day. We only biked 25 kilometers but the first 10 were uphill through the mountain gap. The uphill was not too bad but then we took a back road down the other side of the mountain and did the down hill in 3 kilometers with a number of hairpin turns. I think the downhill was harder (certainly on the nerves) than the uphill. We then took a “ferry” (see picture) for about an hour and a half ride through the Killarney National Forest and ended at Ross Castle in Killarney. Once there we took the van about 90 kilometers to Dingle. Monday dawned with mist in the air. A 55 kilometer trip was taken around the Dingle Peninsula coast line. Again the scenery was magnificent. There were ... read more

July 11 Colorful, that is the word best used to describe Ireland. The scenery, as we have sent is great but the villages we go through are every color of the rainbow (and extremely clean). In the blog today, I am including some pictures of the villages we have biked through and stayed at. Overall the economy seems to be doing well and talking to the locals the improvement since the mid 1980’s is significant. They, like us, are now experiencing a downturn; home prices have dropped 7.5% in the last year. There is much talk about cutting 1,000,000,000 Euros from the national budget for next year. We biked in the rain this morning but the sun came out and was shining brightly for the afternoon. We traveled from Bantry down the Beara Peninsula to Castletown ... read more

July 9, 2008 We had another day of great biking. We did about 75 kilometers today, but the hills while a constant companion were not as steep as yesterday. We only had to walk the bikes one time. Another Irish biking tradition we observed today was biking in the rain. Most of the afternoon it was alternating between rain and sun. The tour we are on does a very good job of keeping us on less traveled rural roads, which is nice for not a lot of traffic but the roads are hardly wide enough for one car let alone two cars meeting or a car passing a couple of people on bikes. The redeeming factor is everyone is very aware of people on bikes and they always make way for them, to the point of ... read more

Hello from Bunratty, Ireland. Carl and I had a good trip here - uneventful plane trip - which is what travelers hope for (however a long layover at JFK, something to be avoided in the future). We landed at Shannon airport and were whisked through customs with well wishes for a great holiday. Carl says that is very different than most customs check-in. Our bed and breakfast is only four miles from the airport. We were greeted by Paddy and Maureen, the innkeepers and checked in a little after 10:00 Ireland time. We felt like it was 3:00 am and took a nap. Then it was on to explore Bunratty. This is a tourist area, with the Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. We enjoyed sightseeing, visiting a pub or two, and eating a traditional dinner of ... read more

We are starting to become excited about our trip. We have had a hectic month with Ryan's wedding, and meeting with Barack Obama. Looking forward to getting away from work. We are worried that on the map it says mountains in some of the areas we are biking. Carl ... read more