Ireland the North. Connemara

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Ireland Monday

If I was a dour fellow I would say that the scenery today was quite good. If I was the flamboyant sort I would say that it was absolutely wonderful, even looking through my rose coloured spectacles. However, the wind was in our face for the whole day which made riding very difficult, even though we only climbed 530 metres it felt like 1000. I was really glad to finish the ride, which was made worse by the rain for the last two hours.
Mostly we followed the coast which took us on a very twisty route in the boulder strewn countryside occupied by donkeys, horses and the occasional sheep. Away from the coast we encountered many lakes and ponds which the Irish call loughs and quite a few Bonny thatched cottages and hotels. The morning was bright and quite sunny. At 42km a stop for lunch was made at a drive through cafe with chairs in what looked like plastic calf houses. After this we headed inland a little and the weather began to worsen and the terrain became more hilly. Then we had showers, so wet weather gear on, wet weather gear off, wet weather gear on and there it went on. Luckily there were some tractors to photograph so I had a few rest stops. Many tractors had double wheels to travel over the bogs where peat was being harvested. Some was stacked up to dry and some in plastic bags ready for despatch. If the wind had been on our tail it would have been a wonderful day and my legs would not have been ruined. Tony had a panic on after lunch after he had gone about 10km only to find he had left his bar bag at the cafe. I saw him racing back but he didn’t stop, otherwise I could have told him that Martyn was bringing it for him. It reminded me of him losing a pannier in Oregon under similar circumstances. The Clifden Station House Hotel is very nice and for once they were happy to store our bikes on a spare function room.
We are at the Old Station bar and Restaurant and had a very good Lamb Shank - my favourite. Following this I met with a friend from Clitheroe who was visiting for a week and had the necessary Guinness with him and his wife. Now to bed.

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