I still had vacation time to use up and still had some money left in my "travel fund", so once again I signed-up for a Backroads tour, this time their Ireland vacation. Before picking the date, I talked with some acquaintances at the UNR Medical School who are from southwestern Ireland about the area where the tour would be held and about the recommended time to go. There was unanimous agreement that mid-July through mid-August was the time when it rained the least and would thus be the nicest time for cycling. They were correct about the weather - I only got rained-on twice - but neglected to mention the German tourists. Backroads did their usual professional job with the cycling part of the vacation, and I did my travel arrangements through Ultimate Bike Tours/Ed Pio Travel (same folks who arranged the Caribbean cruise and rides) who did an excellent job of finding hotels in Cork and London that were conveniently located.

Thursday, July 20, and Friday July 21: Reno, NV to Cork, Ireland.

The only thing that ran on time was the Citifare bus to the airport, at which point United Airlines took over and ran everything late from the commuter flight out of Reno to the flight to London out of San Francisco. I was fortunate that the later flight I had to take from San Francisco still got me to London in time to make my original flight from London to Cork. The trip over to London was about as boring as possible, and I spent a lot of time sleeping. The flight into Cork was one of the most exciting I've experienced in a while; although the weather was nice, the pilot had a "slam/dunk" attitude towards landing airplanes. He put it on the ground with authority!

Jury's Cork Inn was a nice hotel only a few blocks from the bus station, so I had several hours to wander about the city of Cork that afternoon and the following morning. Through the wonders of the World Wide Web and electronic mail, I had a short list of interesting sights to see while there and a fairly detailed street map. One of the tour participants had arranged a meeting place and time for other attendees who were overnighting in Cork, so after a couple of hours of walking and picture taking, I looked in the bar at the Morrison's Island hotel. I found a somewhat inebriated group of Americans who were indeed my fellow travelers. After brief introductions they left to find some more pubs to visit, and I continued with my walk.

My first impression of Cork was how dirty things were compared to the beautiful countryside surrounding it. Even Reno looks clean compared to Cork! With the exception of a couple of upscale neighborhoods that I went through, the place was uniformly littered with trash, broken glass, and even peoples' garbage. Traffic was a nightmare; I don't think there are any speed limits on city streets, and people drove like maniacs. There were a lot of cars and a lot of pedestrians but almost no cyclists (I counted four). You would have had to be a madman to ride a bike in that town!

My second impression of Cork is that it must have been quite a beautiful city at one time. There are some wonderful views from the hillsides and some very nice architecture and churches. The walkways along the river that runs through the middle would be nice if not for the green slime and bad smells. Cork also attracts its share of celebrities: Marlon Brando and Brad Pitt were both in town working on a movie.

Saturday, July 22: Cork to Kenmare.

I had to meet with the Backroads group at noon, so I had the morning to walk around Cork a bit more. Things were much more peaceful on Saturday morning before people were generally awake and traffic had gotten crazy again. I found a nice park and walked around University College of Cork before taking the bus back to the airport.

After meeting with the tour leaders and most of the rest of the large group (total of 26 people on the ride!), we boarded a bus for Kenmare. Once out of the Cork suburbs, I got my first good look at the Irish countryside which was beautiful and very, very green. We passed miles of pasture lands filled with cows and sheep, rivers, lakes, and rocky hillsides. The tour leaders treated us to cold drinks and bowls of fresh fruit on the 3-hour trip (are you reading this, Curtis?) The bus made a brief restroom and stretch-the-legs stop in Macroom, and then continued to Kenmare where we checked-in at the Park Hotel Kenmare, a beautifully restored and converted chateau located on the Kenmare River and featuring 11 acres of gardens, a nearby park, and an 18-hole golf course. Can you say, "Nice?"

By the time everyone had completed check-in and unpacked clothes, a nice picnic lunch (nobody was going to run out of food on this trip!). We had our bikes set up and departed on a 15-mile shakedown ride through the surrounding countryside. We followed the Roughty River along a quiet country road and then climbed a ridge that offered great views of the Roughty River Valley. Because of my frequent stops for pictures, I was mostly at the rear of the pack and would then end up passing everyone on my way to the next stop. I quickly observed that most of the riders were badly out of shape (I would soon discover why) and very unskilled. One guy crashed when he ran into the back of another person. I also observed that the roads in Ireland are in terrible condition; I often referred to them as "paved single track". Once I found that I could get a decent ride by lowering tire pressure to about 45 p.s.i. instead of the recommended 90, I was able to safely enjoy the absolutely gorgeous scenery.

After a nice nap I reported to dinner at 8:00 PM and found everyone in the hotel bar instead. The Backroads leaders finally managed to get everyone together for a trip briefing before an excellent 5-course dinner. It was during this dinner and conversations with other group members that I found that I was in the company of 25 flaming yuppies, mostly lawyers and doctors, whose primary activities were drinking and trying to impress each other.

Sunday, July 23: Kenmare - Sneem loop.

It was rather sad watching last night's revelers drag themselves to breakfast. Kind of hard to do when you only got about 5 hours of sleep, I imagine. Breakfast was just as wonderful as dinner. Hey, the waiters come around and carefully place the linen napkins on your lap the instant you sit down! I could get used to this...

During the last third of today's 37-mile ride, I discovered just why Ireland is so green. It rained, but rather than the pouring rain that we are used to in Reno, it was more like a fine mist and not very cold at all. It did put a little damper on the picture-taking. The route, mainly on "paved single track", went out of Kenmare and up into the foothills of MacGillycuddy's Reeks towards Moll's Gap. The first half of the ride offered spectacular views of the cloud-shrouded Reeks and then descended into the tiny town of Sneem. At this point it started to drizzle a bit and over half of the group sagged back to Kenmare. I continued riding back along the rolling hills next to the Kenmare River and didn't really get into any serious "rain" until I got to the entrance to Dromore Castle (unfortunately closed on Sunday). When I returned to the hotel, Campbell, one of the two Backroads ride leaders, swapped handlebars on my rented bike for wider ones - made a great improvement.

Since the ride was short, I had the rest of the afternoon to dodge raindrops and to walk around and explore Kenmare. I found lots of crafts shops along the town's two main streets, a nice park at the town's center, numerous pubs and other shops (many run by O'Sullivans), and some interesting residential areas. There was even a stone circle, a formation from the Bronze Age and probably a primitive observatory, located right near the center of town at the end of someone's driveway.

This evening we were treated to a special Irish whiskey tasting session before the usual excellent dinner. The rain continued through the evening.

Monday, July 24: Beara Peninsula loop.

The rain quit early this morning and the sky cleared before today's 75 mile ride along the Beara Peninsula. The entire area is very rugged and sparsely populated. The route first took a side trip up a narrow trail to Incharquin Falls which boasted some great views of the waterfall, its lake, and the surrounding countryside. I then went past Derreen Gardens, the first subtropical garden in the British Isles, and made a brief stop at Teddy O'Sullivan's Pub before continuing around the end of the peninsula to Ardgroom and Castletownbere. The mountains along the coast of Bantry Bay show distinct signs of their glacier-carved past. It was then up through the switchbacks, dodging sheep, to the top of Healy Pass and more scenic views of Bantry Bay, Glanmore Lake, the Kenmare River, and the Beara Peninsula. The descent down the other side was quite a ride - something like a roller coaster! Only two other riders attempted this route, and not many went up to the waterfall area. They really missed it! Mr. Crash went down again on the way to the waterfall and took-out Anne, our other ride leader.

I had no time or energy left for walking around Kenmare later in the day. Just cleaned up and took a nice nap before dinner.

Tuesday, July 25: Kenmare to Waterville.

Following the last wonderful breakfast at the Park Hotel Kenmare, the group departed for Waterville, a famed resort town and one-time favorite destination of Charlie Chaplin. The weather was still cooperating as I headed out along the Kenmare estuary, through Sneem again along the coast through Castlecove and Westcove. At Castlecove, some folks made the tough uphill trek along a mostly gravel road to Staigue Fort, one of Ireland's best-preserved archaeological sites. Set in a large natural amphitheater, it is a vast freestone fortress with 18-foot high walls. After the hard 75 miles of yesterday, my legs were screaming for mercy! Next stop was Caherdaniel and the historic Derrynane House. From there it was over Coomakista Pass with views of Scariff, the Deenish Islands, and Ballinskelligs Bay, and finally a nice descent into Waterville. We would be spending the next two nights at the Butler Arms Hotel. Mr. Crash was missing. The Backroads van driver for the day had to pick him up and take him to a local doctor after he went off the road descending from Staigue Fort and crashed into the rocks and bushes. He was pretty badly scraped-up.

While the yuppies were out pubbing again, I picked-up some groceries at a nearby market and kicked back on the beach for some quality relaxation time reading, updating trip journals, and writing postcards and letters. Sand is in short supply around Waterville; most of the beach consisted of round stones, but persistence paid off. One nice thing about summers at 52 degrees north latitude is that it doesn't get dark until nearly 10:00 PM!

Wednesday, July 26: Skellig Islands.

The weather was still perfect for the designated rest day which consisted of an easy 9 mile ride to Ballinskelligs and a rough boat trip to the Skellig Islands. Some of the yuppies were definitely having a problem with the choppy seas and stayed zonked on Dramamine. The featured attraction was a fascinating 7th century monastery perched atop Skellig Michael. It is amazing how these monks managed to scrape out an existence on this rock by raising animals on the limited usable soil and planting small gardens where they could. There were also a number of puffins and gulls nesting on the island. Nearby Little Skellig boasted an amazing seabird population of puffins, gulls, gannets, fulmars, petrels, and shearwaters, the droppings of which have turned the island white. I wonder why they preferred this rock to the more inviting Skellig Michael?

When I returned, it was off to the beach again for a dip in the cold Atlantic (just had to do it, you know?). This evening storyteller Pat Burns came by after dinner and entertained us with some traditional Irish tales and poetry. He was really good and is currently on his way to the United States for a tour. I talked to him about Elko's Cowboy Poetry Gathering, which he has never been to but would like to attend and maybe participate in some day.

Thursday, July 27: Waterville to Glenbeigh.

Today's 60 mile ride cut inland across the tip of the Iveraugh Peninsula towards Dingle Bay. The first town visited was Cahersiveen, the birthplace of Ireland's revered rebel, Daniel O'Connell. The route then continued along the coast with magnificent views of the Kerry cliffs, Dingle Bay, and a real sand beach at Rossbeigh. I checked-in at the Towers Hotel in Glenbeigh (famous for having housed many of the stars and crew during the filming of Ryan's Daughter) and then continued on the long option for the day - a ride around Caragh Lake. It was halfway through this beautiful ride, someplace near Lough Acoose, where my luck ran out and it started to rain. Correction: it started to pour! By the time I could get my rain jacket on, I was already soaked. Well, the views of Caragh Lake were on the last part of the ride, so I missed it. Visibility was almost nil.

Fortunately the rain eased a bit later in the afternoon and I was able to take the mile walk down to Rossbeigh beach before dinner. The previous rain had chased the tourists away and the 4 mile stretch of white sand was practically deserted with the exception of some diehard fishermen. Very peaceful and quite pretty with the clouds coming in off the North Atlantic.

Friday, July 28: Glenbeigh to Killarney.

I awoke early today, much to my roommate's chagrin, and was off on a short run and hike on the Kerry Way. This walking trail makes a large loop around County Kerry and roughly followed our biking route. There was a trailhead part way down the road to Rossbeigh Beach. The first thing that I noticed was the quiet. No traffic noise, no aircraft, not a sound other than my footsteps and the water dripping from the tree leaves. Combined with the green canopy of the trees for a moment I thought I had entered another dimension; I could have been Bilbo Baggins on a morning walk through Middle Earth.

The last day on the bicycle was a 45 mile trip from Glenbeigh to Killarney. The ride started by cruising along the shore of Caragh Lake and then started climbing. The lake was visible this morning and, although it was still a cloudy day, it wasn't raining. Then it was up and over Ballagbeama Gap and over Moll's Gap as the route weaved its way through MacGillycuddy's Reeks, the highest mountains in Ireland. The top of Ballaghbeama Gap was in the clouds, cutting visibility on this narrow road to only a few meters. The descent from Moll's Gap and through Killarney National Park was breathtaking, with views of the mountains, lakes, and waterfalls. I stopped in the park for a quick visit to Torc Waterfall and then continued the descent into Killarney. This part of the ride was primarily along a main road that is part of the Ring of Kerry. I got a good dose of German tourists today: blasting down the narrow "highway" in autobahn cruisers, driving even crazier than the Irish, giving little regard to cyclists, and demonstrating a serious attitude problem.

The inn for the night was the Cahernane Hotel, formerly the residence of the Earls of Pembroke. Built in 1877, there has been little restoration work done, and the place shows its age. It's located on its own extensive parklands and has a driveway that must be seen to be believed. The town of Killarney, easily the largest place the group had visited during the tour, was only a 10 minute walk from the hotel. Five of those minutes were needed to get down the driveway! Killarney is a busy town, complete with traffic jams, stoplights (the first I'd seen since Cork!), and shopping malls. I spent a few hours walking around town and doing last minute gift gathering for friends and relatives. During dinner it began raining in earnest.

Saturday, July 29, and Sunday, July 30: Killarney to Reno.

What can I say? After breakfast we took a bus to the Cork airport for flights home. This time United was running ahead of schedule and I was back home several hours earlier than expected.

Comments and Impressions.

The Backroads leaders, Anne and Campbell, did the usual excellent job on the weeklong tour. Support was great (even when functioning as an ambulance service for Mr. Crash), picnic lunches were wonderful, and snacks were plentiful. They were very familiar with the area - Campbell grew up there - and were well-versed on the history and sights to see. The bicycles were always kept functioning well.

Road conditions are pretty bad; I got the impression that many of the narrow country lanes were just cart tracks that had been covered with gravel and tar. Fortunately the bad conditions kept most cars off of these roads, so riding was nice in spite of the bumps. The ideal bike for this type of riding would be a mountain bike with a front shock and multi-use tires.

Irish drivers are partly crazed, but not nearly as bad as the German tourists. This was rather strange, since the Germans that I encountered on my trip on their home turf last summer were generally quite courteous. Maybe vacations do something to their minds...

This was my first opportunity to observe yuppies at close range and to interact with them (or is "interface" the correct term these days?) for longer than five minutes. It was a scary experience; I thought that these types only made appearances in movies. Appropriate discussion topics were: legal cases, medical cases, investments, how they could have done a better trip for less money, and what pub to go to next. The upside of this was that I pretty much had the hotel rooms to myself since my roommate was out drinking until the early morning hours. It was rather pathetic watching last night's revelers drag themselves to breakfast each morning. My vacation goals were slightly different and involved sleeping a lot, eating great food, riding through some awesome countryside, and taking a lot of photographs. I much preferred the older company of the folks on last summer's tour in Germany and Austria, who were a bit saner in their habits and a lot more fun to be with. I must be aging fast when I start thinking of 35-year-olds as "too young" to be around!

Ireland is a beautiful country, a much more untamed landscape than the manicured perfection of Germany and Austria. I definitely liked it more because of that wildness. Of course, it's so green because of the rain. Our group was told many times that we were lucky that it wasn't raining as much as usual. But even the weather created some magical moments: the sun breaking through the clouds to illuminate just the waterfall at Glen Incharquin, the eerie feeling of riding into the mist over Ballaghbeama Gap, a fantastic sunrise over the Kenmare River, the water dripping from the trees on the Kerry Way. The small towns I rode through, the wonderful inns I stayed at, and the friendly people definitely made this a place I want to return to in the future.

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