So, back from my now annual tour of Norn Iron.
This time we attempted a clockwise tour of County Antrim, from Larne along the coast to Portstewart, along the Bann to Lough Neagh and back to Belfast. Technically Portrush and Portstewart are in County Londonderry, but we also cut off the SE corner (Crumlin-ish), so that seems fair.
The plan originally had been to go from Ballycastle to Kintyre and across Cowal, but that ferry is "on-demand" only and the company didn't confirm in time that the ferry was running.
We did go round Torr Head, which is described by Tom Cooper as "probably the toughest road in Ireland, with a rollercoaster series of climbs and descents with 20% gradients" (search Amazon via the box on the left for "Cycle Touring in Ireland").
He wasn't joking, and I can't recommend the route with a ~200 kg touring tandem (including riders) - I've discovered that it makes up the "Torr Head Challenge"... We survived it, but I probably won't convince Ruth to do it again!
Some here have smelt the Pino's brakes, this time there was copious smoke at one point!
The problem is that the route has very poor sightlines, so you can't even enjoy the descents properly. You can tell it's tough when even the drivers are struggling...
I'm not sure if we climbed more than last year - definitely altitudes were lower, but there was more up and down - I must check the GPS traces, although I didn't calibrate the GPS until near the end, when I realised we started from sea level at -75m. Wonderful what a high pressure can do!
Can't say the weather was ideal for cycling - we appeared to be melting at every stop, leaving puddles behind. So much so that I discovered the use of those freebie electrolyte tablets I've been given by various cycling organisations - they probably taste foul under normal circumstances, but they made our water taste like nectar last week...
About 200 miles over 5 days this time, and the same courtesy extended by drivers throughout, even though we used the A2 main road extensively - this is notoriously quiet and picturesque, and shouldn't be confused with the mainland A2...
Incidentally, we stopped to admire the view over Lough Neagh (under a convenient tree to re-hydrate), when the nearby householder came out to us and chatted - then insisted on filling our water bottles with iced water, and returned with a mug of iced water for immediate use. It's good to be "home"!
I'll give a shout out to Rosebank Farm - they claim to provide tea/coffee and homebaking on arrival and then again at supper, in addition to breakfast. When presented with two weary cyclists, the homebaking that appeared was extensive and very welcome. On our request, fresh Jersey milk was provided for our supper - gorgeous.
Overall less cycle infrastructure, but much more of a tour of icecream vendors this year!
Robert
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