Ireland route advice

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Tin Pot

Guru
Hi all,

I've got 101km +318m in a day in Ireland, my bike commute is 100km +600m so I'm fairly confident although commutes are broken in half, and when I was fit my 90km half Ironman bike ride was 3hrs.

So far the route taking in some coast and minimising elevation change is:

Swords
Balbriggan
Drogheda
Termonfeckin(!)
Clogherhead
Anagassan
Castlebellingham
Dundalk
Carlingford

I'm not going for a land speed record, though fairly brisk 4-5hrs, I'd like to make a couple of stops for snacks and views...any suggestions?

Cheers TP
 

Sixmile

Guru
Location
N Ireland
I did a ride from Dublin to Belfast in September using something close to this route. I've have done the ride the other way too, which I found easier but from Swords to Drogheda you are on quiet enough roads since the traffic is now on the motorway. I remember the surface towards Balbriggan being particularly harsh as these roads aren't kept now that they are largely forgotten about.

I stopped at a decent wee bakery/café in Drogheda called Moorland café on West Street. Not particularly bike friendly but I found a decent lamppost nearby and used their plugs to charge up a few things. Nice grub. In Anagassan there is a nice little harbour with picnic benches. It was a cracker of a day when I was there and this place was lovely and peaceful. If you hang to the coast from Anagassan you'll travel down a quiet single track road into Blackrock, a quaint village south of Dundalk. It's worth riding through at least.

If you're looking to minimise elevation I wouldn't head to Carlingford. From Dundalk I haven't ever went round to Carlingford but on into Newry instead. It might not be in your plans but from Dundalk centre it's pretty much a traffic free run from Dundalk to Newry. Again the odd old wide road with a few cars and there is a cycleway from Blackgate to the Carrickdale Hotel. Once you get to Newry there is a superb flat 20 mile greenway linking Newry to Portadown along the old canal. Ok I've went too far.
 

jags

Guru
i live in Drogheda.
so better route imho when you leave balbriggan hear for laytown bettystown drogheda then on to baltray termonfeckin clogherhead annagassin castlebeligham dundalk road then swing right to blackrock some great cafs there good food head to carlinford to omeath flat as a pancake onto newry take the canal to portadown .
 
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