Everything you need to know about cycling in Co. Kerry, Ireland
Day 5, the first of the wet days of the challenge and I literally got soaked wet. I ended up doing nearly 13 miles and was very glad to get home. I headed for Ardfert, and came back to Tralee via The Spa.
It wasn't quite as bad as this but it felt like it.
Route was as follows:
Sunshine today so got out this evening and did a beautiful 18 leisurely miles. Headed off on the road towards Castleisland and turned right a few miles before it, coming back onto the Farranfore road and back to Tralee. Finding the challenge straightforward so far. My legs were tired from yesterday’s race but the sunshine made it really easy to head out.
Route was as follows:
Today was day 3 of the challenge and I competed in the 46th Annual John Drumm Cup held in Currow. The race was three laps of a nearly ten mile circuit (see route below) and it totalled 29 miles. I was competing in the A4 category which had a big enough field of nearly 50 riders.
Drumm Cup Race Jersey and Number
Managed 12 miles on the Mountain bike and took it easy in preperation for the Drumm Cup race tomorrow in Currow. Today’s route was around the Kerries, Blennerville and Caherleheen and back into town via the Lee river pathway which looked beautiful in the sunshine and did not feel like I was in Tralee.
Lee river walkway
Route was as follows:
You’d think I would be used to it by now but legs were like lead on the road tonight. I would know how this guys feels if I were lucky enough to be second and that close to the finish line with the winner but got dropped about 5k from the end of the spin tonight. Ah well sure there’s always the next time I suppose.
Dont like loosing
I have drawn up a draft of my own personal cycling calendar for events that I hope to do in 2011. There may be some events that crop up over the year that aren’t in this list that I hope to get around too.
I went mountain biking with a few mates to Ballyhoura on Saturday. It was my first real attempt at mountain biking on trails and off of the road and I have to say that I loved every second of it. Getting there from Tralee was a fair journey but well worth it. Advice route wise it to concentrate on getting to Kilmallock, from there it is straightforward enough to find.
Ballyhoura (Image from CometoCork.ie)
Having cycled the Annual Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle for the last 12 years, I am feeling like I am starting from scratch again this year as this is the first time I will be cycling it on a mountain bike. Cycling on a mountain bike compared to a lightweight racer will mean that I will have to rethink how I am going to train for this event in order to have as enjoyable a day as what I’m used to. Cycling on a mountain bike means that I will be moving much slower than if I was on my racer because of the excess weight of the bike and the rolling resistance it has on the road.
A winter's morning in Killarney
This image was taken on Sat 23rd of January looking down on the town of Killarney. It was a morning that was filled with frost and also fear due to the bitter cold weather. 5 of us were cycling and decided to stick to the main roads for safety reasons. We stopped at this point for the usual half way banana and mis-truths about how many miles we have done in the past week, even though the training miles usually show in the legs well before the half way point, especially on the road from Faranfore into Killarney which is up and down and fast. We were all glad to have headed out despite the weather and arrived safely back in Tralee.
