clairedavieswriter

When we got up this morning, the wind was howling through Bernard’s spokes outside. And no matter how slowly we ate our breakfast, there was no putting off the inevitable (I’ll leave you to guess which way we were headed):

The first part of the route looked demanding enough without a headwind. Plus, I had serious doubts about Guillaume’s assurances that it was all tarmac

In a moment of uncharacteristic masochism, Jon decided to ignore these obvious challenges and join me ‘as far as the top of the second hill’. The first one turned out to be the toughest. If you squint, you’ll see Midge way down in the valley, in the centre of the shot.

Happily, Guillaume was right about the surface, and setting aside the hills and the wind, it was another glorious day to be on a bike.

At times, the scenery reminded me of Lancashire, Cumbria and Scotland. Unlike those places, there was no sign of any deer on the moors. Grouse seemed to be the sacrificial game of choice: we saw a rearing business on our way up.

And when we got to the top, Jon seemed quite chipper at the prospect of doing it all again in reverse

That sign behind him was something of a surprise, and the added graffiti was close to iconic:

I later discovered that there was indeed a tunnel out there on that desolate moor:

When energies flagged, there was also a well-placed rock:

On which I enjoyed another seasonal snack, and even fresh coffee

Other highlights included a brief encounter with a trio of locals (what’s the Gaelic for ‘Mexican standoff’?)

A fine example of a lenticular cloud:

And one of those joys of foreign travel: noticing differences in road signs. I particularly enjoyed the olde worlde drama in this one:

And this brave attempt to keep ‘DANGEROUS’ between the lines:

I was sorry that I couldn’t follow this one

But this one just left me wondering (there isn’t a letter missing – it was the same on the other side). Ironically, the People’s Millennium Forest provided no toilets

And finally, while I obviously disapprove of the sentiment, I feel credit must be given to whoever invested such effort into the careful adulteration of this sign

Tonight, we’re in a conventional campsite just outside Killarney. Bernard has packed a bucket and spade in his panniers: tomorrow we’re taking a day off to explore the coast. But will it be the Dingle Peninsula or the Ring of Kerry? Stay tuned to find out.