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Ireland End-to-End 2025 – Day 2: Kealkill to Killarney, 65.2k, 683m climbed
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…
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Ireland End-to-End 2025 – And we’re off! Mizen Head to Kealkill, 55.8k, 523m climbed
It has not always been easy to mark the beginning of my end-to-end rides. For Luxembourg I had to make do with a fence post in a forest. Ireland on the other hand is very straightforward. There’s even a handy sign: And another one for the more geographically minded: Many words spring to mind to…
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Ireland End-to-End 2025 – Getting There..
Well this was unexpected – the sunshine, not the bloke sitting at the table. The Irish Sea has a fearsome reputation, but she laid out a blue carpet for us today. And the sun was still shining when we came ashore three hours later. We appreciated the welcome as much as Midge enjoyed the smooth…
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Ireland End-to-End 2025 – How to spend St Patrick’s Day
The birds are nesting, the earth is warming under our feet and Bernard is itching for his next adventure. Just as well then, that I have A Plan. And what better way to spend St Patrick’s Day than fine tuning a route through Ireland? So now I can tell you that, starting from Mizen Head…
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Postscript – Two hundred lambs?
I’m sure you’ve been wondering whatever became of the hapless British man we came across in Burgos, attempting to source 200 lambs via our hotel receptionist (‘Dos cientos corderos? Madre mía, son muchos corderos’).Today, in the market in Bilbao, the story came full circle. Though it seems he might still be a few lambs short
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The Last Post – Portuguese Lessons
So what did we learn from our passage through Portugal? I don’t like to start with a negative, but from our vantage point I’m afraid the most obvious point to make is that cycling in Portugal isn’t for the faint hearted. Not because of the terrain (although that also tested our cardiac capabilities), but the…
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Almost Journey’s End: Cevide to Ourense – 54.6k, 812m climbed
Our task for today was simple on paper: nip across the border and ride the relatively short distance to Ourense. In reality it wasn’t quite so straightforward to leave Cevide. The options were either retracing our steps back into Portugal, which didn’t appeal, or crossing the bridge and taking one of two footpaths up to…
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Valença to Cevide – 51.2k, 548m climbed
Portugal end-to-end is complete! Since leaving Faro, Team Bernard have pedalled 833.3 kilometres and climbed 8,939 metres in 13 days, to reach the most northerly point in the country. As international border crossings go, this one is pretty low key: E is for España, P for Portugal. When such things mattered, the Portuguese customs officer…
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Tamel to Valença – 65.6k, 1,024m climbed
Exciting news, folks. See that over there? That’ll be Spain. And Bernard finally got to have a paddle, in the river Minho that marks the international border So does that mean you’ve finished Portugal? I hear you ask. Very nearly, but not quite. The most northerly point of the country is still a day’s ride…
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Porto to Tamel – 71.7k, 541m climbed
There was much to enjoy in Porto, particularly once the weekend crowds had dispersed. We found relatable graffiti. We loved the city’s iconic tall, thin, tile-fronted buildings with wrought iron balconies. And its terracotta roof-scape. But, tempting though it was, we felt two days might not be sufficient time to enjoy a Tantric Love Spa.…
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