Doolin to Galway June 8, 2016

I have been trying not to start each day’s blog entry with something like WOW or ZOWIE!  However I really feel like that I should be doing more of it and today was no exception.

After a hearty full Irish breakfast at Nellie Dee’s B&B we were off.  There was a low hanging mist in the air and the tops of hills were shrouded in fog.  However it was pretty clear that this was going to burn off as soon as the sun got a little higher.  Patrick the host of the AirBnB where we are stay in Galway had arranged to meet us and ride with us.  So we were looking forward to meeting him.

 

I should mention that Patrick D had fixed his rear wheel during the night and was rolling with us.  I don’t know what he did, maybe sprinkle some of his magic leprechaun dust on it but things were looking good.  So we are down the road to a detour where we are diverted down a secondary road.  Jos sprints off yelling follow me.  However as he has no maps on his Garmin so he has no idea.  The rest of us have maps and can see the route on the map so we stop at the top of a hill and wait patiently until he rides to the bottom finds out we have not followed then rides back up.

About 20 kms out we meet Patrick our host and he leads us down the road to Ballyvaghen where we meet Agnes and Sally for coffee.   After coffee and a pastry we are off again to where Patrick leads us off the course to this beautifully preserved abbey which was built in 1142.  One area of the walls still has the original ox blood plaster on it.  He knew loads about the history and the abbey so it was a great experience. 

We continue down the road to lunch and have sandwiches in a park beside the docks in Kinvarra.  The tide was out and you could see the boats sitting on the mud flats.  We had a great time enjoying the sun and telling bike stories. Patrick from Galway head back to his car in Ballyvaughen.

After lunch we had about 30 kms to go but it was already around 1:30 so time to hustle on in.  I had laid out a back roads route into Galway which avoided all the major routes and the Garmins made following it dead easy.  About 12 kms from our destination a person who worked for Jos many years ago now runs an upscale baby shop so Jos stopped in to see her.  What a coincidence that we would be riding past her shop. Ken, Patrick, and I continued on.  About  8 kms out Patrick flats that same rear tire.  I guess the magic dust had worn out.  So Ken and I continued on to go get Agnes and the car. About 1.7 kms further we spot a taxi and send it back for Patrick.  In the meantime Jos comes along and fixes Patrick’s tire good enough to get him to a bike shop.  At house where we are staying Ken and I are worried as there is no Patrick.  So Agnes and I drive back to find him.  We get there and no Patrick.  When we get back we learn what had happened.  The bike shop took the wheels apart and replaced the crap rim tape which was causing the flats with some quality rim tape and put two new tires on the bike. Patrick is now on a solid machine and looking good. 

We ordered pizza in and sat around drinking a few beers.  What a day. 

Terry