Belfast to Cork - anyone ridden it?

not-another-hillǃ

Hi All,

I was involved in a plane crash in Cork earlier this year which killed 6 people and I've used my road bike to get back to fitness this year.
I'm looking to cycle from Belfast to Cork next year to raise money for charity, but have no idea of a route, the weather, the mountains (??!!) etc
Has anyone done this route? Obviously, I'd like to stay off the main roads if possible and I reckon I can do the distance (250km-ish) in about 4 days

Any help,advice,guidance will be greatly appreciated......oh, and I'll be back on next year for some sponsorship!!!!

Thanks
Mark

GyatsoLa

There are potentially a lot of different routes - I did Cork to Dublin in July, some pics and route info here:

http://thelongacre.wordpress.com/2011/0 ... july-2011/
http://thelongacre.wordpress.com/2011/0 ... 011-day-2/
http://thelongacre.wordpress.com/2011/0 ... lin-day-3/

I'd recommend the route I took as it takes in a lot of different counties and avoids most of the main roads - three days is fine for it, you could do it in three at a squeeze. For Belfast to Dublin you could hug the coast (I've never done it), or swing in through Meath. There is an official route along the border, the Tain Trail, which is quite nice, it meaders through the borderlands.

I'd recommend getting the official Ordnance Survey Road atlas for the Republic, it shows the minor road network better than other ones, better for planning routes. I find that the 'walk' option on googlemaps is also quite good for route planning (it tends to use the minor road network, which is best for cycling.

Good luck with it!

not-another-hillǃ

Thanks for the info....I'll hunt out that OS map..

Out of interest is it better to go north, from Cork to Dublin? Is the prevailing wind behind you?

I'd like to go north to south if possible as this was the route the plane took and I'd like to follow that...

Thanks again

Mark

LangerDan

Not-another-hill! wrote:

Thanks for the info....I'll hunt out that OS map..

Out of interest is it better to go north, from Cork to Dublin? Is the prevailing wind behind you?

I'd like to go north to south if possible as this was the route the plane took and I'd like to follow that...

Thanks again

Mark

The winds are usually South Westerly most of the time so you'd probably end up with a headwind for much of a trip from Belfast to Cork.

BTW,Belfast to Cork is closer to 450km than the 250km you mentioned above.

Best of luck with your trip.

not-another-hillǃ

Thanks.....I meant 250 miles, not km!!!!