The Dingle Safari - September 2009
Some mates have been making an annual
pilgrimage to
Day 1
After a manic week of preparation, which included a suspension rebuild after discovering my TTR’s shock linkage had seized, four of us set off at 6pm on Friday 4 September 2009 in Olly’s Fiat van with one bike inside and three on a trailer.
We went from
Two sleeping beauties on the ferry. I didn't realise I was a mouth breather but I am gonna blame it on a head cold.
After an 18 hour journey we rocked up at our B&B for the week – “Four Winds” in Annascaul - whose owners Kathleen and PJ O’Connor treated us like royalty for the week, despite returning from our adventures either dripping, very muddy or both!
The bikes and kit were quickly unloaded and, under leaden skies, we set off to get our wheels dirty in the peat! A good chance to test the very aggressive Mitas CO2 rear tyre that I had been advised as necessary for “bog hopping”.
From L to R – me (Brian – Yamaha TTR250), Olly our organiser and trail meister (Yamaha WR250F), Derek (vintage Honda XL185), and Adrian (Yamaha TTR250).
Some of the lanes close to the B&B were very
much like those at home in
Olly was keen to let me see what the mountains had in store so started off with a gentle one. The old road switch backed back and forth and was a mix of shale, rock, bog and mud:
After a few hours touring around we made good use of a handy “bike wash” near our B&B. When we got back after our day’s ride we would run the bikes through the bike wash and then, back at the van, we would oil chains, top up with fuel and do any maintenance ready for the next day’s riding.
After all the Goody Two-Shoes stuff it was in the showers and down to the local pub, the South Pole Inn, to drink them dry of Guinness and despoil the village maidens. Well, we did quite well on the first count but failed miserably on the second. The pub had a nice atmosphere, delightful (gotta be careful coz the missus might read this) twin blonde barmaids, excellent grub and an entertaining kitten who they couldn't keep out the pub and who took an instant liking to Derek. It was quite a steep walk back to the B&B which helped to settle the beer and grub before tucking up in bed for the night.
Day 2
The rain was falling heavily - the locals have
a different way of describing such weather and call it a “soft day”! We were
unable to ride so we managed to make breakfast last from 9am to midday whilst
being entertained by stories by Olly’s mates who had travelled down from
The sea was angry and the coast run around the peninsula impressive.
One of my favourite memories of the
Messing about in the “soft” Dingle rain. This is a statue of the famous Fungie the dolphin.
An ancient beehive stone hut – the sign says 2 Euros to go in…..
Day 3
The weather was a bit better but still a tad overcast. Olly started us off with an easy climb to the top of the mountain in the following pic.
Getting there….
Where’s Wally? Spot Derek trying to hide himself and the XL behind a low wall. I have added a pointer in case you missed him!
The views from the trig point at the top were awesome – but better facing the opposite way!
What goes up must come down. If you got the
line wrong the descent became a bit tricky and claimed a few victims. Here is
Another view from about halfway down with Derek and I about ready to launch off the edge.
Olly decided at this point that we were ready for some tougher stuff so took us back near the B&B and headed up into the mountains via a very dark lake and some technical going.
Some video footage of our efforts here:
Halfway up with a view back over the black lake. The pics don’t do the scale of the place justice.
Derek decided to entertain us with some
freestyle trick upside down riding – all very amusing – for us….. This pic was
taken just after I had freed his boot from the side stand! I delayed long enough
for
There were some boggy crossings even at the top of the mountain which required care and a bit of assistance on occasions. We worked well together as a team and I was getting all the advice from the old hands as we ploughed our way through.
The following video shows how something that looks simple enough could catch an unwary rider out.
After some more tricky bog and stream crossings
we went over the hill top onto what looked like a goat track down the mountain
side. It started off with stunning views of a famine village from about 1,000
feet up. The Irish Famine of 1845-49, was caused by the potato blight and a
population of nearly 8 million shrank to 6.5 million. A million people died,
either of hunger or the accompanying "famine fever." The rest emigrated, some to
die in "coffin ships" or on arrival in
When we went over the mountain edge,
As a vertigo sufferer this should have been a nightmare for me but the concentration needed to stay upright and on the track seemed to overcome the vertigo but not the fear of dropping off the edge! The pic below shows a particularly hairy bit where a rocky outcrop meant going closer to the edge than desired. Best not to give it a handful of throttle here then!
A welcome breather on the way down. Olly doesn’t fear heights so was quite happy wandering about near the precipice! For some reason the chorus of Grandmaster Flash’s song The Message kept running through my head – “Don’t push me ‘cuz I’m close to the edge. I’m trying not to lose my head.”!
A slippery stream crossing about halfway down. The black slime was the worst!
Big smiles as we came off the mountain in one piece.
Sadly the heavy rain returned and we needed a pit stop for some hot chocolate! They are acting for the camera by the way. Well, maybe not Derek who had managed to dive headfirst into a stream back on the mountain helping me get my TTR across – so that’ll be my fault then….. He had been riding with more water inside his clothing and boots than outside!
Day 4
Another “soft” day and, as our gear was still wet from the previous day, we went sight seeing again in the van.
With a name like this you can understand why this Hostel had closed.
Day 5
We made sure that we only rode legal trails
but, unlike in the
This was the only road sign I saw but it was good enough for me as it led to some stunning mountain trails.
We went back up the route we used on Day 3. Here are some pics from different view points.
The weather had brought out the midges and anywhere we stopped where there wasn’t a breeze we soon had our own little cloud of the pesky beasts. It was either Olly’s after shave attracting them or just our natural manly body odour. It meant our rest periods lasted a little less than at any other time during the holiday…..They were just a nuisance to me but Adrian’s face was covered in bites – he must have been tastier due to his unique diet of nothing but tinned Lidl’s tuna and sweet corn mix and warm water to drink!
We kept within sight of each other as, despite
reminders, we had all forgotten our Rambliar’s whistles – essential in
attracting attention if you are lying trapped under a stalled bike out of view
of your riding companions! All the more important for
A long climb to the next peak followed. The bog leprechauns were out to get Derek again and succeeded as you will see. Sadly it brought about a very bad case of TRT (Trail Riding Tourettes) and we were glad not to have brought anyone along of tender years to hear the oaths…
Video of us climbing through the rocks and heather trying to avoid the boggy stuff.
Decisions, decisions. Follow the rocky path or ride the smoother heather to the side of the path with its hidden hazards?
One happy (and relieved) bunny!
You can just about see my companion’s bikes in the distance. I was beginning to get worried about getting left behind and lost at this stage!
On the way to the ridge we rode through an area which was infested with wicked tyre-slicing rocks. The pic shows the bigger ones but there were hundreds more small ones ready to catch a rider out.
An unusual hard flat surface with “peat hags” in the background.
Olly promised boggy going and we got it. I was very very glad to have the CO2 tyre helping me at this point on the trail ride.
The long clumps of grass masked hidden dangers. Here I got caught out by a deep water course cutting across my chosen route.
The ride to the top was rewarded by stunning views although it was probably good that I hadn’t realised that we were riding on a trail only a few yards from the precipice.
We descended from the mountain and on to an old Pass road that had been left to deteriorate following construction of a tarmac road on an easier route. This old road was dead straight and had some very boggy bits which were passable being covered by rushes which easily took the weight of bike and rider without breaking through.
I got caught out on another slippery stream crossing. Now what did Olly tell me about avoiding black slimy rocks?
A welcome break for lunch in a Dingle back street café. If you ever make the trip over then I can thoroughly recommend the fish chowder which is served with a couple of hunks of soda bread – lovely! Sadly no pasties and I never did find out what the Irish equivalent was.
The weather was by now perfect and we enjoyed a trip to the coast where the breakers were kicking up a mist which drifted inland. This didn’t affect us up on the mountains.
Olly finished the day by taking us for a play on the local beach where vehicles are allowed. It reminded me of the beach clip in On Any Sunday. The pic below shows the others disappearing into the distance. Fantastic!
One great memory is of a drag race between the
TTRs. Neck and neck up to 4th gear
and then I left
Returning up the beach after a happy hour playing. How can you tell I had enjoyed myself?
Back at the B&B we made good use of the self-catering facilities where Olly cooked up a storm whilst still in his riding gear, knee pads and all.
After a very filling savoury mince and rice dish, it was off down the pub to check the Guinness was still as good as the night before…..
Day 6
Probably my favourite day’s riding of the holiday. We loaded the van and trailer and motored over to the Killarney area. I have got to say that the roads were rubbish and we needed to regularly check we still had the bikes on the trailer!
We started the day with a lovely long trail (The Old Kenmare Road) which included all types of going, mud, stones and gravel with some lovely stream crossings.
It didn’t take long for the trouble to start at the first sleeper crossing!
Did you note the TTR parked up on the other side having made it easily over the sleeper crossing? I just can’t understand why the others made such a meal of it!
View from the top. The TTR was an ideal bike for this sort of trail riding and the only issue I had was breaking an indicator and damaging the “unbreakable” rear number plate in one of my many “get offs”. The MITAS CO2 rear tyre worked a treat getting me through the soft stuff without getting stuck once.
Video of river crossing – not difficult but just keeps you alert.
Another view from the other end of the trail – absolutely beautiful.
My first view of the lovely Gap of Dunloe. It didn’t matter that it was tarmac as it was such a joy to ride with its twists and turns and superb views.
The “stairway to heaven” trail which had us climbing up out of the valley via a lovely old road that hair-pinned us to the top.
View from the top.
Derek having a well-earned rest.
After returning to the van we changed and loaded the van for the last time.
Day 7
Our last day in the Emerald Isle but the bikes are already loaded so we enjoyed a long leisurely breakfast chatting to our hosts. After about the third pot of tea and rack of toast we reluctantly finished clearing our rooms and packing the van and set off for another18 hour journey home but this time the run to Rosslaire was in bright sunlight. But not before checking that Derek hadn’t smuggled a certain cute black kitten on board……
A bit of sight seeing on the way home. This was a stop in historic Macroom. The Irish seem to love painting their buildings in vibrant colours.
The “famine ship” - a living monument to
Olly negotiated a good deal on the B&B as we
stayed a few extra days rather than move on to another location but the food and
beer was expensive compare to the
The week (Friday to Saturday) cost me just shy of £600 which for, potentially, 6 days riding in a first world country isn’t too bad!
A superb week’s holiday with good mates, excellent trail riding, super food (and Guinness!), and lovely local people. We seemed welcome wherever we went. Strangely, we didn’t see another trail bike the whole time we were there.
Thanks to Olly for organising everything and Adrian and Derek for being such good travelling companions!
Brian Sussex
September 2009