Fethard on the Sea to Waterford

June 4, 2025

We slept well and had plenty of time for sleep since we ate early - when you can start dining at 6:30 rather than 9 pm (as in Spain) you have more time for sleep. We had time to have a cup of tea/coffee in our room and I started working on the journal. Breakfast was downstairs and cooked to order and was very good. I had the “mini Irish”, which was one egg, one piece of bacon (cut differently than in the US with some extra pork belly fat on it) a small black pudding and a small white pudding and one sausage (which I didn’t eat). Dave, knowing my historical dislike of black pudding from years ago, suggested I ask for hash browns instead of the puddings but I rejected that idea. Trying stuff you don’t think you like is part of the process of broadening your horizons, and I feel that is the point of travel. And indeed, the puddings, both black and white, were much better than I remembered, with a crunchy texture like crispy hash browns. The white pudding tasted like it had oatmeal or grain in it and when I looked it up afterwards I learned white pudding does not include blood, and has oatmeal or barley in it, along with fat or suet. Live and learn.

We had a short day - 35 km - complicated by a ferry to cross the Barrow River at km point 22 with the additional need to visit a hearing aid store in Waterford, our destination.

The ride was seriously windy but we moved in and out of the wind enough to make it tolerable, plus there was no rain at all. We had all our layers on as it was chilly with a dark cloud cover. We rode around the Hook Peninsula and rode through Duncannon, a resort town, until we came to the Ballyhook ferry, a small car ferry that hauls cars, bikes, and pedestrians across the Barrow River in 10 minutes. It just goes back and forth all day and is very efficient. For 3 euros each we saved a boatload (pun intended) of riding to get to Waterford.

After we landed we had a pleasant ride up the side of the hill, which was wonderful both because there was no traffic and because the hill blocked the wind. We had pretty bad traffic after that and the last 5 or 6 km into Waterford was an adrenaline rush dealing with fast traffic and narrow roads. There were very few stretches of cycle lanes in Waterford and the cars don’t give the same deference as they do, say, in France. Dave enjoys it more than I do. I acknowledge it's kind of fun, but even when I am in the middle of it I think: don’t think about what you are doing because then you will freak out, just keep doing it. Today I managed my new right-sided rear view mirror better so I could see cars behind me, but it continues to be an extra stress.

I had updated our route so that we could go directly to a hearing aid store - we wanted to find out the scoop on the hearing aid charger situation as quickly as we could. We arrived at Hidden Hearing on the Mall in Waterford at 1:40 to learn they close between 1 and 2 for lunch. This gave us time to have a coffee and split an apple tart at a coffee shop on the Mall and when we saw some outdoor stores we decided to do some impromptu shopping. This resulted in a purchase by Dave of a long-sleeved Under Armor top. He only had one long-sleeved top with him and was tired of it.

So, my theory on bike travel is that when you really need help, someone always helps you - and so it was at Hidden Hearing. I waited outside with the bikes while Dave explained our hapless drama and the need for a new charger to Gavin. He was lovely, and impressed that Dave had the latest version of Oticon hearing aids (we think they must come to the US quicker than to Ireland). Apparently wanting to buy a charger but not the hearing aids was a weird request and not one they were really set up to do. Usually people come in, order the new hearing aids and charger and they are delivered at a later time. Turns out you have to be a current patient of Hidden Hearing before ordering parts. But Gavin had just ordered a few sets to have in house in case someone comes in and wants them right away. He was willing to split up a set and sell us the charger by itself but the cost was 300 euros. We had looked on line last night and saw that was the going rate so this did not surprise us. We had anticipated it might require us to place an order and had slotted our two night stay in Dublin in 2 weeks as a possible place where the charger could be mailed. But that would require checking with our B and B etc. and then worrying about whether it would arrive in time. So, 300 euros and having the issue resolved was about as good as we were going to get and frankly, better than we expected. The only way the transaction would work was for Dave to sign up as Gavin’s patient so he had to fill out a bunch of paperwork and deal with the complexities of addresses (in Ireland) etc. But we walked out of there an hour later with the needed device. As an aside, Dave really likes his aids and feels it makes a difference.

We then rode over to the Tower hotel, our place for the night, the hotel being named after the adjacent building known as Reginald’s Tower. It is the oldest civic building in Ireland and we had a great view of it from our room. Waterford has a long history as one of the earliest Irish towns but we didn’t get to see much of it (other than the mall and the waterfront.) We checked in, unpacked and worked out in the small but okay work out space (called a Leisure Center) which was pretty busy. Our knee issues are forcing us to get back to doing some stretching and strengthening every day. (Our trainer John in Bend even sent us some exercises). We are chagrined by our failure to keep up and I hope we can manage some time in our schedule to do at least a few minutes every day. It helps.

Partial view of Reginald's Tower from our hotel window with a honking big lifting crane and barge lurking in the background.

We are right in the center of town with a great view of the River Suir and ate at a Japanese place across the street from the hotel. It was pretty humorous as it was supposed to be a quiet night for the staff but a huge group of American nursing students showed up for teppanyaki which raised the roof of the place. We talked to Ann and Lisa, who were with the group; Ann is graduating in December from nursing school from a University in Georgia (with plans to get a masters’ degree afterwards) and Lisa was in charge of the group.

Lisa (left) and Ann with their group in the background being entertained by the teppanyaki chef.

Tomorrow is a big day: 75 km to Ardmore so we hope to get a good night’s sleep and be on the road early,

Today's ride: 35 km (22 miles)
Total: 1,138 km (707 miles)

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