Macroom to Glengarriff

June 9, 2025

Well, as previously reported I enjoyed my teapot in bed this morning. We are sleeping late these days. That is not a surprise for me, but at home Dave is up at 6 am but he is now trending to 7:30.

We had breakfast scheduled for 9 am. Irish places frequently ask us to book a time. In keeping with what we now think is customary, we got a continental breakfast at the buffet followed by a special order off the menu. This morning we picked the Bacon BAP, which we honestly had no idea what to expect. In this case it was a very large brioche bun sliced like a hamburger bun with hash browns, bacon (the Irish cut with some extra attached meat) and an egg in between. When we learned the brioche bun was large we asked for just one order to share and this was extremely puzzling to the server. "Don’t we want some pancakes or extra toast?" We assured her one BAP would do the trick. Being too much to comprehend, in the end the chef prepared two open face BAPs, so we had less bun but the same amount each of bacon, hash browns and eggs. I looked up a BAP and learned that BAP is the type of bread roll, larger than a standard bread roll and about half the size of a small loaf of bread with a soft airy interior and a crusty exterior. It allows for generous fillings like bacon, eggs and sausages. So, now we all know!

During breakfast we reviewed the route: it was projected to be 53 km to Glengarriff with 700 m in climbing. I could tell Dave is more nervous about his knee because this felt like a long day to him. In the past this would be right in our sweet spot. In addition, I told him there were no towns with any facilities on the way so we should stop at the local bakery on the way out of town and pick up a sandwich. He asked our server where the best bakery was and she wasn’t sure the bakery I had identified would have sandwiches. She offered to check with the chef to see if he could make something up for us and we readily agreed that would be great - but we assured her only ONE sandwich, please. After some amusing back and forth and her checking with the chef several times, we got a very large ham and cheese sandwich, a bag oof cheese and onion chips and, for good measure, a bag of roasted peanuts. At checkout we offered to pay for the lunch but the clerk assured us it was part of the breakfast! You just never know about that issue: We still have PTSD for the chastising we got by a breakfast server last year while smuggling out a very small sandwich at an Ibis in Toulouse!

We departed about 11 am, with the weather report predicting no rain, but high winds and dark clouds - hmm, what else is new?

So, this would have been a glorious ride had the weather prediction been even slightly accurate. Yesterday and today we were finally away from traffic and the road today climbed up to a ridge with a variety of road surfaces but the gravel, such as it was, was in good shape. We rode some serious up and down with what we assumed would be beautiful vistas - if only we could see them. At 1 pm it started to rain. We pulled over and donned our rain booties and Dave tried to get my hood positioned to stay up over my helmet. This turned out to be a fruitless effort: we were riding directly into the wind and on the descents my hood just immediately blew back. It was cold and wet enough that I donned one full winter glove on my left but had to use my regular cycling glove on the right. I bought special winter cycling gloves in Bend this spring. The fingers are supposed to function on one’s phone but they simply do not work, so I can’t wear one on my right hand if I want to work Komoot on my phone (which I do). So, my solution is to wear two different gloves, operating under the assumption that one cold hand is better than two.

Jill's right hand mostly exposed to the elements.

We talked about Dave cutting the fingers off the right hand of the winter glove; since I can’t use the gloves the way I want, I might as well give that a shot.

Today, towards the end of the ride, my right hand was freezing, to the point I started to have a hard time feeling my fingers to shift gears or to brake. The really long descent would have been fun, had it been a little warmer - and not raining!

The other challenge I am having with equipment is the mirror attached to the right side of my cycling glasses. I have a really hard time getting it lined up to see out of the right side. In additon, I don’t feel like I see as well with cycling glasses on as I do without. This is quite weird as I have minor near sightedness and I have prescriptive corrective vision cycling glasses. Notwithstanding that, I have never felt comfortable seeing the road with eyewear on. The fact that the mirror has to attach to glasses means I have to wear glasses on order to use the mirror. For the last week in Ireland I feel like my sight is just not as good. Today I told Dave I was bagging the whole setup. I rode without glasses with no easy way to see to the back or my right side. That actually was okay today because we didn’t ride in much traffic.

The ride today would have been a signature ride with better weather. Towards the end of ride we rode near the Beara peninsula where we are headed and we could see the sea and coast before dropping down to sea level. By that time I was freezing so there was not too much temptation to stop to smell the roses - or sheep, or whatever…

Gearing up for the rain ahead. Note the goofy mirror on my glasses. This arrangement that wasn't working well for Jill.

This view of the bay would have been beautiful on a less dreary day.

We arrived in Glengarriff around 3 pm. We had planned to stop somewhere and eat the beautiful chef-prepared sandwich on the road, but the rain and cold compelled us to do the whole 53 km without stopping - except for hood and bootie adjustments and a few nature breaks.

Accordingly, when we arrived in Glengarriff we were on the lookout for a pub or someplace to eat rather urgently. Glengarriff is a cute resort town with a lot of services, most of which are closed on Monday (and Tuesday, etc.). I had previously communicated with our b and b host, Mary, about open places on a Monday and she suggested Casey’s Hotel and Pub. We duly dismounted there and ran in to see if they would feed us. Unfortunately on Monday the kitchen doesn’t open until 4 pm. We were free to sit and drink in the pub for an hour and then they could feed us at 4 pm! Tempting as that was, a pint or two of Guinness on a totally empty stomach sounded like a really stupid idea so we proceeded down the street past three or four other very appealing establishments, all of which were closed. We came to a small open pizza place, went in and saw two small tables. Perfect, we said to the lady at the counter, we will happily eat pizza. No, she said, they are only open for pizza Wednesday to Sunday! We looked so crest-fallen and desperate that she said she could make us a baguette with raclette cheese, ham and gherkins. Sold, we said, and we will have a pint of beer with that. No, she said, they don’t serve beer. But, if we took our food down the street to the Blue Loo (I kid you not), they will let you eat food from the outside while you drink your Guinness.

So that is what we did. The raclette sandwich was warm and delicious and the Blue Loo, while not fancy, served its purpose of being warm enough inside and serving beer (and having a toilet - after all, being the Blue Loo).

An additional minor trauma occurred while Dave was parking his bike at the Blue Loo. He bumped his fender against a picnic table snapping off a piece of the front fender. A duct tape repair may be in order, but this is yet to be determined.

Nothing a little duct tape can't handle.

Our accommodation for the next two nights was at a b and b which was 2 km outside of Glengarriff. This was one of those decisions that made a lot of sense when planning and then turned out to be a pain in the neck. I don’t usually pick places outside of towns to stay, especially for two nights, because it’s not always convenient having to ride into town. However, when I booked Rugged Glen b and b, I erroneously envisioned glorious summer weather, at a place less expensive compared to places right in town, and with good reviews. Most importantly, Rugged Glen b and b advertised a washing machine! We could do our laundry the first night and since the town of Glengarriff itself did not have a laundromat this seemed a good choice.

Being the planner that I am, three days ago I sent our host Mary a message, reminding her we were on bicycles and letting her know we would need the washer the first night. And, wouldn’t you know it: Mary reported the washer is broken down and they are waiting for a part.

This bothered me more than it should have. We had missed a scheduled laundry stop in Waterford because our anticipated laundry time was taken up with dealing with the hearing aid charger replacement. And originally I had Cork as a possible laundry stop but at the last minute we decided to spend two nights in Ardmore rather than in Cork. Poor Mary was embarrassed and started sending us addresses of numerous other laundromats in Bantry and other nearby towns. Indeed if you had a car these were possibilities. She even offered to refund our stay if we decided to stay elsewhere, but at this point we were committed to Glengarriff due to our schedule. She then checked with the owner of a nearby campground, who said we could use the campground laundry if we had 2 euro coins. At some point about two days ago Dave and I just looked at each other and decided we would play it by ear. Maybe we would blow off another laundry stop or maybe not. I did some extra hand laundry that night at the Cliff House (which had a warm towel rack) and we called it good.

So, after our raclette sandwich and Guinness we did a few chores in Glengarriff before finding our b and b. I ran across the street to Casey’s (again) and booked a table for dinner for the following night, and Dave ran across the street to the Spar grocery and purchased a bottle of wine. We had decided given the bad weather and how tired we were that we would check in and spend the evening at our b and b. We still had an uneaten ham and cheese sandwich, a bag of chips and a bag of nuts and we thought with a bottle of wine we could make a dinner of it and hence avoid having to go back into town. Dave bought the most expensive bottle of wine in the market: 12.95 euros for a bottle of Chianti.

Locating Rugged Glen b and b turned out to be a challenge. Komoot had recognized the location when I planned the route - but placed it on the wrong street. Therefore we rode uphill on a very long driveway to a large fancy house with no signage and after a bit of inspection, decided this was not the place. We were happy that no one came out of the house with a shotgun. But I guess this is not America so we don't have to worry as much!

Google maps identified our destination as being on a different street so we proceeded as instructed. We got the right street but our b and b was up the hill sandwiched between two different campgrounds, and we did a bit of unplanned exploration of one campground before finding our b and b. The signage was a bit ambiguous, in our defense.

It was a typical but pleasant b and b, with good bike storage, and a larger than normal bedroom which was great given we were staying for two nights.

This shed was a bit tight, but secure and out of the elements.

Mary was nice and apologetic all over again about the laundry situation and we got settled and Dave immediately opened the bottle of wine. No tub but the water was very hot with good pressure - so no complaints. Dave successfully figured out how to watch the Dauphiné on the television and that’s pretty much what we did that evening, being in a bit of a coma. At some point we pulled out our dinner and enjoyed our ham and cheese sandwich and the peanuts. We would save a lot of money if we could dine like this every night. We were relieved not to have to ride into town.

Today's ride: 53 km (33 miles)
Total: 1,383 km (859 miles)

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Mike AylingMirrors - I have not seen a spectacles mounted mirror for many years.
My mirror is glued to the side of my helmet but it would cause problems when you moved from riding on the right ofthe road to the British/Irish left of the road.
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4 days ago

Lyle McLeodOh the ‘closed Monday’ … or whatever day you happen to be there …. stories! We’ve all had them, but they’re far funnier when you’re reading someone else’s. Looks like you’ve got good wet weather gear, essential for Ireland.
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4 days ago