July 1, 2015
Waterford to Dungarvan, via the Copper Coast
Finally really on the way.
Ouch! Ouch! Saddlesore and a bit sunburned, that hazy sun was a bit stronger than it felt. A bit of lazy morning, drinking coffee and talking before the off. Today it really felt like pulling anchor and going, no more friends to rely on, from now on we were on our own, heading into country that we wern’t familiar with, wild camping etc. I know that this is Ireland and not some foreign place but still felt like heading off into the unknown. Still the day was fine and a nice flat run to Tramore the nearest sea side town, from here the plan was to try to stay close to the coast. Tramore is a busy seaside resort, famous for it’s huge beach and surf, there was lots of bustle along the beach when we arrived. There is a very, very steep hill up from the beach, so lowest gear and some heavy huffing and chuffing thankfully got us up there. It would have been a blow to our egos if we had to get off and push in the middle of town. We stopped at the Guillamene swimming spot and had a dip for old times sake, we used to swim here almost daily when we lived in Waterford. Once a men only swimming spot??? It was packed with families and kids jumping of the rocks, it’s a great place to swim, no sand, (I hate sand), it was very refreshing and I was glad to jump in and quickly back out, Skin who is impervious to cold water spent ages in there, but looked a light shade of blue when she emerged. After that we had a really nice run along the coast, it was a beautiful day, and the villages of Bunmahon, interesting, if somewhat weird stone exhibition, Annestown and Stradbally rolled by. This is Waterford’s Copper Coast, once a copper mining area, still some old mine works and chimneys visible, now an UNESCO global geo Park. This is magical cycle touring country, little harbours like Boat Strand are great stops to rest and watch the action. Stradbally is an old estate village and has lovely houses, there was a nice spot just past the village where a small river flows into the sea and we thought about camping there. There were a few people setting up a tent, however, when we saw the amount of beer they had brought we decided to push on.
The next two hours, whilst nice cycling, were a bit frustrating, the land sloped steeply down to the sea and there were no camping options. We eyed up a bit of freshly mowed grass beside the road but it was a bit public. Eventually on the outskirts of Dungarvan we found a bit of secluded public land just off the road and set up camp. It turned out that it was a shortcut that local people walked on but no-bothered us. A we cooked dinner and passed out.
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Today's ride: 55 km (34 miles)
Total: 138 km (86 miles)
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