A Day in Dublin

Tuesday, May 29th
Dublin, Ireland

Spent yesterday afternoon wandering the streets of Dublin looking for cycling maps, fuel, food, and checking out the sites. I love all the old architecture here. It's also got great hippy fashion on the young folks...very cool. ANd they are so progressive. Bikes for rent at kiosks all around town. You pay an annual rental of about $13 and then pick up a bike when you need it, pedal to where you want to go...and if it's less than 30 minutes, it was free. If you need longer, turn it in and get another or pay a small fee to keep it. There's a chip in the bike, so don't bother stealing it. ANd they've got your credit card number.

The grocery store didn't give you a bag unless you asked for it. Most dont ask

Today after Fuat spent the morning putting Dew Drop together (my nickname for his bike), we went to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells, ancient Irish medieval gospel manuscripts on display. Amazing to view. They are under glass and the pages are turned every couple of days to reduce wear. Upstairs there were 20,000 of the library's oldest books in a room 65 meters long. Such a feeling of ancient-ness. There's such history here! The afternoon we spent on a Free Tour. The guide works for tips only. They're in many of the cities in Europe. Check out TripAdvisor to find them. He did a 4 hour monologue of the history of Ireland as we moved about the city's oldest quarters. Living history. AMazing! There's so much I never knew. Great way to start to understand the country we're about to bike around.

We've also planned out a route across to Galway. That should take us a couple of days going down back roads through such towns as Leixlip, Kinnegad, Athlone, and Coracoolia. We have a hardcopy map and an app on both my iPhones to help us navigate. But they don't label the streets in this country much. I had a hell of a time getting here from the airport and I only had to ride on 4 streets. But no names, so confusing. Had to ask directions 3 times. But it's a great way to meet the people. So as long as we know the next village we're trying to find, I'm sure we'll get lots of help!

So tomorrow we head out of Dublin and rain is expected...of course. Oh well. We'll manage somehow. I'm ready to get moving and see the countryside. Fuat's going through culture shock of the big city! And considering he lives in the rural Adirondacks, it's totally understandable. Too much traffic,too much noise, too many people.

But the food is good...had Shepard's Pie for dinner. Yum! With Yorkshire Pudding (which I call Popovers!)

And here's a view of our room at the hostel. (Remember, I can only post pics that I take with my phone, so my selection is limited. Someday I'll travel with a MacBook AIr and have all the technology I have at home.)



Lights out!


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My Box Weighs What?

87 lbs? But the limit is 70! I know that! I added up the parts. The box is too big to fit on any scale. Blaze 40, box 8, gear 15. Where's the other 20 lbs? Got me. $400 to go? Options? Other luggage box with rest of gear is 20 lbs under but packed to bursting! "Do you have a larger box?" ask I. Ok. Let's try repacking. Your box looks a bit bigger. Pulling stuff out of Blaze's box to get weight down. Putting everything in new box. Not gonna fit. Ouch! Idea!! Take one pannier (saddlebag) and stuff it with bulky stuff like sleeping bags, Blaze's cover, etc and carry that on with backpack. Confirm I'm good with gate agent. Yup. Box just works. Agent let plastic and empty packing boxes stay with Blaze even though she's still a few pounds over. And we're both going on an earlier flight so our connection won't be too tight in Newark. See. Everything works out just as it is supposed to.



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Blasting Off on Sunday

I realized when I posted that last post that not everyone knows what the plan is for this adventure.  Back in January, Fuat (the guy that joined me on my Pacific Northwest bike tour last summer) wrote to me and asked mentioned he was interested in cycling Europe if he had a companion.  "If you're asking, I'm considerin'!"  It doesn't take much for me to jump on an opportunity.  Today's mantra is say Yes unless there's a good reason to say No.  It opens so many more doors!


So we've been lightly planning a 4 month tour of northern Europe.  Lightly.  We know we're flying into Dublin this weekend.  And he has a return flight out of Dublin at the end of September.  That's all we know for sure.  Roughly the plan is to go to the west coast of Ireland then south around the tip.  Ferry over to southwestern England and then ferry to northern France.  Somehow we'll end up back in Dublin late September.  Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany are on the list.  Lots of TBD (to be determined).  I'm so glad he likes to travel that way, too.  The adventure unfolds in front of us:)

So what about my plans when Fuat leaves Dublin, you ask.  Up in the air.  If my hands don't get any worse, I'd like to fly to Cairns, Australia and cycle southward for 3 months.  Then on to New Zealand for another 3 months.  Then maybe stop in Hawaii on my way to the west coast.  I've thought about flying into Portland OR and biking south to San Diego, then east to St. Augustine (you'll recognize those cities are where my daughters live), then north to home.  So many options.  We'll just have to see what the Universe brings my way:))

It's been quite challenging planning for a trip that I don't know how long I'll be away for.  So I'm doing the planning for the longer trip and if I come home earlier...albeit.

What are the challenges?  Access to money, for one.  Taking care of my house, second.  And taking care of my car, third.  I luckily have 2 wonderful women renting out rooms in my house this time around. The gardens will be well maintained and the property enjoyed.  And a friend that is my rock when I travel is watching the mail and my car for me.  And overseeing any issues with the house.  Couldn't do these trips without his love and support.  Thank you, Dennis!!!!

So hopefully all the critical things have been addressed and anything missed can be managed from afar.  Life is getting too complicated, if you ask me.  And when I hit the road, everything becomes simple again...at least for me.

And to get Blaze to Europe, I had to build a box.  It's quite a box!  It's put together from 3 regular bike boxes and with bolts so I can disassemble in Dublin and store it for 4 months.  It all comes apart and will store in the bottom with the lid on top.  At least that's the plan.

So now I sit with only a couple of days left and trying not to think too much about anything and just enjoy these wonderful spring days in New York!

A tout a l'heure,

BagLady

Getting Ready

Testing! Testing!


New gadget testing! Because I'll be keeping my blog via my iPhone AND I have basal joint syndrome (which is getting worse) and I don't want to be thumbing for the next 4 months...I got a new gadget: a wireless keyboard that works with my iPhone. How cool is that? I'm using it right now and it works pretty well. I have some finger training to do.

This will be the first journey with another new gadget, my Goal Zero solar charger.

Now I'm just testing to see how the recording element of my iPhone works so that I might not even have to type anything at all. This means that I can dictate during the day and make corrections at night with my new keyboard. Wow! I'm impressed! This sure saves the thumbs!


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