Drying Laundry in the Rain

Sunday June 3rd
Rain!
34 miles and one flat...

Poured rain ALL night! Fuat's tent held up well and we were quite dry in the morning. We've also brought a tarp (one EZ Duzit found last spring when we were hiking the AT and gave to me - putting it to good use:)) and put it up to cool under. Worked well and made packing up in the rain a bit easier.

Most of the morning it was raining but not too heavy. I had to laugh when I saw many times laundry out on the line. Some of the houses are quite large (McMansions of Ireland), and I was thinking they'd do better to have one of those rooms as a drying room since it rains so much here. Even in Hawaii where it rains a lot, people would have places under cover to dry their laundry...especially since you just never knew when it would start raining and you might not be home to get it down.

Fuat had his first flat today when he hit a pothole. He's lucky he didn't go down. We were in a town and he was looking around and BAM! Thank goodness for The Cozy Kitchen for hanging in while he fixed it.

Cold and rainy is only tough when we stop. While biking it's those minor adjustments to keep my body from overheating: hood on..hood off...mitts on...mitts off...jacket zipped...jacket unzipped...pants rolled up...pants rolled down. I'm a busy woman!!!

Sitting now in pub having hot chocolate and Triffle & Custard & Cream. Yum!


Too bad the free wifi isn't working. Wifi is turning out to be hard to find. This is rural Ireland!

So no power and no wifi...BagLady disconnects...begrudgingly:(

Stopped for the night between Kiltormer and Mullagh, just southwest of Ballinasloe about the middle of the country (for anyone trying to follow us). We'd been wandering down all the small country roads we could find. They are so narrow, but there are few cars and the views are spectacular. Quaint Ireland! But we can't figure out where we are on the map(s) and often just turn according to the compass. No hurry. No place we have to be. We'll get to the west coast eventually:)

When Fuat said he was ready to look for a place, he had pulled into a building parking lot. We looked around and found a lane just past it that led to the grassy fields behind a Montessori school, The All Stars Montessori School, in fact. And there's a shelter for our bikes with benches for sitting and cooking. Bingo! Life doesn't get any better than this. Luckily tomorrow's a holiday or this wouldn't be such a good option.

Took a walk down the lane to see the sheep out grazing in the pastures. Just as I imagined Ireland would look. So pastoral! We have horses whinneying, sheep baaing, and cows mooing....ahhhh...bliss! So much nicer than last night's campground. What was supper, you ask? Reconstituted refried black beans on tortillas with slices of avocado, zucchini, red pepper, and cheddar cheese! With "digestive" biscuits for dessert with chamomile tea steeped right from the dried flowers we got at at tea shop.

Stopped to get some water late this afternoon and the guy in the little shop said he didn't think I sounded American. I said Thank You! I said as an American, I never heard anyone tell me that they liked my accent. He said, "and you're not going to hear it from me, either!" "Well, I do like your accent!", said I.

And it's time to get warm and comfortable for the night.

BagLady

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Longest Day Yet

Saturday. June 2nd
Campground (for the showers!) at Ballykeeran on the east side of Lough Lee (lake Lee) just north of Athlone.

Overcast till evening, then rain.

No pics on iPhone today, sorry.

Dual languages: English and Irish. Gaelic is the Irish word for Irish.

Major frustrations with power for charging cell phone etc. Battery pack of rechargeable batteries is not holding the charge it can get from either an outlet (Fuat has a great converter device) or my solar panels (if the sun ever shines again). It worked fine at home. I used it as much as I could to continue to test it. Sent an email to manufacturer and their customer service is usually great. Maybe they'll send me a new one here:).

Did 48 miles today. I can't seem to switch my bike computer to kilometers. Don't know why and it's the least of my worries.

Lovely ride through rolling countryside. The houses are all built of cinder block then stuccoed over. The window frames are beautiful orangey brown wood. Wood is scarce so used little. Had to ask directions a lot but everyone is so helpful and happy. Even the drivers are patient and courteous sometimes having to hang back behind us a bit till its clear for them to get around. We saw a tractor trailer today that filled its half of the road. Two could not have passed each other!

In a campground tonight just for the showers. Had it not been late with rain just starting we could have showered and biked on to camp for free. Why pay for this noise? It's a 4 day weekend: Bank's Holiday.

Big thing here this week was the vote for an EU bailout. There were signs everywhere for both Yes and No. Yes won.




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"Lovely Weather"

Friday June 1
Ballivor, west of Trim
Overcast but dry..."lovely weather"




Narrow roads. No shoulders. Have I said that before? This cycling is not for the faint of heart:). You have to just trust that the drivers will not kill you. Some roads today were not wide enough for two cars to pass without them both going into the ditches. And large farm equipment and buses were on that road!
We visited the largest castle in Ireland. Built around 1200's by Hugh de Lacy. Defense design. Castle inside walls. Moat outside. Wooden stairs up to 2nd story main floor would be burned when attacked by Irishman because the dude who owned it was French.

We're not making much distance but we're not in any hurry. Besides neither of us trained for this so we're cycling into shape.

I could sure use a shower though. Tonight we're camped in the front of a vacant factory. Lovely grassy lawns. No one seems to mind. Right in town across from houses the kids wVed at us:)

Tomorrow night we're hoping to be in a campground outside of Athlone. Showers, I hope!

Haven't been in a pub for a Guiness yet (for Cheryl, of course) other than for water. We're not much for drinking.

Lights out. BagLady



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"Lovely Weather"

Friday June 1
Ballivor, west of Trim
Overcast but dry..."lovely weather"




Narrow roads. No shoulders. Have I said that before? This cycling is not for the faint of heart:). You have to just trust that the drivers will not kill you. Some roads today were not wide enough for two cars to pass without them both going into the ditches. And large farm equipment and buses were on that road!
We visited the largest castle in Ireland. Built around 1200's by Hugh de Lacy. Defense design. Castle inside walls. Moat outside. Wooden stairs up to 2nd story main floor would be burned when attacked by Irishman because the dude who owned it was French.

We're not making much distance but we're not in any hurry. Besides neither of us trained for this so we're cycling into shape.

I could sure use a shower though. Tonight we're camped in the front of a vacant factory. Lovely grassy lawns. No one seems to mind. Right in town across from houses the kids wVed at us:)

Tomorrow night we're hoping to be in a campground outside of Athlone. Showers, I hope!

Haven't been in a pub for a Guiness yet (for Cheryl, of course) other than for water. We're not much for drinking.

Lights out. BagLady



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Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Thursday May 31
Enfield Ireland
Rain



Woke up to rain. Surprise! Surprise! But it's harder to take when you're not yet in the touring rhythm. So we, after much angst, decided to stay put. Packing up in the rain is such a challenge and it didn't stop until the afternoon. By that time,why bother? So what do you do on a raining day on a cycle tour? Fuat says he's always wondered. Now he knows! Hang in the tent: reading and sleeping...lots! A local stopped by and since my side of the tent is always open (just like my windows at home) and faces the park roadway which is just 10 feet away, he chatted us up. He's Brian, the local barber. He loaned us his keys to the bathrooms. They were vandalized just last week so everything is locked up. You need a swipe card for the shower and we couldn't get that. Oh, well...could use a shower. It'll have to wait.

We then ventured into town on foot. I tried to get on wifi, but couldn't find some open anywhere. I did look for what was out there and tried going into a real estate office that had it according to my signal, but the girl didn't know the password. Nice try!

We're hearing a lot of Gaelic spoken here and it's on all the signs. A young boy said "it's Irish. We learn it in school. Gaelic is a sport like football, but you can pick up the ball." Ok???? We're more confused now than ever. Guess we'll have to ask a grownup.

Brian, the barber, suggested we go up to Trim Castle...it's about 14 km north but worth the trip. May help us to get on some smaller roads too. And since this is a trip with no particular route and if one person wants to do it, we do it (unless the other strongly objects, I guess). And that's how we're meandering...



Goodnight, BagLady

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Nice Legs!

Wed May 30th
Dublin
Exchange rate at bank 1.28

Today's the day. We gotta start this trip and just be brave. We'll figure this out. Right off the bat, we ran into trouble. We got to the end of the street we were staying at and Fuat said something about "one Way" and I thought he meant that the street we were turning onto was one way so I decided to pull out in to the right side. Oops! Cars coming at me! He meant the street we were staying on was a one way and we shouldn't have biked down the way we did. Men on the sidewalk were laughing at us and said "Wrong side!" Great start. We're gonna get killed before getting out of Dublin!

The next problem we had was making right turns. Feels so awkward and dangerous, especially in a big city! Sometimes we took to the crosswalks to avoid biking right turns. Luckily yesterday we had walked much of the area we had to bike around in so the streets were somewhat familiar. We still found ourselves wanting to turn down one ways the wrong way. Cross the streets and then getting back on the correct sides was a big challenge. I kept forgetting which direction to look first.

I did get a great compliment by one group of men as I biked by when one shouted "Nice legs!" Not bad for a 62 yr old dame!!!

I went into a bike shop trying to buy a can of Halt (pepper spray) to use on dogs if necessary. I don't like being down on their level unarmed. But it's illegal in Ireland. "Not so many criminals and not so vicious dogs in Ireland!"

Exchange rate at bank 1.28
Money changers expensive. Charged 1.33

Hard to find right roads. We're using hard copy maps and a new app that doesn't require wifi. It's so confusing. No one knows road names. The lady at the bank said she lives here and she can't figure out what street she's on. It got worse as we got out of town. Today I asked a guy coming from his house the name of the road and he gave me a shoulder shrug. His wife finally said it was Martin's Row and helped me understand that we were on the right road.

The next issue is that there are no shoulders AT ALL. And when there's some room, there's a wide dashed line with major metal reflectors that I have to straddle. Many times I have to just ride in the road. Everyone manages to get around us although I've had a couple of trucks take my breath away! Lots of thumbs up to Blaze. The kids especially like her. Fuat gets a lot of comments about his kitty litter panniers. The are a hoot! Been seeing lots of beautiful stone houses and hatched roofs. The windows are adorned with mostly lace curtains.

A few minor bike issues today too.
Squeaky front tire on Fuat's bike that he managed to fix by just removing the front tire and messing with it. Lots of moaning and groaning from Blaze. She's loaded to the withers!!

Haven't got the location of things worked out yet. Need both best location for ease of access and to be able to remember where things are:).

Stopped just past Enfield to spend the night at a "scenic picnic spot" on the Royal Canal. Some local school children were playing in the park with a video camera and came over to interview me. I loved their excitement and curiosity! I told them I had a blog, gave them a card, and took their picture. Now they're FAMOUS!



Aren't they great!!!

One boy asked if he could give me a hug. "Of course! " BagLady never passes up a hug.

It stays light quite late here, like until 10:30 or later, but I'm pretty tired and still don't feel quite adjusted yet.

Tomorrow we change our route to see if we can find more secondary roads. It will be a challenge and take frequent stops to be sure we know where we are on the maps, but hopefully the traffic will be less.

More adventure awaits!

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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