Commuting from Kildare to Dublin via Grand Canal

Attila the Hun

Anyone know if it's possible to commute to Dublin from Sallins, along the Grand Canal, on a road bike?

wpd

I have done this on a mtb as far as celbridge from sallins and it was fairly heavy going
dont think a road bike would work maybe a cyclo cross bike

first bit to kileen golf club is okay after that there is a lot of mud.

be careful i slipped one day and fell into canal

rp

I've been thinking about this route myself, although I haven't tried it yet.
I think the path is ok from Hazelhatch in, and they seem to be leaving some of those gates open (else its a dismount every 1km). Some people have complained of being attacked along there too (see Review of Grand Canal cycle route). How are you going now? N7?

mayan

In short, no!

The first few sections are rough path / grass. Then the road sections up to Ardclough and then down behind lyons estate to Newcastle are actually rougher than the canal tow paths.
Then its gravel track up to McEvoys pub at Hazelhatch and a long stretch of singletrack (which gets pretty wet and boggy this time of year) to Finnstown, where you join the new canal-super-highway-bike-path

There are plenty of back roads that may be a little longer, but they’re definitely quicker. Riding any of the route on skinny slicks would be a challenge, not a lot of fun, and also pretty pointless, as it doesn't give you any time saving. I ride a cross bike down the canal and it takes longer than the quickest road route, but it is a really nice route, with very little traffic and makes for good ‘cross training in the mud!

Attila the Hun

Not commuting from there at the moment. I don't suppose there's a cycle route along the N7 into town?

rp

Attila the Hun wrote: »

I don't suppose there's a cycle route along the N7 into town?

From the Belgard rd junction there is a split Bike/QBC lane, but before that its the hard shoulder - not worse than most dual-carriage N-roads. Quite a few cyclists do use it. Once on the Red Cow r'about, its a matter of asserting your right to be there, no soft options.

mayan

seriously, avoid the N7, the hard shoulder is big enough and probably safe enough. But there's a lot of slip roads on and off and cars fly on and off at stupid speeds and every time you have to cross one of the slip roads its a potential disaster.

There's a lot of back roads either north or south of the N7 that pretty much run parallel to it, so depending on where you're headed in town, there will be an alternative