Cycling the Grand Canal

wanderer 22

smacl wrote: »

Boards canal jaunt anyone?

I'd be up for that (when the weather improves a bit..)

Pinch Flat

Wealth of information on Irish waterways website

http://www.iwai.ie/maps/grand/index.html

nilhg

gzoladz wrote: »

:e careful now. I explored doing this option and not all the towpaths seem to be open to public. I know that is not how it should be but that seemed to be the case when I did the research.

I'd be very surprised if that's the case, certainly Lowtown-Rathangan-Monasterevin towpath is open on at least one side and Monasterevin-Vicarstown -Athy has quite alot of public tarred road running alongside the canal with the stretches in between open to the public.

I'm not as familiar with the barrow navigation southwards but I know quite a lot of work has gone into the Barrow Blueway project, it is expected to go for planning permission in March, and I've heard no talk of any issues with rights of way or public access.

http://www.waterwaysireland.org/Pages/Blueways/Barrow-Blueway.aspx

For my own information I'd be interested in any more info you could provide.

gzoladz

nilhg wrote: »

I'd be very surprised if that's the case, certainly Lowtown-Rathangan-Monasterevin towpath is open on at least one side and Monasterevin-Vicarstown -Athy has quite alot of public tarred road running alongside the canal with the stretches in between open to the public.

I'm not as familiar with the barrow navigation southwards but I know quite a lot of work has gone into the Barrow Blueway project, it is expected to go for planning permission in March, and I've heard no talk of any issues with rights of way or public access.

http://www.waterwaysireland.org/Pages/Blueways/Barrow-Blueway.aspx

For my own information I'd be interested in any more info you could provide.

I cannot remember where I got that from so worth researcning it further, but I do remember that it made me change plans about cycling Dublin to Athy.

Sources I use for research were all mentioned here. In addition there is a set of photos on geograph.ie with photos of every km of both the Royal and Grand Canal towpaths.

http://www.geograph.ie/search.php?i=49037578&page=9&displayclass=full

In summary, the rough parts of the Grand (that I plan to/may avoid to the benefit of my knees) are:

1. Kileen and Naas golf club.
2. From Naas to Sandtmount park I will cycle on the south side, instead of following the way.
3. R409 to Robertstown.
4. Derriturd to Daingean.
5. Rahan to Goldmithsloth.

For those interested in the Royal, from Dublin to Mullingar is ok, except the towpath between Einfeld and Kilcook.

From Mullingar on it gets a bit rougher in parts, with one un cycleable part past Mullingar which is basically a bog.

If you are interested in shorter journeys, Dublin to Tullamore or Mullingar runs very close to train lines so they make a great 1 day out. Another option is to go out one canal and come back along the other, but you need to cover a few kms of roads to connect the two.

When I cycle then Royal I posted updates on a fb page called Cycling the Royal Canal Way - Dublin to Cloondara in case it is of use. I will use it for the Royal when I do it.

There is also a family with kids who did the Royal over three days and posted a nice video on YouTube, will check the link later.

Another resource is Dick Warner's documentary about the Royal.

Hope this helps.

---

MOD: Hope it was ok to mention the fb page. I only used it to show photos and post updates of the journey and could be a handy resource for others planning the same trip.

smacl

gzoladz wrote: »

1. Kileen and Naas golf club.

It is pretty much ok if you get off a couple of 100m before Sallins here. Just grassy like many other stretches. The last small section coming up to sallins is a bit narrow, ok if it is dry but sketchy in the wet. Only been as far as Robertstown to date myself, but its a mix of paved, gravel, and grass, where I think taking some grass sections is inevitable.

Cheers for the links, looks like you've done your homework. Must dig out Dick Warner's documentary again, only saw bits of it.

gzoladz

smacl wrote: »

It is pretty much ok if you get off a couple of 100m before Sallins here. Just grassy like many other stretches. The last small section coming up to sallins is a bit narrow, ok if it is dry but sketchy in the wet. Only been as far as Robertstown to date myself, but its a mix of paved, gravel, and grass, where I think taking some grass sections is inevitable.

Cheers for the links, looks like you've done your homework. Must dig out Dick Warner's documentary again, only saw bits of it.

Thanks for that. I am in process of fine tuning the perceived bad areas before I finalise the route.

Dick Warner's documentary is on youtube.

I am really looking forward to this trip. Need to do a bit of training, pick accommodation and this time I will get cycling shorts!

Thargor

So are 700cc tyres definitely out even if you wait until the ground is baked in Summer? I wouldn't mind wheeling the bike for an hour or two or are the bad sections too regular? I have cycled on some pretty rough tracks before that were basically just compressed loose gravel chips and found it fine...

Pinch Flat

Thargor wrote: »

So are 700cc tyres definitely out even if you wait until the ground is baked in Summer? I wouldn't mind wheeling the bike for an hour or two or are the bad sections too regular? I have cycled on some pretty rough tracks before that were basically just compressed loose gravel chips and found it fine...

I did Dublin to Tullamore along the Royal and Grand a few years ago - had an MTB and knobbly tyres. Most of it would be doable on a 700c bike. It was the summer but a rainy day and it had rained for a bit before then.

Some of the sections that are grass can be boggy if you've had heavy rain. One section was heavy going - from memory Edenderry to Daingean - around 5 odd km from memory. That's not to say you can take a diversion and come back.

smacl

Thargor wrote: »

So are 700cc tyres definitely out even if you wait until the ground is baked in Summer? I wouldn't mind wheeling the bike for an hour or two or are the bad sections too regular? I have cycled on some pretty rough tracks before that were basically just compressed loose gravel chips and found it fine...

Are you talking specifically 700c slick road tyres? I use 700c knobblies on the hybrid for the canals and they're grand. You'd get away with slicks for most of it if it was relatively dry, though any bits with tree roots could be a bit jarring. I liked the comment on the audax ireland site for their canal trip which stated "No airfix bikes", which seems about right. You'll also find that if it is muddy and you use the road bike your brakes will get pretty cacked up and won't be effective. You may also want to consider your pedals, I personally wouldn't fancy road clip-ins in slippy conditions, wimp that I am.

Thargor

Yeah they're slick Gatorskins, I would pop on a pair of cheapo flat pedals and do it in runners if I was going to try a camping expedition from Dublin to Galway in the Summer I think. I dont mind walking for the odd hour here and there Im just trying to get a picture of how much is track and what kind of track is it, is any of it paved? I dont want to be out in a bog in the middle of nowhere wondering WTF Im doing with a roadbike in a field.

My other plan for a train to Tullamore and back into Dublin Ill just use my ancient Raleigh MB.

retalivity

I've recently moved to Kilmainham and am looking to commute from there to Lucan daily. Google maps is advising me to take the canal from Suir road to Adamstown and head north from there. What is the canal like at 8am/5.30pm? I have heard stories of people getting hassled and issues with motorbikes, horses, rubbish etc.

quozl

I'm really tempted to do this on my singlespeed CX bike (Pompino). I have a pair of 32 or 35 mm cyclocross tyres and need an excuse to use them

irishrover99

retalivity wrote: »

I've recently moved to Kilmainham and am looking to commute from there to Lucan daily. Google maps is advising me to take the canal from Suir road to Adamstown and head north from there. What is the canal like at 8am/5.30pm? I have heard stories of people getting hassled and issues with motorbikes, horses, rubbish etc.

Canal is closed all the way up to 12th lock from today until middle of March so you'll have to wait.
Never had any issues on the canal myself

gzoladz

Thargor wrote: »

So are 700cc tyres definitely out even if you wait until the ground is baked in Summer? I wouldn't mind wheeling the bike for an hour or two or are the bad sections too regular? I have cycled on some pretty rough tracks before that were basically just compressed loose gravel chips and found it fine...

I did the Royal e2e with 700cc city type of wheels and it was ok. And got rain all the way from Dublin to Mullingar. The wheels were no problem in the grassy parts. The problem was the resistance created by the grass, so other wheels hadn't helped much.

gzoladz

retalivity wrote: »

I've recently moved to Kilmainham and am looking to commute from there to Lucan daily. Google maps is advising me to take the canal from Suir road to Adamstown and head north from there. What is the canal like at 8am/5.30pm? I have heard stories of people getting hassled and issues with motorbikes, horses, rubbish etc.

I never had a problem myself, but I did cross a few of the type that would cause hassle.

nak

irishrover99 wrote: »

Canal is closed all the way up to 12th lock from today until middle of March so you'll have to wait.
Never had any issues on the canal myself

I went along the canal this evening, the section from Inchicore to Parkwest was closed and another small section near Clondalkin (short offroad detour and back on again), but that was it.

Thargor

gzoladz wrote: »

I did the Royal e2e with 700cc city type of wheels and it was ok. And got rain all the way from Dublin to Mullingar. The wheels were no problem in the grassy parts. The problem was the resistance created by the grass, so other wheels hadn't helped much.

Brilliant thanks.

blobbie

Thargor wrote: »

Yeah they're slick Gatorskins, I would pop on a pair of cheapo flat pedals and do it in runners if I was going to try a camping expedition from Dublin to Galway in the Summer I think. I dont mind walking for the odd hour here and there Im just trying to get a picture of how much is track and what kind of track is it, is any of it paved? I dont want to be out in a bog in the middle of nowhere wondering WTF Im doing with a roadbike in a field.

My other plan for a train to Tullamore and back into Dublin Ill just use my ancient Raleigh MB.

Re: Grand Canal,

In the summer knobbly tyres on a MTB are probably overkill but gatorskins probably wouldn't suffice. I used a pair of these last summer (dry conditions) http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-marathon-plus-tour-wired-mtb-tyre/ on my MTB and they were spot-on for the job.

Between Dublin & Tullamore, a non-MTB would probably suffice however for the couple of sections with tree roots a front suspension is nice to have.

I use "combination" pedals like these http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-m324-combination-pedals/ and these http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-a530-spd-single-sided-touring-pedals/ on my commuter & MTB. I use SPD shoes on commuter/MTB/road bike - not overly ar$ed about wearing "clunky" shoes.

That fancy green Raleigh of yours should do the job. At times you will be in a "field" for 4-5kms -sometimes working through long grass - if you are lucky the Irish Waterways folks may have trimmed the grass so the going is a bit easier. Other surfaces include some mud track sections, some gravel, some tar path and some local road stretches. So best to be prepared for all types of everything, especially if it rains.

My 2c would be;

avoid a road bike (23/25mm), doable on a commuter/hybrid (28mm-35mm) but probably best on a MTB with slicks (assuming it is summer time and a dry'ish summer at that). Bring a maintenance kit and include stuff to repair chain & spokes just in case as you will be remote and not all towns/villages will have repair facilities.

gzoladz

Another thing I had prepared when I did the Royal was an "escape/abort plan" just in case I was very unlucky and was unable to continue due to bad damage to the bike or injury. Chances are you don't need to use it, but it is good for piece of mind. Specially if you are running behind schedule and it starts getting dark.

gzoladz

Is anybody familiar with the section between the Bog rd (before Edenderry coming from Dublin) and Daingean?

The towpath seems to be in pretty bad condition and there is no straightforward detour to avoid it (other than going through Edenderry, what would add about 5km).

That is the last part of my route I still have to define.

nilhg

gzoladz wrote: »

Is anybody familiar with the section between the Bog rd (before Edenderry coming from Dublin) and Daingean?

The towpath seems to be in pretty bad condition and there is no straightforward detour to avoid it (other than going through Edenderry, what would add about 5km).

That is the last part of my route I still have to define.

I'm presuming you mean from where the road goes in a tunnel under the canal on the Edenderry-Rathangan road,

https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.3291214,-7.0373367,15z

and on towards Daingean. That's the section which burst in 2008 and flooded the surrounding area, there was extensive reconstruction works on the banks in that area in the year or two following, while I haven't travelled down the banks themselves I do cycle the roads in that area quite a bit and don't recall seeing anything that would suggest that that area is any worse than the rest of the Grand.

If you did have to divert there's a small back road on the Rathangan side of the tunnel which will take you out to the R401, from there you can take the R402 (locally known as the high road) to Daingean or take any of the side roads to the right to join back to the canal.

nilhg

Just an add on to the above but (and I'm sure gzoladz is aware of this) for anyone that wants information about local conditions Waterways ireland have local lockkeepers, mainly they work with the boats travelling through and with maintainence but I'm sure that they'd have no objection to giving info to any user of the canal network, contact details are at the link below under navigation-locks, the only lockkeeper I know is our local fella and he's a gentleman.

http://www.waterwaysireland.org/Pages/Boating/boating-on-the-grand-canal.aspx

Pinch Flat

nilhg wrote: »

I'm presuming you mean from where the road goes in a tunnel under the canal on the Edenderry-Rathangan road,

https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.3291214,-7.0373367,15z

and on towards Daingean. That's the section which burst in 2008 and flooded the surrounding area, there was extensive reconstruction works on the banks in that area in the year or two following, while I haven't travelled down the banks themselves I do cycle the roads in that area quite a bit and don't recall seeing anything that would suggest that that area is any worse than the rest of the Grand.

If you did have to divert there's a small back road on the Rathangan side of the tunnel which will take you out to the R401, from there you can take the R402 (locally known as the high road) to Daingean or take any of the side roads to the right to join back to the canal.

Made the mistake of taking the road bike along the canal from Daingean to Tullamore a few weeks back when doing Dublin - Tullamore - it's in bad shape for a road bike, pot holed and a poor surface - would be ok on an MTB / hybrid with decent tyres (I was on 23 x 700c's:eek:).

gzoladz

nilhg wrote: »

I'm presuming you mean from where the road goes in a tunnel under the canal on the Edenderry-Rathangan road,

https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.3291214,-7.0373367,15z

and on towards Daingean. That's the section which burst in 2008 and flooded the surrounding area, there was extensive reconstruction works on the banks in that area in the year or two following, while I haven't travelled down the banks themselves I do cycle the roads in that area quite a bit and don't recall seeing anything that would suggest that that area is any worse than the rest of the Grand.

If you did have to divert there's a small back road on the Rathangan side of the tunnel which will take you out to the R401, from there you can take the R402 (locally known as the high road) to Daingean or take any of the side roads to the right to join back to the canal.

Thanks, yes that is the section. It actually begins 5km before thaf bridge, but if I detour since it will add to many kms to the first leg.

The r401+402 is the option I was considering, thanks for that.

Red Kev

Thargor wrote: »

I want to take a train 60-70 km out or thereabouts and cycle back into Dublin someday all in one day along either the Grand or the Royal. Is this doable does anyone know? Do both canal routes slope downwards back into Dublin or flat at least? Trying to look on Google Maps is headwrecking and theres feck all info to be found apart from ancient Boards threads.

As has been said the canal is as flat as a pancake save for short sharp climbs at locks and bridges.

Train to Tullamore or Mullingar and cycle back is a good option, if you get tired you can get the train anywhere along the Royal and from Sallins on the Grand.

Thargor wrote: »

I thought you could do anything with a canal if you used enough locks, doesn't the Panama canal or one of them go over mountains? I was picturing it rising towards Athlone and then sloping down towards Galway...

Seriously looking forward to doing this now...

Highest point on the Royal is Mullingar and for the Grand its Lowtown but you don't really notice it apart from the locks.

gzoladz wrote: »

Is anybody familiar with the section between the Bog rd (before Edenderry coming from Dublin) and Daingean?

The towpath seems to be in pretty bad condition and there is no straightforward detour to avoid it (other than going through Edenderry, what would add about 5km).

That is the last part of my route I still have to define.

Cycled both in summer 2013 on an old touring/racer cross with panniers and 700x25 Marathon Schwalbe Plus tyres.

That section is fine, all grass but kept mown by Irish Waterways. Hard going on the thighs after a while though. Have to say ground was hard when I did it though it rained a lot that day. Like cycling across parkland or a smoothish field.

Moreilly

gzoladz wrote: »

Is anybody familiar with the section between the Bog rd (before Edenderry coming from Dublin) and Daingean?

The towpath seems to be in pretty bad condition and there is no straightforward detour to avoid it (other than going through Edenderry, what would add about 5km).

That is the last part of my route I still have to define.

Here is a pic i took on this section ( i think it was around there anyway!!) about two years ago when cycling from Carbury to Tullamore via the canal, the surface was similar to what is in the pic pretty much all the way, no real problems, although the weather was very dry at the time.


[IMG][/img]

gzoladz

Moreilly wrote: »

Here is a pic i took on this section ( i think it was around there anyway!!) about two years ago when cycling from Carbury to Tullamore via the canal, the surface was similar to what is in the pic pretty much all the way, no real problems, although the weather was very dry at the time.

Thanks, yes it looks definitely cycleable. I am worried about the toll that 10km will take on my knees for such a trip so I think I will wave that.

There is a few similar sections surface wise on the Royal and it made it very hard to me.

Nice pic!

gzoladz

I went to do some field research today. From lock 20 up to Edenderry looks very cycleable. Grass, but short. I'd say a lot has to do with the fact that it has been cold so nothing has really grown much.

And that was good else I would have to detour too early and add many kms to the trip.

From the r402 and the canal it seems to get harder, so I think I will take the r402 from there all the way up to Daingean, and follow on along the canal from there.

I dont think I had been in that area before and what susprised me is how isolated it is, even near "main towns" like Edenderry. I understand now why I cannot find a b&b between Edenderry and Tullamore, more or less along the canal!

nilhg

gzoladz wrote: »

I went to do some field research today. From lock 20 up to Edenderry looks very cycleable. Grass, but short. I'd say a lot has to do with the fact that it has been cold so nothing has really grown much.

And that was good else I would have to detour too early and add many kms to the trip.

From the r402 and the canal it seems to get harder, so I think I will take the r402 from there all the way up to Daingean, and follow on along the canal from there.

I dont think I had been in that area before and what susprised me is how isolated it is, even near "main towns" like Edenderry. I understand now why I cannot find a b&b between Edenderry and Tullamore, more or less along the canal!

Not sure if it's open this time of year, but won't cost too much to make a phone call.

http://www.offalytourism.com/businessdirectory/eskermore-house

I have no connection with it, but regularly pass it and admire the house, it's on the R402 just the Edenderry side of the turn off for Rhode.

gzoladz

nilhg wrote: »

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Not sure if it's open this time of year, but won't cost too much to make a phone call.

http://www.offalytourism.com/businessdirectory/eskermore-house

I have no connection with it, but regularly pass it and admire the house, it's on the R402 just the Edenderry side of the turn off for Rhode.

Thanks, that location would be perfect! I will check it.