mizen to malin unsupported

ccmp

Just completed mizen to malin with 16 year old son. Anyone unsure about it should give it a try. it's a lot more achievable than you think.
Left at 11.30 Sunday. Made killarney 126 k that night.
Leg2 156 k killarney to doolin via tarbert, ferry tour of cliffs of moher and dropped to inis oir . Overnight on island
Leg 3 70 k cycled around island in morning got ferry to Inis maan and on to Inis moir .spent the cycling around island. Ferry to rossavael and quick run to Leenane.
Leg4 Leenane to Sligo 135 k
Leg 5 196 k to malin stayed in sea view tavern.
Day 6 Bussed back via Derry via Belfast Dublin and landed back in cork at 10 that night.
For the record we used road bikes with approx 13 kg gear on each bike.
Had no definite stop point each night just kept going until fatigue or weather stopped us.
The longest single day that I had previously was 130 k. For my son that figure was 110 k. (Unladen. )
Great trip, met a lot of people , really enjoyed the experience.
I can post more details later if anyone interested.

meercat

Brilliant
Those memories will last a lifetime
Major kudos

ustazjoseph

ccmp wrote: »

Just completed mizen to malin with 16 year old son. Anyone unsure about it should give it a try. it's a lot more achievable than you think.
Left at 11.30 Sunday. Made killarney 126 k that night.
Leg2 156 k killarney to doolin via tarbert, ferry tour of cliffs of moher and dropped to inis oir . Overnight on island
Leg 3 70 k cycled around island in morning got ferry to Inis maan and on to Inis moir .spent the cycling around island. Ferry to rossavael and quick run to Leenane.
Leg4 Leenane to Sligo 135 k
Leg 5 196 k to malin stayed in sea view tavern.
Day 6 Bussed back via Derry via Belfast Dublin and landed back in cork at 10 that night.
For the record we used road bikes with approx 13 kg gear on each bike.
Had no definite stop point each night just kept going until fatigue or weather stopped us.
The longest single day that I had previously was 130 k. For my son that figure was 110 k. (Unladen. )
Great trip, met a lot of people , really enjoyed the experience.
I can post more details later if anyone interested.

excellent, well done! how was the killarney to doolin piece ? Didn't know about the island to island ferry ? did i understand that correctly - this post has inspired me .

ccmp

yah Doolin ferry services both inisoir and inismor. another company does the route from inismor to Rossaveal.
Picked up the idea on this site.
Really glad that I went up the west coast. I found the routes with sea views and scenery a lot easier to travel than the main more direct roads. In fact I regret not continuing north from Westport and approaching Sligo from the west. The main road into Sligo was busy and unpleasant.
The whole thing was well worth the effort. Not having a predetermined itenary wouldn't suit some people. In my case I had left on a Sunday and had 8 or 9 days available to me. As it happened I made it in 5. The push on Thursday had more to do with an inclement forecast for friday than anything else.

ccmp

Re killarney to doolin leg. Run to Tralee is on a boring but quick road. Ferry is a nice break. Route up along coast to doolin is scenic and pleasant. Ferry to Aran is another nice break and islands themselves are cracking. I'd never been so in my case it was a nice treat.

feck sake lads

any pic's please.well done great memorys that's for sure.;)

GreyEagle

feck sake lads wrote: »

any pic's please.well done great memorys that's for sure.;)

Yes, a few pics would be great. Wonderful idea. Heard an interview some time back of a guy and his teenage daughter who walked the Camino together. These patent/teenage trips are very inspiring. How does your son feel about your joint achievement?

JOHN_70

How did ye carry the gear on the roadbikes? Great post by the way! by coincidence I'd spent the morning here doing some very tentative planning for a tour so seeing your post was timely!

studiorat

Nice one.

Photos?

feck sake lads

yip done the camino 6 years ago still talking about it super trip.:cool:
also done mizen to galway great while it lasted.must finist that trip one of these days.

letape

That's very inspiring indeed! I have a two year old son, who wants to come with me on his balance bike, when I am going out for a cycle :-)

I would love to be able to do something like this with him, when he is old enough.

feck sake lads

get a load of a tandem;)

tacklemore

fair play to ye, that was some trip!! Ye pick a good route to go through my home county of Clare!!!!!!

ccmp

Found that i had no memory card in camera. Eventually bought one in Westport. I will post a few photos when I get a chance. Carried the gear on a lidl carrier with a relatively cheap panniers strapped on. Tent and sleeping bags strapped on top with ratchet straps. Didn't use the tent. Days on the saddle were too long and weather too dodgy to be messing around with tents.

feck sake lads

modea wrote: »

fair play to ye, that was some trip!! Ye pick a good route to go through my home county of Clare!!!!!!

Gods own country.;)

ccmp

yah clare was smashing. signposting poor though. Ended up reaching Doolin via Enistymon. Extra few k at the end of a 156 k day not the best.

denbatt

Well done, epic spin for anyone never mind a 16 year old ! Wow.

feck sake lads

ccmp wrote: »

yah clare was smashing. signposting poor though. Ended up reaching Doolin via Enistymon. Extra few k at the end of a 156 k day not the best.

Ya sighs are dire i know now why the german toutidts go crazy over the sighs bit like my spelling lol.e

ccmp

Photos attached I hope.

tacklemore

ccmp wrote: »

yah clare was smashing. signposting poor though. Ended up reaching Doolin via Enistymon. Extra few k at the end of a 156 k day not the best.

2 things we can improve on: our roads and our signage. Apologies for losing you in our fine county :-)

Bennybeau

ccmp wrote: »

Found that i had no memory card in camera. Eventually bought one in Westport. I will post a few photos when I get a chance. Carried the gear on a lidl carrier with a relatively cheap panniers strapped on. Tent and sleeping bags strapped on top with ratchet straps. Didn't use the tent. Days on the saddle were too long and weather too dodgy to be messing around with tents.

What type of bike were you on. Thinking of doing Mizen to Malin solo on my roadbike.

ccmp

You've revived a few memories there. Bikes are in one of the pictures. One was a low end Trek road bike, the other was a bike bought in Lidl (good spec and groupset though).
Side panniers on both with sleeping bag, tent etc. strapped on top. I packed them each day and if I'm honest the young fella had the gas / stoves pans etc. in the bottom of his pack. He was only 60 kgs at the time and i was trying to balance it out !! ha ha. He didn't twig it until we were putting the bikes on the bus to come home.
No need to bring a whole lot. Shorts socks and top washed each night and dried in hotel. Second set always ready if needed.
Enjoy it . Like they say in the Nike ad "just do it"

Bennybeau

Thanks for the reply.

Just looked at your photos. Well done!

Not sure whether to go with panniers or a cycling back pack.
I hope to bring two sets of bib shorts and jerseys.
Superlight rain jacket.
Pair of shorts
2 pair of socks
Light pair of runners.
Toothbrush, deodorant.

I hope to do the trip over 8 days.
Mizen - Killarney via Moll's Gap
Killarney - Kilrush (Ferry)
Kilrush - Galway (Up the coast)
Galway - Ahtlone
Athlone - Cavan
Cavan - Bundoran
Bundoran - Letterkenny
Letterkenny - Malin

Any tips?

Did you get dropped off in Mizen with your bikes?
It seems easy enough to get as far as Kent station in Cork on the train but after that I'm not so sure how best to get to Mizen.

Bloggsie

ccmp wrote: »

Just completed mizen to malin with 16 year old son. Anyone unsure about it should give it a try. it's a lot more achievable than you think.
Left at 11.30 Sunday. Made killarney 126 k that night.
Leg2 156 k killarney to doolin via tarbert, ferry tour of cliffs of moher and dropped to inis oir . Overnight on island
Leg 3 70 k cycled around island in morning got ferry to Inis maan and on to Inis moir .spent the cycling around island. Ferry to rossavael and quick run to Leenane.
Leg4 Leenane to Sligo 135 k
Leg 5 196 k to malin stayed in sea view tavern.
Day 6 Bussed back via Derry via Belfast Dublin and landed back in cork at 10 that night.
For the record we used road bikes with approx 13 kg gear on each bike.
Had no definite stop point each night just kept going until fatigue or weather stopped us.
The longest single day that I had previously was 130 k. For my son that figure was 110 k. (Unladen. )
Great trip, met a lot of people , really enjoyed the experience.
I can post more details later if anyone interested.

sounds like a great few days, something for me & my wee fella(he's not 5 yet) to do sometime in the future. well done to you both

cdaly_

Bennybeau wrote: »

Not sure whether to go with panniers or a cycling back pack.

Panniers is the better choice if you have a rack as you won't be as restricted in body movement and sweating ability.

I use a handlebar bag on long spins which is really handy. On the shorter spins it's just the handlebar bag, longer stuff (>400k) I'll carry a rack bag or pannier also.

The handlebar bag is great for carrying maps, phone, camera (if so inclined), food instantly accessible and even keeps your fingers warm (sheltered behind the bag).

ford2600

Bennybeau wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.

Just looked at your photos. Well done!

Not sure whether to go with panniers or a cycling back pack.
I hope to bring two sets of bib shorts and jerseys.
Superlight rain jacket.
Pair of shorts
2 pair of socks
Light pair of runners.
Toothbrush, deodorant.

I hope to do the trip over 8 days.
Mizen - Killarney via Moll's Gap
Killarney - Kilrush (Ferry)
Kilrush - Galway (Up the coast)
Galway - Ahtlone
Athlone - Cavan
Cavan - Bundoran
Bundoran - Letterkenny
Letterkenny - Malin

Any tips?

Did you get dropped off in Mizen with your bikes?
It seems easy enough to get as far as Kent station in Cork on the train but after that I'm not so sure how best to get to Mizen.

I've used this
http://www.topeak.com/products/Racks/RXBeamRack_w_side_frameV-Type
with matching bag for a few credit type tours. I spent 7 days in France and Spain last year with everything in a bag that goes on that rack, ditto for two Munster tours over last few years. You'll need an aluminium seatpost or at least not carbon for a clamping type rack.
Topeak/carradice and plenty other have other similar solutions.

Pack light, wash your shorts at night(and use towel to dry).

Do a bit of planning on route; your route from Galway to Malin sounds like something a motorist would come up with not a cyclist! Use quite minor roads rather than busy regional roads if you want to enjoy it.

I'll post up a direct two day route I mapped and rode last year.

Enjoy and just do it, 100km a day is only 4hrs riding a day, so you'll be able to enjoy it.

Test bike fully loaded for a few spins before the off. Have bike in tipp top shape and have a strong rear wheel(especially if you are not a featherlight). Other than that road bike is perfect.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=97384756&postcount=9

BTW unsupported is the only way to do it.

monkeysnapper

Wow the sweet memory's coming back to me .

I moved over here from wales in 1999 after I did a 10 day cycle from my home in wales to cork and back.

2 paniers at back , tent, mats , clothes, front bag .

We stayed in tents 75% of time and did a couple of b&b when rain was bad .

When we came home we promised to do mizan to malin next. !!!!!!!!!

Bennybeau

ford2600 wrote: »

I've used this
http://www.topeak.com/products/Racks/RXBeamRack_w_side_frameV-Type


Do a bit of planning on route; your route from Galway to Malin sounds like something a motorist would come up with not a cyclist! Use quite minor roads rather than busy regional roads if you want to enjoy it.



/QUOTE]

I hope to see a good bit of the west coast between Killarney and Galway, From there through necessity I will be going inland before the last couple of days.

I now think that I might go from Cavan to Ballybofey and then Ballybofey to Malin. This will shorten my trip by a day. 7 days cycling is more than enough.

Ive to do a bit more research re panniers and a rack that will suit my bike (Cervelo R3). I may have to swap seat posts with my old bike.

Bennybeau

I've decided to go with a handlebar bag and a small backpack. I've friends meeting me in Galway and I will also call round home for a night before the last two legs of the trip.
Hope to start Wednesday or Thirsday week.

cdaly_

Good luck and have fun...

Bennybeau

Folks as you can imagine its the height of the tourist season and accommodation is pricey. Where might be a good option round Goleen or even closer to Mizen itself?

Got new cassette 11-28 and handlebar bag came in the post so nearly ready to go. Nice long ride tomorrow with the bags fully packed to finish off prep and two days of recovery before the big trip starting Wednesday.