Getting the bike to Cork

Pompous

Hi

I'm going on a cycle tour of the Wild Atlantic Way and I want to start in Cork.

What is the best way to get my bike from Dublin to Cork? Rail? Bus? Any tips/tricks?

(I don't want to cycle it, I want to start in Cork )

Edit: added my departure location

couerdelion

Well I guess it depends where you are travelling from?

But if Dublin, train direct to Cork. It's a while since I did it but I think you have to book the bike on to ensure there's room for it.

Pompous

couerdelion wrote: »

Well I guess it depends where you are travelling from?

But if Dublin, train direct to Cork. It's a while since I did it but I think you have to book the bike on to ensure there's room for it.

I edited my post to point out I'm leaving from Dublin, thanks for pointing that out.

Does direct to Cork mean the train doesn't stop at every town on the way there?

couerdelion

Pompous wrote: »

I edited my post to point out I'm leaving from Dublin, thanks for pointing that out.

Does direct to Cork mean the train doesn't stop at every town on the way there?

No, it stops at a few but it means there is no need to switch trains along the way.

More details on bikes here --> http://www.irishrail.ie/travel-information/bicycle-information

Pompous

couerdelion wrote: »

No, it stops at a few but it means there is no need to switch trains along the way.

More details on bikes here --> http://www.irishrail.ie/travel-information/bicycle-information

Excellent thanks, I was having trouble finding that.

Cape Clear

Try the air coach far cheaper iris rail and bus eireann charge for bikes unlike air coach

couerdelion

Cape Clear wrote: »

Try the air coach far cheaper iris rail and bus eireann charge for bikes unlike air coach

"Bicycle spaces must be booked, in advance, online at www.irishrail.ie There will be no charge for these bookings."

HivemindXX

Cape Clear wrote: »

Try the air coach far cheaper iris rail and bus eireann charge for bikes unlike air coach

Unless you are willing to box your bike putting it in the luggage compartment of a bus is far worse than taking it on the train. Only ever taken my bike on a coach once and I never want to do it again.

hans aus dtschl

It goes into the guards van on the train AFAIK.
Free, but if it's full they won't take it, so they ask you to book it in.

Cape Clear

couerdelion wrote: »

"Bicycle spaces must be booked, in advance, online at www.irishrail.ie There will be no charge for these bookings."

Wasn't ware that bikes are now free going on memory I think the charge was €10 back in the day. A long time since I took a bike on a train.

Cape Clear

HivemindXX wrote: »

Unless you are willing to box your bike putting it in the luggage compartment of a bus is far worse than taking it on the train. Only ever taken my bike on a coach once and I never want to do it again.

Each to there own but never had an issue with putting a bike on a bus. If you are worried about it cover it in bubble wrap or wrap a duvet around it. @ Pompous do you plan to start your cycle in Cork City or further whest? Enjoy

Pompous

Cape Clear wrote: »

@ Pompous do you plan to start your cycle in Cork City or further whest?

I'll be getting the train to Cork since that's the closest I can get to the start of the WAW. I'll cycle from there to Kinsale, where the route begins. I haven't planned it at all, I'm just going to follow the signposts and pitch my tent wherever I end up each day.

Cape Clear wrote: »

Enjoy

Thanks man, I'll do my best!

Cape Clear

Pompous wrote: »

I'll be getting the train to Cork since that's the closest I can get to the start of the WAW. I'll cycle from there to Kinsale, where the route begins. I haven't planned it at all, I'm just going to follow the signposts and pitch my tent wherever I end up each day.



Thanks man, I'll do my best!

Sounds epic

cdaly_

HivemindXX wrote: »

Unless you are willing to box your bike putting it in the luggage compartment of a bus is far worse than taking it on the train. Only ever taken my bike on a coach once and I never want to do it again.

I have taken mine on the bus on multiple occasions. I load it from the driver's side so it's separated from ordinary luggage and lock it to the uprights in the luggage compartment.

smacl

Pompous wrote: »

I'll be getting the train to Cork since that's the closest I can get to the start of the WAW.

Getting the bike on a train in the summer can be a bit of a pain so make sure you'be booked the space well in advance. From the Iarnrod Eireann site;

All InterCity trains have bicycle carriage facilities. Dublin to Cork and Dublin to Belfast trains are located in a storage area separate from the passenger compartment of the train. All other InterCity routes the bicycle spaces are within the passenger compartment. Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail reserve the right to remove bicycles if staff feel they are obstructing other customers or if they are a safety hazard.

Please note that from the 19th October 2015 bicycles will not be permitted during the following times for journeys into/out of Heuston station from Monday - Friday unless the bicycle is booked on Intercity services in advance on-line.

Services arriving into Heuston station from 07.00 to 09.30
Services departing Heuston station from 16.00 to 19.00
Bicycle spaces must be booked, in advance, online at www.irishrail.ie There will be no charge for these bookings.

These routes are restricted to two bicycles per service. Please note that Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail reserve the right to refuse to carry more than two bicycles if there are only two bike spaces available on a service. Bicycles that are folded and covered can be carried on all services free of charge.

My experience of putting the bike on the train in the summer is that if it is not booked in advance you probably won't get it on.

brocbrocach

smacl wrote: »

Getting the bike on a train in the summer can be a bit of a pain so make sure you'be booked the space well in advance. From the Iarnrod Eireann site;



My experience of putting the bike on the train in the summer is that if it is not booked in advance you probably won't get it on.

Yep, and it's not booked into a guards van - there are certain seats that you need to book, 2 on each train, which have a space for a bike near them. To be honest I don't think every train even allows it as I've never seen a free bike slot on the Mallow-Tralee route. If you do manage to find a bike spot try to make sure the train is direct to Cork city as if you're forced to change at Mallow it'll be a pain.
I took the wheels off and stood the bike up when I did it last - stood in the corridor with it, it's only 2-3 hours. Basically treated the bike like luggage. Nobody said anything.

poochiem

Most of the time I try to book one of the two spots they've been 'booked' before any other seats on the train. I've taken the last 4 journeys without a bike booking ...and lo and behold there was only a bike on one of those journeys (he hadn't booked either). I think Irish Rail aren't putting the bike spaces into their online system. (my trips were Dub-Cork, Rosslare-Dub, Dub-Galway return).

Just go if to the station with a booking. Worst case is they'll make you wait for the next train (it won't come to that) and they're hourly to Cork I think.

Pompous

I just booked my ticked online while customer service walked me through the process. I got the last available bike space on the time slot I wanted.

On the carriage diagram 4 seats have been replaced with bicycle symbols. So I'll be able to sit beside my bike on the way down by the looks of it. Which is nice, I won't have to travel alone

In conclusion, it is possible to book a bike slot for no extra charge, and it can be done online. It may not be completely necessary to do so, but I prefer the peace of mind and convenience that such a booking provides

Thanks guys, and thanks in particular to couerdelion.

blobbie

Pompous wrote: »

I just booked my ticked online while customer service walked me through the process. I got the last available bike space on the time slot I wanted.

On the carriage diagram 4 seats have been replaced with bicycle symbols. So I'll be able to sit beside my bike on the way down by the looks of it. Which is nice, I won't have to travel alone

In conclusion, it is possible to book a bike slot for no extra charge, and it can be done online. It may not be completely necessary to do so, but I prefer the peace of mind and convenience that such a booking provides

Thanks guys, and thanks in particular to couerdelion.

Unlikely to be sitting beside the bike. They couple of times I have traveled with my bike, the bikes are at one end of the carriage and the allocated seat at the other end. Normally just hop into the nearest unreserved seat to the bike spaces that I can see the bike from. Once had to stop folk from putting luggage into the bike spaces even though my bike was already in there.

Pompous

blobbie wrote: »

Unlikely to be sitting beside the bike. They couple of times I have traveled with my bike, the bikes are at one end of the carriage and the allocated seat at the other end. Normally just hop into the nearest unreserved seat to the bike spaces that I can see the bike from. Once had to stop folk from putting luggage into the bike spaces even though my bike was already in there.

Oh. That's odd, the diagram has my seat right beside the bike and the girl on the phone even said I would be sitting beside it. It's possible different carriages have different layouts, but sure I'll find out on Saturday. I don't really care where my bike goes as long as it gets to Cork in one piece.

smacl

Pompous wrote: »

Oh. That's odd, the diagram has my seat right beside the bike and the girl on the phone even said I would be sitting beside it. It's possible different carriages have different layouts, but sure I'll find out on Saturday. I don't really care where my bike goes as long as it gets to Cork in one piece.

Whenever I've done it (Dublin - Waterford, Dublin - Rosslare) I've booked the seat beside the rack. If there are two carriages with bike spaces, book the middle one, as it will always be going all the way, whereas if the train splits the back one won't and you'll have to move the bike. On a couple of occasions, the layout of the train was not the same as on the booking site and I've ended up taking the wheels off and carrying the bike as luggage, once standing, once with the bike in an unused wheelchair space.

terrydel

My one and only experience of this was getting the train back from Wexford after a charity cycle.
I pre booked the spot for the bike then when the train arrived it didn't have any spots for bikes! So I'd to sit at me seat with the bike next to me.
That was a about 3-4 years ago so it may be different now.

@Pompous - please post a report of your trip when you get a chance, this is something I've been thinking a lot about doing, and I'd love to hear about it from others, as well as tips and tricks on how to go about it, logistics etc.

Cheers, and the very best of luck. Be safe.

Chuchote

Pompous wrote: »

On the carriage diagram 4 seats have been replaced with bicycle symbols. So I'll be able to sit beside my bike on the way down by the looks of it. Which is nice, I won't have to travel alone

The times I've done this, the seat allocated to me has been miles from the bike. But if you want to sit beside your bike, the non-table seats there are rarely in demand anyway, unlikely to have been booked, so you can just abandon your booked seat and sit beside it.

Those who've taken a bike on a train without pre-booking online, did you go and get a bike ticket at the ticket office before getting on?

Carawaystick

If I was free to stop wherever, I'd go down the Lee from Cork, to Kinsale.
Centre Park Road, down the Marina
Blackrock, around by the tunnel on the cycelway
and join the old rail line to go across the old railway bridge to the Rochestown road
Down to Monkstown
Shanbally, Ringaskiddy - Carrigaline - Crosshaven - Myrtleville - Minane Bridge - Robertscove - Nohoval
a lap of the headland Charles fort is on and into Kinsale by the Bulman/Scilly

Planet X

@Pompous.
I might be well off the mark but........
I was talking to a woman in Spar, as you do, in Taghmore, Co. Wexford this morning.
She was admiring my bike (I was packing a fair load) and was saying her son was cycling the WAW next week and was troubled with cleats, whether to or not.
Something about getting the bus/train out of Dublin.
Your mother?
:-D

Pompous

I got the train this morning. There is a dedicated carriage at the end for bikes. The journey (Dublin to Cork direct) had 4 bookable bike slots and there was 6 or more bikes in the carriage. At least 3 had panniers and camping gear for touring.

@terrydel: Yeah man I'll write something in September and I'll let you know when it's posted. In the meantime you can somewhat follow my progress here: instagram.com/absolutelybicycles

@Carawaystick: Thank you for the recommendation. I did that route today and it was lovely.

@Planet X: Haha no that's not me good shout though, 'tis a small world!

Planet X

Best of luck with your trip.
Mammoth.

ford2600

Pompous wrote: »

I got the train this morning. There is a dedicated carriage at the end for bikes. The journey (Dublin to Cork direct) had 4 bookable bike slots and there was 6 or more bikes in the carriage. At least 3 had panniers and camping gear for touring.

@terrydel: Yeah man I'll write something in September and I'll let you know when it's posted. In the meantime you can somewhat follow my progress here: instagram.com/absolutelybicycles

@Carawaystick: Thank you for the recommendation. I did that route today and it was lovely.

@Planet X: Haha no that's not me good shout though, 'tis a small world!

Your in good shape if you enjoyed Carawaysticks route!

If you join Wild Atlantic Way Audax Facebook page, in early June, Phil White (something or other) posted a map with all bike shops on route and their waypoints for GPS I think.

Don't really use Facebook and can't remember my log in so someone else may be able to link it

poochiem

Went home to Galway saturday, return to Dublin this evening. Could book a bike place for the way down but not the way back up and they don't let you book return unless you're bringing your bike both ways. Anyway, as I said before there are rarely bikes on board even when the bike slots are booked. Sure enough, no bike on board in Heuston. An Irish rail worker followed me the length of the 7 carriage train on the platform until I had stowed my bike correctly in the first carriage. She proceeded at length to berate me for having a bike 'without an online booking' - and told me I couldn't travel.

I got her to concede that I wasn't taking up a booked space, there were no other bikes reserved or on the platform and I wasn't costing them a penny. She told me - this is the interesting bit - that if foot passengers select certain seats (I think she said C9 & C13) then the bike slots become unavailable, even though they're not booking bikes on!

In the end she let me take the bike as I needed it to travel home due to a family illness but she made me promise to leave it at home and not bring it on the return.

Obviously I brought it back up.

Chuchote

poochiem wrote: »

An Irish rail worker followed me the length of the 7 carriage train on the platform until I had stowed my bike correctly in the first carriage. She proceeded at length to berate me for having a bike 'without an online booking' - and told me I couldn't travel.

This Irish Rail attitude to bicycles is robbing them of business. About time they joined the real world.

I would have meekly walked out and had to sleep on the streets, as would a lot of people.