Thinking of cycling from Drogheda to Buncrana

positron

Any suggestions on what route to take to do this please? Plan is for me to set off at first light while wife drives kids over to where we are going to stay for a week or two. All is expected off me is to get myself there before sunset. This plan is for end of July, which should give me plenty of time to get there, I hope..!

Searching thru similar threads here, there was a suggestion to follow Google Maps's walking directions - which is around 195k, some 40k shorter than their 'cycling directions'. Would this take me across fields etc?

Thanks in advance for all suggestions and thoughts!

PS: The longest spin I have done so far is below 50k @ 20 kmph.. so this is a bit of an misadventure for me.. but I am keen to give it a go.

Inquitus

Someone posted this the other week and it looked like a decent back road route planner - http://cycle.travel/

It gives this route as the output @ 214km

http://cycle.travel/map?from=drogheda&to=Buncrana&fromLL=&toLL=55.1352459,-7.453581

retalivity

Someone on here cycled from gortahork to north county dublin a couple of months back iirc....they would have probably be able to give you advice on the road used (albeit in the opposite direction to/from co donegal at least)

I would take the N2 and A5...they are generally wide enough and well signposted, and easily reachable from drogheda. from strabane, cross the boreder and go thru st johnston towards newtowncunningham and burnfoot and youre there..

I am aiming to cycle from dublin to NW donegal at some point (been saying it now for the past 2 summers)...i would drive back to NW donegal using the N2 and would ideally cycle that way but google sends me upthe n3 and through baack roads in cavan and tyrone to dave me 30ks...

wirelessdude01

Realistically this is probably beyond your fitness level at present. Maybe arrange to be picked up at some point along the journey.

positron

retalivity wrote: »

I would take the N2 and A5...they are generally wide enough and well signposted, and easily reachable from drogheda. from strabane, cross the boreder and go thru st johnston towards newtowncunningham and burnfoot and youre there..

This is very familiar - Castleblaney, Monaghan, Augnacloy, Omagh, Stabane and usually I go thru Derry and then again Burnfoot, Fahan etc. I wouldn't need a GPS for most part of this road either.

Inquitus link looks shorter, but probably more climbing (actually I don't know the profile of the other road.. so yeah may be not).

I fully realise I am probably not able for this yet.. doing part of the route is also an option, perhaps up to Aughnacloy which is our usual loo/coffee spot anyway. Okay, more planning to do on this! Thanks again for your suggestions!

Inquitus

positron wrote: »

This is very familiar - Castleblaney, Monaghan, Augnacloy, Omagh, Stabane and usually I go thru Derry and then again Burnfoot, Fahan etc. I wouldn't need a GPS for most part of this road either.

Inquitus link looks shorter, but probably more climbing (actually I don't know the profile of the other road.. so yeah may be not).

I fully realise I am probably not able for this yet.. doing part of the route is also an option, perhaps up to Aughnacloy which is our usual loo/coffee spot anyway. Okay, more planning to do on this! Thanks again for your suggestions!

To be honest you can probably suffer through this if suitably motivated, 11 hours @ 20kph with 5 hours padding time and/or rest time is available in our 16 hours of daylight around the end of July.

Cee-Jay-Cee

I'd stick to the main roads especially through Northern Ireland as they're plenty wide and well sign posted and the back roads are very very twisty and can take you miles in the opposite direction around hills etc etc.

Drogheda to Ardee to Monaghan to Aughnacloy to omagh to strabane to Derry to muff to Burnfoot to fahsn to buncrana.

It's a long old cycle with a bit of climbing from ballygawley roundabout to the top and it's reasonably flat from there on.

If your current longest spin has been 50km then you need to start upping your distance now and be able to cycle 100km within the next two weeks and 150km the following week and 200km two weeks later.

Wishbone Ash

retalivity wrote: »

Someone on here cycled from gortahork to north county dublin a couple of months back iirc....

I would take the N2 and A5...they are generally wide enough ..

That was probably myself last July: https://www.strava.com/activities/647878619

The N2 is fine but the A5 doesn't have a hard shoulder for most of it. Both have good surfaces. On the N2, I'd advise avoiding bypasses and go into towns as it breaks up the monotony a bit.

Gallant_JJ

Avoid the A5 like the plague. No hard shoulder and huge volumes of traffic. Not a pleasant cycling experience.

Gallant_JJ

Avoid the A5 like the plague. No hard shoulder and huge volumes of traffic. Not a pleasant cycling experience.

Inquitus

Personally I'd stick to the back roads route linked above, the back roads tend to be far quieter for solo cycling as well as having good hedgerows which will provide good cover from any adverse winds that may be blowing on the day. They also provide first rate scenery and you won't be being buffeted by Trucks travelling 120kph. Having done both in the past I always stick to the minor roads now given a choice.

Also the N2 is also the most boring and soul destroying road in Ireland I was on it cycling to Marshall the Vets on Sunday from Ashbourne to Kentstown, straight, windy and souldestroying. In hindsight I should have done up an off the beaten track version and loaded it to my Garmin 810, going via Curragha, Tayto Park and Balrath Wood!

El Tarangu

If you are cycling from Drogheda to Donegal, you will be cycling against the prevailing wind; I have seen it pointed out on boards when people are planning to cycle from Dublin to Galway, and are recommended to take the train to Galway and cycle back, rather than the other way around.

So, maybe get in a few longer spins during the two-week holiday (not the easiest when you have kids, I imagine), and try and cycle back at the end of the holiday?

Wishbone Ash

Gallant_JJ wrote: »

Avoid the A5 like the plague. No hard shoulder and huge volumes of traffic. Not a pleasant cycling experience.

It's ironic that 30/40 years ago, the A5 was the best piece of road on the Letterkenny-Dublin route. Now it's the opposite. It has barely changed since the 1970's apart from a few cosmetic changes to junctions and a couple of by-passes.

El Tarangu wrote: »

If you are cycling from Drogheda to Donegal, you will be cycling against the prevailing wind...

Not as such. I've done that route several times. The prevailing wind will be at your left side. It's much more noticeable when heading south east from Donegal.

positron

Gallant_JJ wrote: »

Avoid the A5 like the plague. No hard shoulder and huge volumes of traffic. Not a pleasant cycling experience.

I was wondering about that - especially that area around Ulster American Folk Park and north from there to Derry, I recall roads being smooth but narrow as you leave villages.

I went out this morning to get a feel of it - Drogheda-Monasterboice-Dunleer-Castlebellingham-Blackrock and back the same way. Riding into the wind on the way back I was feeling okay up to Castlebellingham (thanks to the gentleman who stayed with me from Blackrock to Castlebellingham, he kept me going at decent pace and great chat - thanks dude) but after that I ran out of fuel I think. It was mostly climbing all the way to Monastarboice and I litereally was crawling at this stage. Recovered a bit and got home in decent shape. 3h 10 mins, 70k, 400 meters or so climbing. Depending how I recover from this, I would aim to hit 100k mark or four hours on the saddle in next couple of weeks. I have only been biking couple of months, so I was expecting my behind to be in bits, but's it's not too bad so far. If I can do 100-150k / 4-6 hours in a months time, I will full commit to this plan. If not, I will settle for doing part of the route.

Thanks again for the thoughts and suggestions!

positron

Quick Update: I did this today. It went as bad as it can go (puncture, rain etc) but also enjoyed it. Thanks for all the tips and suggestions, very useful as usual!!

Full Post on the other thread.

positron

Sorry for bumping up an old thread, but I am thinking of doing this again. Yes, I need my head examined... I did this last year (link above) and got into some serious trouble, but also enjoyed it immensely, hence considering it again - although I was better prepared last year with a number of 100k rides, but I am ready to slog it out, once again.

I still have the same bike (Boardman CX team), I would love to have changed it to something more endurance focused but for now this is it - I have flipped the stem which raised the bars a bit and have adjusted the seat more level (it was too far leaned forward and was hurting my wrists and neck). I have also fitted Schwable Marathons, so hopefully - touchwood - will try and avoid punctures this time around. I will bring puncture kit anyway, and will remember to layer up for warmth - as much as I trust kind folks wiil come to my rescue, I want avoid getting into dangerious situations like last time around. I will going without much luggage as herself and kids will be heading the same way and hope to meet up for lunch at Kellys.

Routewise, I am thinking I will stick to N2/A5 largely (Drogheda, Collon, Ardee, N2, A5, Strabane, Derry, Burnfoot, Buncrana). I don't trust Google Maps etc anymore as last time around it send on terrible lumpy narrow lanes for kilometers and eventually straight to a deadend with no road ahead. Although looking at the map, I do see there some roads paralled to N2 / A5 in some areas, so I am exploring and planning at the moment.

Any tips & suggestions are most welcome!

Wishbone Ash

positron wrote: »

... I have also fitted Schwable Marathons, so hopefully - touchwood - will try and avoid punctures this time around. I will bring puncture kit anyway.....


.....and will remember to layer up for warmth....

I'd only use a puncture kit as a last resort. Bring a couple of spare tubes instead or in addition. You're unlikely to need them with Marathon Plus tyres. BTW, those tyres are very heavy and will require a bit more effort compared to normal tyres.

Don't overdress - it's August! Rain cape and arm warmers should be enough. At least these can be removed.

You could try checking the roads on the streetview function of google maps. If they look in poor nick there then they are likely worse now, given some of the shots could be 7 or 8 years old. I know a few like that round our way. You can drive them so to speak by clicking ahead on the road to make sure they don't dead end etc.

If there's no streetview mapping it's probable the car wasn't able to get down there.