The view from our bedroom window showed beautiful sunshine; we were ready.  The roads were full of cars as we pedaled out of the city.  Within a mile, a pedaling commuter offered to lead us to the bike path that would save us the frenzy of rush hour.  Of course, he was biking at 20 mph without any bags, so we were pushing to keep him in sight and snap a few pictures.  We were very thankful for the directions, though, as we would never have been able to find the unmarked path on our own.  Ten miles of bike path was heavenly and flat, so we were sorry to see it abruptly end as we entered a village.Though the dual carriageway we traveled was not incredibly busy, it did not have any shoulder and very few opportunities to to pull off.  But we were working too hard going up and down the hills to manage many pictures.  The little villages were loaded with churches of every kind of architecture/period.

In the distance we catch a glimpse of a castle that looks like something from Disneyworld.  As we biked into the next town, we realized it was just a minor detour from our route.  The Killyeagh Castle is the oldest inhabited castle in the country, dating from the 12th century; one family having owned it since the 1700’s.  Just before noon, we dropped in for a wee bit to eat.

 As seems to always be the case as the day grows longer, the winds increase  making the climbing more difficult. Closer to the coast, we were more directly impacted by the south blow.  A quick stop in the town of Newcastle for new brakes on both bicycles.  Newcastle is a pretty town along the water but way too many tourists for our liking; like high season in Virginia Beach. A few miles down the road, we found out bed and breakfast, on Top of a hill.  We were greeted by one of the many resident geese.Showered and somewhat rested, it didn’t take us long to seek out dinner, which required a bike back into town.Our harbor side restaurant was well worth the pedal not to mention the darling girls that kept us entertained.  One mile back up the hill to make it a 48 mile day and a night’s rest.