The Giro d’Italia was still a happy memory; everything covered in pink and sunshine, as we left the town of Dundalk and out onto the busy roads.  Though the west southwest winds were noticeable in our southerly direction, they were not proving too strong on our flat stretch.  Our easy warm up lasted for about a half an hour and then the gradual climbing began.  Churches were everywhere, sometimes one on every block, though most were concealed by trees.   Besides the churches, there was not a lot that was memorable or picture worthy on our busy road.  But the cool air and warm sunshine was good enough for us…..at the moment.  Almost two hours into our ride, we finally had a downhill into Drogheda along the River Boyne.Once again, the afternoon fired up the winds, the gusts challenging our forward momentum.  But a promised day off when/if we reached Dublin, was enough to keep pushing into the city.  Traffic roared by us all afternoon, but a dedicated bike path along the highway made it safer and a bit more direct.  The day had been perfect for biking (except for the winds in our face) and the beautiful weather had followed us to Dublin; as did all the people.  We will try to get Jerry out in the masses to tour the city, tomorrow.  A bit of dinner and rest is in order after our 58 mile ride today.  Just hope the clouds that seemed to be gathering in the evening sky, would not spoil our plans.

There are One Million Five Hundred Thousand inhabitants in Dublin and that does not include the tourists……add two more.The city is filled with buses, people, flowers,interesting buildingsand history, lots of it…,…none of which we remember from our (hop on/hop off) tour!  We visited every corner of the city, trying to absorb while catching photos.  We will attempt to properly label a few.

The Na’ Penny Bridge.

The President’s House on Phoenix Park.

Christ’s Church.

Dublin Castleand the Royal Chapelin Dublin Castle.

Four Courts

the Spire of Dublin or Monument of Light

and the magnificent St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Of course, a trip to Dublin is not complete without a tour (and required tasting) of the 50 acre Guinness plant.  The view of the city from the 151 foot high Gravity Bar is impressive.Had to drag one of us out, and we escaped from the very large store with only one small souvenir, hope it fits in the driveway.

After dinner we strolled the streets enjoying the various bands on every street and bars on every corner.  Interesting city, Dublin…… more photos below of what we saw of this very lively city.

Long day, but not on the bicycles.  A ferry ride on a huge ship from Dublin to Holyhead, Wales, reminding us why we don’t like cruises; then a frantic transfer to a train to get us into the city.  Duckies were packed on the steaming train like sardines heading for the cannery.  But it got us to Liverpool in (barely) one piece.  In a hunt for maps to cover us for the next week or so, seems ironic we would see this sign..…there is a message, here!?!

A couple funny Brits, we’d med in 2009 (when we were all biking the west coast of the U.S.), met us for dinner.  As we strolled along the beatifully refurbished waterfront, they identified for us the impressive Cunard Building,the Billy Fury statue and the Royal Liver building  topped by the Liver Bird; the last visual of the fated Titanic. We had a wonderful evening with Alan and Jim, who remain as entertaining as ever and kept us out WAY past our bedtime, but it was worth it.

Thanks for making the effort, guys, fun times!

With no room at the inn and no room down the road, we left not knowing where we were going, but knowing we wanted to ride.  But first a ferry ride across the Mersey…….So duckies, cross the Mersey… ….Gerry and the Pacemakes created the iconic song.

Though you can throw a stone across the river, we were treated to a tour down, back and then over the Mersey River, offering a beautiful view of both Liverpool and the opposite shore. The wind was kicking up, blowing in the storm for tomorrow, but thankfully it was behind us.  That was the good part, the busy road on the other hand, was not so fun or picturesque.

We had tried for hours to find a place to stay in the next town, highly recommended by several as a place to see.  Since our sightseeing in Liverpool was limited, we were happy to find a hotel, the first one we came to, as we approached city centre.  A stroll around the town was not disappointing.  The wall around the city and other remnantsspeak of the fort built in 79 A.D. by the Romans.

The streets are lined with interesting shops, candyand old buildings, but most notable is the Chester Cathedral, “The cathedral…. dates from between 1093 and the early 16th century, although the site itself may have been used for Christian worship since Roman times. ”  It is amazing to walk a cloister built in the reign of Henry VIII.

The nave was amazing, as was the stain glass and incredibly detailed mosaic wallsall viewed while listening to the choir sing like angels.  Fascinating Cathedral and lovely town.

A great day starts late, ends early and has the wind at your back the entire time.   The weather has been fabulous the last few days, guess it’s paying it forward, as the forecast for tomorrow is for 100% chance of rain.

Larne, Northern Ireland to Chester, England

203 Miles

2 Days with Rain

Maybe, just maybe…

…..We had biked more than 20 miles in the last 3 days…..

…..Memories of yesterday’s easy ride was not so fresh…..

….The last four days of sunshine, was not still warming our bones….

Then maybe, we would not have gone out in the remnants of Hurricane Bertha as she raged through the United Kingdom….HA, and then we woke up!

Needless to say, we did not take any pictures, as we struggled to keep the bikes upright in the swirling wind and rain; thankfully, the roads were flat.  Once again, the chance to take pictures of freshly harvested fields of deep gold and the lush green fields contrasted by the black and white cows (every single one standing) was missed.  Cows are no better forecasters than the forecasters.

After two hours the the sky offered a small hope of better conditions,we stopped for a brief picture of one of the many magnificent homes and farms we had seen this morning.

At our halfway point,we took a break for our (now) customary soup and cappuccino.  The break proved beneficial in many ways, most importantly, the rain had stopped, though the cold and wind remained.  The break in the rain, also afforded the opportunity to catch a couple pictures of the our surroundings.  We remained dry, albeit, not sunny; the sky offering a bit of hope while the wind kept us humble.  Ten miles before town, our previously flat ride took on a definite uphill character.  The grade was not bad, but we could feel the change in our tired legs.  A quick drop into our town, showed us we had many things to explore once clean, dry and warm.  Beautiful sunshine and strong winds met us as we set out to explore the town of flowers and birthplace of Charles Darwin (1809).  The town is rich in medieval architecture (which we love), many original buildings from the 15th and 16th centuries, which we could not take enough pictures of.  There was also the St. Chad’s Church, the St. Alkmund’s Church,war memorials and the Shrewsbury Castle.  The afternoon had warmed up, the sun was shining, but the wind was really gusting…..Bertha was not leaving without a fight.  Thankfully our inn, at the foot of the Welsh bridge on the River Severn had a great restaurant, so we ducked inside before another shower blew through.

We enjoyed a hearty dinner, as if we’d biked a hundred miles, even though it was only 43.  We were happy to have been able to bike today, but more importantly, that the rain had stopped early.  Tomorrow is yet another day!

Sunny, 60° and a feisty wind as we bike out of our darling town, we’ll take it.  Thankfully the 20 mph winds were SSW and we were predominantly going southeast; though every deviation was noticeable.  We rolled up and down through beautiful countryside.  An hour later, for the first time since Scotland we see the dreaded “motorists use low gear” sign.  It was a mean uphill (18% grade), taking several stops to get to the top.  Deep ravines and spectacular vistas were missed by the camera due to the steep uphills or glorious downs. The climbing seemed to never stop, but thankfully the grades were not as horrendous as the first one. At one roundabout, trying to decided if we should take a quieter road, a local pulled up in his car.  He suggested our quieter road was beautiful, but “lumpy” (British have such a way with words),  After 25 miles we took a break from the climbing and to add some extra energy to conquer the rest of the day;a bowl of soup you could swim in should do it.The stop took much longer than expected, but the socialization with fellow (motor)bikers and hug from the ownerwas worth it.  The climbing was nonstop. the views incredible but the already strong wind had picked up and were gusting.  As much as we were enjoying the sunshine, we were working for every precious pedal stroke.  Our last seven miles was particularly tough.  The traffic was heavy and we thought we would never get a downhill.  Not sure we ever found the downhill, but we did find our hotel.  We are out in the middle of nowhere, so (thankfully) there was no touring to be done, just rest.  Of course, what better way to refresh than with a bit of paté and steak and ale pie.Our 47 miles worked us hard today, but we did it without the rain.  However, an hour after checking in, it poured while the sun shone.  That’s okay, today still counts as a NON-rain day!