23 miles and 21 gears, no walking!

I am not a cyclist.  I like to ride bikes, I grew up having a bike, and I currently have a bike that is mostly a modern art statue in my entry room right now.  However when planning my trip to Dingle Ireland, I fell in love with the descriptions and photos of the "Dingle Loop" and it became one of the "must do's" while I was in Dingle, despite the description consisting of the phrases "55 km" and "5 hours".

For those of you who keep chuckling when I say the word Dingle, get it all out now: hahahahahahahaha
Ok.  Moving on now.

My chosen day started out cloudy and rainy and the idea of cycling 37 km (23 miles) in the rain didn't sound very enjoyable but I got lucky and by 1pm the clouds parted and other than a bit of humidity it was looking like a glorious day.  I rented a bike.  I packed food, water, camera and an extra layer or two should the weather turn again and set off.

Map of the peninsula.  I started in Dingle (lower right) and followed the red path, until I got to An Mhuirioch and then I took the orange path back to Dingle.

So roads in Europe are already narrower than what you might be imagining.  There are no Hummers and very rarely do you see an SUV on the roads in Europe.  In Ireland it was also rare to find bike lanes and on the Dingle Peninsula they were nonexistent.

After riding for about an hour I came to a place to pull off (circled point 6 on map), walk a couple minutes up the hill, and see the "Beehive Huts" that were built around 2000 BC.  They were carefully stacked flat-ish stones, with each layer placed a little closer toward the center of the hut than the next.  There was no mortar used and would be finished with one large stone over the last open area.  It was impressive that these structures are still standing.  The walls that separate the fields that cover the hill are made in the same manner.  No mortar, just careful stacking.

I had a nice chat with some other people that had stopped there and I took in the sights for a bit longer before climbing back on my bike to continue the ride.  There are really only 2 ways to "see" the Dingle loop.  You can bike it, or dive it.  There are a lot of buses that do driving tours, and going around those curves on a bike, on the "wrong" side of the road, with a bus coming towards me was, interesting at times.

Cross at the Western most point of the Peninsula: Slea Head (Ceann Sleibhe)  

About a half hour later I was pedaling up another hill when I reached the peak and, from a distance, I saw this fantastic beach in the distance (the green dot on the map).  It was practically calling my name.

I rode down the parking area and most of the way down the ramp, parked my bike, removed my shoes and I stepped onto an Atlantic beach for the first time in my life.  This little alcove of a beach was practically singing.  I walked to the water's edge and felt the cold (but not icy) water flow over my toes.  I didn't want to leave.  Unfortunately I had not come prepared for beach-ing, and my late start to the day forced me to leave long before I was ready to.

I walked back to my bike, dried off my feet and put my shoes back on and continued my ride.  Looking out over the water I knew I would be back because this place felt like home.

The rest of the ride was beautiful, but since I was worried about riding a bike on the road without lights or things to make me visible I didn't make any additional stops.  I rode past some beautiful towns, historic churches and hill after hill of patchwork farmland in variations of green that I didn't know were possible.

If you look back at the map at the top, you'll notice that my "short cut" home using the orange route took me through a bit of an incline.  I didn't have 20 more km left in me, so I cut through the hills to ride the 10km route back to Dingle.  As I pedaled up that hill, I was passed by some serious cyclists, but I am proud to say that I did NOT get off that bike.  I use all 21 of the gears on the bike and I may have been going slow, but I did it.

When I go back to Dingle I will do the loop again.  Maybe on a bike, maybe in a car, but I will take as much time as I want.  Maybe stay in one of the multitudes of Bed and Breakfasts that I passed along the way and really get time to soak in the beautiful sights that feel so much like home.