Oh, the Irony

One of the reasons we chose this particular Irish bike tour is that although I’ve been to Ireland a few times, I’ve never been to the Aran Islands. This tour includes a day on Inishmore, the largest Aran island, so I thought I’d get to cross that off my bucket list.

Alas, we didn’t go. After much deliberation, as well as weighing the opinions of others at our B&B who had been, we decided to skip it. I have no doubt it’s beautiful and interesting but it’s a commitment: there is only one return ferry and it’s not until 5pm, and then it takes a few hours more to arrive back at Galway, Plus, we thought we’d feel stranded out there for so many hours in potentially harsh weather.

To the consternation of our tour operator, we instead rode our bikes from the ferry terminal back to Galway, arriving at around 12:30. He was worried because it’s a busier road. It was, but drivers are mostly respectful, and we felt safe. We were thrilled to get back to Galway, scout our train travel for tomorrow, and do more beer drinking and sightseeing. Another good call!

We're grateful to John Kennedy and West Ireland Cycling for planning and supporting such a fun bike tour of West Ireland. We had great rides through spectacular scenery with just a few weather challenges. 

 

 

 

 

After the rainy days earlier this week when performers weren't out,we felt lucky to encounter some Galway buskers today.

<--- this guy is really talented.  He plays a tambourine with his right foot and there's a 'thumper' attached to his left foot that operates the drum he is sitting on

Plus guitar and vocals -- that's a lot to coordinate!