# Garden of Ireland



## comsense (Feb 24, 2005)

I live in a town called Bray, County Wicklow, republic of Ireland. Wicklow is known as "The Garden of Ireland" because of its scenic hills & valleys.
Bray is aprx 13 miles south of Dublin.
On Saturday last, an overcast grey day, I headed out with my camera to try and capture some scenses to share with you lot. The route I took was aprox 50 miles and local cyclists refer to it as "Round the block". 

1 Winter bike at my House.

2 Sugarloaf Mountain.

3. Murphy& Gunn Pro's out on easy spin (New irish pro team - chap on right used to ride for my Club. His name is Urban Monks and he rode all last season in Belgium. Beautiful Pinarello bikes,eh?) http://www.cyclingnews.com/results/2006/teams2006/TMG.shtml
These guys could tear my legs off if they were pedalling one legged and I was at my best.

4. Not quite 40 shades of green - but give it a few more weeks!

5. another Wicklow rural Vista.

6. Hedge cut into a Road bike at Rathdrum village. the TDF visited here in '98.

7. Plugs & Oil change won't do it this time.......................

8. Heavens opened - Good time to hop into a coffee shop

9. .....for some Team Scones & jam (jelly?)

10. sugarloaf Mountain again, from the other side, a sweeping decent and I'm home.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

*Makes me want to be there.*

Although every time I see a photo of riders on the left side of the road it just looks wrong.....

Great post.


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## zeytin (May 15, 2004)

mmmm I love Ireland. I saw so much and missed so much in my 1,100 mile, 13 day driving tour of Ireland. I left from Dublin and went north, popping over to Scotland to stay with a cousin, then west from Belfast, then we drove South along the western coast. Finished in Cork at a friends house. 
Your pictures remind me that I need to come back soon and see more!
I am supposed to come back and stay with friends in Galway either this summer or next and am looking forward to checking out the middle and southeast of the country. It's such a beautiful place.


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## YuriB (Mar 24, 2005)

very nice. the bike hedge looks like a holga picture. i like it.


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## zeytin (May 15, 2004)

Comsense, what kind of camera were you using? I also like the bike hedge, it almost looks like it was done with a fish eye lense. Do you ride with those guys often?


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

The bike hedge is cool. The shot came out making the homes behind look like little models. Pretty country. Another place on my list of about a thousand I'd like to ride at.


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## Guest (Feb 14, 2006)

..................


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## 12 seconds (Feb 14, 2006)

*Memories*

Thanks Mr G. Please send more so I can get a regular fix. I really wanted
some of the Tea and Scones. Maybe in '07 with the one from Minnesota )) That would be a happy day!

Old School.


I live in a town called Bray, County Wicklow, republic of Ireland. 

Wicklow is known as "The Garden of Ireland" because of its scenic hills & valleys.
Bray is aprx 13 miles south of Dublin.
On Saturday last, an overcast grey day, I headed out with my camera to try and capture some scenses to share with you lot. The route I took was aprox 50 miles and local cyclists refer to it as "Round the block". 

1 Winter bike at my House.

2 Sugarloaf Mountain.

3. Murphy& Gunn Pro's out on easy spin (New irish pro team - chap on right used to ride for my Club. His name is Urban Monks and he rode all last season in Belgium. Beautiful Pinarello bikes,eh?) http://www.cyclingnews.com/results/2006/teams2006/TMG.shtml
These guys could tear my legs off if they were pedalling one legged and I was at my best.

4. Not quite 40 shades of green - but give it a few more weeks!

5. another Wicklow rural Vista.

6. Hedge cut into a Road bike at Rathdrum village. the TDF visited here in '98.

7. Plugs & Oil change won't do it this time.......................

8. Heavens opened - Good time to hop into a coffee shop

9. .....for some Team Scones & jam (jelly?)

10. sugarloaf Mountain again, from the other side, a sweeping decent and I'm home.[/QUOTE]


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## comsense (Feb 24, 2005)

*Thanks Everyone*

MB1 - your right about the left side of road, it causes problems now again for visitors.

Zeytin - Glad you enjoyed our country and hope you return. Camera was a camera phone with autofocus 28mm(2MP). I bought it because of the camera. Regarding the bikers in the photo I don't ride with them - I couldn't. Now and then we meet on the road and that day they were dawdling at the time I met them , maybe a recovery spin or something. The guy on the right raced all last season in Belgium in the Sean kelly academy and rode the junior classics. Murphy & Gunn are the premier BMW dealership here and they sponsor the team.

ridgetop - your comment about the cottages reminds me that what we see day to day may be same ol' bore for us - but its always fresh for Others!

12 Secs - didn't take long to work ut who you are! (But you will have to explain the significance of the twelve seconds because I just KNOW there is a racing story involved)
And I too look forward to a spin together. You paid for the scones and tea last time for half of Ireland - so its definitely on me next time!


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## PJay (May 28, 2004)

*post more ireland!*

Keep it up! Post some more Ireland!
I toured by rental car several years ago - the year the TDF came through Ireland.
I took up cycling after that, and now dream of a cycling tour of Ireland.


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## bigrider (Jun 27, 2002)

Nice pictures. We are a little short on green and pictures from Ireland. Can you continue to post your exploits.


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## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

Thanks for the pics. That's pretty country.


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## Arby (Apr 29, 2004)

*Beautiful*

This is an awesome post! I'm deffinitely going to get over to Ireland one of these days and really enjoy myself. The scones & jam alone are enough to get me there! Riding over there would be an awesome experience.

Nice pictures, keep on posting!

Arby O'Hara.


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

My wife, daughter and I went on a 10-day walking tour of Ireland several summers ago. We were mainly in the Dingle Peninsula region in SW Ireland, walking 10-12 miles most days. I didn't miss my bike in that area, as the roads were very narrow, winding and steep in places -- with occasional buses traveling on them as well.

The best part of the trip was ending up in a local pub each day after hiking for 6-8 hours. We plan to go back, probably to the Connemara and Burren regions. People in Ireland are so friendly -- actually that was the best part of the trip, all of the warm and nice people we met.


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## JP (Feb 8, 2005)

Wow thanks.

When I was a kid I got to tour Ireland for a couple of weeks by going as a mechanic for a group. Best memories. Fantastic riding, and everyone was so welcoming. My best improv repair ever was when the tandem with 700C tires blew out a sidewall and we were 50 miles from spare. We sewed a huge boot in with dental floss. It was quite lumpy, but it held. 

Remember Guniess is good for you. It's got vitamin b.

More reports soon please.


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## sdowney (Aug 7, 2006)

Hi,
was wondering if there was any other Irish on the forum.....
for a few more pics of Ireland, look at www.madmtb.com which is the homepage of my mountainbiking club, the Mountainbiking Association of Dublin.
If any of you are ever over this side of the Atlantic and fancy some fat tyred fun, look us up, we're always delighted to have visitors with us.










Sean


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## Fr Ted Crilly (Feb 7, 2002)

sdowney said:


> Hi,
> was wondering if there was any other Irish on the forum.....


Here's one here, (but now living in SF Bay area).
One of the (few) regrets I have is that I only really took up road riding when I moved over here 5 years ago. While living at home my mountain bike was occasionally used for commuting to work or into town but I didn't get out into the country like I would love to do now. Trips home these days are usually only for 1 week so it hardly seems worthwhile bringing a bike such a distance for maybe one or two days riding.

Maybe it was the weather that put me off while living at home but I commute year round now, throughout a winter that is occasionally no better than an average winter day in Ireland.


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