Nicky
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Thought I’d share a bit about the trip myself and @Alan_B competed on Saturday...
A couple of months ago I came across a post on a group on Facebook about Iron Butt Ireland, so after a bit of reading up on it and some planning, we waited for lockdown to be lifted either side of the border so that Alan and I could set off to complete the Iron Butt Ireland ‘Lap Of Ireland’ challenge, a route that sees you go the whole way around Ireland with only 24 hours to complete from start to finish.
After a 4.15am start at Applegreen in Lisburn, we were bound for Ballycastle through a shower of thick drizzly rain that had us both contemplating all of our poor life choices that brought us to this point. Thankfully the rain cleared as we got closer to Ballycastle, which cheered us up a bit. Getting soaked before 5am, knowing that we were going to be away for so long, wouldnt have been ideal...
From there it was on to Letterkenny which was a nice run through an empty Derry and over the Foyle Bridge. The roads were clear and the weather had picked up making this an easy leg of the trip, though the want for a breakfast was growing stronger.
We left Letterkenny and aimed for Sligo hoping to get a bite to eat, but as it wasn’t even 6.30am, we weren’t holding out much hope. Having gone though Sligo we managed to spot a McDonalds sign through trees at the side of the road, so took a dive off the carriageway at the next exit followed to indulge in the best pancakes and hash browns ever cooked
Bellies full, and tanks refilled at a nearby fuel station after 140 miles, it was time for Clifden which took us along some of the most incredible roads in Ireland with spectacular scenery. As expected from a small town in western Ireland, there wasn’t much in Clifden, so we got the receipts we needed as proof of the trip and headed on.
Alan’s Tracer 900GT at 1 of the many smoke break/bladder emptying stops.
Me showing off my Arai Tour X4 helmet atop the R1200GS LC.
Pic of the bikes outside AIB, Clifden.
From there, it was another long run down to Killarney, passing through some rather quaint little villages while trying to ensure we were making good time. At this point we were in awe at how good the road network now is along the west side of Ireland, with quite a bit of roadworks going on for continual improvements with road straightening measures in full flow. The general consensus was that the southerners are very obliging towards bikers, making room at any point to allow us past, even in the middle of towns and at traffic lights.
On the road to Killarney.
After Killarney, and having covered 570 miles by this stage, we made good ground and got to Cork which caused a few issues, but we didn’t hang about for long and made for Wexford, the last place we had to stop before tackling the M50 and M1/A1 to make it back to our chosen start/finish point at Applegreen again.
Filling up, yet again, in Wexford.
We made it to Applegreen again for 10.15pm after a total of 859.7 miles and around £110-120 of fuel. Trip computer showed an average of 38mpg and an average speed of **mph...
What Google maps reckons the trip would take non-stop without breaks.
The weather held out well for us with only a few very brief showers, and the roads in the south now are fantastic which made covering the 859.7 miles relatively easy in 18 hours, which included plenty of rest stops to get a bite to eat and lots of refuelling stops (thanks to Alan’s tiny petrol tank). The 2 bikes coped well and the cruise control made a lot of the longer runs that little bit easier, but I’m still shocked at how fresh we both were getting off the bikes in Lisburn. Not an ache or a pain anywhere, and I’d have happily spent Sunday on the bike again had I not been at other things.
All in all it was a great days craic which left us with something to talk about and a taste for the other challenges which are a full 1,000 miles in 24 hours which we are looking forward to.
IBA Lap of Ireland: 10/10
I would highly recommend it to anyone to do on a bike...
A couple of months ago I came across a post on a group on Facebook about Iron Butt Ireland, so after a bit of reading up on it and some planning, we waited for lockdown to be lifted either side of the border so that Alan and I could set off to complete the Iron Butt Ireland ‘Lap Of Ireland’ challenge, a route that sees you go the whole way around Ireland with only 24 hours to complete from start to finish.
After a 4.15am start at Applegreen in Lisburn, we were bound for Ballycastle through a shower of thick drizzly rain that had us both contemplating all of our poor life choices that brought us to this point. Thankfully the rain cleared as we got closer to Ballycastle, which cheered us up a bit. Getting soaked before 5am, knowing that we were going to be away for so long, wouldnt have been ideal...
From there it was on to Letterkenny which was a nice run through an empty Derry and over the Foyle Bridge. The roads were clear and the weather had picked up making this an easy leg of the trip, though the want for a breakfast was growing stronger.
We left Letterkenny and aimed for Sligo hoping to get a bite to eat, but as it wasn’t even 6.30am, we weren’t holding out much hope. Having gone though Sligo we managed to spot a McDonalds sign through trees at the side of the road, so took a dive off the carriageway at the next exit followed to indulge in the best pancakes and hash browns ever cooked
Bellies full, and tanks refilled at a nearby fuel station after 140 miles, it was time for Clifden which took us along some of the most incredible roads in Ireland with spectacular scenery. As expected from a small town in western Ireland, there wasn’t much in Clifden, so we got the receipts we needed as proof of the trip and headed on.
Alan’s Tracer 900GT at 1 of the many smoke break/bladder emptying stops.
Me showing off my Arai Tour X4 helmet atop the R1200GS LC.
Pic of the bikes outside AIB, Clifden.
From there, it was another long run down to Killarney, passing through some rather quaint little villages while trying to ensure we were making good time. At this point we were in awe at how good the road network now is along the west side of Ireland, with quite a bit of roadworks going on for continual improvements with road straightening measures in full flow. The general consensus was that the southerners are very obliging towards bikers, making room at any point to allow us past, even in the middle of towns and at traffic lights.
On the road to Killarney.
After Killarney, and having covered 570 miles by this stage, we made good ground and got to Cork which caused a few issues, but we didn’t hang about for long and made for Wexford, the last place we had to stop before tackling the M50 and M1/A1 to make it back to our chosen start/finish point at Applegreen again.
Filling up, yet again, in Wexford.
We made it to Applegreen again for 10.15pm after a total of 859.7 miles and around £110-120 of fuel. Trip computer showed an average of 38mpg and an average speed of **mph...
What Google maps reckons the trip would take non-stop without breaks.
The weather held out well for us with only a few very brief showers, and the roads in the south now are fantastic which made covering the 859.7 miles relatively easy in 18 hours, which included plenty of rest stops to get a bite to eat and lots of refuelling stops (thanks to Alan’s tiny petrol tank). The 2 bikes coped well and the cruise control made a lot of the longer runs that little bit easier, but I’m still shocked at how fresh we both were getting off the bikes in Lisburn. Not an ache or a pain anywhere, and I’d have happily spent Sunday on the bike again had I not been at other things.
All in all it was a great days craic which left us with something to talk about and a taste for the other challenges which are a full 1,000 miles in 24 hours which we are looking forward to.
IBA Lap of Ireland: 10/10
I would highly recommend it to anyone to do on a bike...
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Cool story bro... not in the condescending way we speak off here....actually
. A go pro time lapse would have been brilliant to see.