The weather was so nice last Saturday that I decided to cycle from Dublin to Belfast. It’s a spin I had been thinking about pedalling for some time, but never had an excuse to do.
On this occasion, I needed to collect a car in Belfast and return it to Dublin, so biking made sense. I could have gone by rail, of course, but, apart from the spectacular views, comfortable seats, short travel time, well stocked bar and cheap ticket prices, this option had little appeal and, anyway, I needed to get in some training.
Next Sunday, I am due to cycle a Dublinbike in the Wicklow 200 (as in 200km) to raise money for Our Lady’s children’s hospital in Dublin.
The route will include some epic climbs, and by Dublinbike, I mean one of the city-centre rental ones. They are heavy and have only three gears, so my Wicklow 200 is going to be an especially tough and gruelling challenge. What better way to prepare for it than to take on a slightly different tough and gruelling challenge?
Driving from Dublin to Belfast is a treat these days. It’s just less than 170km, takes about two hours and the road is motorway or dual carriageway.
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Doing it by bike is trickier. It’s illegal to cycle on the M1 motorway to Newry and you really wouldn’t want to ride on the A1 to Belfast — this is not just boring but also very busy.
I knew I would have to start by sticking to the R132, the old Dublin to Belfast road, and then take a detour along the coast of Northern Ireland to avoid the A1.
However, I wasn’t sure how good the signposting would be and I was also unfamiliar with the exact towns and villages to pass through. I could have looked at a map, but that would have been too much like work, so instead I googled “Anyone ever cycled Dublin to Belfast?”. My search located a boards.ie discussion started by a Mr FledNanders (possibly not his real name) who’d asked: “Cycling Dublin to Belfast. Anyone ever done it?”
Here, there was a reply by a Mr Tutschel, who apparently rode between the cities in March 2008. He went through Balbriggan, Drogheda, Castlebellingham, Dundalk, Newry, Kilkeel, Hilltown, Rathfriland, Moneyslane, Dromara, Ballynahinch and Carryduff before arriving in Belfast.
A seemingly fit chap, he said it took “seven hours, cruising comfortably” but crucially didn’t really define comfortably or give an exact distance.
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By cruising, I estimated he meant 25kph and I figured the distance of his roundabout route to be 175km. This, of course, didn’t make any sense given that the direct motorway distance is about 170km, , but this fact didn’t register with me at the time. There was nothing for it but to try it for myself.
On Saturday I was up by 8am. I pulled on my Mamil (middle-aged man in Lycra) outfit and smeared the in-between bits in factor 40 sun cream. I was on my bike, a Lapierre Cruiser SX on this occasion, by 9am.
From Dublin airport I took the R132 to Dundalk. On occasion I would see the M1 off to my left, and now and again I passed under or over it. There was a strong headwind from the start which made progress slow, but I convinced myself that it wouldn’t be windy all day. Sometimes, I find myself to be very convincing.
Having passed through Ravensdale, Co Louth, I made it into Newry, Co Down, where a kind gentleman used choice profanities to question my sanity before pointing me in the direction of the A2 to Kilkeel.
At this stage, I had been advised to avoid Hilltown as — get this — it’s in a hilly part of the Mourne mountains. Instead I planned to go through Kilkeel to Newcastle and on to Ballynahinch.
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By Kilkeel, the headwind had strengthened significantly. On the road to Newcastle, it was coming in off the sea and affecting me to the point where I needed to put in serious effort to keep my average speed above 20kph. I was tired by this stage. My bottom was sore, and my neck ached thanks to a small bag of clothes I was carrying on my back. I had also realised that the total distance would be more than 200km.
The A24 from Ballynahinch to Carryduff is sneakily hilly. A series of long straights are linked by drumlins — think inverted spoons — which, combined with the wind (have I mentioned the wind already?), made Belfast seem very far away.
From Carryduff into Belfast, however, is mostly downhill and so at about 7pm and after 10 hours in the saddle, I was gladly freewheeling into the city centre.
Cycling from Dublin to Belfast isn’t the easiest cycle journey, but it’s interesting and surprisingly scenic in parts. An added plus is you don’t have to pay the toll on the M1, which means I have an extra ¤1.80 to put towards a comfier saddle and pannier bags.
If you would like to sponsor the Sunday Times Wicklow 200 by Dublinbike challenge you can do so at www.cmrf.org/sponsorshipPage/show/1026, the official site of the the Children’s Medical and Research Foundation, which raises funds for Our Lady’s children’s hospital