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I set out on Friday morning in the rain and reached Holyhead where I met up with Rob on his new RT. The crossing was painless and we rode off the ferry at 4pm into the soft Irish rain and headed for the M50 to get round Dublin. We hit two lanes of solid traffic on the motorway and had to filter for 15 miles until we left it and headed North on the R152. Rob pulled in at a petrol station and tipped a litre of oil in the brand new RT engine, it seems it was using it a bit rapidly.
At Castleblayney I watched Rob disappear into the distance as we got split up at a set of traffic lights. It then got dark. I rang Aidan from Omagh to say I was running a bit late, I managed to find the Pub car park at 8:30 and Rob turned up fifteen minutes later. It seems my gps had found me a short cut, which would explain the size of the lanes it lead me down in the dark.
A quick shower and down into the bar to find Civil and his sweetheart Billy, a quick pint and then to the other bar where everyone was having dinner.
Civil and Bob in the Bridge Bar…………
Tasty wallpaper………..
Good looking bunch these Irish Tossers………….
Beers and bullshit all night then up early to get a bottle of water and a newspaper. Ramelton was nice and quiet apart from a few tractors and Aidan wandering around trying to find an autobank………….
The pub that accommodated us all……….
A property with masses of potential for development, not too sure I fully agree with the sentiment of the graffiti but it made me smile……….
There’d been bars in Ramelton for a few years it seems……….
And the local boy Civil told me later that “Football Special” was a locally made softdrink………..
Tractors and cranes and pubs waiting for a bit of investment……..
The sun started to come out as we were getting ready for the ride out. We all checked the risk assessment and confirmed that our insurance covered us, I received a nudge in my ribs and realised I was having a bad dream after falling asleep at the breakfast table.
First stop on the Saturday ride……..
The roads were dry, empty and bendy………
We stopped for a cuppa and Aidan had a go at Mandy’s pie……
A message for Steptoe at Fanad Head lighthouse…………
And a team shot………..
We parked up on a pier and ordered 16 portions of fish and chips to eat on the beach, a perfect setting…….
Then more roads of the same excellent standard and back to the pub for a pint before showering and heading off to the Bridge Bar for dinner. Downstairs from the restaurant in the bar we found a blues band just setting up……….
So we settled in for the night……..
Seems the bar had a thing for Lady Di, spotted a few pictures of her, but liked this one the best. Is nothing sacred?……..
Then back to the pub when the band finished to find a disco on, I showed Billy and Mandy how to dance then retired to bed tired and emotional………
Up to a late Sunday breakfast then into the bar to watch the GP on the TV. Then Tuned offered to show Sugar Cube and me a route around to Ballycastle where I was heading for on Sunday night. We rode up the side of Lough Foyle and caught a ferry across to Magilligan Point……….
Just before Portstewart he led us up a hill to a viewpoint called Bishops View. We could see the whole of the coastline of the lough to where it met the sea……..
We then rode part of the North West 200 course and stopped at an appropriate place for a photocall……
A bite to eat for dinner in Portrush then onto Ballycastle. I found a B&B and Sugar Cube and Tuned left for home. Ballycastle seemed to have more than its fair share of Nova boy racers who provided top entertainment cruising up and down the seafront all evening while I had a quiet beer in a hotel bar.
In the morning the clouds looked ominous………..
My plan was to head around the coast. I came across what the signpost said was a vanishing lake a few miles into my ride on Monday morning, I waited for five minutes but it still seemed to be there……..
I was enjoying riding on my own for the first time for a couple of days……..
I stopped and fixed my camera to the RAM mount on my bars and had a go at some riding shots……….
My back brake started grinding, I knew my rear pads were low so it wasn’t a surprise. I’d packed a set of new ones just in case. I found a nice picnic area by the sea and got the stove out for a coffee. You can’t work on the bike without a cuppa…….
I changed the pads while an old boy and a dog watched me. He chatted about bikes he’d had when he was younger and said he’d like another now he’d retired, I asked him how old he was and he told me he was 82.
I rode on around the coast until I got to Belfast. I managed to end up going right through the centre the out to the east through the protestant area, the ends of the houses had the murals I’d seen on the TV but I was surprised how many there were.
At Stormount I stopped to take a look at the Parliament building, the guard on the barrier wouldn’t let me ride up and I didn’t fancy the walk, so I took a couple of pictures then carried on……..
I rode down the side east side of Strangford Lough to Portaferry and took the ferry over to Strangford with another tractor driver………
Following the coast from there through Ardglass then up to Clough and then down the coast again to Carlingford Lough. I rode through Newry which seemed a bit rough then down to Dundalk. I tried to get in a B&B I’d stopped in before at a place called Blackrock a couple of miles out of the town but it was closed for the winter. So I headed for Drogheda to another hotel I’d stayed in before, I was wet and cold and wanted some luxury. So the room in the Best Western Boyne Valley Hotel was welcome, I had a swim in it's pool in my pants then a nice meal and a couple of pints.
I woke in the morning intending to head for the south coast but the weather forecast showed no improvement so I took an executive decision and headed for Dun Loaghaire port hoping to get the 11am crossing.
It was not to be, gales had delayed it and it wouldn’t be making the return crossing but laying over until the 4pm crossing. So I hung about in the rain drinking expensive coffee.
It eventually set sail and the deck hand told me to make sure the bike was secure as it was a bit rough……..
It got me to Hollyhead for 6pm, a mad dash home then took me another four hours and the rain stopped 20 miles from home.
I got up this morning knackered and opened the curtains to sun and blue skies
An enjoyable few days, hope you enjoyed my tale and pictures………
At Castleblayney I watched Rob disappear into the distance as we got split up at a set of traffic lights. It then got dark. I rang Aidan from Omagh to say I was running a bit late, I managed to find the Pub car park at 8:30 and Rob turned up fifteen minutes later. It seems my gps had found me a short cut, which would explain the size of the lanes it lead me down in the dark.
A quick shower and down into the bar to find Civil and his sweetheart Billy, a quick pint and then to the other bar where everyone was having dinner.
Civil and Bob in the Bridge Bar…………
Tasty wallpaper………..
Good looking bunch these Irish Tossers………….
Beers and bullshit all night then up early to get a bottle of water and a newspaper. Ramelton was nice and quiet apart from a few tractors and Aidan wandering around trying to find an autobank………….
The pub that accommodated us all……….
A property with masses of potential for development, not too sure I fully agree with the sentiment of the graffiti but it made me smile……….
There’d been bars in Ramelton for a few years it seems……….
And the local boy Civil told me later that “Football Special” was a locally made softdrink………..
Tractors and cranes and pubs waiting for a bit of investment……..
The sun started to come out as we were getting ready for the ride out. We all checked the risk assessment and confirmed that our insurance covered us, I received a nudge in my ribs and realised I was having a bad dream after falling asleep at the breakfast table.
First stop on the Saturday ride……..
The roads were dry, empty and bendy………
We stopped for a cuppa and Aidan had a go at Mandy’s pie……
A message for Steptoe at Fanad Head lighthouse…………
And a team shot………..
We parked up on a pier and ordered 16 portions of fish and chips to eat on the beach, a perfect setting…….
Then more roads of the same excellent standard and back to the pub for a pint before showering and heading off to the Bridge Bar for dinner. Downstairs from the restaurant in the bar we found a blues band just setting up……….
So we settled in for the night……..
Seems the bar had a thing for Lady Di, spotted a few pictures of her, but liked this one the best. Is nothing sacred?……..
Then back to the pub when the band finished to find a disco on, I showed Billy and Mandy how to dance then retired to bed tired and emotional………
Up to a late Sunday breakfast then into the bar to watch the GP on the TV. Then Tuned offered to show Sugar Cube and me a route around to Ballycastle where I was heading for on Sunday night. We rode up the side of Lough Foyle and caught a ferry across to Magilligan Point……….
Just before Portstewart he led us up a hill to a viewpoint called Bishops View. We could see the whole of the coastline of the lough to where it met the sea……..
We then rode part of the North West 200 course and stopped at an appropriate place for a photocall……
A bite to eat for dinner in Portrush then onto Ballycastle. I found a B&B and Sugar Cube and Tuned left for home. Ballycastle seemed to have more than its fair share of Nova boy racers who provided top entertainment cruising up and down the seafront all evening while I had a quiet beer in a hotel bar.
In the morning the clouds looked ominous………..
My plan was to head around the coast. I came across what the signpost said was a vanishing lake a few miles into my ride on Monday morning, I waited for five minutes but it still seemed to be there……..
I was enjoying riding on my own for the first time for a couple of days……..
I stopped and fixed my camera to the RAM mount on my bars and had a go at some riding shots……….
My back brake started grinding, I knew my rear pads were low so it wasn’t a surprise. I’d packed a set of new ones just in case. I found a nice picnic area by the sea and got the stove out for a coffee. You can’t work on the bike without a cuppa…….
I changed the pads while an old boy and a dog watched me. He chatted about bikes he’d had when he was younger and said he’d like another now he’d retired, I asked him how old he was and he told me he was 82.
I rode on around the coast until I got to Belfast. I managed to end up going right through the centre the out to the east through the protestant area, the ends of the houses had the murals I’d seen on the TV but I was surprised how many there were.
At Stormount I stopped to take a look at the Parliament building, the guard on the barrier wouldn’t let me ride up and I didn’t fancy the walk, so I took a couple of pictures then carried on……..
I rode down the side east side of Strangford Lough to Portaferry and took the ferry over to Strangford with another tractor driver………
Following the coast from there through Ardglass then up to Clough and then down the coast again to Carlingford Lough. I rode through Newry which seemed a bit rough then down to Dundalk. I tried to get in a B&B I’d stopped in before at a place called Blackrock a couple of miles out of the town but it was closed for the winter. So I headed for Drogheda to another hotel I’d stayed in before, I was wet and cold and wanted some luxury. So the room in the Best Western Boyne Valley Hotel was welcome, I had a swim in it's pool in my pants then a nice meal and a couple of pints.
I woke in the morning intending to head for the south coast but the weather forecast showed no improvement so I took an executive decision and headed for Dun Loaghaire port hoping to get the 11am crossing.
It was not to be, gales had delayed it and it wouldn’t be making the return crossing but laying over until the 4pm crossing. So I hung about in the rain drinking expensive coffee.
It eventually set sail and the deck hand told me to make sure the bike was secure as it was a bit rough……..
It got me to Hollyhead for 6pm, a mad dash home then took me another four hours and the rain stopped 20 miles from home.
I got up this morning knackered and opened the curtains to sun and blue skies
An enjoyable few days, hope you enjoyed my tale and pictures………
)
- if you were more 
