So, the
plan was to go for a pannier-less cycle on the Monday with JJ. I had fixed my
tube and bike was ready for some more cycling - I'm not exactly sure I was! My
legs were pretty worn out from the big cycle . I didn't really think about it
when I was just trying to get through the distance, but I had cycled 60km on a
tire that was at max 50% pressure. Crazy!!
JJ met me
at mine in the morning - for a change we had no idea of route, just started
with the plan that it would be nice to cycle to Jerpoint Abbey, an impressive
monastic ruin just outside 10km away. It was something I'd only ever passed by
in car, and as was always curious to drop in and have a look!
The bike
felt great without the weight of pannier bags, and with restored pressure in
the back tire. The backroads were pretty pleasant to Thomastown, and while it
was nice to have a walk around Jerpoint Abbey, I think we both just wanted to
get back on the bikes again. After stopping for some lunch by the river in
Thomastown, we decided, instead of returning on ourselves we would go on to
Graiguenamanagh, and then proceed home from there, along the same route we had
finished our journey 2 days previously.
The road
out of Thomastown was fine - a bit draggy and slowly winding uphill. Probably
wouldn't have been entirely enjoyable lugging our panniers along on this
stretch, but it was fine for just rolling along and chatting. This continued
for about 5 - 10km, just cycling for the sake of cycling, until we reached our
final approach to Graig.
As we came
over the crest of the hill, a spectacular view to Graig in the Barrow valley
opened up in front of us, with the Leinster
Mountains a prominent
backdrop. We were rolling into it now and starting to pick up speed. This road
was fantastic - it was narrow enough to get an impression of speed, but wide
enough to feel safe. The descent was not too severe so we were always in
control, but were comfortably bombing it down at about 60km/h without much
effort, and all the while taking in the dramatic views on the way. There were
some bends in the road too, but the visibility was such that we know we could
really go for it, with no real surprises along the way. What was really great
was that normally, these kind of descents are just brief experiences followed
by a hill. The road just kept going for about 8- 10km, which made for about 10
minutes of pure exhilaration. It's probably one of my favourite descents that
I'd cycled to date - I've only cycled it once, but looking forward to doing it
again soon!
After
stopping briefly at a garage for some refreshments and recounting our
experience of that great stretch, we went about returning home along the
familiar route we had only be along 2 days previously/
Although it
was still obvious that this road went on and on uphill for quite some time, the
experience today was SO different. With pressure in the tires and no weight on
the bike (apart from my fat arse), it was actually quite enjoyable, and in the
right gear it was very manageable altogether. After stopping briefly to take in
the view of St. Mullins, we headed over the little hill to JJ's, racing down
the other side. We parted company and I took the nice descent back to Inistioge
- invigorated, even the intense climb back up to my house was no problem
really. I checked the computer on the bike. 50km done, not a bother on us.
We would
decide later in the evening whether we would cycle back to Dublin the following day. For all my
enjoyment of today, I was still concerned about this. I didn't think my legs
were fully recovered from the cycle down, and I knew the cycle back was going
be predominantly uphill, plus we would have our panniers again. Either way we
were going to be in for a few surprises....
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