Day 22: 100k to Waterford
We got up at 8 and had breakfast at 9 in a room separate from the dinner dining room. This room is bright, has wall paintings and faces the back garden. We had a few items from the cold buffet such as the honey made from the bees on the grounds, homemade yogurt, homegrown berries, and bread made that morning. We each had a breakfast from the menu. I chose the spinach and mushroom omelette and Mark chose the full Irish (bacon which is called rashers, sausage, white pudding, black pudding, beans, roasted tomato, mushrooms, and a fried egg). I stuck some homemade granola bars and two scones in our bags for our 9hr bike ride. We had a quick swim in the pool, packed up, and headed out at 11am for our full day ride.
The ride was a constant series of low grade uphill followed by downhill. The roads were beautiful but I was certainly slower on the second day. Mark got a puncture in his tire and the spare tube wasn’t the right one, so it took a little extra maneuvering and wrestling to get it properly situated.
We met my parents in Dungarvan for a late lunch at 4pm at a place called The Moorings. I had one of the best veggie curries I’ve ever had. We had a quick late lunch and then hit the road again.
Mark’s tube was deflated again. He patched the original one and changed the tube. My bum and hands were so sore I wasn’t sure if I was up for another 3hrs of biking. Mark was so hyped to keep going that it motivated me, along with the beautiful blue skies and the inability to give in. We were less than 200m from The Moorings when Waterford’s Greenway started. It’s a rail trail! The path is new, smooth, flat and absolutely gorgeous and 50km long. Our remaining 3hrs were complete bliss. We stopped for a drone shot as the gentle waves of the Atlantic were too good to pass up. There were wild flowers on both sides the whole way. We saw lots of people out for an exercising walk, on the phone, listening to a podcast/music, or on a bike ride. There wasn’t a single cyclist behind us that overtook us, so we didn't have to keep an eye over our shoulder. Mark and I had a constant and fairly quick pace. The others around us were on a gentler routine. We saw another 6,507 cows in the fields on either side. We passed underneath a long and very cool railway tunnel. There were lights on the walls, which were likely installed when the Greenway was created. You could see a pedestrian in the tunnel but only when they were about 10m in front of you. We passed over about a dozen bridges and passed under about 50 bridges. I loved every single second of Waterford’s Greenway.
It took us all the way to Waterford where our hotel was. We met my parents there at half 8 for a pint, onion rings, chips and a Bailey’s cheesecake. Wild Atlantic Way Bikes picked up our bikes and we were in bed by 11pm. The Granville Hotel was lovely. A quintessential hotel with rugs throughout, a sunny dining room in the front, and typical pub in the back. Spiraling staircase in the middle of the building that had two or more floors, each with about 30 rooms. We watched the first episode of the latests season on Jack Ryan. We slept extremely well after such an active day.
