The trip...

I thought I'd bore the pants off you guys with how the trip to Ireland on the bike went. :) You might want to come back to it a bit later as it's a bit long...

The trip was a fantastic experience. I'm so chuffed to have done it. The four and a half hour ride to Holyhead was long and my map / AA instruction reading skills leave a lot to be desired. I'm sure with experience they'll improve...

When I got the bike onto the ferry there were four other bikes there - all Gold Wings with trailers. You know what, when you're finding yourself strapping a bloody trailer to a Gold Wing it's time to get a car.

I had forgotten to buy some straps for securing the bike but it was cool as they had some good ones there for the bikes. No strapping the bike to the wall this time. There were anchors on the wall and floor to strap them to. It was cool. :)

I stayed in Dublin for the first night with Mark and his friend Anto. The next day I headed off to Donegal. The roads have improved so much since the last time I was over there. At no point did I feel unsafe riding them and the road between Enniskillen and Ballyshannon...what a little piece of biking heaven. It meanders around Lower Lough Erne...fabulous road with amazing scenery. You couldn't have kicked the grin off my face. The last time I attempted that road I was sh*tting myself. Really. I was so much more inexperienced and lacked much of the confidence and biking skills I now have.

I finally pulled into Ballyshannon where I was greeted with the building of the new bridge. It's going to be massive and I can't believe how quickly it's being built. I nearly came off the bike trying to get a better look at it. Top tip - when trying to check out the scenery stop the bike first.

It was lovely to see mammy but man I was shocked to see how pale she was. She just looked so wee and vulnerable. For the few days I was there I looked after her. To be honest I think that the thing she appreciated was me cooking for her. Let's say her cooking skills aren't one of her best talents. *smile* I'm not great either but definitely better.

It was great over there. When I wasn't in the house looking after mam I was out on the bike and checking out the local countryside, visiting family and friends and generally chilling out. Donegal is a fantastic county, it really is. If you ever get a chance to head over there grab it. Now it's got better roads it's a good place to bike to as well. My cousin Sean proved how good some of the roads were by getting 150mph out of his Thunderchuff on the road to Donegal. :)

I headed over to Belfast on the 31st to visit my sister Leanne and her little girls. It rained for the first time and man did it pour down. It was like it had been holding it for the previous 9 days. It did not stop all day. By the time I reached Belfast I was a soggy mess and was in not the best of moods. So that kind of spoiled it. I've never really spent time in Belfast before and driving through it I can say that there are parts I'd not want to spend time in again...man that place has really suffered. The people I chatted with were lovely, that accent tho'....feck even when they're being helpful and lovely they sound like they're going to take you outside for a beating. But there are lovely parts to it too...so I've been told.

I headed off early the next day to Dublin. I've never travelled between Belfast and Dublin before and it was a great experience. The countryside was fantastic. I found myself coming up over hills to find a valley stretched out in front of me that was so green and warm and beautiful. The skies were blue and the traffic for the most part of the journey was pretty light. Aw man it was lovely.

Stayed the night again with my brother Mark. Another chilled night with him and Anto.

The following morning Mark saw me off to the ferry. There weren't many people on it this time and no other bikes. Slept for a bit of the journey and chatted with a Dublin lad for the rest of it. It was such lovely weather and they told us that it was so lovely that we'd make it to Holyhead in good time...over an hour later than scheduled we were finally allowed to disembark.

Man I walked like John Wayne by the time I got to Corby. I pushed the bike into the garage, limped into my aunts house and collapsed onto the chair...with a big stupid grin on my face. :)

Next year I want to go to Spain.