Die and go to heaven...i.e. take your bike to Ireland/England

[Semi-retired]

Just got back from a 10 day vacation in Ireland and the UK.

 

The roads were "built for bikes".......twisty, turny, uppy, downy, scenic, PAVED!

 

Oddly we saw only about FOUR BIKES out in the country in the 5 days we spent touring the Republic.

 

Not much better in England. All the way from Liverpool (stayed in the Hard Day's Night Hotel, yeah baby) to London, saw maybe TEN bikes. Weird.

 

Once IN London, however, that all changed! Bikes were everywhere; and everything from vintage Honda's to, well, vintage everything else and NEW everything as well.

 

But seriously, if you wanna glue a permanent smile on your face, figure out a way to get on a two-wheeler in Great Britain and hit the back roads.

 

We didn't......and we KNEW we were gonna regret it. And we did.

 

If I can figure out how to post a video, I'll add a couple of juicy jpeg's....once I get over my jet-lag......AND get all the laundry done!

[Huggy]

Waiting with baited breath for those pictures!!

[dave_wells]

Some info on the mortorcycle rentals and lodging if you can share it

Pictures .....

I assume you rented.

[BlueSky]

I wouldn't survive. I'd forget and ride on the right side of the road.

[van avery]

We just returned from Scotland and Ireland trip too. Other that the main "motorways" , I'm not sure most of the roads have more that a straight 1/2 mile but you have to watch out for the free range sheep. The roads are also thinner that our roads with a bunch of tight curves where you could lose your head to a car or bus coming the other way.

In Scotland our tour guide said a lot of the country roads were created by the sheep being hearded to market.

Beautiful country.

[saddlebum]

We just returned from Scotland and Ireland trip too. Other that the main "motorways" , I'm not sure most of the roads have more that a straight 1/2 mile but you have to watch out for the free range sheep. The roads are also thinner that our roads with a bunch of tight curves where you could lose your head to a car or bus coming the other way.[ATTACH=CONFIG]101924[/ATTACH]

In Scotland our tour guide said a lot of the country roads were created by the sheep being hearded to market.

Beautiful country.

 

Sounds a lot like Kitchener Ontario. I am pretty sure they just paved over the rabbit runs to create their roads.

[eagleeye]

Here is one that I have been in touch with:

 

http://www.ridethehighlands.co.uk/

[Brenda H]

Wouldn't work for me. Their rental fleet is all Beemers. Great bikes but definitely not for the vertically challenged!!

 

Here is one that I have been in touch with:

 

http://www.ridethehighlands.co.uk/

[M61A1MECH]

I just got back from 8 days in Ireland, I agree riding a bike over there would be great, but as noted in an earlier post, they drive on the wrong side of the road, in a car it is not so bad, you have a frame of reference with the steering wheel being on the side towards the center of the road, but not so with a bike. I would need to a big sign on the inside of the windshield or on the dash to remind me to stay on the left side. Heck I had enough trouble remembering to look the correct way for traffic when crossing the street.

 

I would recommend Ireland as a vacation destination, either with a tour company as we did, driving or riding, but do be careful if driving or riding.