TR Ireland west coast

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Are there some places in Ireland with great scenery _and_ smoother roads?

Not really. There is no place in Ireland with really good consistent road surfaces. The reason is
simple. We have a huge road network and a small population and cannot maintain all of it decently.
Just a statistic. Co.Cork has as many miles of surfaced road as Quebec Province in Canada.

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How does the west coast of Scotland compare on road quality and scenery?

Very good roads in Scotland but much fewer roads. Superb scenery. More dramatic than Ireland but
less colourful.

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What about Bretagne / Normandie in France?

Brittany is VERY hilly. It's mixed as regards scenery. Some superb places with long boring
stretches. With a few exceptions, nothing as spectacular as Ireland or Scotland. I have very little
experience of Normandy but have cycled in Brittany 7 times.

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Favorite rides: -- Slea Head Drive loop on Dingle peninsula, county Kerry. Best

combination

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of scenery and road quality we found. (and looked like Dingle has at

least

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one more day of great riding).

That is superb.

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-- Leenane - Killary fiord - Doo Lough Pass - beach near Emlagh Point - Louisburgh - Westport -
Leenane loop (mostly county Mayo) (and other good possibilities in county Galway nearby around
Clifden / Maam Cross / Cong)

You should do the Pass east from Doo Lough as well. It's superb.

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-- Burren seacoast road around Black Head in county Clare, but our loop

back

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to Lisdoonvarna thru the Burren interior didn't feel worth our

butt-soreness

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from road bumps.

You need to become hardassed!!!

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-- There's some great scenery out on the west end of the Iveragh

peninsula,

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but the "Ring of Kerry" loop makes you endure a lot of distance on rough roads to get there. And
on some quieter roads even further west by the "Ring of Skellig" loop, we encountered an
unbelievably steep climb and descent.

That is a killer. That's the road up from Portmagee. About 20%.

I'm glad you enjoyed it. Ireland does get a lot of cloud which can [censored] foreigners off BUT it almost
never gets too hot which in this unbelievably hot summer in Europe this year is a bonus.

For those of you who do come to Ireland to tour, my advice is cut back your mileage to adjust to the
rough roads and you'll enjoy it. I cycle 70 miles a day abroad but 50-60 here. I'm Irish and I've
cycled most of the country as well as touring extensively abroad. Ireland has a lot of plusses still
for touring though it has become expensive.