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Ireland Ride and Rental Recommend?

j_withers

New member
Hello,
I am headed to Ireland with my wife for our delayed honeymoon and she brought up the idea of renting a motorcycle (that is why i married a gal like that).
She just rides as a passenger though.

I contacted Eagle Riders and Celtic Rider.Celtic Rider stopped returning my e-mails...

I am guessing we would ride for 3-4 days starting in Dublin. We don't have too much time there.

I'm curious if anybody here has:
Ridden Ireland in early May...
Knows how cold it may get...
Knows of a place to rent a reliable bike, gear and maybe a GPS...

and any other tips?

Thanks in Advance.

-Josh
 
Keep after Celtic Rider - I've rented from them a nd they're good but can be hard to contact at times. Paul is a great guy.

Weather: prolly gonna be 55F and rain a bit - pretty much like all summer. We rode all over Ireland for 3 weeks in May of '09 and a couple of times before and since. Great country.

For the limited amount of time like you have, I'd ride the Wicklow Mtn area and the the Ring Of Kerry area. Ansd keep towards the coasts for the best riding.
 
A few piccies from various trips.....

Ring of Kerry
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Average road in Ireland; narrow and not the smoothest you've ever been on...
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Reminds ya of an old Led Zep album cover, Giants Causeway...
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We went to loads of roadside cemeteries - they're everywhere...

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Pic my wife took that made into the Aerostich catalog a couple of years ago .....
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Little pub we ate lunch in , out in the middle of nowhere...
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Loads of castles to tour, like this tower castle. It was a tourist place. just an old castle that the owner said we could go inside...
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Lots of tourist castles that charge you to go inside...
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Had more than a few of these...
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Galway town center...
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Our hotel in Galway..
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Won't bore you with too many more pics, but you get the idea.
Great place to tour on a bike. The weather isn't fantastic but if you dress warmly and with rain gear, you'll have a great time.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to email me at EaracheMS@Gmail.com and I'll help you out in any way I can.
 
WOW! Thanks! I hope we have enough time to hit many of those places. You certainly got me excited after viewing some of those photos. I'm going to send my deposit off today. Once i figure out our suggested route, i'm going to compare with your photos...
Truly appreciated. You definitely sold me on it!

-J
 
No problem - you'll enjoy your trip.

I'd rent a GS or a Triumph Tiger or something of that sort. The roads there are generally pretty bumpy and not very well maintained. Highways are fine but anything else will benefit from the longer travel suspension of a GS type bike.

Fuel is readily available, but it's expensive - even by California standards. Expect to pay nearly $8 per gallon. But you won't be doing huge amounts of miles either.

Food isn't cheap either but hotels have come done in price as the economy has hurt tourism and the remaining hotels fight for what guests they can get. We made reservations only for the first three nights in Dublin - wanted to stay at a specific location so we chose the Westin due to it's proximity to the town center and the Temple Bar area. After that, we just kinda winged it and had our choice of just about any hotel in the towns we stayed in. This was 2009 and it hasn't recovered that much yet, so your experience should be the same.
 
Hotel we stayed in at Spanish Point, The Armada ; http://www.armadahotel.com/

Oceanfront rooms, fantastic views from your bed (and tub) ...
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Place had pretty decent food, 2-3 pubs, and great service and staff. We initially were going to stay one night but enjoyed it so much there that we stayed for three. Great place that I'll return to.
 
And the weirdest place we stayed, in Kilkenny. Kinda like a chromed out S&M room...
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I was totally diggin' the chromed rocker....
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Wicklow Mountain area, south of Dublin along the coast. Probably the best riding area in Ireland...
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Temple Bar area of Dublin. Doesn't get more touristy than this, but still a good time for a night out...
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Hope you like to drink beer...and lots of it...
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Ireland

I've been to Ireland 3 times, twice to the Republic and last year to N Ireland. Last two trips on golfing vacations. Never ridden there. People are superb. Friendly, hospitable and a bit off the wall. But always great fun. Roads are not great, but fairly consistent in a car. Eat in pubs. Restaurants are better than Scotland, but expensive for what you get.

I would ride there in a heartbeat, but my dance card is full this year. Enjoy!!!
 
Been there, done that-I agree on the head S from Dublin through Wicklows(look for Tom Selick's place) then circle the south with Cork then Kerry route and back up to Galway & back across to Dublin. For 3-4 days it will be a riding tour only but give you enough to want to go back for more. We did an 18 day circum tour on our own & that onlt hits the high spots. Expect roads with a rock wall/dense hedge on each side a very limited vision. These rural roads get kinda hairy @ rush home time as the Irish drivers don't mess around on the way to the house! The weather in May can get past 55 F but not much. Dress for rain everyday & enjoy the sun when you get it. Some really nice gardens if your into that thing. As for castles, after a few I have seen my last one up close & personal & our upcoming trip to UK will NOT! include castle stops. Really, how many does one need in a lifetime? I am one of those people that will & can eat ANYTHING!, for the most part but was not overly impressed with the food anywhere there exception being a large micro brewery in Dublin. Also had a few good pub meals but the menus have a tendency to seem very repetitious. Whereas I like to try new stuff most places(I eat street food all the time in Mexico) there it was sameo. N. Ireland is more English menu but you don't have time to go there? or are you saying the bike part only is 3-4 days?
 
The bike deposit has been paid. We are booked and excitedly getting ready to go.
It will be a 3-4 day ride from Dublin.
We can't wait...
my concerns are:
- being too cold (we are going to bring some ski-gear 1st layers), or possibly getting wet.
- having enough room for my camera gear and warm clothes. (2 people, 1 bike. I'm a photographer for a living)
- riding on the opposite side of the road.

Other then that... Guinness here we come!
 
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