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Wild Atlantic Way In 1 Week : Day 2 – Kenmare to Ballybunion : #WAWIn1Week

July 8, 2023September 13, 2015 by TomBoyNI

Wild Atlantic Way In 1 Week : Day 2 – Kenmare to Ballybunion

Update : 19/02/2019 : The YouTube video of Day 2 is now available for your viewing pleasure…Enjoy!

Tuesday 28th July 2015 and it is Day 2 of the #WAWIn1Week. Today’s route takes me from Kenmare, Co. Kerry to Ballybunion, Co. Kerry. I had worked this out at about 230 miles when planning the route, however this is a long, long leg. It’s probably closer to 280 – 300 miles and the with a pretty heavy volume of traffic, and some pretty small tight roads it leads to a long day in the saddle. Today I was on the bike for a solid 12 hours with few stops. Lunch for example was about 2.30pm at a garage on a picnic bench on the way to Dingle. Tasty fresh sandwiches though, and friendly staff so it was grand, but time was the main issue I had today.

Wild Atlantic Way Kenmare to Ballybunion

This section of the route took me to two signature points today :

Bray Head
Radharc Na Mblascaodai

Wild Atlantic Way In 1 Week : Day 1– Kinsale to Kenmare : WAWIn1Week

July 8, 2023September 2, 2015 by TomBoyNI

Wild Atlantic Way In 1 Week : Day 1– Kinsale to Kenmare :

Update : 28/10/2016 : The YouTube video of Day 1 is now available for your viewing pleasure…Enjoy!

So this is Day 1 proper of my trip along the Wild Atlantic Way. The route takes me from Kinsale to Kenmare and is approximately 287 miles.

As you can see from the map above there are 3 Signature Points in this section of the route, namely :

Old Head of Kinsale
Mizen Head
Dursey Island.

The Signature Points along the WAW are what have been deemed as the ‘unmissable’ along the route and to be fair they are unmissable, when you are here make sure you check them out! On my trip I managed to stop at each of these points my only warning in relation to them is – they are busy. You can go for many many miles and not see another soul, however as you approach these Signature Points everything else increases, so the traffic can get quite heavy at some points, annoyingly heavy and be aware no one in front of you seems to care or be aware of what is going on behind them.

Old Head of Kinsale :

The Old Head of Kinsale is a remarkably dramatic piece of Ireland, protruding more than 3km into the Atlantic Ocean. Located on the Southwest Coast in County Cork, it is famous for its world-class, 18-hole golf course. Nine holes play along the tops of the cliffs, but all 18 holes boast stunning views of the ocean. Long before it became a golfer’s paradise, Old Head was known for its lighthouse, established in the 17th century by Robert Reading. This is also the nearest land point to the site where the RMS Lusitania sank in 1915, after being hit by a German torpedo. Nearly 1,200 people perished in the incident. While Kinsale is a beautiful place to admire on land, it’s best seen from the sea. You can take in views of this port town and learn more about its history with a trip aboard ‘The Spirit of Kinsale’, which brings passengers across the harbour, past Charles Fort and right to the edge of the harbour where you will get a great view of the Old Head of Kinsale before returning to port passing James Fort on the way.

#WAWIn1Week : Wild Atlantic Way In 1 Week : Day 0 – Travel Day.

August 18, 2015 by TomBoyNI

I have opted to call this day, Day Zero. That’s really because it is a day that doesn’t count. The WAW starts in Muff, Co. Donegal or Kinsale, Co. Cork depending on whether you are travelling north or south. Given where I live that meant a few hours travel either way and as I had opted for the South – North route it meant travelling to Kinsale, Co. Cork from Northern Ireland, about 30 miles north of the border. So I had about a four hour trip ahead of me. About 260 miles.

Pretty much all of these 260 miles were on dual carriageways or motorways and passed through 3 toll roads, each one costing a whopping 90 cents each. Not a big deal on one trip but I can see how this could easily mount up for local commuters. Thank goodness we don’t have any toll roads in Northern Ireland. Yet.

I was all packed and ready to go, with only one problem, rain. It had been raining all day and although not heavy, when you factor in travelling into it face first at 70 mph it wasn’t all that appealing. The rain continued, and continued, it became a case of having to go regardless. So off I went.

#WAWIn1Week – Wild Atlantic Way In 1 Week – The Gear…

October 21, 2017August 10, 2015 by TomBoyNI

So having just recently completed my trip of the West Coast of Ireland in 1 Week, along the longest Coastal Route in the World – The Wild Atlantic Way, taking in over 2,600km it is now time for me to put this trip into some sort of words, and more importantly share my photographs of this stunning area with the rest of world, and hopefully inspire a few more of you to take on this route.

The route itself is no secret, it is brilliantly signposted from start to finish and is easily completed without a sat nav, map of even the slightest clue about the geography of Ireland. There are numerous towns and villages that you will pass through and the options from accommodation range from a bit of wild camping to official campsites, or gorgeous little family run B&Bs right through to Hotel Resorts and Spas. Brilliant. Initially I had planned on completing this trip with my only accommodation being at the side of the road where I stopped. Just prior to my trip I decided on changing this due to the predicted weather, and the constant rain the Met Office told me I would be facing. It turns out on this trip over the one week timescale the change to B&B style accommodation was a good one!

This first post though will cover the gear that I used on my trip, it will touch on my motorcycle, and the gear I used for the daily ride and how it held up with the weather of an Irish ‘Summer.’ Summer in this case needs the ‘ ‘ marks, as at the time of typing I think we are somewhere close to Day 60 of consecutive rain falling somewhere in the country (its a small country) and having just passed the coldest, wettest July since 2003. On saying that as you will see over the up and coming #WAWIn1Week posts I was pretty lucky with the weather. I did get a good, in fact severe soaking, twice – enough to test the gear to the absolute limits, but for most of the time I was only hitting passing showers, or trying to keep them in my mirrors! With this route hugging the West Coast of Ireland and therefore the limits of the Atlantic Ocean it is subject to some pretty extreme weather conditions and one thing to remember if you are over and on the route what looks grim ahead may take a dramatic change around the next corner. The weather is really that changeable and if you just look out over the ocean you will get a very good idea of what the jet stream is bringing across to you over the next couple of hours.

So here we go, the gear I used and how it coped with taking on the world’s longest dedicated coastal route, 2,600km and six days on the coast…

#WAWIn1Week – Completed!

August 2, 2015 by TomBoyNI

Just by way of a quick update I have finished my trip of the Wild Atlantic Way in 1 Week.

It was an epic journey along the West Coast of Ireland and I will be posting a full ride report very soon, but in the meantime please have a look at my Twitter and Instagram accounts where you will find a large selection of photos using the hashtag #WAWIn1Week

I will also be uploading my complete route from my GPS in case anyone fancies doing the same route.

If you do fancy doing it let me know as I am considering am starting a wall of fame for the adventurers who complete this journey in the timescale.

Believe me when I tell you it was tough.

#WAWIn1Week

#WAWIn1Week – Wild Atlantic Way In 1 Week – Day Zero Travel Day

July 26, 2015 by TomBoyNI

photo 9DE6D4A4-570B-43CB-9154-A0AFEC94E003_zpsek72tid4.jpg Today my journey along the West Coast of Ireland begins.

I was planning on waiting for the perfect weather but so far this summer has been terrible and there is no sign of an imminent improvement! So I decided it was time to bite the bullet and go for it. I booked the time off work and today is Day Zero. I call it that as it isn’t really a day on the Wild Atlantic Way. It is just a day of travelling to get to the start of it. So after 260 miles and 1.25 tanks of fuel I finally have arrived at Kinsale, County Cork.

So far I have experienced every possible weather except snow and ice! The first 90 miles of my journey were wet, nah they were soaking wet, wet is actually drier that how wet it actually was! If you can work that out, and as a chap in a garage said to me, ‘At least it can’t get any worse.’ After that it got dry and windy, which I welcomed as it dried me out quite nicely and just as I got dry it got wet again, only this time wetter! Visibility was about 100 metres at best, it could only be described as grim, really really grim! Then I got to Cork, the rain stopped and the sun actually came out.

I arrived in Kinsale, Co. Cork which is a gorgeous little harbour town. It has loads of quality Irish bars and with it being a Sunday night every one of them was pumping out live music, the town was buzzing! It really is a crackin’ wee place, with loads of bikes zipping about and loads of tourists hopping from pub to pub. I threw my stuff into B&B and found a chippy called Dino’s and if you are ever here it is simply a must!

Then I took a walk about the town snapping a few photos before retiring for the evening to do this, update the Twitter and Instagram to set me up for a good night’s sleep before actual Day One!

Grip Puppies Installation – BMW F800GS Adventure

March 31, 2015 by TomBoyNI

Grip Puppies are a well regarded, and cheap, addon for your bike that is designed to increase grip and improve comfort mainly by cutting down the vibrations that travel along the handlebars, through your hands and into your arms, often leaving you with that horrid tingling feeling when you get off the bike.

Coming in at a mere £15 they are definitely worth considering. I have had them on my bike for about 1500 miles and at this stage I can confirm that they absolutely increase comfort and decrease shaky hands at the end of a trip (or even earlier). For me they don’t eliminate the sensation completely, but they definitely cut it down and ‘recovery’ time is far less. That has to be a bonus!

There is one negative, if you have heated grips these will decrease the efficiency of them. The heated grips will still work but it will take noticeably longer for the heat to reach you and they will appear to have a reduced temperature.

TomTom Rider V5 Hardwiring to BMW Can Bus Port (Aux Port / Sat Nav Port)

February 18, 2015 by TomBoyNI

BMW very kindly supply you with a Can Bus Supported Auxiliary Port on a range of their bikes that means you can easily wire your Sat Nav into the bike, meaning it will be powered from the battery of the motorcycle, however when you turn the bike off the Can Bus System then shuts down the power to the sat nav a short time later resulting no power going to the sat nav cradle and no battery drain.

Well that is the theory anyway, however some users have experienced battery drain and blame this set up, claiming that the Can Bus System isn’t compatible with their Sat Nav. That may be and BMW won’t say officially if that may be the case, stating only that their ‘Sat Nav’ port is for use solely with their Navigator System, and why not if you want to be 100% sure that everything is going to work beautifully together then you need to hand over £700 for the privilege.

Rugged Roads Headlight Protector for BMW F800GS Adventure

December 30, 2014 by TomBoyNI

Like all motorcyclists and adventure motorcyclists we all love tinkering and new bits of kit. ABRs more than any I believe love protective stuff, little farkles that protect more expensive items on the bike, are reasonably priced but look mean! Let’s be honest the look of the kit is probably its biggest asset, of course in this case we have a £40 unit protecting a £500 unit, but it looks cool and makes everything else look a bit more serious! And that is half the fun!

Don’t forget the other half though! This is after all a serious piece of kit, it does have a purpose, namely to guard the headlight from stones and debris, and this piece of kit is serious enough to do it! From the second you take it out of the packaging you will feel how sturdy it is, it is obvious that this will protect your headlights from impact of flying debris and it will only have to do it once and you will be very glad you spend the cash!

For your info here are the details from www.ruggedroads.co.uk

Protect your headlights from expensive damage due to wayward stones and other detritus with our heavy duty polycarbonate guard.

We have redesigned our headlight guard to give even more protection to your headlights without defusing the effectiveness of the lights.

This polycarbonate headlight guard has been designed by us at Rugged Roads and is manufactured to the highest quality here in the UK. We have made the fixing brackets out of Stainless Steel – and the guard itself from Makrolon®

Colour – Clear polycarbonate.

This item fits the following models:
– BMW F800GS – 2008 – 2012
– BMW F800GS – 2013 onwards
– BMW F800GSA – 2013 onwards
– BMW F650GS (Twin) – 2007 – 2012
– BMW F700GS – 2013 onwards

Installation is simple…

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