Northern Ireland Outdoors Forum - Hiking, camping and more
Outdoor Activities => Cycling and Boarding => Topic started by: b0ogaloo on November 10, 2012
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Hi
I’m thinking of doing the Belfast to Ballyshannon (http://www.cycleni.com/105/belfast-to-ballyshannon/) route towards the end of May next year
Has anyone ever done anything like this before ?
Andy
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I take it by the overwhelming response that’s a no then ? :D
I did my first half decent run with the bike loaded on Sunday ,Belfast to Bangor , Bangor to Portaferry along the coast ,Portaferry to Ards and Ards back to Belfast
I was carrying approx 20 kilos in the panniers , I lost all sensation in my toes halfway between Milisle and Ballywalter , so I stopped and defrosted them by boiling a pot of water and adding it to a litre of cold water in a dry bag and immersing my feet in it .... bliss
62 miles in just under 5 hours ... very enjoyable, not too much traffic and good to try out the bike loaded , although that hill out of Ards is a killer
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-c9lcz-TUrY8/UKqvWwsMuVI/AAAAAAAAJuk/gk3Z9gpEiSQ/s720/IMAG0841.jpg)
That's the bike and rear panniers ... its a Btwin riverside 7 from Decathlon (http://www.decathlon.co.uk/riverside-7-id_8070411.html) . the panniers are Ortileb classic back rollers , I've still a front rack and panniers to get plus a few other bits and pieces
Andy
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Nice job. I have always wanted to do this however when my bike was nicked I never got round to trying again.
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Nice trick for the feet!
I haven't done anything like this yet, but want to cycle to Mongolia one day...well I'm sure it'll take longer than one day, but you know what I mean ;)
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b0ogaloo
Just finished a ten day cycle tour around Scotland. Camping each night and cycling approx 40 -50 miles a day, not a lot in some peoples eyes but enough for me. Camped in a couple of wild sites, but mainly in proper sites. Difficult to know sometimes which were the wild ones. Met some great characters on my journey including one man cycling from Lands end to John o groats, a couple french lads heading to Calais to get home. Met Peter from Irvine who escorted me through the towns cycle paths and amazingly I ran in to him again three days later 50 miles away. How does that work? The panniers weighed 26 Kgs and the Bike 22 Kgs, a total of 7.5 stone in old money, on a mission now to lighten everything. Had a great time and looking forward to the next.
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Sounds like you had a great tour. That is some weight though... how did the bike handle?
I've been thinking about getting a single wheel trailer for the shopping/future touring. Although it seems like an extra complication compared to panniers, I've only ever read good things about them. I saw a group in the Cairngorms last week all using (the very expensive) Bob Yak trailers.
Skiidii ones look very good, can get them on eBay for about £70... they are steel so weigh 8.5kg (but the weight is all off the bike and very low CoG... and steel can be welded anywhere in the world if you snap it). Come with a big custom-fit bag, flag, etc and just fit onto a special quick-release skewer on the rear wheel.
There are some other superlight options like frame bags for very minimal packing: there's one made to fit your main frame triangle, then basically a special wrap/holder for the handlebars & seatpost that hold a drybag... don't know if I'd just use a small pack if I was going that light, I'm used to having a few kgs on my back when pedalling.
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At speed it was fine, in the lower gears it was a bit wobbly. Came off when taking a short cut through Greenock golf Course. Hit some gravel and went "head over tit" in front of the first tee, witnessed by six golfers starting their round, they enjoyed it.
I thought about a trailer. But felt you have a third wheel to drag along would be difficult, plus the temptation to load it up, would be my problem. Seen a family with one in Scotland, the father still had panniers on the bike, I don't know how he was moving. I found you are continually dragging the bike on and off kerbs, which would be difficult with a trailer. On the plus side, you could get away with a cheaper bike as the weight is in the trailer.
I am going to get a lighter bike and lightened the panniers is the way ahead.
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I've been looking into doing some bicycle touring. I've been in scotland the past year and got a mountain bike to do some exploring but moving back to Belfast in two weeks so I've started looking into cycling trails and ordered the full Northern Irish Map Pack off the sustrans website for £10.
Combining the Belfast to Ballyshannon and Ballyshannon to Larne routes looks like it could be good fun, although I'll need to work my way up to that as the longest I've ride I've done so far was only 50 miles and it would be just over 500 miles.
Once I get back to Northern Ireland I'm going to try and start overnight trips round the Mournes or something and see how I get on.