{"id":64033,"date":"2025-08-12T13:16:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T13:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/64033\/"},"modified":"2025-08-12T13:16:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T13:16:08","slug":"the-retired-couple-travelling-irelands-atlantic-cycle-route-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/64033\/","title":{"rendered":"The retired couple travelling Ireland\u2019s Atlantic cycle route \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ireland\u2019s wet Atlantic weather and hilly coastline might make it seem like a poor choice to spend weeks on end cycling<\/a> and camping.<\/p>\n

But for Br\u00edd McGovern and Bruce Doolan, recently retired and living in Dublin, the chance to feel \u201cthe fresh air\u201d and enjoy \u201cthe scenery as you go along\u201d is unmatched.<\/p>\n

The couple, aged in their 60s, have been on three cycling holidays in Ireland in the past year, tackling the EuroVelo<\/a> route that runs from Belfast<\/a> across Northern Ireland<\/a>, down the west coast and along the south coast to Rosslare<\/a>, Co Wexford. <\/p>\n

While appearing similar to the Wild Atlantic Way, the EuroVelo, managed by Doug Corrie of Cycling Ireland, does everything to keep cyclists off busy main roads. About 7 per cent of the route consists of greenways in counties Waterford and Mayo.<\/p>\n

Doolan explains how following the blue, starred signs of the EuroVelo \u201cbrought [them] around bockety roads with grass in the middle of them … which is something you wouldn\u2019t have seen if you were on the main road\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t have to battle the traffic, which was wonderful,\u201d says McGovern. \u201cWe could see things and smell the smells and hear birds singing and not be worrying about cars on the road … it was like finding a bit of gold.\u201d <\/p>\n

The EuroVelo is a network of 17 cycling routes all over Europe co-ordinated by the European Cycling Federation, two of which pass through Ireland. <\/p>\n

The Atlantic route begins at the northernmost point in Europe and follows the Norwegian fiords and Scottish glens across to Belfast. The Irish element is divided into 40 sections that are each doable in a day, ending at Rosslare Harbour. From there, it continues through England, France, Portugal and Spain.<\/p>\n

The second route, the \u2018Capitals route\u2019, is still under development and connects the big European capitals, starting in Galway and travelling eastward through Dublin, London, Amsterdam, Berlin and Warsaw. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0How cycling has economic as well as health benefitsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

The routes are \u201cquite big in Europe, but even in Europe it\u2019s not that well known\u201d, says Corrie, who says managing the EuroVelo in Ireland is his \u201cpassion\u201d. <\/p>\n

While working for Sport Ireland<\/a>, he spent five years roadtripping around Ireland trying to persuade local authorities to signpost the route and government departments to fund it. In May 2023, he was finally able to launch it and cycled the route in its entirety that summer. <\/p>\n

\"AA section of the EuroVelo 1 route in Co Donegal. Photograph: Doug Corrie <\/p>\n

Cyclists say Corrie is very helpful, always on hand to offer mapping tips or point them in the right direction of gear, facilities and scenic spots. <\/p>\n

Christy Keeler (57), an endurance sport enthusiast from Las Vegas in the US, says Doug \u201cwas amazing and he was there for me. He would sit down with the map and do little changes to make it easier for me\u201d.<\/p>\n

Over 40 days in March and April of this year, Keeler travelled 2,411km by bike and foot, exploring the length and breadth of the island.<\/p>\n

The trip was not without its challenges. Keeler had planned to camp to save money, but found the dampness, lack of official camping grounds and weight on her bicycle made it too difficult. <\/p>\n

She ultimately booked into hotels and hostels and rented Airbnbs, which meant ditching her tent and adding \u20ac2,500 to the cost of her trip.<\/p>\n

The steepness of the coastal roads was another challenge while travelling on her road bike. <\/p>\n

\"CyclistsCyclists along the EuroVelo 1 in Co Galway. Photograph: Doug Corrie <\/p>\n

\u201cI am 5ft 2in, 155lb, and turned 57 when I was there,\u201d Keeler says. \u201cIt\u2019s not like I\u2019m a Tour de France rider, so I got to the point that after the first 10 days, I was going to have to take the [national] roads because the [local and regional] roads were too hard and it would take me too long to get to the next place.\u201d <\/p>\n

Similarly, Eamon Kelly (58), who is living in Belfast, is using the EuroVelo to explore the island. <\/p>\n

\u201cI lived in Ireland until I was 18 or 19 and then, like a lot of people of my generation, left to work around the world,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re just coming back. So I really haven\u2019t spent much time in Ireland and I would like to explore it a little bit. That was more my motivation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI prefer cycling to travel, rather than cycling as a club cyclist or cycling long distance. It\u2019s more slow travel for me rather than a sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SignsSigns for EuroVelo 1 in Co Waterford. Photograph: Doug Corrie <\/p>\n

Kelly also admires the fact that the routes stretch across countries. \u201cYou could spend your life doing EuroVelos.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even though many cyclists like Kelly do parts of the route by themselves, he says, \u201cWhen I see people with panniers and they see me with panniers I think there\u2019s inevitably a stop and \u2018Where are you going and coming from? What\u2019s the route?\u2019\u2026. You kind of compare stuff, so I think that\u2019s very friendly.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says he is \u201creally enjoying seeing all these lovely small towns and villages that it brings you to. It\u2019s just a great experience\u201d.<\/p>\n

None of the cyclists are puritanical about staying exactly on the route, but will often take a detour to visit a castle, see some cliffs, have a shower in a hotel or eat in a good cafe. <\/p>\n

\u201cOn the bike, you have such an appetite for really nice food and the coffee and the cakes taste so much better \u2013 and we feel we\u2019ve earned them as well,\u201d says McGovern. <\/p>\n

Some cyclists mention the lack of cheap accommodation in the form of hostels and campsites along the way as one downside to this form of travel, particularly outside of the summer season. <\/p>\n

Then again, \u201cnothing in Ireland is cheap\u201d says McGovern, sighing. <\/p>\n

The way the route is sectioned means that unless you\u2019re like Kelly and try to do multiple sections in one day, you arrive home feeling invigorated rather than exhausted.<\/p>\n

\u201c[T]here\u2019s a certain sense of adventure and … a sense that we\u2019ve achieved something\u201d, says McGovern. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ireland\u2019s wet Atlantic weather and hilly coastline might make it seem like a poor choice to spend weeks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64034,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[29427,49,48,635,25004,6987,41126,41127,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-64033","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-belfast","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-cycling","12":"tag-for-you","13":"tag-northern-ireland","14":"tag-rosslare","15":"tag-sport-ireland","16":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}