Route: 48km cycle from Ballincollig - Bandon Road and Begley's Forge

Friday 28th April 2023: As part of a 97km cycle, I did this 48km looped cycle from Ballincollig which others might like to try.

Start: The loop starts at the car park at the western end of Ballincollig Regional Park. There is also a small portable café here for a cuppa afterwards.

0-9kms: The first stage is to go through Ballincollig and get to the Bandon Road Roundabout in Bishopstown. My own route is shown above but you could choose another route.

9-19kms: This 10km section is basically cycling inside the hard shoulder of the N71 Cork to Bandon road. This can be a very busy road and it's not the nicest of cycling routes. Its only real attraction is that gradient is gradual and has nothing worse than about 6%. Its sole purpose is to get to the village of Halfway.

19-24kms: This section is along the R589 from Halfway to Crossbarry.

24-30kms: After crossing over a small bridge in Crossbarry, look for the turn off right for Killumney. This is a 6km gradual ascent to the crossroads at Begley's Forge and the gradient is no worse than 6-8%. This is a popular route with cyclists but it's probably better to do it early on a Sunday morning when the traffic is lighter.

The Cyclist's Rest at Begley's Forge

30-33kms: The gradient on the northern side of Begley's Forge is stepper and it's a rapid 3km descent to the T-junction near Killumney. At the start of the descent, there's a nice view to the north-west of Musheramore and the Boggeragh Mtns.

33-43kms: From the T-junction, this is a short 10km extension to take in Kilcrea Friary. From the T-junction, head west towards Aherla and at 36.6kms, look for the signpost right for Kilcrea Friary. This is a narrow and quiet road. After about 1km, you pass the Friary.

Kilcrea Friary

After crossing over a very narrow bridge, take the next right onto another quite and narrow road. This brings you out in Ovens where you turn right at the church and head towards Killumney.

48-48kms: Return to the Regional Park.

In summary: It's a 48km looped cycle with two long climbs but there are no serious gradients. It's suitable for individuals or small groups.

105km cycle from Passage West to Enniskeane and back - Sun 23rd April 2023

Over the last few weeks, I've been exploring the roads to the south-west of Ballincollig looking for a nice scenic route along the top of the ridge. Today's cycle was the final test of this route from Newcestown to Waterfall along quite rural roads.

The plan today was simple... cycle to Enniskeane for a cuppa, navigate the ridge road from Newcestown to Waterfall and get to a crossroads by Ballinora in time to take some photos of a 5km road race which started at 12:30pm. This also meant having to cycle with a backpack which weighed 3kgs.

Sun 23rd April 2023: The plan was to set off at 7am but this got delayed so it was 8am before I was on the road. I didn't know if this allowed me enough time to get to Enniskeane but the plan was to see how far I would get. I knew Enniskeane would be roughly 50kms and it was another 35kms or so from there to Ballinora. Doing a quick mental check, I knew I'd have to head towards Ballinora at 11am regardless of where I was.

The initial route was one I have done a lot recently as it's very straight... Passage West - Monkstown - Shannonpark Roundabout - Ballygarvan - Five Mile Bridge - Ballinhassig - Crossbarry. From there, it was on towards Bandon which had a traffic diversion! Clock was ticking at this stage. I finally arrived in Enniskeane at 10:30... two and half hours.

Had the cuppa and cake in O'Donovans Centra in Enniskeane which has a nice spot for sitting down. One to remember.

10:50am, 10 mins to spare and back on the road. First, a quick stop to check the signpost... 46kms from Bantry!

Not today though. Back the way I came and then took the turn off left for the Beal na Blath ambush site. This is the L2009 road and is easy to follow. The only hazard was some loose farm dogs to the SW of Newcestown.

After Newcestown, some of the roads along my route were quite narrow as I had chosen them so that I would stay on the ridge and not lose height. Some of the junctions aren't that distinctive so it isn't always clear what the right route is. I had memorised the junctions from Newcestown to the top of Kilcrea hill so I wouldn't go astray.

There were some lovely views from this ridge to the north-west. I had a clear view across to Musheramore and I could make out the Paps in Co Kerry.

From the top of Kilcrea Hill, I was back on familiar ground and then it was Knockatreenane - Begleys Forge...

Obligatory stop at Begley's Forge

 ...Mylane - Windsor - Corbally Cross and then finally down the hill to Jimmy's Crossroads by Ballinora... 12:25pm... with a cushion of about 18 minutes before the runners arrived.

I spent the best part of an hour taking photos of the runners and then it was onwards to Waterfall and down to Bishopstown for the journey home to Passage.

Total = 105.6kms with 617m of ascent.

Takeaways...

1) Passage to Enniskeane takes 2.5 hours and is an ideal place to stop for a cuppa.

2) The ridge route from Newcestown to Waterfall is nice and while it has a few hills, there's nothing too serious. I'll use it again now that I know it.

3) The fastest routes are generally in the valleys but they are also the most boring as there are no views. You have to cycle to the top of hills to get the best views.

Exploring country roads around Ballinhassig - 7th Apr 2023

 

7th April 2023: I bought a new Hybrid bike during the week and tested it out today on a hilly 57km cycle with a total of 630m of ascent. I used the opportunity to explore some new routes that I hadn't cycled on before.

The first real hill was near Maryville Stables to the south of Carrigaline. With a maximum gradient of 18%, it's not the easiest but it is an alternative route to the busy R611 that goes from Carrigaline to Ballyfeard. It's probably a bit too hard though to be a viable option for most people.

The next 'hill' and new route was west on the L3206 out of Riverstick. The initial climb is supposed to be 11% but it feels a lot steeper than that. After about 150m and two-thirds of the way up the climb, there is a turn off to the right onto a nice quiet country road with a more relaxed gradient. This little detour is a much nicer alternative to the busier road and the 10% climb after turning right at the next crossroads.

The objective was to get to Ballinhassig for a cuppa but first, I tried a road to the west towards  Ballyheada which was again a nice quiet rural road with no traffic. I thought would bring me out by the church at Ballyheada but instead I arrived at a non-descript T-junction... left or right? Google Maps showed 'Ballyheada' at this road junction but I obviously wasn't there.

Just out of pure luck, there was another cyclist stopped at this junction who was checking their phone. Was he checking for messages or equally lost? After enquiring, he told me he had come from Ballinhassig so I then knew the route to take. 

I later checked Google Maps to discover that this road junction was actually 1.2kms east of the church and that the little road I had seen in the past beside the church was a cul-de-sac.

Lesson: Be careful using dynamic maps like Google Maps, be sure to zoom in to make sure and the old Ordnance Survey maps have their place as well. Sometimes, you need to make mistakes to really find out about an area.

Onwards to Ballinhassig for a coffee and cake.

I often stop at the small shop in Ballinhassig for a break. There's benches nearby to sit down and it's also open early on Sunday mornings when a lot of other shops are closed. The object of any long or hard cycle should be to leave a few Euro behind somewhere.

I took the 'scenic route' home vis Cork Airport... onwards and upwards! 

One of the challenges with hills is how to gain height while keeping the gradient to a minimum. The most direct route north out of Ballinhassig has a long section of 16-17% gradient climb which makes it unattractive.

I noticed on Google Maps a 'dog leg' which promised a more gradual ascent. Other than a short 16% section at the elbow, it's a nice alternative and allows you to gain 60m in elevation relatively easily. I'll be using this route again.

From the high ground, the road climbed at a much more gentle incline and parallel to the main busy Band road below. I turned off right and then took a winding country road to the back of the airport which in parts wasn't wide enough for two cars to pass.

Despite being on top of the hill, the route had two deep dips which required a bit of climbing out the other side. Not the fastest of routes but a nice alternative to a busy road.

From there, I arrived at the Airport road and I was back on more familiar territory and zig-zagged my way home.

Cycle to the Carrigtwohill reservoir - 2nd Apr 2023

Sunday 2nd April 2023: On what turned out to be a mostly mild and sunny Sunday morning, I completed a 75km cycle from Passage West to Great Island and back again via the 'scenic route'. The objective was to take some photos of the Cobh 10-mile road race, get in a decent cycle and explore some roads to the north of Carrigtwohill.

The route I took north from Carrigtwohill was the frontal assault up the hill to the reservoir.

The initial gradient wasn't too bad going from 8 to 11% which meant I could cycle comfortably in 2nd gear (ratio 1:1). After two sharp bends and passing a house called 'An Radharc', it got a whole lot steeper and jumped up to 16% and I had to drop down into 1st gear (ratio 1:0.83).

It wasn't too hard in my case with a hybrid bike with easy gearing but might be a different story with some road bikes with gear ratios above 1:1.

After stopping to look at the views of the harbour from an old graveyard, it was onwards and upwards at a much more gentle incline to the reservoir above the town of Carrigtwohill.

There are lots of quiet roads in this elevated area that are suitable for cycling with some nice views. Looking west, I could spot the mountains out by Macroom and possibly Mangerton near Killarney as well.

Nice cycle but there are probably easier ways to get to the higher ground.