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.
No comments:
Post a Comment
All comments are moderated and need to be approved before they appear on this blog.