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.
Not been up there!
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