My biggest resource for this trip was the Iron Donkey web site and emails that I exchanged with Tony Boyd at info@irondonkey.com. The web site contains high-level information about the standard routes. Within 3 weeks of receipt of the final payment for the trip, Iron Donkey sends out a packet of information containing all of the details of your trip - routes, reservations for B&Bs each night, recommendations on sights to see, emergency contact information, maps. Once I receive my packet I'll let you know how it's put together.
For some pre-trip reading and information about places to wander, I picked up a copy of Lonely Planet's Ireland Guidebook. Interestingly enough, this is the guidebook that was recommended by Iron Donkey.
Back when I was considering planning this trip on my own, I picked up a copy of the book Cycle Touring Ireland, by Brendan Walsh. This book includes both descriptions and directions for a circular tour around Ireland, as well as some shorter tours. It looks like it would be a good source if you want to do your own trip planning.
Dublin is both my entry and my exit point from Ireland (by air). I'll be taking the train from Dublin to Sligo to start my trip, and taking the train again from Belfast to Dublin. I've used the Iarnród Éireann - Irish Rail - website to explore my rail travel options - schedules, prices, maps, etc.
Update on September 22, 2003: My plans for the beginning of the trip changed slightly, so instead of starting in Sligo I started in Belcoo, which is about 35 miles east of Sligo. Because of this change, I didn't take the train to Sligo at the beginning of the trip. I did use the trains at three times during my trip though - twice with the bicycle and trailer, and once after I had packed the bike (so it was in a suitcase). There's a small fee to roll a bike aboard a train - that is, you have to buy a ticket for the bike - but there was never any question about getting my bike on a train.And of course I have to check the weather! It's early August, and I'm starting to keep an eye on conditions - although the current conditions have absolutely nothing to do with the conditions in September! Curiosity, I guess. The Irish Meteorological Service seems to be the best place to start.
I'm taking two electronic toys with me on this trip - my HP Jornada handheld PC so I can keep my journal up to date, and my Canon S40 digital camera for the multitude of pictures I hope to take. I checked the power supply for the Jornada and the battery charger for the camera, and both can handle a range of input voltages - covering the power patterns in both the United States and Ireland. But of course the plugs won't work, so I knew I needed to pick up a plug adapter. Buying a whole set of adapters seemed silly, since I only need one, so I went searching on the web. I found Travel Oasis. The site has a lot of information about international electrical supplies in addition to their storefront. I ordered the plug adapter late Monday night, and had a package waiting for me when I arrived home on Friday. Good service - I'll buy from them again if the need arises.
I also checked the Travel Oasis site for telephone plug configuration. The information on the phones was half correct - it told me that Ireland uses an RJ-11 connection, which is the same as in the United States. There wasn't a listing for Northern Ireland, but there was one for Great Britain, and it showed something other than an RJ-11. I decided since I didn't know if I'd even have access to a phone that I wouldn't bother with buying an adapter, and I'd just hope that any phones I encounterd would use an RJ-11 modular jack. That turned out to be a good assumption. I did bring a phone line to connect my Jornada to the phone - and it turned out that both countries use an RJ-11 connector, so I was able to connect.As usual, I had to order my preferred PreSun sun screen from the official online distributor, Unique Sports Accessories. I haven't been able to find this sun screen in stores (other than in Hawaii), but luckily this distributor is very quick to fill orders, and has PreSun in stock year round. Very helpful! I was actually given the name of this distributor by Westwood-Squibb Pharmaceuticals when I emailed them to ask if they still manufactured PreSun.
Cheep Hostels (and no, that it not a misspelling!) was where I turned to look for inexpensive accommodations in the center of Dublin for the last night of my trip. I'll be staying at Mercer Court, which offers Bed & Breakfast accommodations (when school is not in session) at the Royal College of Surgeons housing facility. Trinity College also opens its residential rooms for visitors during the summer and early fall.
Hostelling International's web site is a good source of information and an obvious place to look if you want to stay in one of their hostels. If you go to the country list on this site and you're looking for Ireland - it's listed under Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. Although I didn't stay at any HI hostels in Ireland, I have stayed at their facilities in the US and Canada, and I walked into the hostel in Bushmills. It looked like it was very nice.
Independent Holiday Hostels of Ireland looks like another good source for both hostel locations and for general travel information.
And then there are the two official tourist boards. I haven't used these sources for much (yet), but they may be of interest if you're planning a trip: Check out the Sustrans web site for information on the National Cycle Network in the UK. I was on one of their on-road cycle routes for a bit, and it might be interesting to check out some of their other routes for a possible future trip.
Good maps are readily available in stores, but if you want your maps ahead of time, there are Ordnance Survey sites for the UK, Northern Ireland, and Ireland. Maps can be purchased online on both the UK and Ireland sites, and maps of both Northern Ireland and Ireland are available on the UK site. The map I used had a scale of 1:250000. There are maps at a scale of 1:50000 - essentially topo maps - but I would have needed a ton of them for the distance that I covered! The 1:250000 worked out fine.
