I thought when I got up this morning that I was going to have to tell you it was a bad cycling day today. But guess what - it turned into yet another great day.
I woke up at 6 - bathroom calling - and looked out the window and just groaned. It was gray, foggy, and misting. Not a good omen. I went back to sleep until 7:30 since I'd asked for breakfast at 8. At 7:30 it was still pretty dreary, and on top of that I woke up exhausted. Uh oh. Shades of last year... sometimes I just don't know when I need a rest until it's too late. I kind of hoped to get through this trip without a real rest day, but I guess it would have been smarter to schedule one. Today is my eleventh day in a row of cycling. A few of the days have been short, and some have been easy, but rest is smart. Oh well, too late now! (Actually, it's not too late if I was willing to skip cycling the Antrim coast - but that's not something I want to miss!)
I went down to breakfast and struggled to eat - for me another sign that I'm tired. But I managed to eat a normal amount of breakfast. Helen had to leave the house by 9 - she knew she'd be giving distillery tours this afternoon, but they asked her to come in this morning too. I told her that I was having a hard time getting going this morning, and she told me to stay as long as I liked. In fact, she was more than willing for me to stay another night - but I really wanted and needed to move on today. She asked me to lock the door and push the keys back through the mail slot when I left. OK, that works!
Helen brought my bike out from the shed, and left it outside the front door with a plastic bag over the seat since that heavy mist had closed in again. I locked it to the railing, and went back upstairs to look at my planned day and the map and figure out what to do. The planned day via back roads was 43 or 44 miles. But there was clearly a more direct route to Cushendall. I decided to stay on A2 instead of taking the scenic route that was recommended. That looked to be about 30 miles, but I wasn't really sure of the distance. I only knew it looked considerably shorter than my original planned route. I laid down for another hour and a half in the hopes that it would help. It did, and I finally rolled out of the house at 11 - a pretty late starting time for me.
My delayed start allowed me to start in dry weather. If I had been raring to go earlier I would have started in the rain, but as it was the rain was over for the day when I left. The wind was misbehaving though - the predominant wind direction is out of the west, but today it was blowing from the east, right in my face for the eastward part of my journey. I rode over some of the same territory that I covered yesterday on my way to Giant's Causeway and Carrick-a-rede.
Then I turned south on A2. My ride to that point had been rolling and a good part was at a slight uphill grade. A2 at that point was the inland route, and after I turned I immediately started climbing. It was a pretty gentle grade, but easily a several mile climb. Then down, down, down - back out to the coast and into Ballycastle. As I was rolling along, I passed a deli that had posted a "best of Ireland" plaque out front. Hmmm... looks interesting. I was pretty cold at that point - it felt like the temperature had dropped a good ten degrees. I don't know if it had, but every time it got gray out it got very chilly. So I went into the deli for a bowl of potato leek soup and a very good baguette, and of course some good Irish butter for the bread. As I ate I watched my bike, which was parked right outside the window, but not locked - nothing to lock it to. I should have had a camera mounted on the bike to catch the expressions of people who walked by to see my little-wheeled bike and suitcase trailer. That would have been an interesting set of photos. And it was a good lunch and a good break.
I put on some more layers before I started riding again because it still felt pretty chilly out. As I was leaving town I saw a tourist information office, so I stopped to ask how far it was to Cushendall. I'd ridden 14 miles, and the woman manning the tourist info desk said that it was 16 miles by the A2. She also said that the A2 was a lot flatter than the Torr Head scenic route, which on my map showed 15% grades - not something I'd like to ride even on an unloaded bike! I have no idea whether my original planned route was hillier or flatter than the one I took, but I was still interested in shaving off some miles. I took the turn onto A2 heading south, and immediately saw the ruins of an old friary. I stopped to explore. And I removed all of my extra layers since the sun decided to poke its face out and share some warmth.
Entering the grounds of the Bonamargy Friary, a third order Franciscan friary founded in 1500.
Riding again, I started climbing and climbing. The grade was relatively gentle, but the climb continued for about 8 miles. Remember, I started the day tired, and I believe on a normal energy day it would have been a lot easier. The day got grayer and grayer, and the temperature got cooler. In spite of the fact that the A2 is classified as a class A road - the equivalent of a national road in the south - there was almost no traffic on it. As I got higher, the terrain continued to change. I went through forests to heather-covered rugged looking hills, with sheep grazing on the sides of steep hills, and some sheep in the road. Fences? There were fences, but some of the sheep were outside of the fences. When I finally reached the top I was greeted by a somewhat surrealistic view - the sea in front of me, with cliffs and green fields covered with misty floating clouds. The heathery hills were behind me - with beautiful colors that were impossible to capture in photos (although I did try). And it was cold enough that I could see my breath. I was already wearing my wind vest; I stopped to add my rain jacket and my knee warmers before I started flying downhill. If I'd been smarter I would have pulled out the nylon mitten shells and my wind/rain shoe covers. Both were in the trailer, and both would have helped. Not thinking.... I saw the sea for just a bit before the road headed inland, up a valley (or are they called glens?). I crossed a high bridge, then the road started heading back toward the coast. Almost there, only three miles to go, and I had to pedal again. Today I took the supposedly non-scenic route, and it was gorgeous!
I'm staying at The Meadows B&B tonight, which is about a 10-minute walk south of the village of Cushendall - and directly across from the Irish Sea. I can see Scotland from my windows...
Ann, my hostess, greeted me, told me my bike could sleep in the garage tonight (I love these places where there's a home for the bike), and asked me if I'd like a first-floor room so I didn't have to haul my stuff upstairs. I took her up on that! We chatted for a while, and she provided tea and a snack. I took my hot shower, and hey - there's a silver lining in that cloud that says tomorrow is my last day of cycling here - for the first night, I don't have to wash out my cycling clothes. I brought 2 sets, and only need my remaining clean set for tomorrow.
I headed into the village in search of food. Ann told me that the only restaurant in town is Harry's, so I headed there. It's a pub and a restaurant, and you know there's really a reason that I haven't been taking advantage of "pub grub" for lunch - pubs are always smoky. Harry's was smoky, and the menu was marginal, so I left. Before I left I asked if there was a non-smoking area, and the bartender looked at me like I had two heads, saying "there aren't too many smokers in here". That's true - there were 4 patrons (5 including me) and only two people actively smoking, and the place reeked! There was a Chinese takeout place across the street, so I ordered chow mein, then stopped at the Spar (one of the little grocery store chains) to pick up some fruit. The takeout place gave me plastic silverware, although I'm sure I could have borrowed a real fork from the B&B kitchen. The chow mein I had in Belleek was better, but this worked - and for me it was much better than sitting in a smoky pub. And if the takeout place hadn't been there I would have picked up enough for dinner at the Spar. Yikes, I guess I'm being picky! Well, whatever makes me happy...
Tomorrow is a bike and train day. I'll be following the A2 from Cushendall to Larne - but now it's the coastal route instead of an inland route. It's supposed to be flat, and it's supposed to be beautiful. And I'm heading south along the east coast in a country where you drive on the left - and that means that I'll be riding on the side of the water. Cool. Now all I need is a day that allows me to see some vistas. I'm really hoping for good weather. I could ride all of the way into Belfast, which is my final destination for the day, but Tony recommended taking the train from Larne. From there into Belfast the traffic picks up and becomes city traffic, not my favorite. And both Ann and Helen agree that the prettiest stretch of the road is between here and Larne. So it looks like I'll be on the train again. At least now I know how to open the doors!
