Aye, so you may recall that on our trip starting in Russia, the airlines lost our bicycles leading to much angst and the purchase of new bicycles.  No, say you, that couldn’t happen again!  Not with the luck of the Irish on our side.  So Jim gamely waited at the oversized baggage collection point in the Dublin airport, fingers-crossed and smiling.  But alas, an hour later, still no bicycles.  You will notice in the second photo, he has his thumb down but a big grin on his face.  The smile, however, was just the effects of jet lag as the bike boxes were no where to be found.  Before you go start to drown your sorrows in a pint of Guinness in solidarity with our woes, I am happy to report that the bicycles did show up on the next day with only one significant hole in the side of the bike box.

We have spent the past few days recovering from jet lag and enjoying Dublin.  It is a delightful city with interesting lore, and rich history and an astonishing number of pubs.

We have had glorious weather and have taken advantage of it walking around the city and along the coast.  There is a wonderful trail along the coast from Bray to Greystones called the Cliffwalk. It was built to support building the rail line along the coast.  It would have made more sense to build the railway further inland but the local landowner didn’t want his estate divided by the rail line and so this extremely difficult bit of track was laid just along the waterfront.  Fortunately for us it makes for a wonderful 6km hike along the Irish Sea.

 

Today we met up with our cycling group. We are lucky to be riding with old friends from previous trips.  Cycling for weeks on end through all kinds of conditions makes for some lasting friendships.  Tomorrow we head off.  Regrettably it looks like rain but hey, this is Ireland after all.

Thanks for joining us.