Biking Around Kenmare

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Courtesy of Suze and Jere, the Backroads trip leaders, who not only prepared a nice slideshow but also very graciously provided us with copies on disk at the end of the trip, here are two pictures from our first full day of biking in the Irish countryside around Kenmare, a 1400-person town on/near the Beara Peninsula.

The guides' picture gives just a hint of the spectacular views on the Beara Peninsula:


We had lunch at Derreen Gardens, which was nice. Those of us who chose to forego the steep ascent to Healy Pass also missed the unwelcome 12-mile detour that some of the group found (they were lost). And here Jere caught us photographing each other at a well-deserved respite at a pub on the way back to town.

In the afternoon, I followed the signs in Kenmare town center to the "Stone Circle". Michelin describes it as "a prehistoric stone circle consisting of one central stone surrounded by 15 upright stones." It was, er, a bit smaller than Stonehenge. The good news is that it is not roped off, so you can walk right up to the small stones, should you be seized by such a desire. Here's a panorama:



But all was not lost -- the town also features gardens with whirlygigs.

I suppose this is where you go if you don't have time or space for your own garden:


Useful for local physicians who make house calls, cheaper than a full-fledged ambulance?

That evening, in my ignorance, I followed other signs in Kenmare town center pointing to the "Ring of Kerry". I thought that might be a bit more spectacular than the "Stone Circle". So I followed the signs out of town and up the hill after dinner as the daylight faded. I went up and up and up. As it got ever darker on the deserted road, I kept hoping for another sign for encouragement -- e.g., "Another x miles to Ring of Kerry" or even "You are here!" As I later learned, this is because the Ring of Kerry is actually a 126-mile road [N70] which is considered "one of the world's great scenic drives" ... rather than a specific destination that one can walk to after dinner. I didn't realize that at the time, but when I finally reached the first big summit/plateau at 10:30 p.m., I just took a few photos and a short video panorama and then turned around and went back to the hotel.


Twilight on the Ring of Kerry, up the road from Kenmare.



The Backroads group was a friendly, fun-loving crowd. And Jere introduced me to the Scissor Sisters. However, I made the mistake of buying their album in Bath for 8 pounds (around $15); as of July 28, it was on sale at Virgin Records in Union Square for $10. Oh well.

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