Tried to ride my bike from Cork to Tralee during a visit to Ireland. Ended up taking the bus, the roads are mental.

Tried to ride my bike from Cork to Tralee during a visit to Ireland. Ended up taking the bus, the roads are mental. from ireland

50 comments

  1. Yeah, the N22 isn’t great. They have some cycle lanes at some of the junctions, but they’re terribly maintained by Cork County Council (IIRC Kerry don’t have any cycle lane junctions). I’ve submitted a few requests to get things fixed and they’ve been ignored. That and the hard shoulder just disappears without warning frequently. Including just before it turns to HQDC before Cork by Ovens…

    It’s especially mad in that it’s a popular enough route. You regularly see cyclists and walkers on it. And even the new bypass of Macroom, despite it being clear that it will now only be a national road (i.e. walkers and cyclists allowed) will not have paths or cycle lanes.

  2. Cycling in Cork is terrible. Roads down there are awfull. I live in Waterford and cycle loads, If i lived in cork i would not even own a bike i think.

  3. Yeah I don’t do any roads without a good hard shoulder. Dublin in fairness was fairly good when i was up there, there are still loads of incidents but I still felt safer cycling around there. Old N6 and some of the cycle ways are great but that kind of road is a game of chance. Some day someone’s odds will be against them

  6. My algorithm for choosing cycling routes here is more or less:

    – The smaller, shittier and twistier it looks the better. People tend to drive at lower speeds and pay more attention, and if you’re not an inconsiderate idiot and move to the side and let people through when it’s safe/adequate, nobody has any issues.

    – Avoid N roads like the plague if possible. The only N road I use regularly is the N81 that doesn’t have a hard shoulder in many places but traffic is not that bad early on the weekend.

  8. When I see people cycling on roads like these I ask myself do they wake up in the morning and ask themselves how do I up the chances of getting myself killed today…..I know I’ll go for a cycle on a busy main road where the side of the road is basically non existent and the road it’s self is in bits

    Surely people will be driving safe and normal…I’ll head out anyway because I love to cycle lol

    I’m not being a smart prick but there are so many other roads you can cycle on where you are less likely to be killed on.

    Or my favorite, a cyclist cycling on the road while a fucking cycle lane is on the footpath right beside them.

    :Edit

    I’m getting a lot of comments talking about the rights of a cyclist to be on a road and I’m not talking about that I am talking about the poor quality of road he chose to cycle on, if you look at the video you can see that the distance between him and a traffic is shortened due to the poor quality of the road he chose to cycle on… the bushes and ditches will eventually cause him to cross the yellow line and into oncoming traffic lane from behind, so my question is why would you continue to cycle down a dangerous road like that when you can just turn around and get off of it but he eventually chose to get a bus because anyone of us who was cycling on that road knew it was a dangerous place to be and not the right road to cycle on

  9. Yeah that’s a main national road. Not a cycle lane.

    I’m sure there are many other roads you can take which won’t have vehicles passing you at 100kmh.

  13. It wouldn’t have take much effort to cut those hedges a bit and widen the road a few feet.

  14. Still laughing at the bike to work scheme being a monstrous success all over the country yet gov are only now like 15yrs later thinking ‘oh yeah maybe we should actually build cycle infrastructure so ppl can use the bikes’ 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

  17. I wouldn’t cycle in the hard shoulder. That’s not what it’s for and it invites an overtake. Just cycle on the road. These country roads were made for bikes.

  18. I’ve been cycling semi regularly for about 10 years now. I never take the big roads. They’re just a never ending panic attack (never mind the road surface is often terrible for cyclists). Better if taking the little roads. Peace and quiet.

  19. Yes. Strangely, and perhaps not for the better, you do get used to it.

    On the other side the non-main country roads tend to be safer.

  20. I would’ve just cycled on the road I don’t care if I delay some cunt a min or two untill they overtake me

  21. Eh have you visited some Eastern European countries? Now the roads there are a free for all

  23. I’d say that’s too busy of a road for cycling on. Back roads if possible. Motorists don’t give a fuck about cyclists.

  25. Travel to Tralee with car and train are bad, I doubt it was a great experience on bike. As I had to travel from Cork to Tralee for a while for work. It was not a great experience for me using any kind of transport.

  26. Do you have a rear-view mirror on your handlebars? I fitted one a few years ago and now can’t cycle without one. It allows you to anticipate overtakes like this one and take appropriate action.

    I would have moved into the lane, forced the traffic to slow for an overtake and then move in out of the way to allow them to overtake at a lower speed – proactive traffic management if you like, but you need to be 100% aware of your surroundings on these roads.

    Don’t let the bastards grind you down, keep riding your bike and sharing the roads.

  27. I’ve done a good few distance road cycles on my own, over night and weekend trips etc. despite how we market our little country as a destination for cycling its absolutely lethal. Half the reason I forked out for the Garmin radar and cycle alone. Irish drivers are gobshites when it comes to their attitudes towards cyclists. Couldn’t count the amount of times I’ve nearly been clipped when the driver had a full clear road ahead to give me space

  29. It sounds counterintuitive, but I would cycle on the other side of the yellow line here. You’d be slightly in the way of traffic, but people will actually move over more to give you space

  31. I did Malin to Mizen a few years ago and cycling throughout much of Ireland is absolutely brutal.

    The roads in this country simply are not made for bicycles or pedestrians with very few exceptions. You’re lucky if you have a hard shoulder of any kind and bicycle lanes are non-existent except in a select few places in big cities or towns.

    And there’s something really wrong in west Cork. It has easily the worst roads I’ve ever seen in Ireland. The moment we crossed from Kerry into Cork it was like we crossed into a different country altogether the roads were so abysmal.

  32. I hate cycling on the roads here. It’s awful. People driving cars get frustrated with cyclists and some don’t understand how dangerous their actions can be. I do my best to avoid. Last week I used hand signal to turn and a car assumed I was signalling them to overtake just as I turned to go into a junction. A good gust of wind from a vehicle passing close is enough to knock you out of control. Not worth it!!!

  33. You know your legally allowed to cycle on the road. If anything cycling on such a small hard shoulder is dangerous as cars won’t give you the 2 meters space you need, but if your in the lane they have no choice but to slow down and go around.

  34. I’ve cycled roads like this every day for 3 years. The road behind Dublin airport is just constantly full of artics traveling at speed. First thing is that you need to actually be on the road when cycling, you’re basically in the ditch.

    Being on the road means traffic naturally slows up behind you and has to wait to safely pass you. When you’re in the ditch no one really cares and will pass you at speed which can be pretty dangerous.

    You also run the risk of more hitting more potholes and abnormalities in the road when you’re that far off the road, and combined with vehicles traveling at speed can be a pretty nervous experience.

    My journeys got much less stressful doing this. You’ll get the odd cunt blow their horn at you, just blow a kiss back at them.

  39. Riding in the gutter like that isn’t great. Get out on the carriageway and take up space.

  45. Third world country infrastructure. Welcome to Ireland. I should say, only cars matter here. If you are pedestrian, non motorised then shut up and pay tax.

  49. On a road like this I’d use the lane, you’re putting yourself in more danger using that hard shoulder, I’d also pull into the hard shoulder every so often to let the traffic behind me pass.

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