So the 27th and final day of the 2022 section of the Irish Coast Cycle, a very early morning start for the cycle from Cushendall to Belfast.
In this case a torrential rain forecast had me up at 6.15 and on the road ahead of sunrise which as it turns out was the right time to be following the coast road anyway as there was very little traffic for the 1st hour and an incredible sunrise with the Scottish peaks being visible.
And for most of it I keep ahead of the rain, I could see it hitting the coast where I’d been but it moved across quite slowly so it only finally caught me in the hills between Larne & Ballymena. There’s one very impressive long climb on that route which keeps you off the main road but close enough that I could see the considerable truck traffic of the port while only having to avoid the occasional tractor.
I did of course hit a couple of flag bedecked hill villages including Straid – in the south I’d be looking for a village pub or cafe to stop in but the loyalist bunting makes you a bit less keen on the ‘where are you coming from & where do you live’ conversations. At least unlike Coleraine there were no Para flags – those are particularly grim given the regiments fame is for civilian massacres and those on more than one occasion with Derry’s Bloody Sunday just being the best known.
I got hit by heavy rain at the highest point but that turned to drizzle as got to the Greenway at Three Mile Water – this almost connects to Hazelbank Park which is a coastal greenway that runs all the way into Belfast although alongside the motorway for part of that. And this in turn connects to the train station via a cycle route through the port industrial zone which is just as well as that would be otherwise unpleasant. Dublin port take note, it’s a nightmare to cycle. (Dublin port is now putting in a cycle way to the ferry)
The Belfast Dublin train has space behind the drivers compartment for about 4 bikes but no booking system which adds unneeded stress in the need to arrive early & queue but otherwise that neatly completed the 607km of coast from Sligo over the week
Photo from this day on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CiPhA-JMVeg/?img_index=1
The entire Irish Coast Cycle route map https://cycle.travel/map/journey/507442
Future adventures – obviously follow the channel to get videos from my future adventures but if you are on Instagram I’d suggest also following me there as I post stories live from the road at https://www.instagram.com/ebiketouringlife/