Day 15 – Dublin to Arklow

It was after 10am when I first turned the pedals. I had packed up some things I’m carrying and don’t need. I spied a post office and planned to drop then in as I left. I should have checked the branch is open on a Saturday. It wasn’t. So I went to the city centre branch on the tram.

More of Dublin’s fabulous cycle lanes guided me out of the city past old docks out to the coast.

My front brake cable had stretched and it was putting virtually no pressure on the disc. I passed a bike shop in Blackrock and decided t see if I could borrow a spanner or socket to fit the nut that holds the cable – it’s one of the few things I can’t sort with my toolkit.

I asked if they could tighten up the cable a little, I heard the lovely front of house guy, say “check the pads”. I should have screamed “leave the pads alone’. I took them ages to get it set up again and a few miles down the road, I found I’ve got all the same problems Mark sorted for me in Workington on day four.

The brake problems almost made my pauses in these beautiful seaside towns more enjoyable. Sandycove remembered James Joyce and had a bumblebee bike parade.

Dalkey went big on castles. It might outdo Ardglass on that front. Killney Hill tested the resolve my legs had brought with them. They pressed on upto the top and rested on the way down the other side.

Bray was gorgeous. I walked along the promenade, enjoying the sunshine and met an 83 year old cyclist called TJ, who had cycled down fro Carrickfergus. He’d run a marathon recently too.

I stopped for lunch at Greystones. More stunning seaside, more dedicated cycle lanes. Ireland, you continue to impress.

It felt like I fought the bike all the way to Wicklow.  The front brake seemed to come on of it’s own will whenever I hit the slightest bump.

I stopped to admire Wicklow’s bridges, watched kids hoisting big crabs from the water with simple lines and met two Swiss golfers who are planning to cycle from Switzerland to Hamburg. 900km. Just because. I love it!

I tried to sort the brake, but what am I going to achieve at the roadside that a mechanic with a workshop could not? In the end I fettled the brake to not working again, rather than being stuck on most of the time. It was a result.

Wicklow has three lighthouses. The first wasn’t big enough. The second was too big. The third, which you can’t see from the road, does its job. The second and tallest is a beautiful octagonal structure. You can rent it as a holiday home if you like your kitchen up 109 steps.

The lanes took me down past Brittas Bay and through the dunes with tantalising occasional glimpses of the sea.

I arrived in Arklow to cross the 19 magnificent arches of its famous bridge and arrived at the bridge hotel in time to get myself sorted and fed in time for Eurovision. (Pic from later in the evening)

At some point between Wicklow and Arklow, I found I had resolved to replace the whole front brake caliper unit first chance I get.

Day totals: 55 miles,  2515ft of climbing

Tour totals: 822 miles, 27,268ft of climbing