Day 91
January 2, 2022:
Woke up to huge wind that threatened to collapse the tent. Actually did collapse the tent a few times while I was still in it, but quickly popped back up, just like at Inch Beach. Was going to leave tent, but it started raining, so I watched a video for an hour while I waited for it to pass.
At 11, packed up, didn’t take long since I had to rush with the wind. Tent behaves a bit like a sail with nothing in it.
Gleniff Horseshoe loop. Still very much an uphill ride, through the dense pine Coillte forests. Saw the Diarmuid and Grainne cave on the mountainside above. Lots of fog pouring over the mountains toward me. Stopped to get my picture taken.
Cycled uphill further, now with strong wind behind me. My panniers acted as sails and dragged me uphill. Reaching the peak, I flew down the other side. I was conscious that my brakes felt a bit weak. I’d have to be careful and control my speed appropriately as I went downhill. Rain started to pelt me again, and since I was now running a transverse direction, I wasn’t able to speed away. The intense rain blew the rain clouds beyond me pretty quickly though, and my hybrid pants wicked away the moisture in just five minutes. It was shocking how quickly I went from rather wet to totally dry.
Checked the coffee shop at just after noon, but they were closed. Continued along the road I came in on, backtracking to the N15. Rode north to Bundoran, a surf town on the north coast of Ireland. I stopped for ice cream as another storm rolled past.
I got to Ballyshannon. Town is set on a steep hill, and I had to walk my bike up. Followed R231 out the back towards Rossnowlagh.
Went past Smuggler’s Creek Inn as David and Jane had recommended. It has a great view over Rossnowlagh Beach. I followed the road down and cycled on the hard sand of the beach itself. I saw a van ahead of me drive up a ramp, and figured that would be a good way to keep going so I wouldn’t need to cycle back up to the cliffs where the inn is located. I followed, trying to time my arrival at the ramp with when the waves would recede. I mistimed it, and as I was approaching the ramp, another wave swept in, surrounding my bike with five or six inches of foaming sea water. I put the bike into low gear and rode slowly through the deluge. Thankfully the sand remained hard beneath my wheels, and I triumphantly made it up the ramp as onlookers watched on.
The road back from Rossnowlagh Beach to R231 was extremely straight. From there, I just followed the N15 again up to Laghey with the goal of reaching Donegal by nightfall. I waited at another gas station for another storm to pass and used the time to make calls to local businesses. I saw an independent hostel on the west side of the city that seemed to offer the cheapest rates, so I headed there, passing the Donegal craft village on the way.
Donegal is a lot smaller than I had expected it to be. The castle there is really a fairly small residence. I stopped for some groceries before continuing to the hostel. Upon arrival, I parked my bike on the gravel lot below the house, then went to the front door. There wasn’t a doorbell, but lights were on inside, and smoke rose from a chimney. The door led to a small patio area rather than the main house, so knocking had no effect. I saw a few people inside, so waved to them hesitantly. They looked like other guests. One let me in to the patio and explained that they similarly didn’t know where to check in. I was happy to be inside from the rain, but was nevertheless unsure what we would say when the hostel owner returned. We tried calling the number, but no one answered. No one would just leave a fire in their fireplace and drive away, right? The other guests introduced themselves as Sonja and Amelia. They offered me chamomile tea and a bready cinnamon roll. We chatted for a bit while we waited. Soon enough, the hostel owner, John, walked in. He’d just gone over to his private house next door for a few minutes. They still had availability, so I booked a private room on the site for just 34 Euro. Interestingly, this was substantially cheaper than the 58 Euro quoted by Bookings.com. I’ve been told by other hostel owners that Bookings.com takes a 15% cut of their profits, so you can typically find cheaper rates by either visiting their private sites or by calling. If you can offer cash, they’re often willing to go even lower. In this case, I was happy to book online, especially since I want to conserve cash.
My private room was small, but very nice. I’d be very comfortable here.
