Day 7 Friday

Distance Options A 27 Miles B 37 Miles C 45Miles D 56 Miles

Accommodation: Salthill Hotel

First of all let me tell you about Connemara. Its a vast open area of the West coast dotted with lakes and ancient bogland that began to develop shortly after the end of the last ice age. Fold mountains that developed 5.5 million years ago rise above the valleys. Evidence of the futile attempts of the native population to survive the ravages for the Potato famine 1845 to 1847 is still to be seen in the form of Famine ridges on the lower levels of the Twelve Bens (mountains). Evidence of glacial erosion is widespread and distinct, thanks the the detail trapped in the quartzite landscape.

Connemara boasts great beauty, but its important to plan the route keeping in mind the potential for wind on the Atlantic coast. This is the last day of the tour with some of the most spectacular scenery. So its very important that you get to ride through this region with the advantage of tailwind rather than struggling against headwind. To achieve this we have developed three routes for today, all with separate starting locations. While the prevailing wind comes from the South West it would be naive to expect it to blow in that direction consistently. This is where our capacity to move the entire group comes to the fore.

Option one is to start from the hotel in the morning. Chances are this will work as the prevailing wind blows from the South West. However is the wind blows from a North Westerly direction we will transfer the entire group to Tully Cross. This will provide you with a day of tailwind trough hauntingly beautiful Connemara. The transfer will take less than 40 minutes but will provide you with an excellent day cycling. If the wind comes from the East we will transfer the group to Schrebe Cross and you are free to enjoy a day heading towards the town of Clifden. This transfer will only take about 35 minutes. I know it seems like a lot of hassle to transfer to a different starting point in the morning but believe me you don't want to be riding into headwind all day in Connemara. The transfers don't take too long and we will have all the bikes off the two busses within ten minutes once we arrive at the start point.

Connemara is a fabulous region to cycle trough but you must be able to start from a suitable location. Our support vehicles are able to achieve this without any difficulty. We get a very detailed forecast at 6.00 AM on the morning of the ride and will be able to tell you where we will be starting from at breakfast. All three routes have been developed over the past 10 years and various distances are available to suit your cycling ability.

After the ride has finished we will transfer the group to Galway city for the final night of the tour.

Galway is situated about one and a half hours North of Shannon airport. If your flight departs early on Saturday morning I can arrange to get you closer to Shannon Airport on Friday evening, after the farewell dinner. This will eliminate a very early start on Saturday morning. Let me know what your departure plans are and I can advise you of the options available. If your flight departs late on Saturday or anytime on Sunday you can spend some time in Galway city and take the bus which leaves every hour for Shannon airport. Talk to me before you make your flight arrangements so I can advise you how to maximize your time in Ireland.

If you are planning to spend a few more days in Ireland its handy to know Galway is a transport hub. We have a train station, bus station and local airport in Galway. You can also arrange car hire if you wish to do so. Just let us know what your time frame is and we can assist and advise you in relation to a car tour of the remainder of the country. If your arrival flight originally landed in Shannon you should check out the option of departing from Dublin airport. This would streamline your continued exploration of Ireland after the bike tour.