Wicklow is a mountainbike Mecca. They host the EWS series in Ireland and there´s trail centers and local trails every where. They say Wicklow has the best crowd on the enduro circus and considering the people i met here it makes good sense. The Irish are simply awesome. Thanks to my Buddy Ian Bolt at fatbikeadventures.ie i got to borrow a beautiful REEB Donkadonk equipped with a Lauf up front. Hand built steel frame that handled really sweet.
But first lets talk beach riding.
When going to Ireland beach riding was not the first thing that popped in to my mind. But i stand corrected. Since this was a family trip riding bikes was not the main goal. But Wayne and i hooked up through fat bike love so of course there would be riding. We got up early every morning to catch the sunrise and ride. And what mornings we had…
Brittas Bay is wide sand beach with stunning shores, sand is filled with oyster and clam shells. We did 12 kilmeters just riding the beach. I´m not used to tides, we just don´t have it in the Bay of Bothnia. But they sure make the beach harder and easier to ride. It´s off season here now, but i just love places like these when they´re all empty.
A few kilometer north is Blainroe Beach. Way smaller but with some awesome caves that´s accessible when the tide is out. We went here a couple of times, the trail down is a tunnel of green that soon falls in to the sea. Such a lovely view. Beach riding the essence of fatbiking, that and snow. This is the only place that’s fat bikes only. I just love playing around on the dunes and float on the big tires.
This is an awesome playground and Blainroe Beach became the place we came back to with the families several times. Regarding the weather in Ireland. Before we left everybody said bring rain gear. But rubber boots and rain jackets stayed in the bags all week. We even got to swim in the Irish sea together with some surfers.
Ian at Fatbikeadventures.ie is such an awesome dude. He let us lend a 24″ fat bike for my ten year old daughter Emmy. What is more awesome the ride the beach with your kid?
I could never imagine Irish beaches being this awesome, and i know this was just a small taste of what this emerald island have to offer. There is miles and miles of beaches to discover and i´ll sure be back again exploring more beaches.
Next up gnarly trails of Ireland
Stay tuned…
Bike life in Swedish Lapland 