Day 14 - Dingle to Listowel 48.5 miles, 4 hours 41

The Conor Pass. I've been hearing about it for ages. "Are you really going to ride the Conor Pass on that thing?!"

Well, yes. I was going to ride the Conor Pass on the tallbike, as it's the northern route out of Dingle.

Having a rest day, which I really needed by he way, made me NOT want to start moving again. I'd had a meal which I'd had a hand in cooking for the first time in 2 weeks the night before, had a sauna, a jacuzzi, a massage, wandered round being lazy and hung out for the afternoon with Candice and, well, I was tired.

Candice is quite an impressive girl... bronze medals for Tae Kwon Do at world level and about to resume her medical studies. Good cook too.

Later in the evening I went to the Small Bridge pub with various people from the hostel. The boys playing music there were easily the most moving Irish musicians I've ever seen. the guitar player plays exaclty as I'd like to be able to play... Uilleann pipes are much more melodic and soulfull than the Scots version... anyway. I am become more of a plastic Paddy by the day.

So, bed, wake up and think: "I don't want to ride today". Inertia.
I kitted up, said goodbye to everyone and headed off towards the Conor Pass. 1 hour and 4 miles later I was at it's peak of over 500 metres. Of course I'd started at sealevel. Sadly, it was cloudy and the views to both sides of the peninsula were a little less spectacular than they could have been. I was freezing, too as the swaet I'd worked up was getting wind-blown by the now familiar winds, which were luckily at my back today, and gladly half as strong as they have been for the last few days.

The next hour I managed 14 miles, and it would have been more if the roads on the north of the pass were any cop at all. Single track and bumpy. Still.

A largely uneventfull day once I'd dried out and negotiated Tralee. Busy town!

On the road to Listowel I was wondering why my host for the night, Greg hadn't been in touch. A van driver flagged me down for a chat, and luckily it was he. Born on Westcotes Drive and now a resident of Kerry. Leicesterfarian number 2!

I'm full of curry that he treated me to, and I'm sat using his computer at his family's home... Marvellous. County Clare tomorrow... Sorry Limerick!

zzzzz