Bikepacking the Kingdom – Day 3: Ballaghbeama Gap to Tralee
Distance: 68.4km | Climbing: 891m – Click here for GPS Route
I awoke at 6am feeling the effects of the previous two days of cycling. My back and knees were aching as I forced myself out of my sleeping bag, and I was properly fatigued from pushing out two of my longest days on the bike in several years, back-to-back on a loaded mountain bike no less!
We had set our alarms so early as we had agreed to hit the road at 7am, because Ciaran needed to catch a flight back to England that evening. So, we packed as efficiently as possible, loading our bikes in the chill air and soft light of dawn on our mountain perch.
Not long after seven, the four of us hit the road for the final time on this trip and began a steep four-kilometre descent down the far side of the Ballaghbeama Gap, passing hundreds of huge boulders strewn across the countryside, before plunging into the darkness of a thick forest on the narrow, snaking road.
At the bottom of this descent, we were deposited onto a gradual 210-metre climb towards Moll’s Gap. It was here that my fatigue and knee pain really started to take hold. I had to ask the guys to stop at one point so I could rest as I was just feeling toatally wiped and struggling to continue. While catching my breath, I noticed that my seatpost was sitting lower than it should have been, and I had most likely been pedalling like this for the past two days! With a quick readjustment, my knee was suddenly feeling a lot more comfortable and I was okay to continue, albeit pretty slowly, towards Moll’s Gap.
Near the top of the climb, just before Moll’s Gap, we turned left and began our second, narrow, snaking descent of the day down through another thick forest into the base of the Black Valley. This remote valley was one of the last inhabited places on mainland Ireland to be connected to the electricity grid, and it was easy to see why as we traversed the wild, sparse landscape on the valley’s only road, with trees and bushes crowding in from the side as if trying to reclaim it.
After a relaxing cycle along the quiet road on the valley floor, we reached the small community that calls this valley home, passing a handful of houses, a school, a church and a (since-closed) hostel. Before we knew it, we were out into the wilderness again and beginning our ascent up the side of the valley towards the Gap of Dunloe.
What followed was a steep 220-metre climb up the side of the grey valley while overlooking the sparse, windswept landscape below. Ciaran and Mark flew on ahead, full of beans while Joe and I brought up the rear, our comparative lack of fitness and heavier bikes having truly caught up with us by day three of this journey.
We were richly rewarded for our efforts thankfully, as we ascended the crest of the climb and the view out over the Gap of Dunloe opened up. This is one of Ireland’s most famous passes, for good reason with its sweeping road traversing old stone bridges, while hugging the edges of clear mountain lakes and sheer, rocky cliffs.
We soaked in the views here for a while, before the three lads began racing down the descent. Being one of the most iconic cycling roads in Ireland, I decided to take the drone out and get some footage of their descent. I did my best to chase them down the mountain valley until they outran it, disappearing down past the mountain lakes and into the distance.
It took a while to fly my drone back up the valley again, and pack it away before I could begin the same descent. The guys were planning to buy breakfast at the base of the Gap of Dunloe where a few restaurants and pubs cater to the tens of thousands of tourists who visit the Gap every year. I had told them to order me a full Irish breakfast, so that they wouldn’t be held up by my desire to capture some drone footage.
When travelling with others I’m always conscious of how much I’m stopping for photos and videos, so I was trying to do my best to limit holding up the guys despite the fact I love the artistry of capturing a journey like this through photos and videos.
With everything packed, I hopped on the bike and let gravity do its work, flying past the rocky cliffs and peaceful mountain lakes, while traversing the old stone bridges that make this road so famous. Near the base of the descent it got much busier, with dozens of horse-drawn carts ferrying tourists up the road, the traditional manner of transportation in these parts for hundreds of years.
Not long after reaching the restaurant, my full Irish breakfast arrived and I tucked into it with relish. It always amazes me how much better a meal can taste when you’re fatigued and the cravings kick in. The sun came out while we sat on the restaurant’s patio, feasting on great food and coffee, and talked over what a great journey it had been.
From the restaurant, we only had 30 kilometres to cover on back roads to Tralee where we had started this journey 2.5 days previously. We refilled our water before leaving, with the owner kindly providing some ice for our bottles as the sun beat down and the temperature rose.
The last stretch was a bit of a slog, involving some tough rolling hills and a puncture for Ciaran, but we eventually rolled into the carpark in Tralee at 1pm, finishing out what had been an incredible 2.5 days of bikepacking around The Kingdom.
Having not done a cycling trip like this in four years, it was an eye-opener as to what I was missing by not travelling this way. On top of that, I had not done a trip like this as part of a group before, with the camaraderie and great conversation adding an extra element that doesn’t exist on solo trips. It was a reminder to try and do more group trips like this as they provide a different way of experiencing journeys like this on the road.
Thankfully, the rest of the guys felt the same and it wasn’t long before we started talking through future trips, with Connemara, the Clare/Tipperary Hills, the Isle of Man and Northern Wales all potential options. If those trips were anything like this exceptional weekend of bikepacking around The Kingdom, we were in for a hell of a time.
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