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| Check out some of the magical moments from previous tours. |
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| Ride the whole coast of Ireland in ten days!. |
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| Our west of Ireland
tours take in some of the smallest, most remote, most scenic
but most importantly, safe roads in the country. |
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| We use proper aluminium touring
bikes with front end and rear bags for your stuff for the
day, camera,
wallet, SUN LOTION! Plus all our tours have their own support
vehicles. |
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| Here's a few movies we suggest
you watch before coming to Ireland.... |
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| We have so many great pictures
from ours tours, here's your chance to use them as a screen
saver! |
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| Frequently Asked Questions |
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weather....! Our accommodations....? The terrain....!
Evening wear....!
We do get asked all sorts of questions and
we welcome them all. I would like to run through
a few of the most common.
The most common thing were asked about is
the weather. So let me address this issue.
It rains a lot less in this country than people
generally think. We can literally ride our
bikes 365 days a year.
June & September are statistically the
driest months of the year. November is the
wettest.
On all of our tours this year we had no days
where the weather was too bad to ride, only
one where it was a very heavy downpour, and
we had sun on about 70% of the days. People
are always pleasantly surprised at just how
little rain they see on our tours. But one
does need a little bit of rain during the tour,
for that authentic Irish experience.
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Ques
1. What kind
of accommodations can we expect?
Answer.
One of the things people often email us about after they leave is
just how happy they were with our accommodations. From the 255 year
old, Foyles Hotel in Clifden, to Belleek castle, Markree Castle the
places we stay are really quite special. Expect private bathrooms
every night, very good beds, and laundry service everywhere we stay.
You will not be disappointed with our accommodations.
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Ques
2. What kind
of food can we expect?
Answer.
When we say we have had people actually take pictures of their dinners
in some of our hotels we stay at were not kidding. Expect to eat
very well on our tours. We'll work you hard during the day, and feed
you well at night. And thats a promise. But seriously, expect some
spectacular Atlantic salmon, seriously succulent beef, organic home
grown vegetables, and some other treats along the way. Dinner on
our tours is more an occasion than just, dinner.
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Ques
3. What clothes
need we bring?
Answer.
For the riding you'll just need your normal everyday cycling wear.
Nothing too heavy as it never gets too cold. We have lots of extra
gear in the Jeeps anyway, if you found you didn't pack enough. No
problem there. For evening wear, we do stay in some nice places so
bring some nice stuff. Nothing too stuffy though. Casual.
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Ques
4. Will we
manage to down the odd pint of Guinness along
the way?
Answer.
Definitely.
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Ques
5. What kind
of level of fitness do I need to have?
Answer.
We have had people on our tours from the ages of 14 to 76, and every
age in between. (You will find the 76 year olds email address on
this site. Mas Kinoshita from Lodi, California. Been with us three
times now, rode every mile, and put some of us to shame on more than
a couple of occasions.).
Whatever distance we do we take the whole day to do it, one can
ride at whatever pace one feels comfortable with. We always have
the Jeeps nearby if you need a ride. Some people like to hammer
along at a fair old rate of knots, and thats fine, Ill ride with
them. Some like to take their time, take lots of photos, stop for
the odd pint of strength and experience the whole day. We encourage
this. For those who like to do a little more we have extra loops
on almost all our routes and we often have a few people in each
group that like to do this so no problem there.
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Ques
6. Whats the
terrain like?
Answer.
Gently undulating, is a term I like to use. Although this term does
get me in trouble with my guests on a regular basis. Okay, some of
our undulations might be a little more severe than gentle, but theres
no hills on our tours that are more than ¾ of a mile long,
nothing very steep, and sure isnt the wind always at your back when
youre in Ireland!
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Ques
7. ATMs?
Answer.
Lots. (Except in Gweesalia. Population - 54. Three pubs, a church
and a post office....)
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Ques
8. Lunches?
Answer.
Look forward to them. We at Celtic Trails pride ourselves
on having found some of the nicest lunch spots in Ireland, (so much
so that even one of our, friendly competitors asked could they use
one of them this year. We said yes). When we tell you we will be
having lunch right on the top of the highest sea cliffs in all of
Europe we are not lying, (Sleive League, Donegal).
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Ques
9. What bikes
do you use?
Answer.
Quite simply, our bikes are perfect for the job. Not the most expensive
bikes on the market, but well up for the job. Aluminium Giant Hybrids
with full Shimano group sets, Kevlar tyres, AguSport bags and GripShift
gears. They are very comfortable to ride and never give a minutes
problems.
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Ques
10. Will we
have fun?
Answer.
I guarantee that you will have more fun on a week with Celtic Trails
than you have ever had in your entire life! And if you dont have
an amazing
experience in the west of Ireland with us, check
yourself for a pulse.
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