From the Library: Ireland By Bike...

The next time I get to Ireland ... the next time. The years are passing by now, and it is taking longer to make that happen than I would have expected, would have hoped. I believe I picked this off the shelf at a book sale at some point when that next time seemed tantalizingly close.

The book is written as a series of twenty-one individual "tours" ranging from 12 to 61 miles in length; the author also throws in numerous "day trips" along the way for even more mileage and site-seeing opportunities. For the most part, the tours are laid end to end so, assuming the time was available, a rider could use the information as the basis of one long tour, as opposed to any number of shorter ones.

Besides the usual bike touring information, the author points out many of the sites to be seen along the way with turn-by-turn directions, as well as a bit of history to provide some context. Personally, I don't care much for organized tour groups, preferring instead to explore and find my own way. However it does pay do some prior preparation - that is what a book like this is for. Geared for the tourist with full panniers, a rider with just a day or two to spare might find this book just as useful.

Krause, Robin   Ireland By Bike: 21 Tours Geared for Discovery   Seattle, WA: The Mountaineers, 1993