DAY 9 - Saturday / Camac Valley Caravan Park - Dublin Ferry Terminal 2 / 40 miles

26/07/2014 / Saturday / Camac Valley Caravan Park - Dublin Ferry Terminal 2 / 40 miles

Saturday morning, the day my friends arrive to start their own trip and at the same time share a little of mine. I’ve been both looking forward and dreading today, I’m excited to see my friends and for them to be here to enjoy this adventure, but I will also miss being on my own and independent.

The heat from the sun kicks me out of bed and I drag myself off for a shower before breakfast and then visiting reception to book an extra night. I plot into the Satnav the Dublin Terminal 2 dock by using the paper map as a guide and head out.

When I get there the lady at the ferry terminal, helpful points me to the gate where I can await my friends entering Ireland.

There’s a Polish biker also at the terminal looking a little lost and as is per both the bikers code and general human nature, I ask him ‘what's up’, it turns out his times for the ferry don’t work out too well as the ferry he has to catch tomorrow, to France from Dover, has a break from 12 to 6 am, on the Sunday, so he'll have to hang around or get a Hotel till it leaves. It’s not convenient, but I wish him luck, as he nips off to see Irish ferries, in the hopes that they can get him back to the UK quicker for him to catch an earlier ferry to France. I go and park myself near, the gate indicated to me to earlier and start reading my book that, I'd specially brought with me to kill time in the evenings. The book I chose to bring with me is from the Author Tony Hawks, called 'Round Ireland with a Fridge', an autobiography by a man who, for a bet, travels around Ireland with a fridge! I thought this a particularly apt book for my own adventure.

After a while of staring at the gate in front of me, it occurred to me that it seems a little poor to be called, an entry into Ireland gate, but it was the only one in the direction she motioned at, so I'll stay put.

I look into the sky, as I’m waiting and remember yesterday, I was told that the weather would break soon and today there has been one or two light showers, so far, which thankfully has helped to cool  the temperature down a little but it has also made it a bit muggy.

Half an hour later and I'm looking the other way, when a load of cars suddenly appear around the corner to my left shortly followed by my friends on their bikes, who quickly disappear around another corner. Oh Shit! It was the wrong fucking gate after all and in the wrong direction! I quickly stow my book and scramble after them, dodging in and out of the departing traffic to catch up and intercept them. I get there attention and we pull into a nearby petrol station. Greetings are quickly made and since I've the campsite locked in on my Satnav I’m on point. Just before we set off I see the Polish rider a few meters away from me and have a quick catch up. He’s tried Irish Ferries with some success and now has a better plan. We wish each other a safe ride and we travel on to the campsite. 

Once at the campsite and everyone’s pitched up, its nap time for my friends, after their 14 hour ride up from London and with one starting firstly from Leeds, they need a recharge. So I go and catch up with my blog, with plans set for this evening to go out and find somewhere to eat. 

In the evening, I find myself as pillion on Alex’s BMW. This is only the second time I’ve ever been a pillion, the first being whilst a kid, with my father on his Yamaha 100 two stroke for just a few miles for fun when I was younger. I’m nervous as hell and would rather be in control, but I try not to let this show to Alex, as the last thing I want him to be worried about is that I’m nervous. I want him undistracted and fully attuned to the road. We followed Mike and Alexa, who are two up on Mikes Aprilla, South from Dublin in search of an open restaurant before it gets dark. For the first time I can fully concentrate, on the views, rather that the riding and enjoy the sights passing by. We climb and in the distance appears Great Sugar Loaf Hill.  It was suggested to me by the Dutch Scout Group, that after a little climb the views are very much worth it.  On their recommendation I planning to visit and hike up the following day, as our route will pass by it, now that I look at it I think it I’ll change my mind, another day perhaps, when I can spend a day to enjoy it.

Fig. 1 - Our restaurant for the evening.

We find a nice restaurant, with great views across to Great Sugar Loaf Hill and the surrounding area, but unfortunately, they had stopped serving food for the evening. We head back down the hill to a village we had passed through, and find a nice cosy restaurant. As we pile though the door, we feel slightly out of place in all our biking gear, next to people out for a quiet evening meal, dressed in their finest, but soon got over it and settled in for the evening. The barman, happened be a biker himself and served us, after the meal, with the best and creamiest alcoholic Irish Coffees I’ve ever had.