After two years, i have returned to an English speaking place, the United Kingdom. After a brief stint in London, about half a day, it was 14 hours on a bus plus a ferry ride over to Belfast in north Ireland. not one to sit still, i decided what could be better after two days on a bus from Belgium to London to Belfast with no sleep than to rent a bike and head off in the rain, wind and cold. So that's what i did after arriving in Belfast, got a bike and headed off to bike the Causeway Coastal Route while normally a driving route, i made it a biking route, partly following the Causeway and partly following the National Cycle Route 93.
That first night camping in the howling winds and pouring rain were, under normal circumstances, not the best, but being that i hadn't slept for days, were fantastic. Awaking semi refreshed, it was off for another day along the causeway, 100% against the wind. Every mile felt like two, and felt like all uphill. But it was a day of the natural beauty of north Ireland, and also its one UNESCO site, The Giants Causeway (its whats the picture is off above) 43,000 hexagonal columns formed 60 millions years ago from very quickly cooled lava. Before reaching this though i went to the rope bridge, which i had one idea of based on some pictures and then a whole new idea of once i got there, but still nice.
Arrived at Bushmills, home of the worlds oldest distillery from the early 1600s, still making whiskey. Stayed in a hostel for the first time and slept, well, i slept and slept and slept. Day 3 and who would have guessed it but again 100% against the wind, and the most hill climbs of the whole route. For about 5 miles it was uphill, against the wind. It was... torturous to put it mildly. However, the downhill afterwards was sweet. And finally, after about 8 hours of hard cycling, i made it to Derry, or Londonderry, or the walled City. The old part is still encircled by walls, and this is the site of a violent uprising now known as Bloody Sunday
And that my friends is the Causeway Coastal route. The coast of North Ireland is beautyful, green as can be, and windy. If you plan on biking it, start from Derry and make your way to Belfast, it'll save you. In two days i head back to London and then off to the Empire of the Rising Sun, Japan. What lays ahead in Japan.. only time and the next blog post will tell.
Until then, be sure to bike on the left in the United Kingdom, the weirdest thing ever, even the bell is on the wrong side of the bike. North Ireland is a great place for cycling, and they are working hard to make it a great place to cycle, the buses and trains all allow bikes on board, the cycle route signs were great, they were everywhere and always told you where to go.
From biking North Holland in the Netherlands, a day bike ride in Belgium, and now biking the Causeway in North Ireland, it seems like Europe, and whatever the United Kingdom considers itself, are working to make cycling easier, and more integrated as a apart of life which it is already in many parts, like in the Netherlands. They are a great example of how the most efficient means of transportation can be an integral, useful, important way for people to transport themselves and cargo, and also an easy, impact free way for people to exercise and see the wonders around them.
So get out there and BIKE!!!!!
Did you know that the bicycle is the most energy efficient transportation mode? It is 3 times more efficient than walking, 5 times more efficient than using the train and 15 to 20 times more efficient than driving a car.
Here is where I am:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=derry&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&split=0&gl=uk&ei=Q-iiSsmeGIne-QbtrfHODw&ll=54.996721,-7.325478&spn=0.091773,0.336113&z=12&iwloc=A
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