10 am to 10 pm

At breakfast, it's time to indulge in calories again. Today's goal is the Connor Pass, the highest pass in Ireland at 456 meters. Well, for Swiss people, it’s not that high, but let’s not underestimate it too soon. After all, everything starts at 0 meters above sea level. Fortunately, the road is closed to cars over 2 tons. The weather is cloudy, and we dare to ride in shorts. That was perhaps a bit too optimistic. Just before reaching the summit, suddenly dark clouds appear, and exactly what they forecasted happens. Before we can even put on our rain gear, we are already soaked. The pass was easily passable, climbing at an average gradient of 7 percent. Upon reaching the top, we can hardly see anything apart from a few hefty sheep sitting comfortably in the rain and fog beside the road. We now put on our rain gear and escape as quickly as possible. On the other side of the pass lies the Maharees Peninsula; that is our destination for today. Here we have reserved a room, and the plan is to circle the peninsula and stop where it is nice. By nice, we obviously mean the landscape and not the weather. Although, precisely that has decided to offer us both. The beaches are simply huge (Brandon Beach is 20 kilometers long), sandy, and almost deserted; only where there is a trailer park or a campsite do bathers crowd into the water at a chilly 15 degrees in both water and air temperature as though it were 30 degrees. The people here are tough and enjoy the summer. We first take off our rain gear, feeling a bit like aliens on a distant icy planet. The sun does indeed come out from behind the clouds, and the day promises to be ‘probably sunny and hot’ according to the forecast with 'number of bathing Irish: quite’. In our eyes, it is simply beautiful with many dark clouds, which we keep a close eye on. We have a pleasant day cycling, relatively easily navigating around the island, stopping occasionally at a beach to enjoy the view towards America, watching the birds and the waves, which ceaselessly wash over the Irish coast from America. We make coffee on the beach, and Anja had three!!! Cadbury bars hidden in her bag; one had to be sacrificed....mmmhhh so delicious. It is slowly getting evening, and we should check in as well. It is low tide, the sand is very hard, and we can ride along the sea to the B&B. This is wonderfully located on a hill with a view of Brandon Beach. Mary and Michael are an older, super friendly host couple. We sit together in front of the house, eat, look at the sea, and they tell us about their passion - their Bed & Breakfast, which they have been running for 35 years. The two radiate a palpable joy for life, their mutual love, all spiced with a touch of humor - indescribably refreshing are the two of them. With a satisfied smile and gazing at the calm Atlantic, we fall asleep, or better said, fade away. Michael mentioned that according to the forecast, it should rain tomorrow from 10 am to 10 pm....
Route: Dingle - Maharees Peninsula - Castlegregory
Distance: 54
Elevation: 614

July 29

Unfortunately, the 10 am to 10 pm forecast was right.

We cycled through the rain all day. In Tralee, Peter even crashed over a curb (he has a few bruises, and so does his bike - but luckily everything seems okay)
It is still raining, the shower is warm, the bed is cozy, and the bikes are sleeping in the room next door... there’s nothing more to say or show about this day ;) ....Tomorrow is a new day.
Oh yes, one last thing related to this day: The key to the bike lock seems to have stayed in Ireland on holiday, as we haven’t found it anywhere.
Route: Castlegregory-Tralee-Ballyheigue
Distance: 56
Elevation: 421