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Day breaks with a partially blue sky and sun. That is the best part of the day as it turns out. Our 25 miles today is a combination of 8 miles of strong head wind and busy highway and the
remaining 17 with a wind at our back and rain off and on - but always with the threat of a major storm. I keep this first day fairly short so that Mike can get his "legs" for the trip. Tomorrow will be more of a challenge with mountains and unstable weather to deal with. Except for a gradual climb against the wind out of Waterford, the road today is generally flat with occasional small hills. It is really quite easy except for the fear that the skies might unleash a torrential rain on us. We stop at a field where a hurling practice is taking place, and we talk at length with a friendly local who is just there to observe the action. He has just visited the U.S.A. and found the people of Long Island and Manhattan quite friendly. We are surprised and pleased, for an Irishman to judge
another "friendly" is the ultimate compliment. I consider the Irish to be the "yardstick" by which friendliness is judged. Of course, there have been exceptions, but by and large the Irish are quite interested in people and are willing to spend exceptional amounts of time in conversation with
friends and strangers. My old man used to call it "kibitzing," probably a Yiddish word, but that's what often takes place among Irish friends. The secondary road that runs along the south bank of the River Suir is a bit busier than I expect, but thankfully without lines of traffic. It is a fairly interesting route, mountain views to our north and northwest and rolling, green
farmland to our left and right. While not spectacular, it is new to Mike, and we stop occasionally for a photo op. Our initiation to Carrick-on-Suir is a view of the wonderful Ormonde Castle which is fronted by an Elizabethan manor house, and the semi-ruined 15th Century castle is directly behind and attached to the River Suir. Noon
mass must have just gotten out because the narrow one way-streets are bumper to bumper with stop-and-go traffic. It is déjá vu of Arklow last Sunday. We walk the bikes on the sidewalk and make better time. We stroll the town and have a half pint of Beamish stout at a pub. So far I've "sampled" Guinness, of course, Harp, Hoffman (a Waterford brew), Caffreys (a wonderful creamy-headed lager), Kilkenny (The Cream of Irish Beer) Smithwicks, Beamish, Murphy's stout and Early Biddy brew Pub lager. There will probably be a few others along the way. I've refused to drink Budweiser which can be found at nearly every pub in Ireland now. Our B+B is right across the street from the Sean Kelly Sport Center, which is a combination of swimming pool and exercise center named after the 1989 Tour de France winner who is a resident of Carrick-on-Suir. Part of the 1998 Tour de
France will take place in Ireland and in fact the bikers will ride right by the Sport Center and our B+B. Our host, John, and the rest of Ireland is quite excited about this. We drop off our saddle bags at our B+B and have dinner in town - a full and scrumptious chicken breast for me and lamb for Mike. The town has a very medieval quality - narrow winding streets with occasional little lanes that snake back
into a church or shops or little cottages. But the paved path that we ride along the river and Ormode Castle is dismaying - it is dirty, full of broken glass and dog crap. A word about dog crap: While Paris has its share, at least the Parisians make a half-hearted attempt at cleaning it up - scoops, paper or plastic
bags, etc. In Ireland I've never observed anyone doing anything but letting his or her dog have the run of the place. I've seen some doggie doo litter boxes in Dun Laoghaire, but no one bothered with them. I ended up watching every step I took along the promenade into the
harbor. Again, there's that odd contradiction: these very sensitive and polite people think nothing of letting their leashed dog take a dump on somebody's front stoop as Mike and I actually observed in Waterford this morning. In the States I would view that as a hostile and disrespectful gesture. |
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