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It is a very cold night. Arctic air current has dipped down into the British Isles, and it gets down to 3° or 4° C, or 35° or 36° F. over night. The heat in our B+B goes off around 10:30 p.m. and doesn't go on again until after 8:00
a.m. today. Only the hot tea we boil up is warm - except for my shower which is warm and wonderful. We cannot figure out how to get warm water in the sink, however. We pack up and go into town to photograph the Cathedral (17th
Century) and take care of post office needs. I fax Marcia, which only costs me £1 at the tourist office. The cost of faxing varies widely. Sometimes it's obvious I'm getting ripped off at £4 or £4.50. We
stop below the old bridge below town to take pictures of the castle, which was first built in the 12th century by Henry II, later owned by Sir Walter Raleigh, and then reconstructed extensively in the 19th century.
In fact, most of Lismore Castle as it presently stands dates from the 19th century. The route along the Blackwater River Valley is quite scenic and rolling for the first 10 miles; thereafter it is still scenic, but a number of the hills on this quiet route require "Granny" gear. We stop for a snack in the busy town of Fermoy. It is noon hour and typically the town is crawling with students who are on lunch hour. The town has less of an Irish look - except for the numerous pubs, one for every 200 people in town according to my guide book - and more of a
flat, sprawling nondescript American look. The sky begins to gather more gray clouds and the look of things is foreboding. We stop at the cute little town of Ballyhooly where we also photograph a castle and have a beer in a pub that has been in the same family for five generations. As we bike out of town, it starts to rain and then hail. The hail stings our faces even when we are moving slowly, but as we go downhill we have to brake; otherwise the hail is too painful. It is one of those weird Ireland days. After
a sunny morning, it starts to threaten rain, then gets sunny, then hail, and then rain, etc. It is a race against terrible black storm clouds scudding off the mountains. The quiet road winds and rolls quite a bit, and the biking seems even more of a test today than yesterday when we went through the scary Vee pass. I discover today that one of my brake pads on the rear has really worn down after yesterday's trip down Knockmealdown Mountain. We locate a bike shop in Mallow as we look for the tourist office which is closed, and Mike has the guy adjust his shift mechanism. I tell him I'll see him tomorrow for my brakes. The bike shop recommends the B+B just up the road, a B+B we noticed as we rode into town. It's one of the premium places. Hosts Ann and Morris are warm and friendly, and we have a tub in our room and radiant heat
in the floor. It's clean, warm, and comfortable. Ann makes us a pot of tea when we arrive and gives us a couple scones also. This is followed by hot baths, and we are renewed. However, Mike is coming down with a cold, and he's
working it over with vitamin C. I'm not sure who's going to win this battle. We may stay in Mallow another day to recover health and avoid wretched weather. The weather is supposed to be quite rough and "unsettled" through Thursday. We've got two days to try to outwit Irish
weather. We have dinner at a Chinese restaurant, and as usual it isn't cheap. You pay for everything at a Chinese restaurant - rice, tea, etc. The food is good, but the bill always gives me indigestion. Mallow is a pleasant town that Marcia and I just saw briefly as we were heading for Limerick on April 4. From the edge of town it's not much, but it's got a couple castles and a nice main street with lots of shops and pubs. We come home tired and head for bed by 10:30 p.m. Our 37 mile day seems like 60. |
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