Revived by an excellent four course dinner*, a good night’s sleep on high thread count sheets and a hearty breakfast* at our swanky hotel, we hit the road. It immediately begins to pour and my rear derailleur malfunctions. A rainy roadside repair gets my bike back in working order but leaves my hands covered in grease. Our brief flirtation with a life of luxury is over.

The rain passes and skies clear, but we keep our rain jackets at hand. We ride towards Connemara National Park on beautiful cliff roads overlooking the ocean, on narrow country lanes skirting fjords and past freshwater streams and lakes. Connemara is one of eight National Parks in Ireland and is made up of expansive bogs, heaths and grasslands and small forests, set against a backdrop of rocky mountains shrouded in white clouds. It’s an absolutely gorgeous landscape.

By lunchtime, the sun is shining and we stop to dry out and enjoy a decidedly non-luxurious roadside lunch of bread, hummus, carrots, tomatoes and nuts, with some delicious County Clare jam for dessert.

Throughout the afternoon, we catch views of Croagh Patrick, a bare and scree covered peak of 764 meters that is one of Ireland’s most important pilgrimage sites. There has been a church at the summit since the 5th century and every year thousands of pilgrims hike to the top, many in bare feet.

We continue over Sheeffry Pass, a long and gentle climb through the beautiful Connemara hills, where we encounter some of the most exceptional sheep of our trip lining the road.

Ireland excels in the sheep department and we have seen many fine examples, but these burley free range variety have black heads, thick white coats and horns that would intimidate an elk.

We arrive in Westport in time to clean up and walk around the quaint little town center in full sun.

* Earlier this summer, a sweet cousin visiting from Colorado mentioned how much she enjoyed reading my food blog. Though I think of it as a cycle touring blog with occasional food references, I can see where she’s coming from. So as not to disappoint, here are a few photos from our fancy meals.