Does anyone want an independent assessment of Ireland’s Official Cycling Routes? If they do read on. My name is John Walshe and I have decided to cycle them all. According to the Failte Ireland website we have about 79 cycling routes in the Republic of Ireland which came as news to me when I happened upon that claim earlier on this year (2010). Since then I have been cycling them one by one and I have uploaded my report on each route onto my web page. Some of them are o.k. but most of them are dreadful. I intend to assess each and every one of them. I am cycling them solely from the viewpoint of a touring cyclist i.e. the kind of person who uses his holidays to cycle bringing with him all his luggage, tent etc. on the bike. As I cycle these routes I also bring along with me a theoretical nine years old daughter and an equally theoretical 10 years old son. This is the standard test that is used internationally. Would you let your two kids cycle this route? If the answer is ‘yes’ then the route qualifies all things considered. If the answer is ‘no it’s too dangerous’ then the route does not qualify. It’s as simple as that. Of course scenery has to be factored in and the degree of difficulty.

So that is what I am doing and I want people to know about it because it’s important. Why should people either natives or foreigners have to cycle some incredibly dangerous or incredibly ugly cycle route? These routes are being heavily promoted by various authorities all over the country and I am not happy about that because most of the routes as I have already said are dreadful from the perspective of a normal touring cyclist who values his life and the lives of his loved ones and is not happy been hoodwinked into cycling some route which is extremely dangerous, obscenely ugly (ribbon development ad nauseum) or impossible to follow as half the signs have been twisted and most of the other half have been stolen. I do not know how long it will take but whatever length it takes it will take.

In addition I have uploaded onto my site accounts of various adventures I have had abroad cycle touring and of course I am also trying to sell a book on cycling or walking ‘The Kerry Way’ but for most people the assessment of Ireland’s cycling routes is the most relevant part of the site. So check it out!

John Walshe