Photo Rally 2009 Stage 1 - Dublin Locations
April 3rd, 2009 sachaSo the first decent ride of 2009….. Hard to believe that todays the 3rd of April and we rode the bikes to Southampton on the 10th of April last year on the start of the USA trip.
This year there won’t be anything as exciting as the USA but gives me loads of time to see a bit of Ireland.
So stage 1 of the Photo Rally consisted of 4 locations that are not too far from Dublin. In total around 255km so it was a nice spin for a Thursday evening in April. The locations were as follows:
10 (B) - Dunlavin Courthouse (N53 03.541 W6 42.017)
09 (C) - Donadea Forest Park Entrance (N53 20.828 W6 44.639)
07 (D) - Bracklyn Gate Lodge (N53 34.144 W7 06.446)
08 (E) - Tower of Lloyd (N53 43.997 W6 54.314)
The number (10, 09… etc) represents the Photo Rally points while the letters (B, D…. etc) represent the points on the map below.
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| From Photo Rally Stage 1 (Dublin Ring) |
So around 4pm, I saddled up and left. I had to be down to Dunlavin and back up to Naas by 5.30pm to meet Biker Dave who was going to join me for the rest of the route. Loads of time or so I thought.
Leaving Dublin was a nightmare with traffic and it was just as bad on the Blessington Road. I had planned to stop and take a photo of the Blessington lakes but with tractors and trucks on the road that idea was scrapped.
Eventually I got to Dunlavin and found the courthouse. I planned to try and take a few artistic shots but there was two old lads sitting on a bench staring at me. I got a bit self-conscious and took a quick snap and rode on up to meet Dave.
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| From Photo Rally Stage 1 (Dublin Ring) |
Got to Naas without any drama and Dave arrived. Had time for a quick snack and we were off to find Donadea. Dave motored on as he knew the way and left me to follow the GPS. Again the traffic was brutal until we were well outside Sallins. Found the park without much bother. The GPS coordinates provided by the Photo Rally organisers are quite accurate.
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| From Photo Rally Stage 1 (Dublin Ring) |
So next on the list was Bracklyn Gate Lodge. At this stage the roads were getting very rough. Not any trouble to the GSA but Dave on the CB1300 was getting thrown about. His suspension is a bit stiffer (oh er!). He did get a break when we joined the M4 for 17km but this time he got hammered with the wind doing 130kmph on a naked bike. After another 25 minutes on some nice rough roads with lots of loose gravel patches, we arrived at the photo point.
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| From Photo Rally Stage 1 (Dublin Ring) |
Starting to get a bit cold at this time of the evening (around 7.50pm I think) so we put on our extra layers. Last point of the evening was the Tower of Lloyd near Kells. Starting to get worried about daylight at this stage as we reckoned it was around 30 minutes to the tower. So off we went, only stopping for a coffee as Dave was starting to feel the cold in his summer gear.
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| From Photo Rally Stage 1 (Dublin Ring) |
So we got the final photo and headed straight for home. Stopped once to put more gear on as it was now very cold.
Next stage I’m hoping to complete this Sunday when I take a spin up North.