My first ride of the year.

[Chippy01]

A couple of clips of my little spin today, taken with my new BikerMate cam, which herself bought me for Christmas.

Cruise control set, on a new stretch of the M11 between Arkow and Ashford, Co Wicklow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coNbGVACxFA

From Ashford to Rathnew, Co Wicklow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAAJj86Qrxg

[Bighead]

Second vid was more scenic but you do realize you were riding on the wrong side of the road don't you

[old2soon]

Second vid was more scenic but you do realize you were riding on the wrong side of the road don't you

         Keep in mind "they" accuse us of the same thing-drivin on da wrong side!  RIDE SAFE.

[Bighead]

Yeah but had to point it out

[Hook#3287]

Second vid was more scenic but you do realize you were riding on the wrong side of the road don't you

         Keep in mind "they" accuse us of the same thing-drivin on da wrong side!  RIDE SAFE.

Yeah but we DO ride on the RIGHT side, they ride the left 

[indybobm]

So, is the fast lane the left lane or the right lane.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Brought a smile to my face remembering the roundabouts. I didn't really care for the "M" roads, we did most of our riding on the "R"s and "N"s.

So, is the fast lane the left lane or the right lane.

The fast lane is the right lane. When we took off from the rental we were on the "M" which is similar to our interstate. My buddy was leading because he had been there before and knew where to go. But he is a fairly conservative and sedate rider. He stayed in the right lane doing about 5 or 10 kph below the limit. I kept trying to signal him to get over in the left lane but his memory muscle just couldn't compute that it was the slow lane. Thankfully the Irish are very polite and friendly. If it had have been in the USA we would have been voted number one many times. 
Chippy, you should take some videos on some "R" roads for these guys. I know they would enjoy them. 

[msb]

Sure does look different flying down the "wrong" side of the road. The co-pilot and I are planning to do this in September 2017. Talked to the rep for this self-guided tour rental outfit at the local MC show a couple of weeks ago and we became very interested.

M.H. - is this something similar to what you did a while back? I saw the videos you posted.

Chippy...any comments or recommendations would be appreciated (time of year, rental outfit, etc). Thanks for posting this.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Sure does look different flying down the "wrong" side of the road. The co-pilot and I are planning to do this in September 2017. Talked to the rep for this self-guided tour rental outfit at the local MC show a couple of weeks ago and we became very interested.

M.H. - is this something similar to what you did a while back? I saw the videos you posted.

Chippy...any comments or recommendations would be appreciated (time of year, rental outfit, etc). Thanks for posting this.

Yep that's the company we used. We debated doing the self guided tour, but ended up just renting the bikes winging it. Which in my opinion was the way to go. B&B's are quite prevalent there. Never had any problems. If you can do it you won't regret it.  It was AWESOME. We rented the 1200 BMW's which for me was ok, but my wife hated it. It was very uncomfortable for her. The riding position on it was very awkward for her. I could go on for hours telling you where to go and what to see. Hope you get to do it. 

[msb]

Sure does look different flying down the "wrong" side of the road. The co-pilot and I are planning to do this in September 2017. Talked to the rep for this self-guided tour rental outfit at the local MC show a couple of weeks ago and we became very interested.

M.H. - is this something similar to what you did a while back? I saw the videos you posted.

Chippy...any comments or recommendations would be appreciated (time of year, rental outfit, etc). Thanks for posting this.

Yep that's the company we used. We debated doing the self guided tour, but ended up just renting the bikes winging it. Which in my opinion was the way to go. B&B's are quite prevalent there. Never had any problems. If you can do it you won't regret it.  It was AWESOME. We rented the 1200 BMW's which for me was ok, but my wife hated it. It was very uncomfortable for her. The riding position on it was very awkward for her. I could go on for hours telling you where to go and what to see. Hope you get to do it. 

Great, thanks. I agree, just heading out on your own is the way to go. I'm sure I'll be more than happy to give you ample opportunity to "go on for hours" about your experiences once the time comes to make final preparations 

[Chippy01]

Brought a smile to my face remembering the roundabouts. I didn't really care for the "M" roads, we did most of our riding on the "R"s and "N"s.

So, is the fast lane the left lane or the right lane.

The fast lane is the right lane. When we took off from the rental we were on the "M" which is similar to our interstate. My buddy was leading because he had been there before and knew where to go. But he is a fairly conservative and sedate rider. He stayed in the right lane doing about 5 or 10 kph below the limit. I kept trying to signal him to get over in the left lane but his memory muscle just couldn't compute that it was the slow lane. Thankfully the Irish are very polite and friendly. If it had have been in the USA we would have been voted number one many times. 
Chippy, you should take some videos on some "R" roads for these guys. I know they would enjoy them. 

I know some good R roads around Glendalough, Sallygap and surrounding areas (you might want to check Google maps/earth) that would be nice. Now that I have the cam installed and running, anything interesting will be posted.

By the way, it's not a fast or slow lane; it's a driving lane (on the left), and an overtaking lane (on the right).
Recently brought into The Road Traffic Act here too, is that if you are travelling in the overtaking lane when the driving lane is clear and the Traffic Corps Garda spot you, you will get pulled and issued with a fine.
Although you wouldn't think so with the amount of right lane hoggers out there.

[Chippy01]

Sure does look different flying down the "wrong" side of the road. The co-pilot and I are planning to do this in September 2017. Talked to the rep for this self-guided tour rental outfit at the local MC show a couple of weeks ago and we became very interested.

M.H. - is this something similar to what you did a while back? I saw the videos you posted.

Chippy...any comments or recommendations would be appreciated (time of year, rental outfit, etc). Thanks for posting this.

For a fun bike related visit, check out irelandbikefest.com
It's held during the June Bank Holiday weekend in Killarney, Co Kerry. About 3hrs (180 miles) from Celtic Bike Hire in Kill, Co Kildare.
From Killarney, you will have access to the Wild Atlantic Way, Ring of Kerry, Slea Head and the Dingle Peninsula. You could even take in the Cliffs of Moher and The Burren, about 80 miles north of Killarney.
All this is on the west coast.

The east coast has some spots too. Glendalough and the Dublin/Wicklow hills. The run from Dublin to Wexford is good (albeit mostly dual carriageway now). Mount Leinster is a nice spot on a good day.

Dublin itself has many attractions, but you'd really want to lock the bike up good and proper when parking (same as any big city).

I guess it all depends on how long the visit is, where you will be based (if at all), and what interests you have.
As for the time of year; summer is best as always, but never guaranteed to be dry. Avoid holiday times if possible, unless you want to head to the BikeFest.

I think MH did it last year, and will surely have tips regarding the visitor view.
Check online for anything that interests you, and either myself or another Irish member, of which there are a couple on this forum, can try to give you our perspective.