Cycling In Ireland

Cycling In Ireland

by | 9 Aug, 2021 | from: India, TU Dublin

My name is Vikash Shrivastava and I am a Masters student at TU Dublin, studying data science. I am originally from a small town in India called Steel City, Jamshedpur. It is 7,869 km from Dublin so I am pretty far from home!

I am a blogger, a passionate cyclist, an athlete, and a watercolour artist. I love Ireland because it has the friendliest and most welcoming people in the world. I chose Ireland for my higher education as it is the most beautiful country in Europe and I wanted to cycle here. Ireland is an amazing place to bike around, with some spectacular trails. 

My first Cycle Ride to Wicklow

In December of 2020, I cycled from Dublin to the Wicklow mountains covering 100 kilometres in 4 hours. Wicklow is a town in County Wicklow, it is on the East Coast of Ireland. The Wicklow Mountains form the largest continuous upland area in the Republic of Ireland. The mountains are a 45 kilometre bike ride from Dublin’s city centre, I cycled to the Wicklow mountains to see the Guinness lake. 

A selfie I took after reaching 44 kilometres, near the Wicklow climb. 

My 2nd Cycle Ride from Dublin to Howth 

Howth is a village which is 15 kilometres from Dublin. After my first exam break, I went to Howth on bike, covering 65 kilometres. This ride is very special to me as the route to Howth is very scenic, especially around North Bull Island. During my ride to Howth, I met a few locals on my way and spoke with them about the weather in Howth and Irish culture. The ride to Howth was very challenging. I needed to trek for around 4 kilometres with my bicycle, as it was a very rainy day and it was difficult to ride on the tracks. I ended up trekking, hiking, and cycling!

 

My 3rd Cycle to the Dublin Mountains.

Before coming to Ireland, I had never seen snow! Early one January morning, I heard that Dublin will be facing heavy snow and I was incredibly excited – I wanted to go for my first cycle ride in the snow to the Dublin Mountains.

The Dublin Mountains, where I cycled 35 kilometres. This is my first bike ride in the snow!  

 As somebody who loves to travel, and who loves nature – I find studying in Ireland to be a massive gift and one of the best things I’ve ever done. I feel very grateful to have the chance to explore Europe and to meet locals on my bike.
I would like to thank Education in Ireland for giving me this opportunity to share some of my experiences of Ireland and why I love being in Ireland so much. 

Thanks, 

Vikash