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Introduction
I bought my first (bomb damaged) mountain bike
in Omagh in the 1980s and, since that time, have watched to sport
evolve in a number of ways.
Initially, I had no idea what to do with this wonderful piece
of machinery. Having failed
miserably to cycle up and down mountains, my attention turned to the
trails of the north west, which I researched from the OS maps (and my
background of hillwalking activities), cycled, and duly
logged.
Sales of mountain bikes
continued apace, but these appeared to have been used largely in urban
areas, or within forestry, and a further development was the
construction of ‘Custom- built’ trails within the forest providing
a variety of colour coded challenges similar to that on the ski slopes
of Europe. These are a great,
(and justifiably popular), resource, but I always feel that scenery is
in short supply within man made forests.
The proliferation of forestry sites in the
north west means that bikers can get off the road without having to
travel too far. It would be
impractical to list and comment on each of these.
The rides included in this guide are largely
non technical excursions into the most remote and beautiful places in
the north west of Ireland, and they vary in length from under 2 hours
to nearer 10, with as much ‘off road’ as I could manage. I have tried to include worthwhile
refreshment stops, but this has not always been possible due to the
remoteness of the terrain.
Google ‘Mountain Biking in Ireland’, and
little or nothing refers to the northwest area, with the exception of
Trailbadger. This site gives
useful information on the various forestry areas, along with a number
of routes, many of which are covered in some form in this guide, with
the notable exception of the ascent and descent of Errigal (which I
feel is both pointless and
irresponsible).
There is a Donegal Mountain Biking club, with
its own Facebook page.
Using this
guide
Apparently Ireland has a
higher percentage of roads per inhabitant than anywhere else in
Europe, which means that our thoroughfares tend to be less used, and
indeed less maintained. Whilst
our nearest neighbour Scotland has relatively few roads, and most of
these are therefore busy, it has many more rough trails. These are relatively rare in Ireland
and, of the ones we have, our forestry trails are probably the most
accessible. This guide
endeavours to utilise our dense network of minor roads with a variety
of off road trails, to visit some of the most interesting places in
our rural landscape. These
routes are rarely technical, so colours are used to indicate terrain
‘under wheel’, rather than as a guide to difficulty.
Colour Coding.
Blue.
Surfaced, at least to some extent, possibly liberally laced
with rushes or grass.
Yellow. Easily cyclable, eg forestry standard gravel track, or
custom built walking or cycling trail.
Orange. Heavier going, boggy, rocky, or muddy
track.
Green.
Grass or sand
Black.
Difficult, steep, technical.
Equipment
Many of these routes are in remote areas, so
in addition to having a bicycle equal to the terrain and the skill and
fitness to use it, a degree of self suffiency is vital in navigation(
competent use of map and compass, GPS or Navigational Ap). In the case of accident or breakdown,
a first aid and cycle repair kit should be carried. It being Ireland, waterproof clothing
is a must, carry food, water and a torch, and a small rucksack is very
helpful for these, and all your other bits and pieces. It cannot be assumed that there will
be mobile phone coverage where you need it. Wear a helmet and high visibility
clothing.
Emergencies. Dial 999 or the EU equivalent 112,
will connect you to the emergency services either side of the
border.
Directions, accuracy and access.
Every effort has been made to ensure the
accuracy of these route descriptions, but changes to tracks and access
can, and will, occur, and the authors are unable to guarantee the
accuracy of each detail on an ongoing basis. Directions are based on personal experience and the
OS 1:50,000 series of maps, with 6 fig grid references supplied where
necessary.
Once off the public road, it must not be
assumed that every track has a right of access, and whilst we are
unaware of any instances of access problems, it must be borne in mind
that many of these are on private ground, and virtually anywhere you
step off the road in Ireland, you are legally trespassing, whether you
are on private land or commonage.
In
effect, problems are relatively rare, as most farmers and landowners
are hospitable, courteous people, and it is important to keep it that
way by respecting them, their property, and abiding by the principles
of ‘Leave no Trace’. If you
are in areas that may be used by walkers or other trail users, keep
speed under control, and give way.
It is also important to be aware of the
situation regarding liability. No one within the Irish legal system
has ever successfully sued a landowner for any injury or damage
arising from anything \'natural\' on his land (or walls or fences
either) and several speculative claims have been rejected, so legal
precedent is clear. Don’t even
think about it, as speculative claims cause scare stories and result
in access problems.
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