Cycling in Ireland by Jeremy Seal

Ireland is home to legendary bicycling names like Sean Kelly and Stephen Roche and even hosted the Tour de France as recently as 1998, but increasing numbers of a less committed breed of pedaller are now beginning to appreciate the Republic's two-wheel touring potential.

Back in 1985, the travel writer Eric Newby considered walking, cars, motorbikes, buses, horses and even balloons as the means of touring Ireland before settling on bicycles as the only practical option; his Round Ireland in Low Gear was the result.

New devotees cite the magnificent scenery in areas like Connemara and Donegal as a big draw, while others fondly remember the roadside pubs, but no factor is more important than the Republic's comparatively empty roads. Cyclists from Europe's and America's more bustling corners are delighted to discover an abiding truth behind that familiar giftshop postcard - of a flock of sheep blocking a road above the caption 'Traffic Jam in Ireland'.

Operators have been running bicycling tours to Ireland for some ten years now. One of them is Celtic Trails which is run by Paul McQuaid, a champion cyclist himself. McQuaid, who has ridden all over the world, considers Irish motorists among the most attentive to cyclists. He also knows Ireland's roads as well as anybody - he rode plenty of them winning the Tour of Ireland in 1995.

He retired the following year and began putting together tours which are the happy result of all that labour. The itineraries favour routes which combine scenery and low volumes of traffic. McQuaid is also something of an expert on memorable lunch stops, and there's always a back-up vehicle should riders discover the afternoon has somehow disappeared in establishments such as Monk's in Ballyvaughan or Beola in Roundstone. McQuaid knows the black spots to avoid, notably the Ring of Kerry and Killarney, which are bumper-to-bumper with coaches in the summer. He instead offers three separate tours concentrated on Donegal's remote fishing villages including Glencolumbkille and Bunbeg; on the little known areas of Mayo and Sligo around Ballina and the Partry Mountains, and on Connemara/County Clare.

I joined McQuaid on a June week cycling through Connemara and Clare when the hedges were heavy with fuchsia and rhododendron. Highlights were the ruined castles and ivy-clad farmsteads on the coast road to Doolin, and the Connemara coast road to Clifden. One day, we cycled out to Cleggan and took the ferry to Inishbofin where we covered the island's every road in less than an hour. It was on the way back to the ferry that I rounded a corner and pedalled into a flock of sheep; the postcard cliche had finally come true.