I booked two nights in Kenmare so had the luxury of doing a loop today.  There were two passes I was really interested in… the first was Priests Leap. Quiet back road with very steep pitches towards the top.  Not a single car the entire time. At the top of the pass I left County Kerry and entered County Cork.  

I followed the Bay of Bantry back west through Glengarriff where I found a great little food truck situation and stopped for a second breakfast.  Continuing west I took some inland secondary roads instead of the main road… they were beautiful and quiet, but also had a lot of short steep pitches.  

Next up was Healy Pass… a very chill grade through a wide open valley. Once at the top you are back in County Kerry and the descent was fantastic with views of inland lakes and the bay. 

On recommendation from a cyclist I met at the top of Healy Pass, I took a fantastic seaside route through Bunaw and Tuosist. I finished the day back in Kenmare totally dry but pretty tired after quite a bit elevation gain and a LOT of wind.  Looking forward to some more trad music at Crowley’s pub tonight!