Ride distance: 71km
Beverage: espresso, naturally
I rushed to get a ride in on Monday in advance of storm Ciarán, though in the end the storm tracked north of Dublin and it seems that Newry took the brunt of it. Either way, it was no bad day to sweat out the excesses of the long weekend, cold and damp but clear skies and little wind.
Naas is, notoriously, a terrible place, but I could have finessed my entry to the town a little better than coming straight in on the Blessington Road, a narrow country road built for traffic a fraction of what it sees now. The relief when the road finally widens enough for cars to pass comfortably is tempered by the procession of identikit housing estates on the outskirts of the town.
Still, once you get onto the main street, it’s a bustling place. Turn onto the road for Sallins and PS Coffee Roasters is tucked neatly into the corner of a brutalist concrete block on the right. On previous occasions, the espresso in the Naas branch hasn’t matched the standard set by their roastery in Clane, but this shot was excellent: thick, savoury, complex. Good coffee, nice presentation, comfortable couch, early Daft Punk on the stereo…what more could you ask?
On the way home, I took the quieter route past the race course, admiring the modest residences of the humble folk of Kildare.
