Variation upon variation — this is a third way to skin the Piperstown/Glenasmole cat. It’s the most scenic option of the three, but also the hardest, featuring the short but salutary climb up Cunard Road Lower along with the demanding final kilometre of Cunard Road Upper. It would be hard to find a route that packs so much into a couple of hours so close to the city centre.
Head out of the city through Old Bawn and past the entrance to Bohernabreena reservoir to start the climb up to Ballinascorney. Take the left turn after the Footee course, as the road widens and curves right. The road above the reservoir is a joy: quiet, well-paved, tree-lined, with occasional glimpses of the water below. Follow the road around the back of the reservoir to a T-junction: left here, then the next right to take on the 15% ramp of Cunard Road Lower. Right at the top to join Cunard Road Upper — you’ll have a few moments to catch your breath before the grind up to the Featherbeds. Turn left at the T with Military Road, then the usual drop down by the Viewing Point and Cruagh Road to Tibradden, and along Pine Forest Road to Glencullen.
The only likely hazard (aside from knee trouble) is the descent down the back of the reservoir. The road itself is fine, but it’s winding and very narrow with no visibility around the corners — it’s very easy to round a corner at speed to meet a Land Rover coming the other way, with no scope for evasive manoeuvres. Don’t ask me how I know this.
This route is a variation on the basic Laragh route, taking in the under-appreciated (and somewhat brutal) climb of Trooperstown Hill, so check the notes on that for the sections shared by both routes.
When you reach Laragh, go left at Lynham’s pub to take the road for Rathdrum. Take the left immediately before Bookey Bridge and climb gently for about a kilometer, then a sharp left onto the Trooperstown climb proper, which is anything but gentle. The reward comes afterwards, on the long, gradual descent around the curve of the hill — the views across the valley are lovely and you usually have the road entirely to yourself. There are a couple of tight bends and sections with loose gravel but it’s not particularly steep. At the bottom you run into the Moneystown road heading towards Roundwood. Rejoin the Laragh route just before the drag up to Ballinastoe.
The route works well in reverse too also, turning Trooperstown into a gentle, winding ascent. You’ll be riding the brakes all the way down the other side though.
A five-star route: classic climbs, quiet roads, beautiful scenery. There are very few routes in the Dublin area which pack so much into a ride you can finish before lunchtime. This is my Ardennes Week route — maybe there’s nothing here to match the Mur de Huy or La Redoute but there are punchy ramps steep enough to get your attention.
The early section following the R114 over Ballinascorney to Brittas is fairly routine, but provides a good warm-up for the ascent of McDonagh’s Lane that awaits on the far side of the N81. Follow the road around the back side of Slade Valley and along the ridge before dropping down to a crossroads. Turn left for Kilteel and Eadestown. This is the westernmost edge of the Dublin mountains — to your right only the flat expanse of the midlands. The few hills visible on the horizon are a couple of counties away.
A few kilometres after Eadestown, the road begins to rise, presaging the final categorised climb of the day, Bishopshill Road. The steep ramps on the lower reaches of the climb are more than compensated by the views of Poulaphouca reservoir and Blessington from the top. Drop down into Ballymore Eustace, and up to the N81, before making a quick loop around Tulfarris and returning to Dublin via Blessington, Manor Kilbride and Ballinascorney.
There are few hazards along the way: the descent after Slade Valley is steep and badly paved but doesn’t see much traffic so you can usually pick your way down without trouble. Best taken handy, nonetheless. You’re on the N81 for a stretch coming into Blessington but it’s flat, well-paved, and you often have a tailwind so it passes quickly.
There is scope for variation: if you want a shorter route, turn left at the T-junction at 36km (after Bishopshill) to cut straight back to Blessington. This lops nearly 20km off the route although you’re missing a lot of pleasant cycling by the reservoir. You can take a different look at the hill by continuing past Bishopshill Road and taking the next left instead — you miss some of the views but it’s a steadier climb. And if the R114 is getting you down, you can take the road up Mount Seskin to Brittas instead.
This is classic Wicklow cycling: the windswept bogs of the mountains, the quiet roads through sloping pastures in the lowlands. The route is packed with climbing, from the headline ascent to Sally Gap to the rollercoaster roads around Oldbridge, finishing with the uncategorised duo of the Poggio and the Scalp. Reversing it gives not just another perspective on the countryside but a different, no less satisfying, rhythm to the day.
Navigationally, the route is very simple: only two turns separate the start at Five Points and the halfway point at Laragh, and there are only a few more on the return leg. You climb to Sally Gap in two stages, taking the marginally gentler Edmondstown Road route up to the Featherbeds, then dropping down to Glencree before tackling the climb past Lough Bray. After the Gap you descend gradually for 15km to Laragh. Immediately after leaving Laragh take the left turn onto the backroad to Oldbridge. This road is perhaps the highlight of the route, quickly leaving the village behind to take you past tranquil fields lined with hedgerows and dry stone walls. Jink right at the R759, then left for Ballinastoe. After descending the Old Long Hill, there’s the quick kick of the Poggio and then the gentle slopes of the Scalp before the descent back into the city.
There are a few hazard points to watch out for. As you are picking up speed towards the top of Glenmacnass waterfall, the road swings left — you will frequently round this bend to find a slew of blithe tourists milling around in the road. Be ready for an emergency stop. The second is the descent into Oldbridge. There is a trio of warning signs, starting with an arresting (but unhelpfully unspecific) “!”, then one showing a bike sliding, and finally one warning of a 10% gradient (a gross underestimate, as you will find out if you ever travel it in the opposite direction). It would be pretty easy to come a cropper here. Finally, the descent of the Old Long Hill ends with a tight left-hand bend ending abruptly at a T-junction. Ignore the warning sign at your peril.
Laragh is the obvious place for a cafe stop — there’s nothing before it, and nothing afterwards until you reach Enniskerry. The route runs you straight past Glendalough Green (aka the Hippie Cafe), the traditional stop for cyclists. On a warm day, the outdoor seating will be thronged with the lycra-clad hordes, basking in the sunshine like seals on a rock. Lynham’s does a reasonable pub lunch, and there’s also a food truck doing barbecue in their carpark on summer weekends. There is a petrol station shop just off the route on the Glendalough Road.
There’s some scope for variation: if you’re already jacked by the time you get to Laragh, you may prefer the gentle drag along the R755 through Annamoe to Roundwood over the focused ramps on the L1059 to Oldbridge. Bear left as you exit Roundwood to get onto the road for Ballinastoe. Gluttons for punishment can turn left at the R759 (56km) to take on the steepest approach to Sally Gap, the road above Luggala Estate, and return to the city from the Gap.
I ride this route about once each year, early in the spring when the training plan calls for longer rides but the mountain roads might still be sketchy. Running through the gentle farmland of north county Dublin and county Meath, it’s eminently suitable for fixed gear riding.
The most tedious aspect of the route is getting out of the city centre — it’s a full 14km of urban traffic until you get to St. Margaret’s. After that you’re mostly on quiet minor roads until you cross the Royal Canal on the way back into Dublin — even then the run through Castleknock and Phoenix Park is one of the more pleasant ways back into the city.
Keep your wits about you when making the turn off the R156 at 85km — it’s on a sharp left-hand bend and you need to go most of the way around to get any view of oncoming traffic.
There are plenty of refuelling opportunities on the way out — there are shops in Oldtown, Garristown, and Duleek, and a petrol station just after you cross the N2 around Balrath. Maguire’s cafe at the top of the Hill of Tara is ideally placed for a lunch stop, more than halfway through the ride, and an easy start afterwards so you can digest a little. It’s probably bedlam during tourist season though.
There’s not much after that — the only business in Dunsany is a piano tuner — but the post office in Kilcloon (88km) has a small shop if your stomach is rumbling.
Let’s get the ball rolling with something very basic. This is a route I ride mostly in the winter and early spring: the roads are relatively sheltered from the wind, and it packs in a decent amount of climbing for a ride that takes less than two hours. If you’re desperate for a coffee stop (or a pint), Johnnie Fox’s will be happy to take your money.
Head out through Old Bawn on the R114, a road which will soon become tediously familiar. It’s a wide, open drag that offers no respite from the prevailing westerlies but it’s direct and it has the signal virtue of not being the bloody N81.
After the crossroads at Old Bawn, turn left onto the L7114 and follow the road for 6km through Bohernabreena village and up to the Featherbeds. At the T-junction, go left on Military Road to drop down to the Viewing Point, then sharp right onto Cruagh Road.
Take the right turn onto Pine Forest Road and continue past O’Connell’s Rock to the Glencullen crossroads. Turn left onto Red House Road and continue down Burrow Road to join the R117 near Stepaside. From there it’s suburban roads through Dundrum and Terenure to finish.
Variation: turn right after Bohernabreena and follow the road through Glenasmole to join Upper Cunard Road. Continue to the T-junction at Military Road, and turn left to rejoin the original route.