 |
| Killarney Lake |
September 14, Tuesday night
Hannah and I got to Killarney around the same time. I was happy to see that she’d survived her camping adventure with the guys. We settled into our room and went out for dinner, both of us starving.
Later that night we went out to a pub across the street from our hostel. Honestly, we’re getting low on our money, so what I posted earlier about living by one’s looks…yeah, we were hoping that might get us by. We walk in to this pub, however, and let’s just say it was not the most happening place. We were, by far, the youngest in the crowd. A sweet American couple, probably in their thirties, sat down next to us and the man, after hearing about our poor plight, bought us a drink. Also, this old man sitting next to us, completely drunk beyond means of even speaking properly, kept insisting on buying the hat off my head. He told me he’d pay me double what I bought it for. And after telling him I wouldn’t sell it for less than 100 euro, you’d think he’d back off. But with one too many drinks, he was not to be deterred. He also inquired about Hannah’s relationship status, asked to see my legs, informed me that he was still spry, and followed us out of the bar…ah, such a funny old man.
September 15, Wednesday
Okay, so on to the part that actually refers to the title of this post: Hannah and I rented bikes today. We decided to cycle around the gorgeous lakes and scenery of Killarney. I’m pretty sure we’ve been looking forward to this since Dublin. We chose a route, got a map, picked up some bikes, and we were off.
I can’t even begin to describe how gorgeous it is over here. It takes your breath away, really.
Alright, so we get to the end of our fairly easy bike trail and ask directions on how to loop back to Killarney and a man pointed toward a steep gravel incline that was a “safer route than the roadside.” Many would agree that I’m not exactly cautious when it comes to outdoor activities. So we’re pedaling up these hills, cruising down, I start going really fast down one of the hills, and all of a sudden, BAM, this rivet-type ditch thing comes out of nowhere. I swerve to avoid it, which brings me dangerously close to the edge of the path, and going too fast for much reaction time, I biff it…hard. I haven’t fallen that hard in a long time. Hannah gets off her bike and comes running toward me, much more distraught than I was I think. I’m hurting everywhere and I don’t even know where to look first. I came out just fine, though—a scraped up palm, bloody knee, bruised ankle, and a few other sore spots, but nothing terrible. It could have been a lot worse.
 |
| See how deceptive this looks? Nice and even and then... |
 |
| AH, Stupid Rivet |
 |
| One of the wounds |
 | |
| You can't really really tell, but my bike stopped right at the ledge of a little drop off. |
 |
| Ha, I have no more band-aids left, so let's hope for no more falls. |
Anyhow, managing to dust myself off, we made it to Torc Falls and then back to Killarney. Despite the injuries, it was one of the best things I’ve done since I’ve been here. Absolutely amazing!
No comments:
Post a Comment