So far I’ve done Dublin – Wexford – Cork – Bantry.

Working out how to erect an then pack up the tent in the pouring rain has been a challenge that I’m yet to get right.

The only really dry thing I have is my sleeping bag.

Roads? N roads are pretty good. R roads have a variety of surfaces from lumpy to dirt track. The wet and the worn tyre make it interesting.

Still, I’m lovin’ it!!

Garmin Zumo 660

Anyway, why do this (the blog and the journey)?

The journey’s just a holiday; two weeks off work, a motorcycle, a tent and a GPS. I love riding my motorcycle, I quite like camping (so long as it doesn’t piss down with rain every day) and going to places unplanned, that I’ve never been to before can be exciting.

I chose Ireland because it’s where all my family come from and I hardly know it. As a child I used to spend summers in Bessbrook, Co. Down, where most of my paternal relatives still live. But in 1969 The Troubles started and I only went back once in 1978. As for the Republic, I’ve only ever been to Dublin for a weekend with my wife Deb. She was given the trip as a long service award from her employer. My mothers family all come from the South. Grandma (Rose Lynch) from Limerick and Grandad (Paddy Hanlon) from O’Callaghans Mills near Tulla, Co. Clare. I intend to visit both these places.

It’s clear Ireland is a beautiful place and the friendliness and hospitality of its people is legendary. I thought about the route for ages and it became obvious that keeping to the coastline as much as possible was the way to go. I’ve calculated it is a distance of about 1300 miles so 9 days should be enough to get round comfortably.

The site? Im a geek, a nurd, a sad bastard. I love technology, gadgets and toys. I just got a new iPhone 4 and want to see if I can maintain a multimedia rich blog with Steve Jobs’s latest creation. I’m not taking my DSLR camera or computer with me so all the posts, photos, video and mapping data will come from the phone. This is a ‘big thing’ – I’m never usually without my MacBook Pro.

Well maybe. I’ll be subject to O2 roaming charges so it could get very expensive, even with a pre-purchased bolt on. I’ll be looking out for WiFi where possible and maybe even an Internet Cafe to tidy up the site.

I also like writing about my travels – in 2007 I did the ill-fated Trans-Africa expedition, UK to South Africa on a motorcycle. I did a blog entry every day and for some reason thousands of people were visiting the site after a couple of months. I was the expedition medic and ironically fell off somewhere ‘in country’ in the Gambia. With multiple fractures and a severely bruised pride, my journey ended on the Trans-Gambia Highway, a misnomer if ever there was one!

So there you have it. I don’t expect many visitors – my mate Dave will look in and my wife Deb may if she gets bored with FaceBook. If you have stumbled into the site thanks for visiting and I hope you find it interesting.

Finally, I love maps. Every post will have the exact location it was posted displayed on a Google Map at the bottom of the page. This post was written at home, the map is a satellite view and you can even see the trampoline in my garden from space!