The Weekend Run with Liam Gaskin — The 'Oh my God' ride-out

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5 hours ago

This run wasn't even close in terms of distance to most of my other runs, but its dramatic scenery and narrow, winding roads made it a spectacular ride out.
It's a short distance from Tralee to the foot of the Conor Pass on the Dingle Peninsula, and nothing about it would hint at what was to come. You very slowly begin the climb to the top of the pass, and as you get closer, you get an indication of how steep the road becomes.
The road is so narrow in places that some sections are only wide enough for one-way traffic, making for an adventurous ride. If you're driving an RV or towing a caravan, turn back now; there's no chance you'll make it to the summit. You'll have a great view on one side of a number of corrie lakes Pic: Supplied
From the summit, at 1,500ft, you'll have a great view on one side of a number of corrie lakes, formed by glacial movement thousands and thousands of years ago. On the other side, an incredible view of the Atlantic and Dingle in the distance.
I imagine most people who take in the view from here exclaim, 'Oh my God' — I know I did.
Check the weather before heading to the Conor Pass, as low cloud at the top can be disheartening, especially after the climb. I imagine most people who take in the view from here exclaim, 'Oh my God,' — I know I did. Pic: Supplied
The descent from the summit is on a much wider road, but more challenging than the ride up. I spent most of the run down with the pointy bit of my nose pointing towards the ground.
I have been on numerous steep downhill roads over the years, but none have been as long as this one. It felt like it went on forever.
The road is covered in gravel, and the only way to navigate it safely is by utilising your gears and avoiding using the brakes as much as possible. Bikers will always want a challenge in their runs, and the climb up and down from Conor Pass has that in abundance. Bikers will always want a challenge in their runs, and the climb up and down from Conor Pass has that in abundance. Pic: Supplied
Into Dingle we rode, to be met with hordes of tourists both international and domestic. And oops, more downhill roads to the harbour.
Dingle was immortalised by Johnnie Cash in the song '40 Shades of Green'. He wrote the song in 1959 during his visit to Ireland. The people of Dingle owe the Man in Black a great debt of gratitude, as tourists have flocked to Dingle ever since. The one lonely fishing boat in Dingle Harbour when we arrived. Pic: Supplied
Dingle is a lovely town renowned for its fishing fleet, which is probably the largest on the West Coast. However, as luck would have it, the fleet was off doing its own thing in the Atlantic when we arrived.
As the adrenaline was still flowing from the run, we decided there was nothing for it but to adjourn to an award-winning, historic hostelry for the auld cup of tea. Dick Mack's founded in 1899. Notice how steep the road is. Pic: Supplied
Dick Mack's has been serving beverages since 1899. A Pub with a shop in it. On one side of the bar, the usual selection of beers and stronger spirits, and on the other side, a leather shop.
This pub has a sense that it has been unchanged since it opened over 125 years ago.
In 2017, a brewery called the Brewhouse was opened, and today you can enjoy one of Dick Mack's very own ales and beers. If you have a couple of hours to spend, you might fancy the brewhouse tour. You could pick up a pair of shoes while enjoying a pint of Dick Mack's very own brew. Pic: Supplied
This was probably the shortest run I have ever been on, but it was one of the most exhilarating. We were blessed with the weather, as though it was raining, which added to the challenge; there was no low cloud.
As long as some road planner doesn't go mad by widening the road up to the Pass or flattening out the run to Dingle, this is and always will be a great ride-out.
As always, click this link to the Detecht map for the route of this run. Remember, when you open the map, enlarge it to see the details.
When I arrived at 2 Wheels in Ballymount, I was given a brief overview of the Rebel by Alan, a knowledgeable motorbike expert.
My first surprise was that the Rebel was jet black and wouldn't have looked out of place on The Sons of Anarchy TV show.
Next, surprise, it is an automatic gearbox. This was concerning as I had never driven an automatic bike before. With a bit of trepidation, I took this low rider out of the gate and onto the motorway. At 15 minutes in, it felt like I had ridden in this position my whole life. Pic: Honda
For the first five minutes, I found the foot pedals a little awkward, as it had been years since I had ridden a bike with such a low seating position. However, at 15 minutes in, it felt like I had ridden in this position my whole life.
The next thing I had to come to terms with was the automatic gearbox, but to my surprise and delight, it was brilliant. I felt the automatic gave me more freedom to signal oncoming traffic.
After all, bikers are more polite on the road than car drivers, and there was no discomfort in my wrist from having to operate a clutch. The gearbox was so smooth and did the thinking for me. Whatever speed I was driving at, it chose the optimum gear. The engine noise to me resembled a low growl, indicating a bike that just wants to be driven. Pic: Honda
This beauty is born to cruise. It screams 'drive me' as far as you like and then some. The engine noise to me resembled a low growl, indicating a bike that wants to be driven.
It is not a commuter, but it can handle both city roads and country ones. I took it out on Dry Road mode, and it had lots of pick-up power, which made me wonder why I would ever need to ride it in Sport mode.
My one Biking Bucket List ride is the Sea-to-Sky road from Vancouver to Whistler in Canada. It's the largest ski resort in North America and was the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics. It starts at approximately 50 feet above sea level and rises to 2,215 feet.
The road twists, bends and climbs its way to Whistler through towering trees and bear country, I kid you not. I drove it in a car with my daughter in 2023, and I promised her we would do it on a bike someday. She's my official motorbike videographer.
Anyway, the Rebel is the bike I want to do it on. Its smooth gearbox, low centre of gravity, remarkably comfortable seat and easy handling make it the bike to tackle this incredibly beautiful road. Its smooth gearbox, low centre of gravity, remarkably comfortable seat and easy handling make it the bike to tackle this incredibly beautiful road. Pic: Supplied by Honda
The CMX1100T Rebel comes standard with full LED lighting, cruise control, ABS, and three riding modes: Dry, Wet, and Fast (my definition).
It also features side boxes for carrying gear on weekends away, which you will want to take. The ignition key also unlocks the seat, which conceals storage space and a USB Type-C socket.
If you have a decent budget, you can add a few extras, such as a Wadding Seat (black or brown), Tank Pad (Side and centre), Headlight Cowl, Short Front Mudguard, Wheel Stripes, Support Passenger Backrest, Backrest Pad, and Rear Carrier.
I love it the way it is. Here is a link to a YouTube video from the 1000ps.com channel, which features the CMX1100T Rebel being ridden around Portugal and includes a lot of technical information.
Gerry passed the Garda Advanced Motorcycle Course and the motorcycle Escort Course first time — no mean feat, I can assure you.
He was heavily involved in the first 'BIKESAFE' course, which was initially held only in Dublin Castle before it went nationwide some years ago. I recently wrote about this excellent, free course. Check out a video about it here. Gerry has been a Honda man his whole life. Photographed here touring in Romania with his superb Honda Goldwing. Pic: Supplied
Besides his Roads Policing duties, he was also involved in escorting many Heads of States and other dignitaries around the Country. Since retiring, Gerry has become a motorcycle tour guide, leading tours across and around England, Scotland, and Wales.
Among his peers, Gerry is a legend of the Route 66 tours across America, raising much-needed funds for the Temple Street Children's Hospital. He has planned and led eight Route 66 fundraisers.
A great friend of Gerry's described him to me as 'a legendary biker and absolute gentleman'. It's a privilege to have him answer my ten questions today.
My Dad drove motorcycles all his life, and I was exposed to them at a very early age. Any chance I got I drove his bikes outside our house and loved the experience and have some great memories of those times with my Dad and his bikes.
Times were different then, and it wasn't such a big deal then to let you kids mess around with your bike. I've been driving motorcycles for most of my life.
I was 21 years old before I could afford to buy my first motorcycle.
My first bike was a ST1100 Pan European Black in colour. Loved that bike!
I had my car license to start, but have been trained and graduated to a full A-class bike license.
Yes!
I have been fortunate in my life to have experienced many memorable rides on motorcycles, but if I had to pick one, it would be one from a trip across Route 66 in America, fundraising for Temple Street Children's Hospital.
At the end of the trip, our group, which consisted of approximately 60 bikes, received a police escort from the LAPD motorcycle unit into the city of Los Angeles to arrive at the Santa Monica Pier. At the front of the escort, they had taken all their old vintage police cars from their museum and used them to head our escort.
We were honoured with a LAPD Helicopter flying overhead and had 16 of LAPD's finest police motorcycles escorting us the whole way—quite a spectacle to behold.
Along the way, the local fire services' fire trucks flew giant American flags from their extended fire ladders across the road over us and stood to attention with a salute as we passed—quite an honour.
Yes, I had a spill very early on in my biking career when a taxi made a sudden U-turn in front of me on the road.
I T-boned the car and did a fair bit of damage to my beloved Pan European. Walked away from it with bruises and a shaken ego, but had all the best gear on and was back on the road after repairing the bike.
She was nervous at the start, but since I was driving motorcycles professionally in my job, it eased things a bit. She had a strict rule that our children were never allowed to ride any of my bikes.
In retrospect, they never got to enjoy any of the experiences I had enjoyed with my Dad and his bikes. To this day, neither of my children has ever ridden a motorcycle and shows no interest in doing so.
After much persuasion, years later, my wife eventually got up on the back of the bike and now loves it; we have since taken various trips all over Europe.
Short answer: Yes, but it took quite a few years, until after our kids had grown, before she eventually did. Motorcycling had become my life, and I suppose she looked on it as if she didn't jump on board, she would very rarely see me.
So I started her off on small local trips, and it has gone from there. Now I wonder whether it was such a good idea, as I can't get her off the back of it now, and she loves it. She has been with me on many trips to Europe, and long may it continue.
My main focus in biking is on touring. I usually do at least one major tour each year. Touring has become my main focus in life, and I have been fortunate to have had quite a few memorable bike tours. I am struggling to pick one to say was the most memorable.
I have driven coast to coast across America on Route 66 a total of eight times on fundraising trips and am proud to say that I have raised quite a lot of much-needed funds for Temple Street Hospital.
I have taken several tours across Europe and beyond. One trip alone covered seven different European countries, starting in the Scandinavian countries and working our way back through Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, England, and home.
I suppose one that ranks very high in my memories is a trip I took two years ago with my bike club, which was a trip across Europe to Romania, where we attended a bike rally. I was absolutely blown away by Romania and its people. Completely different to my expectations, and it has some of the best biking roads I have ever driven in my life.
We drove across the entire country from west to east to the city of Constanta. It is a 3000km plus trip that will stay with me a long, long time. It is a Country that I will definitely return to someday on my bike again.
Simple, really – training, training, and then more training.
You are never too old or young to receive training, and I would say it is absolutely essential for all new riders. It helps new riders develop proper roadcraft and prevents them from developing any bad habits.
Choose a suitable bike as your starter, such as a Honda Deauville or a similar model, and take the time to practice, practice, practice.
Always use proper, high-quality riding gear that fits, a decent helmet (avoid second-hand ones), and gloves.
It may save your life in a bad situation. Keeping your bike properly maintained is another key factor.