Shot a quick video of the Dingle Peninsula in the SW of Ireland on a pre-season motorbike trip to the west. Hope you enjoy !!!

We are very excited to announce that we have finally released the motorcycle tour schedule for 2010. We have spent a lot of time this winter putting it together and we think it will be a big hit. For the forthcoming season we have added quite a few new guided tour and also a new concept the self guided tour.

Guided Motorcycle Tours of Ireland : We have seven tours this year and several of them run multiple time. We take all the strain out of planning your trip, we supply you with a great motorbike, an experienced tour guide and your accommodation for each night. So, all you need to do is turn up and ride, safe in the knowledge that you will be riding the best motorbike roads in Ireland with an experienced guide, staying in great biker friendly accommodation and seeing some of the best sights and attractions that Ireland has to offer.

Self Guided Motorcycle Tours of Ireland: For our self guided tours, we give you a motorcycle which has a GPS fitted. The route for each day of your tour is on the GPS and each night’s accommodation is pre-booked. There are no set dates so you can choose your own starting date. You can go on your own or with a group of friends. You pay an all-inclusive price for motorbike hire, GPS routes and accommodation. So, all you need to do is turn up and ride.

We took delivery of a brand new BMW R1200GS Adventure in the last few days. It will be used by the staff for leading tours and planning new tour routes for 2010. So far we are having great fun running it in and playing with all the toys. We went for the fully loaded spec with includes Electronic Suspension Adjustment, Anti-lock brakes, Automatic Stability Control, Alarm, On-board computer, BMW Aluminium Luggage and a Chrome Exhaust. We are looking forward to many happy miles together exploring the roads of Ireland.

Well, we opened the cheque book today and purchased a new 2009 Honda Transalp. We managed to do the deal at the last moment as the price goes up tomorrow by a whooping £1100 due to the strength of the Japanese Yen. Like the bike in the photo we decided on black and added brushed aluminium panels for the top box and panniers. We also added a list of goodies so it’s ready to go straight into the rental fleet.
Brushed Aluminium Top Box
Brushed Aluminium Panniers
Heated Grips
Touring Screen
Scottoiler
Centre Stand
Garmin Zumo GPS

At Irish Motorcycle Adventures we love the Transalps for their touring ability, speed and that famous Honda reliability while still being light enough to suit any biker. This new motorcycle will be entering the rental fleet on the 1st of May and we look forward to it carrying many of you on your motorcycle tour of Ireland.

Belfast, Northern Ireland has been chosen as the finishing port of the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge in 2009. The annual race organised by Sail Training International brings together some of the worlds finest tall ships. The first race was held in July 1956 from Torbay on the English south coast, to Lisbon in Portugal. Since then the event has flourished and now involves 70 to 100 vessels from 20 countries.

Four thousand young people are given the opportunity to join the professional crews to live life on the ocean waves. The purpose is to give them an unforgettable experience and to promote friendship and understanding between different nationalities and traditions.

This year’s event is based in the North Atlantic covering some 7000 nautical miles, following the traditional trading routes of sailing ships over the centuries. Starting in Vigo, Spain in late April they will sail to Charleston on the US East coast, via Tenerife and Bermuda. From Charleston they will follow the East coast to Boston before reaching further north to Halifax in Canada. From Halifax they will cross the Atlantic to arrive in Belfast in mid August for the grand finale celebrations. The fleet will include 12 'Class A' vessels which are the largest of the tall ships and include square-riggers and classic sailing ships.
Belfast has big plans for the arrival of the Tall Ships, last seen in Northern Ireland in 1991 when 400,000 visitors swarmed the Pollock Dock to visit the ships. This time around Belfast is expecting far in excess of 400,000 visitors and have arranged a four day Maritime Carnival of street music, street theatre, fireworks and international food and drink markets. If it's anything like the last time, it is sure to be an extravaganza for all ages.

Well here we go!
Irish Motorcycle Adventures has finally added a blog. We hope this will be somewhere to take a light hearted look at the fun of motorbiking in Ireland. I hope you enjoy our random scribbles.