Rachel's Irish Adventures

02/12/2024

What an ADVENTURE.. the Canary islands once again offered the perfect playground 🏝️ 🚴🏻‍♀️

I started this year off with the Road version of .route and now I have finished the season with more ferry chasing at the Trail edition. This was a race against the ferries & creating our own adventure along the way. Myself, Kelly-Anne & Nat decided to stay together & share the experience crossing Lanzarote, Furtaventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife & La Palma. This brought its own little challenges with each of us having different strengths but we adapted & it felt so amazingly powerful to share this adventure with such strong & caring women who certainly know how to turn on beast mode when it’s needed💪 The route was spectacular with such a variety of trails & scenery and more than one fun hike-a-bike😉

We completed the 837km, 24,000 elevation in approx 4 days 7 hours arriving in first women & 3rd overall. The finish was informal and no prizes but we were met with a big hug and joined more riders in the days after for lots of story telling to share all the madness that happened on our journeys.

A big thanks to & Dani for creating this epic adventure for us all to enjoy & making the atmosphere so friendly & inclusive.. Anyone looking for a fun & hardcore MTB adventure, put this event in your calendar 👌

And a big gracias to and for their continuing support🚴🏻‍♀️ And of course to for keeping me on track💪🤸🏼‍♀️

24/11/2024

And we’re READY!!!
Follow myself, Kelly-Anne & Nat cross over 5 of the Canary islands off road with 35 others at the .route trail🚴🏻‍♀️🚴🏻‍♀️🚴🏻‍♀️

https://dotwatcher.cc/race/granguanche-audax-trail-2024

29/10/2024

Finishing the season with a blast☘️

A big thanks to my new Canadian friends for choosing Rachel’s Irish Adventures for their family holiday & celebration🥳 Megan recently graduated from her last year in University which she completed in Trinity and her sister Gwen who is studying sound film was certainly up for joining the adventure. It was super fun to take them to my favourite places and invite them into my home and become part of the family.
Life certainly is all about connections and meaningful experiences👌💚

30/09/2024

Trail running is such a great way to explore Ireland, get off the beaten path & open up all your senses to discover our spectacular rugged coastline & bog roads🏃🏻‍♀️☘️

Check out 5 of my favourite playgrounds👌

17/09/2024

Check out my new website!
Let me know what you think☘💚

Welcome to Rachel’s tours of Ireland – your gateway to authentic Irish adventures. Let me guide you to the heart and soul of this enchanting island.

08/09/2024

A big Treasure Hunt in Ireland💚

After a really fun & adventurous 10 days with Jean & DeWayne, coming all the way from Bend Oregon to explore the west and north of Ireland☘️

They have both been Geocaching for 12 years and have found over 16000 geocaches around the world. This was the theme of their trip & it certainly took us off the beaten path & down more than one hidden trail👌

06/09/2024

And that’s another exciting loop around the sun, moon & stars🥳 Thank you everyone for the lovely birthday wishes🙏

It’s certainly been a year of adventure & movement, travelling, working & racing in 14 different countries, some of which I visited more than once😎

Here’s to a top class year of positive energy, adventure & balance to finish my 30’s in style👌☘️

27/08/2024

Sometimes a picture says it all☘️💚

20/08/2024

Tracing back your roots☘️

The landscape in Ireland is spectacular but the phrase ‘People make places’ is so true and this was certainly the experience this lovely Chicago family had during their one week adventure in the west of Ireland 💚❤️
Their ancestors are from Achill island and all left to cross the Atlantic during the famine times in search of a better life. They enjoyed lots of fun & deep conversations with the locals, getting an insight into the Irish culture & their heritage. And of course there were lots of activities, eating great food, quality control testing the Guinness and much more. I really enjoyed showing off my local playgrounds and having such open conversations about literally everything we could think of. Excited to see you all again for round two exploring Northern Ireland 👌💚

14/08/2024

Enjoying a super fun week exploring County Mayo with this lovely family from Chicago💚❤️

13/08/2024

Life as a sheep on Achill island 🐑☘️

26/07/2024

Time for another adventure, this time exploring North Wales on 🚴🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️🚣🏻‍♀️ at the ITERA adventure race
And I’m lucky to be racing with 3 strong Irish lads☘️

Follow Team Rachel’s Irish Adventures #119 to see where we go…

https://live.durtyevents.com/iteralite24/

24/07/2024

What a top class week out exploring the best of Mayo & Galway with this super fun three generation fit family☘️

Lifetime memories are made by sharing time and experiences together and having all 3 generations on holiday together is just so incredibly special. I feel super grateful to have spent this week with these 6 amazing individuals🙏 Matt is the fittest 75yr old I know, I absolutely loved Carol’s gentle manner & sarcastic sense of humour, Cathy is a powerhouse of a woman & Mum, Eric is a gentle giant with an adventurous sense of direction😅 And the boys, Evan at 10yrs & Anders 16yrs old are the kindest lads and obviously being raised with an open curious mind that will definitely take them many places..
I’m really looking forward to keeping touch & I know our paths will cross again soon.. I may take you up on that invitation & land on the doorstep😉

16/07/2024

The Pan Celtic 2024 was an adventure for the body & mind🚴🏻‍♀️🚴🏻‍♀️

I finished the 2400km, 27,000m in 6 days, 9 hours arriving over the finish line 1st female & 7th overall💪

The race had every element to challenge us, a 160km night time trial around the beautiful Isle of Man which all 360 cyclists raced around and arrived on the mainland already well warmed up & sleep deprived before hitting the hills of the lake district & making our way north. The event started late so everyone’s game plan was delayed and it forced us to really go with the flow.

The scenery & landscapes were EPIC throughout but what really stood out from start to finish was the community of riders & amazing vibe the organisers created, it was like a big family coming together to take on a massive challenge in the best playground.

This race for me was not ideally positioned, in the middle of my tour season when I had less time to train and was already quite overwhelmed with how many things in life i was juggling. So I took this as a time out, a time for me to switch off the phone, the background noise & immerse & connect in the moment & in the great outdoors. I managed all the challenges, food poisoning which came with 24hrs of nothing going in but coming out every end, the crazy weather & everything else that appeared on my path. I slowed down for the most amazing sunrises, sunsets, chats with cyclists as our paths met.. and there were times that I was like a wild woman let out of a cage, racing hard for 200km without even stopping to p*e- these times I left a piece of myself out on the road and it felt so empowering to feel so strong & holding it for longer than I thought might be possible..
I crossed the finish line on Saturday at 4pm feeling powerful, fulfilled and so incredibly grateful for what I had experienced and achieved🚴🏻‍♀️🙏 There were no pictures at the end, no official finishline.. but a super warm welcome, a hug, a campfire, hot chocolate and peanut butter on toast. For me this was perfect, no drama, just a friendly gathering that welcomed each rider home & lots of storytelling👌

06/07/2024

Ready for a wild adventure on 2 wheels🚴🏻‍♀️

If you want a week of entertainment, you can follow my dot #299 on the Pan Celtic self supported bike event. Once again, a chase of the ferries, 5 on this occasion⛴️ with almost 2400km & 27,000m of climbing 💪

The game starts in 40mins🥳
https://pancelticrace2024.maprogress.com/