Mybikeorhike

23/03/2024

Looking forward to browsing through this local history which I picked up this morning, spur of the moment. Thanks and congrats to authors Pat, Jeanette & Liam. Always nice to meet the authors

23/03/2024

Thanks, Ger, Grand Canal Greenway Bike Hire.

Great bikes & professional service

👍🙏🚴🚴‍♂️

Great to meet these young men from the USA who came along with Ben from My Bike or Hike to explore the Grand Canal Greenway.
For guided bike tours, look up My Bike or Hike 🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲

14/03/2024

Great to be back on the road again, helping these lads from the US celebrate their long stag weekend starting in the Long Hall 🍻. And no better way to do so than in on the final 🏈and ☘️weekend

25/02/2024

28/01/2024

Vote for Ian!

Absolutely thrilled to have been nominated in two categories at this year’s .ie Awards .

Outsider Man of the Year 2023

The Outsider Audience Choice Award

To be included with such an amazing list of people is a huge honour. The Audience Choice Award is selected by public vote . Go to the website Outsider.ie and read some of the bios and stories. Some really inspirational people in this country.

I’d appreciate your vote and I’m really looking forward to the award ceremony in , Dublin on 21st February.

To read and vote :
https://outsider.ie/outsider-awards/audience-choice-award-2023/

06/12/2023

Dublin City awarded 2024 European Capital of Smart Tourism 0 By Travelextra on November 29, 2023 Ireland Jamie Cudden Smart City Lead Dublin City Council Dublin City has been awarded the 2024 European Capital of Smart Tourism designation by the European Commission. The citation says this is in recog...

24/11/2023

This is the bike shop where I base my bike tours.

A casualty of last night's events.

A small gesture will help this small business to get back on their feet

🙏

Hi, my name is Julia. I am looking to raise funds for my uncle’s small bu… Julia Ghile needs your support for Support for Small Bike Shop Business in Dublin

02/11/2023

🏥

Finally and inevitably the chickens came home to roost 🐔 on old sporting ankle injury. Thanks to all the medics & staff at for your great care & professionalism.

So it's feet 🐾 up - with a legitimate excuse - for the next few weeks & all going to plan, we'll be back for more and in the new year: faster 🏃, stronger 💪 and better ☺️

12/07/2023

Great work and good to know.......

***Wicklow Way Re-Route***

We have opened a minor reroute on the Wicklow Way. When heading South just after passing the Mullacor saddle and start to descend into Glenmalure a new path has been built through Coillte land. This is an effort to create a more sustainable trail and remove some difficult /sensitive muddy and hard to maintain terrain.

Thanks to David Ward for his excellent work on the path. Thanks also to Coillte and Wicklow Mountains National Park together with County Wicklow Partnership for this collaborative effort to improve recreation in Wicklow - funded by the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme.

23/06/2023

Did you know you can take photos with characters from the past at the ? On a break between , students Lei, Alessia and Leonardo came with me to check it out. We met up with Maggie Doyle and watched and listened to her rant about her fella!

Worth checking out, just download the App, bring your phone, 🎧 and discovery history of the docklands in a novel way.

11/06/2023

Farmleigh House.

In 1872, Edward Cecil Guinness, then the wealthiest person in Ireland, purchased the 18th Century Estate known as . Around 1880, a bridge was constructed to pipe water and electricity across the into the estate. It was also used exclusively by members of the family until an unfortunate worker, Joe Williams, drowned in a torrent one evening while awaiting his ferry. Subsequently, ordinary workers were allowed to use the bridge for access to and from the estate. The estate is now owned by the Irish State. Also known as the Guinness Bridge and the Silver Bridge, the latter presumably for its shiny metallic appearance when first built. A far cry from the rusty disheveled state of recent times (first photo). I had heard in dispatches that there were plans to refurbish it. A happy if hopeful thought that briefly came and went, as thoughts tend to do these dates. That is until today, while out in fine weather doing a recce for a River Liffey and later this week, I saw with my own eyes - 2nd photo - that something seems to be coming to fruition. Now, the question is, is it just a refurbishment project, or will there be access afforded to the ordinary people of today, just like it was to the ordinary workers of times past?

05/05/2023

A good thing about commuting by for is you have time & space to notice things you might otherwise often pass without a thought. Detouring through The Coombe area of , I took a moment to learn about how the Coombe Hospital came in to being in 1826.

Every day's a school day!

02/05/2023

Getting ready for the first 🚴🚴‍♀️ bike tour of the summer. No need for a power hose, just a gentle rinse, so why not connect to the rainwater tank.

11/04/2023

10 Likes, 1 Comments - My Bike or Hike () on Instagram: "A memorable 2 days with lovely guests from Spain. We plodded along 's Liffey 🌉 Bridges ..."

09/03/2023

To all hikers & hillwalkers, please take note

In late Summer last year, a large fire swept through the Raven’s Glen Valley and surrounding mountainside of Tonduff. It damaged forests, vegetation and soils, and left no food or protective cover for the wildlife that depend on it.

We are now asking for your cooperation to assist with the recovery of this site, by not entering into the valley while habitats and wildlife populations are recovering. Walking over the area will cause disturbance, erode vulnerable soils and exacerbate the damage at this crucial point of recovery. This request goes out to all users.

We will be monitoring the recovery of the area, and will remove restrictions when appropriate. We would like to sincerely thank you for your cooperation in helping Raven’s Glen to recover.

10/02/2023

4 Likes, 1 Comments - My Bike or Hike () on Instagram: "🥇First visit to Ireland for Patti and her son, Luke, travelling all the way from California. They were looking for an authentic experience, not too busy, off the beaten path but accessible to their base in . They chose we...

23/01/2023

Nice to be mentioned in this super blog, composed by a guest who joined the Tombs & Trails Hike in the Dublin Mountains. Thank you -Luca.me for this 🙏

Beautiful end of November hike guided by Ben Shorten, from My Bike or Hike. It did come as a surprise, as I cozied myself up in Dublin, that the public transport is far from stellar 🙃 There is only a handful of trails one can do using the public transport to the starting point – not...

03/01/2023

My Bike or Hike shared a post on Instagram: "Taking a 👀 look back to last year to 😋 whet the appetite for the year ahead. Where will you be in 2023? For your active outdoor adventure off the beaten path, why not book a via the link in the bio or follow the link below 👇 https://www/MyB...

24/12/2022

It's a wrap 🎁

Some sights of a memorable year

Thanks to all who joined a , shared experiences & took the time after to let me and others know 👋👋👋

🎄Nollaig 🧑‍🎄Shona agus Aithbhliain Faoi Mhaise 🎊🎇

28/11/2022

For the hiking / hill walking enthusiast, this is not just any run of the mill App. It has alot of great, well thought out features, and great quality maps!

Digital versions of our maps are now found on the Hiiker app for Android & Apple devices. This is a subscription service and includes all maps from EastWest Mapping as well as Harvey and OSi and many others. The Hiiker app has many features, including tracking your route and measuring how far you’...

27/10/2022

I didn't need to be asked to yield twice as I was reminded of the upcoming 🎃 Samhain festival on today's TY Hike


🎃

23/09/2022

For years what was literally was part of Dublin's hidden heritage as its oldest shop remained sadly closed. That was until St. Patrick's Day this year, an enterprising couple brought it back to splendour as a boutique store with delicious hand made chocolates, specialty teas and coffee. The internal decor is beautifully crafted to transport you to an otherwise forgotten past to which it once belonged. A past connected with the Guinness family, for it was one Elizabeth Read, of the same family that gives its name to Dublin's oldest shop, who married one Richard Guinness, with whom she had a son, Arthur!

So, if you happen to be passing Parliament St, do swing by for a cuppa and say hi to Agy and her great team.

31/08/2022

Mol an Óige, agus tiocfaidh sé

The old Irish proverb that the young will flourish through praise, not criticism, rang so very
true for me these last few weeks.

Several weeks ago, and out of the blue, I was contacted by an agency which was charged
with arranging work placement for a class of students from Italy. Not wanting to look a gift
horse in the mouth, I said yes. A few days later I received two most impressive CV’s, not
least the impressive array of linguistic skills: Italian, English, German, Spanish and Russian,
no less!

But how was I to make best use of their time with me?

People, then and since, wondered aloud how two young students from Italy, who had never
before set foot in Ireland, could possibly be of any assistance to a local tour guide.
But from day one, I need not have worried. Armed with the most elementary guidance and
equipment, they came under my wing like ducks to water. Being a sole operator, having the
extra pair of hands to not just help with, but take full responsibility for photography,
videography, social media, not to mention fixing the odd puncture, allowed me to have an
armchair ride to just focus on the planning, organization and delivery of my tours.
My heartfelt thanks to the promising, talented and enthusiasm of .paga and : any
doubts I or others may have had over the credentials of the youth of today, were well and
truly quashed.

May you both enjoy and excel in the prosperous futures which your abilities and
personalities unequivocally signpost.

27/08/2022

Another great week stretching the with some super and

Thanks to .paga and all the great guests for making it happen












📍Howth
📍Dublin
📍Clontarf
📍Ardclough
📍Grand Canal Greenway

16/08/2022

Sustainabilty Includes Suppliers Too

As a small, sole operator it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking I only have to think of my own operations for best practices. But after a casual conversation while returning the great to I was pleasantly surprised to discover that they too are making a big difference through some small, simple measures:

1) The used, once "disposable" earphones are now placed in a supplied brown paper bag, and sent not for disposal but for and ✅

2) The special earphones are contained in a cloth bag ✅

3) The whole kit is carried in a solid, case that will probably outlive us all! ✅

Well done and thanks to Aggie, Daniella and all the for your professional service and sustainability leadership 👋👏

Thanks too to for providing the -bikes, technology and support 👏👋

And of course, thanks to my 6 wonderful guests from the US who joined me and nooks and crannies of .

All in all a great day out and a pleasant

16/08/2022

Sustainable Trips and Tips Around Dublin

16/08/2022

What are you doing for ?

A recent visit the magnificent and newly reopened .Audoen'sChurch drew me into our past, but one item in particular piqued my curiosity: the of medieval .

The helpful note put me in touch with OSI.ie who have done a wonderful job recreating this old map overlain on the modern. A must have for anyone Dublin.

Check out below to find out more about what's on in your area for heritage week.
👇
https://www.heritageweek.ie/