Meals on Wheels

It was an wonderful weekend here in West Cork. It’s difficult to imagine today as the rain hits the window, but we had wall to wall sunshine all the way, and yesterday evening we set off to join the Clonakilty Bicycle Festival’s final event, Meals on Wheels. Each course of this mystery dining experience took place in a different location reached of course by pedal power.

We all assembled in the car park with our trusty steeds. There were forty five people signed up for the event – maximum subscription – ten of which were stuck in the traffic jam getting off the beach! This held up the departure slightly but it was quite okay to wait and idly chat with the sun on our backs.

We soon caused a traffic jam of our own as we headed off out of town. The hedgerows full of flowers on one side and the sea wall on the other. We cycled to Ring, past Deasy’s Bar and onto Ring village where Ron’s mobile pizza oven had found the perfect spot to pitch up.

Great views, a couple of benches and plenty of grass for everyone else to sit on.

The first course was freshly made pitta breads, straight out of the oven, served with hummus and a selection of salads. This was washed down with delicious mint tea or an optional dash to Kitty Macs pub on the other side of the road for more fortifying beverages.

As soon as this was eaten we jumped back onto our bikes and headed further up the coast. It was slightly worrying as to where we could be going – there was talk of Dunworley which would be a major cycle along the coast – but it was a trick and next thing we did a u-turn and headed back down the RIng road and we  pulled up at Deasy’s Bar.

We piled inside to be greeted with the vision of chilled white wine on each table and massive feed of Ling with spicy sambal sauce and coconut rice. Yum!

Well, the white wine got rid of the wobble on the bike and we cycled back to Clonakilty with the wind on our backs. Where next, we wondered, for our dessert. And where better than Aidan’s wine bar in the centre of town on the newly revamped Astna Square. Sticky orange cake, high class brownies and fresh berries all washed down with a coffee in the last of the evening sunshine.

The final leg of the journey took us through the town and out to the by-pass roundabout which we circumnavigated and headed straight back in to town where we all waved to the little traffic jam that we had caused on the way up! Down past the Emmet Square and the library and into de Barras pub where we were greeted with a massive cheese board and a glass of wine. I was so stuffed I forgot to take a photo of the cheese but we enjoyed the wine.