About

I'm Michelle and I'm from Navan, Co. Meath, Ireland. I moved to Germany straight out of university at the age of 22 and started cycle touring shortly after - when in Rome and all that. I left my job with Guinness Germany in 1999 and decided to buy a pair of red Ortlieb panniers (because Martin Ostheimer, a German friend of my friend Noirin, told me that was a good idea) and cycle the Danube. I was 26. I made it from Munich to somewhere past Budapest and was bitten by the bug.

I enjoy speaking German and Spanish with an Irish accent and pretending that me and my friend Cathy are part of the Irish ski team. I also enjoy spending weekends in Connemara hiking with the Maumturk Hiking Club.

Connemara. Photo by Sheila Kilduff

I have travelled a lot in sub-Saharan Africa with work but have yet to bring my bike there. Some day I hope to be brave enough to do so. If you are interested in how a solo female cyclist gets on in Africa check out the fab Blanca Fernandez.

I'm a massive fan of Warm Showers. And need to spend the rest of my life paying back into the community for all the kindness I have received while on the road.

I'm writing this blog because my very good friend Maeve told me that if I did, Maeve herself would sit down with her three kids and follow the blog and get out the globe/atlas/google map to see where all the places were. So Maeve - this blog is for you.
Thanks for the idea.

I have cycle toured:

From Vancouver, Canada to the Panama Canal (9000kms in 2016/2017 solo)

Australia (500kms along the Great Ocean road and 3 weeks in Tasmania - solo)

Morocco (1500kms from Ceuta to Agadir - solo, and again in December 2018 from Agadir south )

Colombia (1000kms from Bogota through San Gill, into the coffee zone, up to Manizales, through Medillin and on to the Caribbean coast - solo and with Sheila including a couple of overnight buses.)

Jordan (500kms from the top tip to the Red Sea - with Sheila, Suzanne, Mir and David)

Chile and Bolivia (3000kms from La Paz to Santiago - with Martin, Sof and Leann san)

Germany (Donauweg, Bodensee, Nekartalweg, Pan-Europa Weg, the Panoramaweg and Kinzigtalradweg in the Schwarzwald, 600kms along the Rheinradweg from Karlsruhe to Neuss and loads of places in Bavaria - solo)

Austria, Slovakia, Hungary (1000kms along the Danube)

Switzerland (following Lake Konstanz)

Spain (from Seville to Malaga - with Grainne)

Portugal (from Faro to Vigo 2019 - with Sheila)

Ireland (all over, with Janey, Damien, Sheila, Grainne, Miriam, Rosalinde and Amo). My first big solo trip was from Westport to Limerick via Louisberg, Leenane, Cliften, Roundstone, Galway, the Aran Islands and Doolin.