"It always rains on tents. Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent." - Dave Barry



So today was our first official venture into cycle-touring. According to locals, it was also one of the worst days of rain they've seen here in years.

Either way, after spending last night in a hostel, we spent today figuring out everything we'd need to start travelling self-sustained by bike. We got our bikes, helmets, pannier bags, and some food, and set out to find a campground. We also made some unplanned purchases: tarp (essential), and waterproof cycling pants (even more essential). When we arrived at a camping and caravan park, and asked for a campsite the reponse was "oh, you're brave". But the site operator even found us a piece of ground that wasn't too wet, so we pitched our tent and have been going through our gear to figure out if there's anything else we might need before setting off too far from the main local town, Killarney.

Tomorrow, the forecast calls for 'showers' only, which is apparently a much better sign than the 'rain' they forecast for today. So we're hoping to get our first bit of real touring in (as opposed to just riding back and forth between the town and the campsite). Stay tuned...