I only just came back, just under two hours ago, from a cycle to the Nagle Mountains. So, today I’m going to try something interesting. Usually my cycling blogposts about a specific trip don’t get written until, at the soonest, a day later, and at the latest several years later (partly because I didn’t yet have a blog when I made some of my really memorable trips.) So today what I’m going to do is, write the blogpost on today’s trip to the Nagle mountains on the very same day, so that it’s very fresh in my mind as I write.
I picked a day when my dumb travel anxiety had the fewest possible things to argue with. I picked a day that was hot, but not too hot, so I wouldn’t work myself into a panic about how I would bake in the heat, not too windy either, so the cycling wouldn’t be too tough. I had brought my bike to the repair shop the previous day, so that helped silence thoughts about some problem with the bike building up for months that was going to leave me stranded far from home. And I stocked up on more food, water and energy drinks then I could possibly need. So, with the travel anxiety kept reasonably quiet, I set off for the Nagle Mountains.
The route there takes me through some beautiful countryside, green fields, forests, and often times plenty of birds singing. And it’s fairly easy cycling, except for the last three miles or so, which is a gentle incline. I tend to find these worse than short, steep hills that you can get out of the way in less than a minute. But even this hill wasn’t bothering me too much today. I reached the Nagle mountains and there was the most beautiful sunshine.
But, while I was there to see the beauty of the landscape, I was also here to explore another side of the Nagle mountains that I previously didn’t explore much. I wrote a blogpost on how I become obsessed with birds, insects and spiders a few weeks ago:
So, on this trip to the Nagle mountains, I wanted to see what kind of wildlife lived in these mountains.
There are lots of puddles in the Nagle Mountains, and I found these first two in the puddles, just one puddle there is amazingly full of life. The third picture is a moth.
The sunshine I felt, and the wonderful green all around me, and seeing fields and mountains in the distant gave me a feeling of euphoria. I would say it’s a Nagle Mountain high, but saying something like that can get you in a spot of trouble, as John Denver learned many years ago.
Heather isn’t just wonderful in its own right, but it provides a much needed home for birds, as I would soon learn.
With regard to what you are about to hear, I wish I had better recording equipment (my phone), I wish the wind wasn’t so loud, and I wish I didn’t keep breathing loudly because my nose was being massacred by goddamn hayfever. But the sound of the birds singing in the heather, is one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard. This recording does not do it justice, but this is all I’m able to offer.
Yeah, not the best sound quality. But don’t worry, as I progressed further through the mountains, I caught this, a robin and a chaffinch singing, two of my favourite birds. This sound quality is much better.
And then I reached the Northern Cairn (don’t know if that’s what it’s called but that’s what I’ve decided to call it.) After close to ten years of visiting the Nagle Mountains, this remains my absolutely favourite part of it.
The views from this cairn take my breath away every time. Not literally, this would be bad, because I’d be dead. But it’s one of my favourite places. It’s so quiet, and the surrounding scenery is just amazing. Well don’t take my word for it! Am I here to tell you what to think? Judge for yourself!
And then, a cucumber spider started walking on my leg without consent. While it was rude of them to do not ask permission first, I did appreciate the opportunity for a photo.
Then a thing happened that I thought I was safe from in the northern part of the Nagle mountains. Sometimes you encounter extremely loud dirtbikes. As a hobby I can understand dirtbikes, I’m a cyclist myself, which means I can understand the appeal of a motorbike, even if my method of transportation requires the use of my own physical strength and is therefore more impressive, just sayin’! But it’s a shame that motorbikes shatter the utter tranquility of the mountains. It’s the first time I’ve encountered the bikes in the northern part, and my senses were temporarily fried, after previously being bathed in warm beautiful beautifulness
But, right after the bikes were gone and tranquility returned, as if the mountains were apologizing for the intrusion, out came the deer! I saw them off in the distance, and this was the first time I got photos of the deer of the Nagle mountains, usually they’re too fast for me.
And seeing the deer running across the mountain was just epic. I’ve seen deer before, but something about seeing them running was really special.
There were loads of birds named as barn swallows by my bird song detecting app. Sadly these birds do not land very often, so this was the best photo I could get.
But what was amazing about these birds is that several times, they flew right by my head. And each time made an audible “whooshing” sound. So many new experiences!
Well, now it’s time to leave the Northern Cairn! I know it’s hard, it’s the most beautiful place on Earth but we have to go! Alright, just to make it easier, three more photos!
On my way back I encountered someone walking on water. You’ve heard it from me, this is the truth.
I was surprised at how much energy I had today. The walk back to the southern part of the mountain is uphill, but I found I wasn’t having too much difficulty. I wish I could figure out why I had so much energy today, and have energy every day!
And then I reached the southern part of the mountains, and sat on the Southern Cairn (it’s called that now because I said so) as I often do to have a rest after a long walk.
Remember how I said the wind was interfering with my bird recordings? That was unfortunate, but the sound of the wind in the Nagle Mountains is actually quite beautiful. You can hear the wind near you, and the wind a bit further away, and the wind a bit further away again, so you’re basically hearing a 3D soundscape of wind. It sounds quite amazing. I wish I had good enough recording equipment to capture it. Now time to head back to the bike. But before we leave.
I walked back to the base of the mountain. I checked that I had my phone and my keys a completely sensible amount of times, a completely sensible amount of times indeed, and then began the journey home.
Over the last few years I’ve started cycle home from the Nagle mountains using a different route than I use to get there. This makes for a much more varied trip, because the journey back if it’s the same route isn’t really an adventure, you’re just retracing your steps, so I go by a different route. Also, the route to the Nagle mountains I use, is much more unpleasant on the way back. There’s a really, really tough hill, and after years of patting myself on the back for being able to ascend that hill, I’m finally ready to say, burn in hell stupid hill, I hate you!
And weirdly, I had high energy all through the trip home. Especially on a hot day, I’ll usually cycle at an easy pace, but for some reason, I was able to pedal at between a moderate and a quick pace pretty much the whole way through. Even the hills didn’t faze me much. What was today’s secret of unlimited strength? Did one of my bug friends bite me and give me some sort of bug based powers, like Batman? Who can tell!
So I got home, and then I started writing this blog. I titled it “Seeing the Nagle Mountains Through New Eyes, And Hearing It Through New Ears”. Then I wrote, “I only just came back, just under two hours ago, from a cycle to the Nagle Mountains.” Oh, wait a second, I’ve become stuck in a time loop!
After almost a decade of going to the Nagle mountains, I feel I saw a different side of the place, that I hadn’t seen much of before. Hopefully, twenty, thirty, forty years from now, I will still be able to discover new and amazing things, about one of my favourite places on Earth.
Ponderings Of An Autist 