A new cycling tour service was launched at Nenagh Tourist Office last Wednesday.
Local tourism groups, attended the event to see what Lough Derg E-bike Tours is all about.
Rob Queen and his wife Morag Kelly-Queen started Lough Derg E-bike Tours renting e-bikes earlier this year. Now they are branching out into guided tours.
Rob told the Tipperary Star that the business was born from a passion for highlighting local gems.
“I had been in the corporate world for a long time, and during covid as with a lot of people started thinking what else could I do with my life, so tourism had always appealed to me and finding routes for people.
“I had always been interested in travelling.
“I was interested in finding the lesser known spots, and cycling is a great way to do that,” said Rob.
OFFERING
The idea is to be able to easily enjoy the breath-taking scenery and fantastic villages around Lough Derg.
Lough Derg E-Bike Tours is run from the Nenagh Tourist Office and has two offerings.
The first is of course, e-bike rentals. Each bike comes with a pre-programmed Garmin device and can be rented for the day or a couple.
Bikes can be delivered free in Nenagh and for €10 within a 20km zone limit.
“We don’t really have any formal boundaries, but Terryglass down to Killaloe is sort of the what we are looking at and about half of our rentals come from that area,” said Rob.
The second is guided tours, of which there are six. And they all have themes.
The first is designed to get visitors exploring the backroads. The second is the lakeshore areas like Dromineer and Garrykennedy. Third is the Ballina loop, which goes from the town, out to O’Briens bridge to the Parteen Weir and back to Ballina.
The Medieval circuit brings visitors to some of the area’s castles and churches. There are two options for this tour, one includes Nenagh, and the other doesn’t.
Head for the Hills will bring you to the beautiful Garrykennedy through the Arra range. “It goes through beautiful wooded valleys and across to Silvermines and back into Nenagh,” said Rob.
And finally Lakes and Docklands takes you to Garrykennedy out to the Lookout Point and then to the Graves of the Leinster Men.
“There would be an emphasis on the more obscure places that a casual visitor might not find,” said Rob.
CYCLING
Not a fantastic cyclist? Not to worry. According to Rob, e-bikes can be a little easier to use than a regular bike.
“The thing with e-bikes over regular bikes is you don’t have to be a great accomplished cyclist to go a great distance on these, and I think the first time I went on an e-bike, I hadn’t cycled anywhere for about twenty years, but I think I comfortable covered 30km,” said Rob.
Lough Derg E-bikes are pedal assisted, which means you do have to do some of the work, but Rob says they are much easier, and you can travel further.
“The furthest I have personally gone on one charge is 80km, but I have heard others say they have gone over 100km, so I’ll take them at their word,” said Rob.
They have hydraulic disc brakes, which should give you confidence, especially travelling down hill.
“It gives you a lot of confidence especially going down hill, which you know I would have ridden a lot in Donegal, which is seriously hilly, so it gives you a level of confidence,” said Rob.
More information is available from www.loughdergebiketours.ie.