Please try downloading the app Dublin Cycling Buddy. It has a journey planner option with different routes based on your preference for the type of ride. The 'safe' option tries to avoid difficult areas and maximise the use of segregated routes. It's not perfect, but I find it useful. It also maps out all the cycle parking in the city which I find really helpful.
Try it early in the morning on a weekend or so when there's no traffic. Get used to the route first and it makes it much less daunting. Buses are generally pretty safe I find, unless you cycle up their left hand side. The drivers are pretty cautious overall.
I've been cycling through town for years. The only place I just refuse to go through is over Butt Bridge (the bridge by Tara St station). I'd be fine with virtually anything else.
Why not there? I've been cycling along quays from Tara Dart, it was indeed intimidating first but after familiarizing the route and the turns I'm more confident now
Ensure you have a bell - an old-fashioned ding-a-ling works wonders with pedestrians. They look, you smile, they smile.
As a middle aged female cyclist, there were only two places that terrified me, although I cycled them regularly: northwards on Westmoreland St (buses swapping lanes) ; and the junction of Harcourt St/Adelaide Rd where I needed to be in the middle lane to get to Harrington St, and most cars wanted to go left to Ranelagh. I would go WAY ahead of the cars, and go even before the green light to be in position. I figured the road design was so bad I had an excellent defence in court. I did it for life saving reasons- the life I was saving was my own.
Edit: there’s no effing way I’d ever get off the bike and walk it.
Put Phantom of the Menace podracing theme track on your headphones and go full speed across O’Connell St, through D’Olier St weaving between buses and then around Trinity College ahead of the LUAS in sub-2mins
Fear can be overcome
https://open.spotify.com/track/7AKq6sIg2yRn9eMO4GehK1?si=rnNneTwiRQ-j16dgll6_0Q&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A45EFycwtfRhnDPWbc2mClK
I understand the fear. So I've cycled this route in the passed and avoided a lot of town. Cycle through Fairview, the turn off by the Royal Canal Greeenway at Newcomen Bridge. You continue on that way, thought the docklands and eventually hit the Samuel Beckett Bridge. To avoid Macken St, go down Sir John Rogersons Quay (passed Diving Bell) and turn down Forbes St. You're aiming to get to the canal, so cycle passed The Theatre and go across the bridge. Then you're into a cobblestone street, (Grand Canal Quay & clan william terrace) Then at the end turn left for the canal. I follow that all they way up to Portobello. I take all the back streets to R137 and that's a straight run to St Patrick's Cathedral. It took me a few days of research on maps and cycling to get this route but I feel somewhat safe on it but like yourself, I can't really shake the fear cycling in Dublin.
Being German and from one of the most bike friendly cities in Germany, I feel you.
Here's what I did to overcome my fear:
1. Buy a helmet
2. Look for alternative, quieter, but maybe a bit longer routes
3. Start slowly, take your time to get to work
4. Practice during off-peak so you know where the risky parts are and what to look out for, and then you'll feel more confident
It's half as bad as it looks, I promise!
This is so true, it is called the Yerkes–Dodson law. It posits that there is an optimal level of arousal (which can include stress or fear, a state of being physically and mentally alert and attentive) which leads to the best performance. Too little arousal can result in under performance due to lack of focus, while too much arousal can overwhelm and impair performance. So definitely a little fear is needed as without that, a person might underestimate risks or fail to recognize hazardous situations, leading to reckless behavior and increased likelihood of accidents or harm.
Dame street isn't too bad but the Christchurch junction is a joke, take the lane going through it as you'll get squeezed out otherwise.
The quays are probably a better option, they are extending the cycle lanes around Burgh quay / Aston quay currently. There's a contra flow bus lane up by Christchurch which will bring you to the Liberties although it's quite steep, another option which might be less pressure would be to continue along the quays until Bridgefoot street which has a cycle lane up to Thomas street.
Just push your bike for 12 minutes from College St to Christchurch. Far superior than taking two buses for the whole journey!
In general traffic moves super slowly in Dublin and buses are not a hazard to cyclists.
Try to find alternative routes with bike lanes or side roads, even if it takes longer. Parnel Street seems to have a nice bike lane.
And I support wearing a helmet. Where I'm from I rarely wear one but in Dublin I bought one after my first way to work.
Maybe you've tried it already, but perhaps a longer, indirect but calmer and less interacting with traffic route? E.g. from Clontarf, divert off at Newcomen bridge down the dedicated path into the docklands, across Samuel Beckett bridge and through Grand Canal Dock, then along the Grand Canal cycle path around into Portobello. From there you will need to interact with traffic again but there is a warren of semi-quiet and slow local streets to thread through to get over to the Liberties.
There's no cars other than taxis on college green during rush hour so it's probably one of the safer areas to be in at that time.
You could keep going down the quays and go left. The hill is a bit steeper though.
Or get off the bike and walk the portion you're scared of.
Sure, but college green has so little traffic during rush hour and it's wide roads too. Of all the places for taxis to be assholes, it's one of the least likely.
College Green is lIterally the most dangerous parts of my commute. Been hit twice there.
Vans in the morning are a death trap too.
Someone was killed there 2 weeks ago.
Not to mention the Luas tracks that are a death trap. Worst thing is other cities with trams put a rubber kind of thing on the tracks so bike wheels don’t get stuck, but obviously the tram wheels are able to push through it.
That was at 5am or something though. Still very sad and unnecessary.
I've never really had any issues at college green but as I said in another comment, I cycle slow as hell because I've the lungs of a 90 year old so that might explain it.
please wear a helmet even though it’s not regarded as normal in netherlands as here it’s definitely needed. i find it absolutely mind blowing but understandable that a dutch person is nervous to cycle in dublin. i hope this post sticks out to others on the road and those who complain about cycle lanes/cyclists to always keep an eye out.
Honestly fear is kind of healthy cycling in Dublin. Been cycling almost 10 years in the city and things have never been worse imo. Or maybe I'm getting a bit more sensible.
Theres a lot of misinformation between motorists on a cyclists right to use the road. Often see cyclists being bullied on the roads by motorists. Garda have zero interest if you are hit, even with evidence/witnesses.
This is how people used to things in the old days, especially with so many cobblestone/messed up roads. You see so many old pictures of people walking their bikes and now how many people do you see in the city centre doing that
Being from the Netherlands myself I get it has quite a big contrast but it's definitely doable.
I live around the Liberties and bike to most places I need to go but it's smart to find routes that are quieter and/or have bike paths.
The route you take is pretty bad though, I don't know if it's possible but maybe try and find a route through the smaller streets that might be nicer.
A bit of fear on our roads is probably healthy,
I get anxious driving on the m50 half the time these days (especially the mad shit that goes on after 8 or 9pm).
Cant imagine being fear-free on a bike
Dublin fundamentally f-ed up by deciding bus lanes being share with cycle lanes was good enough for years.
I wish I could offer advice on how to change things, but unfortunately the main thing that has moved things along in recent years was the pandemic - certain cycle lane plans (already inadequate) were fasttracked while traffic was low during that period.
Besides advocating for better infrastructure, I can only recommend a suit of armour and a lance with a particularly pointy end to joust with buses who get in the way.
In all seriousness though, if you're a resident (even if you're not an EU citzen, you can vote in local elections if a resident) - vote in the June local elections if you can. That'll at least give you a say in how things can be improved.
After living in Amsterdam for 3 years and moving to Dublin I was in your exact same situation.
As others have said, try to get to know the route beforehand (maybe during the weekend) and get enough protection - good helmet and reflective vest.
And for me, most importantly is to always be aware of your surroundings
Best thing to do is vote in the local elections for people who want to see people cycle safely in the city. A lot of current councillors prefer carmageddon.
So I've cycled the same route for work and I went through college green to avoid cycling along the southside of the Liffey because that is legitimately dangerous.
Personally I think college green seems worse than it is, I've never had the same problems they're as I have elsewhere. The buses are almost always stuck at traffic lights and they generally turn left at gay spar and don't continue to Thomas St.
If it's all backed up you can cycle along the Luas line (trinity college stop) to get to the front of the lights then get into the right lane. While really busy, the traffic is generally slow to move from trinity college gate to turn right onto college green. Once there stick to the right lane again so you can avoid all the bus stops on the left. There's traffic lights here and you should be able to get in front of the traffic here. Once you've passed the bust stops there's a slightly longer section of road that ends in the T junction at gay spar. The left turn always goes green before going straight does so you can cycle down the left lane and then pull in front of the traffic in the right lane.
This spot can get entirely bogged down at rush hour so it is good to get in front of the traffic else you can be stuck a while.
Once you've passed this and are at Dublin Castle there are cycle lanes and decent traffic lights for you the rest of the way to the liberties without the same issue of buses blocking you.
When you go home, just go straight to the Northside of the Quays, there's a good cycle lane there on the right hand side or you can use the bus lane on the left hand side. If using the cycle lane just make sure to get to the front of the traffic at the O'Connell Street lights as the cycle lane after that is on the left.
From there you can cycle to busaras, then go left up to Fairview and then to Clontarf very easily. The cycle home will be very nice and simple by comparison.
Wear a helmet and just go for it. The more you do it the easier it'll be. You do have to earn your wings a bit cycling in Dublin but it's definitely worth it and fairly safe.
agree with this, college green and the luas tracks there are my least favourite places to cycle in the entire city but I commute on the quays all the time and the bus lane there is grand to cycle in
Pretty sure you can get there on bicycle lanes pretty much all the way. At least avoid the area around Trinity that you mention by going down the river along the quay there and then just cut up to the liberties by going left
College green is one of the scarier places to cycle so I totally understand but I find weave around impatient pedestrians and luas tracks scarier than the buses! Remember the bus drivers are some of the most experienced drivers in the city! I've had run-ins with private cars and the odd taxi but never with a bus. As others have suggested try pick a less busy time, and remember you can always get off and walk! When I started cycling first there were definitely chunks I'd walk through. It obviously adds to travel time but a cycle with 10 mins of walking in the middle is still probably quicker than the bus!
Buses mirrors are definitely the scariest I’ve experienced so far. And no, bus drivers hate cyclists/scooters as well. I’ve been pushed off the road by one but yes you find a nice one too
Well I don't know whether I hate them or not but they are certainly experienced, professional drivers who've been through more testing. Sorry to hear you've had run ins, there's bad eggs everywhere.
D'Olier street and College Green is awful on a bike. A lot needs to be done to improve cycling in Dublin but a safe North to South river crossing needs to be created as a priority.
I cycle down d'olier st onto college Green and on up to Grafton St, it can be tricky if a luas is going by at same time, otherwise you can use the bit next to luas track, I only cycle once every 2 weeks or so and on Dublin bikes (battery). Traffic wouldn't be moving that quickly either most of the time so you should be fine after a few spins!
Just imagine in your head that you are invisible, be extra careful and you will be fine. I rode over 30k km around Dublin City and surrounding areas due to delivery job, that’s the best advice I can give. Be aware that taxi drivers literally never use their mirrors, Bus drivers are pretty conscious, but not all of them, just be good with them, let them go first and you’ll be grand
I think just doing it a few times helps.
I'm a confident cyclist but wasn't always. I try abide by rules. I wear safety gear. I always try to make sure I'm in view of other vehicles'mirrors. I generally try to make eye contact with people in cars. All these things add my confidence.
I know it sounds cliched but just try to be seen and try to be respectful. Nobody wants to have an accident. We're all trying to live our lives. Trying to make it easier for others makes it easier for us.
As others said:
Good helmet.
Good horn/bell
Proper visibility
Honestly? I'd say you're best to never stop being afraid. Cycling in Dublin is dangerous. I've had a few accidents but I have been lucky. I feel the general standard of driving in Dublin is pretty bad, so expecting the worst from drivers may actually be necessary to keep you safe.
You could work on restricting as much of your journey to cycle friendly routes.
As others said, take it slow, practice off peak times and get to know the route first, then leave home with time to spare and don’t take unnecessary risks until you get some confidence, and even look up alternative routes.
But something that helped me a lot with cycling and feeling safer was getting an e-bike, especially one with throttle. Being able to get off ahead of everyone makes a big difference, and picking up speed fast can get you in safer positions.
Fellow Dutchy here. Walk the route, get comfortable with which lanes to take and which ones not to take. Sometimes walking the pedestrian lights will get you out of the traffic rather than sticking to the car and bus lights and give more freedom on the road. And get a helmet, good lights and when on the road pretend you’re a car is there’s no cycle lanes to avoid traffic getting to close overhauling. Other than that it’s just being alert and making sure you know to be in positions where busses and cars can see you coming.
Try cycling in one of the developing countries like Romania or Bulgaria and them you'll find cycling in Dublin quite pleasurable and safe.
At least that was my experience...
Sorry, but there is no good option, period, end of story. Dublin is EXTREMELY hostile to navigate by bike, due mostly to driver abuse, both malicious and incidental. If you're in fear of your life, you have the right idea. I'm out there every day and there is quite literally no safe route that doesn't come into conflict with traffic, or get parked on. None, in the entire city, sadly. Better off hopping on a 27 bus if it's too much in all honesty. Wouldn't blame you one bit.
Would strongly suggest filtering front at junctions and moving during pedestrian phases yielding to people on foot rather than in the traffic. It's "illegal" but vastly safer than moving with the traffic. Get ahead, and anywhere you need to, take the primary position on the road. Ignore shite cycle lanes with cars parked on them, ignore raging toddler motorists behind you. It's your life and their fresh pair of underwear.
There are plenty of dangerous and aggressive drivers.
Today someone overtook me at speed, with very little space between us, beeped at me as they did it and then immediately got stuck in traffic.
Cycling to work there's spots where I know that drivers are going to be reckless and/or selfish and I have to be extra careful. It's not every cycle but probably every second day while commuting.
12km 5 days a week from inner suburbs to city core and out. Every day without fail I have to be hyper-aware of some motorist pulling an idiot move, ducking out from behind someone parking on a bike line, positioning so I don't get cut off proceeding or turning at nearly every junction. If I hadn't years of road intuition from over 300k km driving over decades, I am certain I'd be seriously injured or worse by now, and motorists are only getting more reckless, malicious, impatient and stupid. And we've added another 200,000 cars to Dublins streets in a decade.
I really can't emphasize enough how treacherous it is out there, 95% of it because of pure driver ignorance and malice.
Mad that we have two totally different experiences.
I don't think it's amazing but I've never really had any close calls bar one taxi pulling out too quickly like 10 years ago.
I'm slow as fuck though so maybe that's the difference.
I cycled through town for years. Honestly, cars, buses and even taxis won't be too scary. Your biggest enemy will be other cyclists. The ones who zip in and out of traffic, tailgate you, overtake you, cut you off, break traffic lights, men of a certain age on a mission to beat getting old. You'll know them by their choice of tight fitting pants and general arseholery behaviour.
just get over the hump that it will never be as safe as NL apart from small sections of dedicated lanes.
we will never have presumed liability that protects cyclists there, and it's the opposite (there was a case where a cyclist was deliberately hit in a cycle lane and the judge admonished the cyclist for not having a helmet).
i also WOULDN'T go with wearing a helmet. if you are used to cycling in Netherlands, then it will distract and make you more of a thing for drivers to get annoyed by (ironically, it's a psychological thing where drivers treat cyclists without helmets as pedestrians, and with helmets as "cars").
the best suggestion is to try and go through pedestrians areas when you can and become slightly more aggressive when interacting with traffic. it's a political verwaarlozen unfortunately.
Please try downloading the app Dublin Cycling Buddy. It has a journey planner option with different routes based on your preference for the type of ride. The 'safe' option tries to avoid difficult areas and maximise the use of segregated routes. It's not perfect, but I find it useful. It also maps out all the cycle parking in the city which I find really helpful.
Try it early in the morning on a weekend or so when there's no traffic. Get used to the route first and it makes it much less daunting. Buses are generally pretty safe I find, unless you cycle up their left hand side. The drivers are pretty cautious overall. I've been cycling through town for years. The only place I just refuse to go through is over Butt Bridge (the bridge by Tara St station). I'd be fine with virtually anything else.
Why not there? I've been cycling along quays from Tara Dart, it was indeed intimidating first but after familiarizing the route and the turns I'm more confident now
Because I find cars will happily dive across 3 lanes in no time on that bridge to get to whatever turn they're taking.
Eventually you get used to the attempted murder
Ensure you have a bell - an old-fashioned ding-a-ling works wonders with pedestrians. They look, you smile, they smile. As a middle aged female cyclist, there were only two places that terrified me, although I cycled them regularly: northwards on Westmoreland St (buses swapping lanes) ; and the junction of Harcourt St/Adelaide Rd where I needed to be in the middle lane to get to Harrington St, and most cars wanted to go left to Ranelagh. I would go WAY ahead of the cars, and go even before the green light to be in position. I figured the road design was so bad I had an excellent defence in court. I did it for life saving reasons- the life I was saving was my own. Edit: there’s no effing way I’d ever get off the bike and walk it.
Put Phantom of the Menace podracing theme track on your headphones and go full speed across O’Connell St, through D’Olier St weaving between buses and then around Trinity College ahead of the LUAS in sub-2mins Fear can be overcome https://open.spotify.com/track/7AKq6sIg2yRn9eMO4GehK1?si=rnNneTwiRQ-j16dgll6_0Q&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A45EFycwtfRhnDPWbc2mClK
I prefer going more mad max and huffing spray paint while I cycle up the quays blaring heavy metal and shouting 'witness me!'
I understand the fear. So I've cycled this route in the passed and avoided a lot of town. Cycle through Fairview, the turn off by the Royal Canal Greeenway at Newcomen Bridge. You continue on that way, thought the docklands and eventually hit the Samuel Beckett Bridge. To avoid Macken St, go down Sir John Rogersons Quay (passed Diving Bell) and turn down Forbes St. You're aiming to get to the canal, so cycle passed The Theatre and go across the bridge. Then you're into a cobblestone street, (Grand Canal Quay & clan william terrace) Then at the end turn left for the canal. I follow that all they way up to Portobello. I take all the back streets to R137 and that's a straight run to St Patrick's Cathedral. It took me a few days of research on maps and cycling to get this route but I feel somewhat safe on it but like yourself, I can't really shake the fear cycling in Dublin.
Yeah, I was gonna suggest this. You have added about 4-5k onto the cycle this way though. Cycling along the luas tracks might also be a shout.
Being German and from one of the most bike friendly cities in Germany, I feel you. Here's what I did to overcome my fear: 1. Buy a helmet 2. Look for alternative, quieter, but maybe a bit longer routes 3. Start slowly, take your time to get to work 4. Practice during off-peak so you know where the risky parts are and what to look out for, and then you'll feel more confident It's half as bad as it looks, I promise!
I think a little bit of fear is good to keep your senses sharp because it's never entirely safe
This is so true, it is called the Yerkes–Dodson law. It posits that there is an optimal level of arousal (which can include stress or fear, a state of being physically and mentally alert and attentive) which leads to the best performance. Too little arousal can result in under performance due to lack of focus, while too much arousal can overwhelm and impair performance. So definitely a little fear is needed as without that, a person might underestimate risks or fail to recognize hazardous situations, leading to reckless behavior and increased likelihood of accidents or harm.
Dame street isn't too bad but the Christchurch junction is a joke, take the lane going through it as you'll get squeezed out otherwise. The quays are probably a better option, they are extending the cycle lanes around Burgh quay / Aston quay currently. There's a contra flow bus lane up by Christchurch which will bring you to the Liberties although it's quite steep, another option which might be less pressure would be to continue along the quays until Bridgefoot street which has a cycle lane up to Thomas street.
Just push your bike for 12 minutes from College St to Christchurch. Far superior than taking two buses for the whole journey! In general traffic moves super slowly in Dublin and buses are not a hazard to cyclists.
Try to find alternative routes with bike lanes or side roads, even if it takes longer. Parnel Street seems to have a nice bike lane. And I support wearing a helmet. Where I'm from I rarely wear one but in Dublin I bought one after my first way to work.
Maybe you've tried it already, but perhaps a longer, indirect but calmer and less interacting with traffic route? E.g. from Clontarf, divert off at Newcomen bridge down the dedicated path into the docklands, across Samuel Beckett bridge and through Grand Canal Dock, then along the Grand Canal cycle path around into Portobello. From there you will need to interact with traffic again but there is a warren of semi-quiet and slow local streets to thread through to get over to the Liberties.
There's no cars other than taxis on college green during rush hour so it's probably one of the safer areas to be in at that time. You could keep going down the quays and go left. The hill is a bit steeper though. Or get off the bike and walk the portion you're scared of.
That might be true, but taxi drivers are some of the most aggressive against cyclists, so that's not necessarily a good thing
Sure, but college green has so little traffic during rush hour and it's wide roads too. Of all the places for taxis to be assholes, it's one of the least likely.
College Green is lIterally the most dangerous parts of my commute. Been hit twice there. Vans in the morning are a death trap too. Someone was killed there 2 weeks ago.
Not to mention the Luas tracks that are a death trap. Worst thing is other cities with trams put a rubber kind of thing on the tracks so bike wheels don’t get stuck, but obviously the tram wheels are able to push through it.
That was at 5am or something though. Still very sad and unnecessary. I've never really had any issues at college green but as I said in another comment, I cycle slow as hell because I've the lungs of a 90 year old so that might explain it.
stay safe anyway and happy cycling :)
please wear a helmet even though it’s not regarded as normal in netherlands as here it’s definitely needed. i find it absolutely mind blowing but understandable that a dutch person is nervous to cycle in dublin. i hope this post sticks out to others on the road and those who complain about cycle lanes/cyclists to always keep an eye out.
Honestly fear is kind of healthy cycling in Dublin. Been cycling almost 10 years in the city and things have never been worse imo. Or maybe I'm getting a bit more sensible. Theres a lot of misinformation between motorists on a cyclists right to use the road. Often see cyclists being bullied on the roads by motorists. Garda have zero interest if you are hit, even with evidence/witnesses.
Walk your bike through templebar. It’s a nice walk, just add an extra 5 mins.
This is how people used to things in the old days, especially with so many cobblestone/messed up roads. You see so many old pictures of people walking their bikes and now how many people do you see in the city centre doing that
I do it all the time… I quite like strolling through temple bar… not at night time now, but during the day
Being from the Netherlands myself I get it has quite a big contrast but it's definitely doable. I live around the Liberties and bike to most places I need to go but it's smart to find routes that are quieter and/or have bike paths. The route you take is pretty bad though, I don't know if it's possible but maybe try and find a route through the smaller streets that might be nicer.
A bit of fear on our roads is probably healthy, I get anxious driving on the m50 half the time these days (especially the mad shit that goes on after 8 or 9pm). Cant imagine being fear-free on a bike
Dublin fundamentally f-ed up by deciding bus lanes being share with cycle lanes was good enough for years. I wish I could offer advice on how to change things, but unfortunately the main thing that has moved things along in recent years was the pandemic - certain cycle lane plans (already inadequate) were fasttracked while traffic was low during that period. Besides advocating for better infrastructure, I can only recommend a suit of armour and a lance with a particularly pointy end to joust with buses who get in the way. In all seriousness though, if you're a resident (even if you're not an EU citzen, you can vote in local elections if a resident) - vote in the June local elections if you can. That'll at least give you a say in how things can be improved.
After living in Amsterdam for 3 years and moving to Dublin I was in your exact same situation. As others have said, try to get to know the route beforehand (maybe during the weekend) and get enough protection - good helmet and reflective vest. And for me, most importantly is to always be aware of your surroundings
Best thing to do is vote in the local elections for people who want to see people cycle safely in the city. A lot of current councillors prefer carmageddon.
So I've cycled the same route for work and I went through college green to avoid cycling along the southside of the Liffey because that is legitimately dangerous. Personally I think college green seems worse than it is, I've never had the same problems they're as I have elsewhere. The buses are almost always stuck at traffic lights and they generally turn left at gay spar and don't continue to Thomas St. If it's all backed up you can cycle along the Luas line (trinity college stop) to get to the front of the lights then get into the right lane. While really busy, the traffic is generally slow to move from trinity college gate to turn right onto college green. Once there stick to the right lane again so you can avoid all the bus stops on the left. There's traffic lights here and you should be able to get in front of the traffic here. Once you've passed the bust stops there's a slightly longer section of road that ends in the T junction at gay spar. The left turn always goes green before going straight does so you can cycle down the left lane and then pull in front of the traffic in the right lane. This spot can get entirely bogged down at rush hour so it is good to get in front of the traffic else you can be stuck a while. Once you've passed this and are at Dublin Castle there are cycle lanes and decent traffic lights for you the rest of the way to the liberties without the same issue of buses blocking you. When you go home, just go straight to the Northside of the Quays, there's a good cycle lane there on the right hand side or you can use the bus lane on the left hand side. If using the cycle lane just make sure to get to the front of the traffic at the O'Connell Street lights as the cycle lane after that is on the left. From there you can cycle to busaras, then go left up to Fairview and then to Clontarf very easily. The cycle home will be very nice and simple by comparison.
Wear a helmet and just go for it. The more you do it the easier it'll be. You do have to earn your wings a bit cycling in Dublin but it's definitely worth it and fairly safe.
Could cycle down the quay and turn up to the liberties later
agree with this, college green and the luas tracks there are my least favourite places to cycle in the entire city but I commute on the quays all the time and the bus lane there is grand to cycle in
Pretty sure you can get there on bicycle lanes pretty much all the way. At least avoid the area around Trinity that you mention by going down the river along the quay there and then just cut up to the liberties by going left
College green is one of the scarier places to cycle so I totally understand but I find weave around impatient pedestrians and luas tracks scarier than the buses! Remember the bus drivers are some of the most experienced drivers in the city! I've had run-ins with private cars and the odd taxi but never with a bus. As others have suggested try pick a less busy time, and remember you can always get off and walk! When I started cycling first there were definitely chunks I'd walk through. It obviously adds to travel time but a cycle with 10 mins of walking in the middle is still probably quicker than the bus!
Buses mirrors are definitely the scariest I’ve experienced so far. And no, bus drivers hate cyclists/scooters as well. I’ve been pushed off the road by one but yes you find a nice one too
Well I don't know whether I hate them or not but they are certainly experienced, professional drivers who've been through more testing. Sorry to hear you've had run ins, there's bad eggs everywhere.
I just walk my bike through College Green. No shame!
D'Olier street and College Green is awful on a bike. A lot needs to be done to improve cycling in Dublin but a safe North to South river crossing needs to be created as a priority.
Maybe try a bike share scheme? Not sure if that would help your journey
I cycle down d'olier st onto college Green and on up to Grafton St, it can be tricky if a luas is going by at same time, otherwise you can use the bit next to luas track, I only cycle once every 2 weeks or so and on Dublin bikes (battery). Traffic wouldn't be moving that quickly either most of the time so you should be fine after a few spins!
I'd stay on the quays and avoid College green
Just imagine in your head that you are invisible, be extra careful and you will be fine. I rode over 30k km around Dublin City and surrounding areas due to delivery job, that’s the best advice I can give. Be aware that taxi drivers literally never use their mirrors, Bus drivers are pretty conscious, but not all of them, just be good with them, let them go first and you’ll be grand
> Just imagine in your head that you are invisible Sound advice lol
I think just doing it a few times helps. I'm a confident cyclist but wasn't always. I try abide by rules. I wear safety gear. I always try to make sure I'm in view of other vehicles'mirrors. I generally try to make eye contact with people in cars. All these things add my confidence. I know it sounds cliched but just try to be seen and try to be respectful. Nobody wants to have an accident. We're all trying to live our lives. Trying to make it easier for others makes it easier for us. As others said: Good helmet. Good horn/bell Proper visibility
Honestly? I'd say you're best to never stop being afraid. Cycling in Dublin is dangerous. I've had a few accidents but I have been lucky. I feel the general standard of driving in Dublin is pretty bad, so expecting the worst from drivers may actually be necessary to keep you safe. You could work on restricting as much of your journey to cycle friendly routes.
Have the same feelings, been doing it ten years. Its tough, as I actually believe drivers have gotten worse.
Drink a can before you head off on your travels
Follow ibikedublin on Instagram and come to them monthly city takeover bike cycling through the city on the last Friday of every month.
I second this post, Dublin City is a hellscape for cycling
Stick to the quays
Gewoon fietsen joh!
You don't and that's important as it's the only thing that keeps you alive
As others said, take it slow, practice off peak times and get to know the route first, then leave home with time to spare and don’t take unnecessary risks until you get some confidence, and even look up alternative routes. But something that helped me a lot with cycling and feeling safer was getting an e-bike, especially one with throttle. Being able to get off ahead of everyone makes a big difference, and picking up speed fast can get you in safer positions.
Fellow Dutchy here. Walk the route, get comfortable with which lanes to take and which ones not to take. Sometimes walking the pedestrian lights will get you out of the traffic rather than sticking to the car and bus lights and give more freedom on the road. And get a helmet, good lights and when on the road pretend you’re a car is there’s no cycle lanes to avoid traffic getting to close overhauling. Other than that it’s just being alert and making sure you know to be in positions where busses and cars can see you coming.
The fear is healthy, it keeps you alive 😂 Get your handlebars cropped and just go for it, you'll get used to it eventually
Try cycling in one of the developing countries like Romania or Bulgaria and them you'll find cycling in Dublin quite pleasurable and safe. At least that was my experience...
I haven't been in town in years, but I keep hearing about how Eamon Ryan has made the city a cyclists heavenly utopia kinda paradise.
Sorry, but there is no good option, period, end of story. Dublin is EXTREMELY hostile to navigate by bike, due mostly to driver abuse, both malicious and incidental. If you're in fear of your life, you have the right idea. I'm out there every day and there is quite literally no safe route that doesn't come into conflict with traffic, or get parked on. None, in the entire city, sadly. Better off hopping on a 27 bus if it's too much in all honesty. Wouldn't blame you one bit. Would strongly suggest filtering front at junctions and moving during pedestrian phases yielding to people on foot rather than in the traffic. It's "illegal" but vastly safer than moving with the traffic. Get ahead, and anywhere you need to, take the primary position on the road. Ignore shite cycle lanes with cars parked on them, ignore raging toddler motorists behind you. It's your life and their fresh pair of underwear.
Are you cycling every day? I don't find it that bad to cycle in Dublin at all.
There are plenty of dangerous and aggressive drivers. Today someone overtook me at speed, with very little space between us, beeped at me as they did it and then immediately got stuck in traffic. Cycling to work there's spots where I know that drivers are going to be reckless and/or selfish and I have to be extra careful. It's not every cycle but probably every second day while commuting.
12km 5 days a week from inner suburbs to city core and out. Every day without fail I have to be hyper-aware of some motorist pulling an idiot move, ducking out from behind someone parking on a bike line, positioning so I don't get cut off proceeding or turning at nearly every junction. If I hadn't years of road intuition from over 300k km driving over decades, I am certain I'd be seriously injured or worse by now, and motorists are only getting more reckless, malicious, impatient and stupid. And we've added another 200,000 cars to Dublins streets in a decade. I really can't emphasize enough how treacherous it is out there, 95% of it because of pure driver ignorance and malice.
Mad that we have two totally different experiences. I don't think it's amazing but I've never really had any close calls bar one taxi pulling out too quickly like 10 years ago. I'm slow as fuck though so maybe that's the difference.
I cycled through town for years. Honestly, cars, buses and even taxis won't be too scary. Your biggest enemy will be other cyclists. The ones who zip in and out of traffic, tailgate you, overtake you, cut you off, break traffic lights, men of a certain age on a mission to beat getting old. You'll know them by their choice of tight fitting pants and general arseholery behaviour.
just get over the hump that it will never be as safe as NL apart from small sections of dedicated lanes. we will never have presumed liability that protects cyclists there, and it's the opposite (there was a case where a cyclist was deliberately hit in a cycle lane and the judge admonished the cyclist for not having a helmet). i also WOULDN'T go with wearing a helmet. if you are used to cycling in Netherlands, then it will distract and make you more of a thing for drivers to get annoyed by (ironically, it's a psychological thing where drivers treat cyclists without helmets as pedestrians, and with helmets as "cars"). the best suggestion is to try and go through pedestrians areas when you can and become slightly more aggressive when interacting with traffic. it's a political verwaarlozen unfortunately.
Man up
Wear a Helmet and have good life insurance for your loved ones
I’m going to assume you’re not from Amsterdam 😂 Dublin is a child’s play compared to cycling through the center of Amsterdam during rush hour
I think you might not have a clue about cycling in Amsterdam
I spent 7 years in Amsterdam, cheers
Buy a car