Congratulations to Joe Barr for his amazing record attempt and a new WUCA record
Way Points for this route:
| Way Points # | Map Designation | Name | County |
| 1 | Start | START – Muff town center (Inter. R238 & R239) | DONEGA |
| 2 | B | Inishowen Head Lighthouse | DONEGA |
| 3 | 1 | Malin Head | DONEGA |
| 4 | C | Village of Dunaff | DONEGA |
| 5 | 2 | Fanad Head | DONEGA |
| 6 | D | Village of Dooey | DONEGA |
| 7 | E | Horn Head | DONEGA |
| 8 | F | R257; Meenalough | DONEGA |
| 9 | G | R259; Genahilt | DONEGA |
| 10 | H | R253; Glenbay Cottages | DONEGA |
| 11 | 3 | Sliabh Liag (Slieve League) | DONEGA |
| 12 | I | NW end of Quay View Rd | DONEGA |
| 13 | 4 | Mullaghmore Head | COUNTY SLIGO |
| 14 | J | R292; Village of Ocean Links | COUNTY SLIGO |
| 15 | K | R297; Village of Rathlee | COUNTY SLIGO |
| 16 | 5 | Downpatrick Head | COUNTY MAYO |
| 17 | L | L1202; Village of Graughill | COUNTY MAYO |
| 18 | M | Blacksod Lighthouse entry | COUNTY MAYO |
| 19 | N | Village of Doohoma | COUNTY MAYO |
| 20 | O | Village of Dugort | COUNTY MAYO |
| 21 | 6 | Keem Bay | COUNTY MAYO |
| 22 | P | White Cliffs of Ashleam | COUNTY MAYO |
| 23 | Q | Village of Currane | COUNTY MAYO |
| 24 | R | R378; Killeen Cemetery | COUNTY MAYO |
| 25 | 7 | Killary Harbour | COUNTY GALWAY |
| 26 | S | Village of Aughric Beg | COUNTY GALWAY |
| 27 | 8 | Derrigimlagh | COUNTY GALWAY |
| 28 | T | R343; Village of Carraroe | COUNTY GALWAY |
| 29 | U | R477; Black Head Lighthouse | COUNTY GALWAY |
| 30 | 9 | Cliffs of Moher | COUNTY CLARE |
| 31 | 10 | Loop Head | COUNTY CLARE |
| 32 | V | N69; Foynes Maritime Museum | COUNTY KERRY |
| 33 | W | Kerry Head Cliffs | COUNTY KERRY |
| 34 | X | Village of Talaught | COUNTY KERRY |
| 35 | Y | R549; Village of Letterard | COUNTY KERRY |
| 36 | 11 | Blasket Islands | COUNTY KERRY |
| 37 | 12 | Skelligs | COUNTY KERRY |
| 38 | 13 | Dursey Island | COUNTY CORK |
| 39 | 14 | Mizen Head | COUNTY CORK |
| 40 | Z | Toe Head Viewpoint | COUNTY CORK |
| 41 | 15 | Old Head of Kinsale | COUNTY CORK |
| 42 | FINISH | Tourist Bureau, Kinsale center (Kinsale Town Car Park) | COUNTY CORK |
NOTE: If you wish to attempt this course, see Records chair for official maps that show these waypoints
Record Attempt
Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way, N-S
1449 miles and 80,085 ft climbing
Name of Rider
Joe Barr
Start date and exact Start time
11AM on August 1st, 2021
Exact Start Location
Community Centre in Muff, Co.Donegal
What were the conditions like?
The conditions were varied and extremely changeable. The first 1000KM’s were light northerly winds, mostly dry with sunny spells.
The weather degraded throughout the next 1000KM’s to southerly headwinds gusting to 25mph with fronts of rain dropping up to 10mm within 30 mins.
These weather fronts were incredibly challenging especially given the exposed and coastal nature of the course.
The final 100 miles were completed in a strong westerly (mostly) tailwind with bright, prolonged sunny spells.
Why did you want to do a record?
I currently hold all distance records in Ireland including N-S, S-N, N-S-N, W-E, E-W and W-E-W.
This record was the logical next step in terms of distance and challenge. This route is by far the most challenging route I have raced in Ireland.
What equipment did you use?
I went to the start line with 4 bikes – 3 road bikes with different gear ratios, one specialized time trial bike with specialized time trial wheels.
What did you eat and drink?
My nutrition consisted of bottle mix – TRIFUEL by BRL Sports Nutrition, homemade performance bars along with some packaged bars such as TORQ Flapjacks or CLIF bars, oatmeal (single serving pots and lots of them), various kinds of sandwiches and some specific warm feeds all prepared by team member and sports nutritionist, Jillian Mooney.
Our goal was a minimum of 50g carb per hour, given my small body weight, with a split of 50:50 complex v simple carbohydrates.
All bars and hot feeds also contained significant amounts of short and medium chain fats and 15% protein.
What was the best part?
The seamless way the team functioned around one common goal. Each team member brought their passion and their willingness to collaborate day and night.
Also enjoyable was the astounding number of supporters along the route who came out in all weather to show their support.
What was the hardest part?
The weather was particularly challenging even for someone used to racing in Ireland. The coastal wind combined with torrential rain over this distance proved difficult to manage from a clothing perspective, which lead to a constant threat of decreasing core body temperature. As the race progressed and fatigue set in this became more and more of an issue.
We were prepared with a kitted race van that supplied hot water so any time off the bike was productive when it came to warming and feeding. This was critical in keeping forward momentum despite the severe weather challenges.
Most time off the bike was spent in clothing changes, warm feeds – only 4 hours dedicated sleep time.
Did anything unusual happen?
On the Beara Peninsula at around 3AM the wind was so severe and gusting that for the first time my bike with standard low section wheels was literally bounced across the road and into a slate wall that separated the road from the growling ocean. It was a startling and scary moment but one that made me appreciate the true nature of the Wild Atlantic Way
Exact finish location
Kinsale, Co.Cork Tourist Information Centre at Kinsale harbor.
Exact finish time
6:46PM on Friday August 6th, 2021
