The annual celebration of all things two wheeled is, once again, returning to Killarney this coming June Bank Holiday weekend, from the 31st of May to the 2nd of June.
Epic Roads Await!
If you’ve yet to attend the event and you’ve yet to take a ride out over Molls Gap or cover Slae Head on two wheels then you’re in for quite the treat! While this part of the world is a ‘tall tourer’ heaven I was there last year on my Yamaha MT 10 and found it just as enjoyable to ride there as anywhere else. It’s a great few days in the country with epic views, brilliant roads and little cafes in the middle of nowhere.
Not Just Harley Riders!
This is the 16th anniversary of the get together. Over this time it’s grown from being a one-off Harley-Davidson affair to the biggest bike event in the country. While there is so much to be done in the ‘Bike Village’, a decent sized campus built around the Gleneagle hotel and the INEC venue in the town, it’s the craic that I go for.
Strong Enough
Back at ‘base’ meanwhile, the bike village was, and continues to be, one of the big surprises of the gig. The organisers have managed to attract a lot of vendors to Killarney for the weekend. Last year I met several old friends from my Mondello trackday days as well as some perfectly charming young people on the Principal Insurance stand. It is indeed, a great place to catch up.
While there are food vendors, clothing sales, Motorcycle dealers and service suppliers to the two wheeled world in attendance, the entertainment is second to none! There are three stages, one in the Harley Bar, another in the INEC and an outdoor stage in the village itself. That last one has it’s own restaurant and bar.
There are some machines to be seen!
With hotels, B&Bs and even camping in the neighbourhood, getting somewhere to stay is easy. For me, however, BikeFest is always going to be the perfect base point for those epic Kerry roads. That and the fact that the whole thing is free. See you in the Kingdom and the first pint is on you!
I was also able to visit with my family. Our two little monsters had a great time. The onsite hotel, the Gleneagle, has an attended pool. The centre of Killarney is only a gentle kilometre walk away. The international flavour is there as well with a lot of European riders making the trip over as well as our cousins from the US attending in large numbers.
It takes all sorts!