Top o’ the morning to ya! As the old Irish saying goes, “Your feet will take you where your heart is at.” And where might your heart be on this fine Saint Patrick’s Day? Why, cycling through the lush greenery of the Irish countryside and rugged coastline, of course!
To aid you on this journey, we’ve brewed up two bucket playlists fit for a leprechaun’s dance party. The first is chock-full of tunes perfect for Saint Paddy’s Day, featuring famous Irish bands and themes that’ll have you feeling as lucky as a four-leaf clover (173 songs). Alternatively, if you require a wee bit of extra luck, our second playlist is all about Good Luck anthems to keep you pedaling with a spring in your step (~185 songs).
Introducing “The Lucky Ride,” an exciting profile that combines the best of both worlds, a playlist filled with songs about luck, sprinkled with a dash of Irish charm, and topped off with a race to the finish line that’ll have you sweating shamrocks. (Note: I posted a rough version of this profile in the ICA Facebook group last year. If you snagged it there, be sure to grab a new copy at the end of this post because it’s been given a makeover.)
For more ideas for your own ride, dip into our archives where we’ve got more gems than a pot o’ gold at the end of a rainbow. Take a spin through my original “Hills and Dales of Ireland” profile from 2012, featuring six rolling hills of varying intensities that’ll leave you feeling like you’ve conquered the Cliffs of Moher before winding down at the Mystic Celt pub for a well-deserved celebratory drink. (That ride was the basis for my newer “lucky ride” version, so you’ll find a few of the same songs and concepts.)
Or perhaps you fancy a trip down memory lane with fellow instructor Richard Mullen’s Irish-themed interval profile, “If You’re Lucky Enough to be Irish, You’re Lucky Enough.” Richard hails from the Emerald Isle himself, and his profile is a journey through the events that have shaped Ireland over the decades, from the Riverdance phenomenon to the building of the Titanic and beyond.
And if you’re still not sold, then saddle up for Bill Pierce’s “Pub Crawl” profile—because even though it’s not specifically Irish artists or an Irish theme, what better way to celebrate Saint Paddy’s Day than with a virtual tour of your local watering holes? You might just take his idea and switch out a few tracks with some of the songs in the bucket playlists below.
Get ready to sprinkle some Irish charm into your cycling class with a collection of our favorite Emerald Isle proverbs. You might be surprised to learn that some of these timeless sayings originated in Ireland. I’ll be reading off a few of these at the top of each climb to add a touch of Celtic wisdom to my Lucky ride!
- If you’re enough lucky to be Irish… You’re lucky enough!
- Here’s health to your enemies’ enemies!
- May you live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live.
- May the wind always be at your back.
- May you be at the gates of heaven an hour before the devil knows you’re dead!
- Here’s to a long life and a merry one, a quick death and an easy one, a pretty girl and an honest one, a cold pint and another one!
- May neighbors respect you, trouble neglect you, the angels protect you, and heaven accept you.
- I complained that I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.
- May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been, the foresight to know where you are going, and the insight to know when you have gone too far.
- May you live to be 100 years old, with one extra year to repent.
- May the saddest day of your future be no worse than the happiest day of your past.
- A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest.
- A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures.
- Here’s to eyes in your heads and none in your spuds.
- Do not resent growing old. Many are denied the privilege.
- There’s no need to fear the wind if your haystacks are tied down.
- Don’t be breaking your shin on a stool that’s not in your way.
- May the most you wish for be the least you get.
- Wherever you go and whatever you do, may the luck of the Irish be there with you.
- May misfortune follow you the rest of your life, and never catch up.
- May the grass grow long on the road to hell for want of use.
- Lie down with dogs and you’ll rise with fleas.
- May your heart be light and happy, may your smile be big and wide, and may your pockets always have a coin or two inside.
- There is only one thing worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.
- Here’s to hell! May the stay there be as fun as the way there!
- May the hinges of our friendship never grow rusty.
- May you get all your wishes but one, so that you will always have something to strive for.
- May your home always be too small to hold all your friends.
So, raise a glass (or a water bottle) to the luck of the Irish, and let the shenanigans begin! Sláinte!