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John O Loughlin

@joloughlin.eurosky.social
425 followers 1.5K following 342 posts

Irish, crops farmer, cyclist, science nerd, sports fan

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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 22/10/2026
The wheat is up and away and looking well in this morning's sunshine, hopefully the coming bad weather won't have too much of an effect. It was sprayed pre-emergence for weeds and there is always a chance that heavy rain can wash the chemical into the root zone which can set it back a bit #farming
This is a photo of a field of winter wheat which has recently emerged from the soil, the picture is taken facing up a hill into the morning sun, there are high cirrus clouds
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 03/10/2026
Ploughing for winter wheat here today, often grew milling biscuit wheat here in the 90s and noughties but when the varieties Claire and Consort were discontinued there was no obvious replacement and the market disappeared. Once it's gone it's hard to get back.
Ploughing maize stubble for winter wheat
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 14/09/2026
Some members of Derrick's family made the trip up to meet us at Malin, with all sorts of emotions on display. Long distance cycling can be a solitary pursuit at times so it was great to be part of the group for the weekend and hopefully the money raised will make life easier for the family #M2M
Our group of cyclists, helpers and members of Derrick's family at the finish
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 14/09/2026
Taken 3 and a half days, 573km and 5000m of climbing apart, these were at the start and finish of our club's charity spin to try to help out a young local man who suffered a dreadful injury late last year. It was great to be involved with a great group, all pulling their weight together.
Myself in cycling gear with the Mizen head Wild Atlantic Way sign visible behind me at the start of our club charity cycleMyself in cycling gear with the Malin head Wild Atlantic Way sign visible behind me at the finish of our club charity cycle
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 23/08/2026
Lots of historical old buildings on yesterday's 200km #Audax spin around Co Laois, lots of hills too my legs felt in similar condition to some of those ruins after 200m of climbing #Ireland #cycling
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 18/04/2026
The spreading tractor
The spreading tractor with a LESS boom application boom and pulling the pipe behind
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 18/04/2026
The pipe run
Pipe going out through the yard Pipe on a farm roadwayPipe running up a farm vergePipe in the field where slurry is being applied
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 18/04/2026
Yard pump
A tractor with a heavy duty slurry pump sending slurry from the tank to the field
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 18/04/2026
This is not heavy work for the tractor, it's currently in eco mode, but if I was ploughing today the diesel usage could be 25 lt/hr so the battery would need to be bigger again. You can see why it's hard to move away from diesel
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 18/04/2026
Claude reckons that the equivalent energy consumption for an electric tractor would be roughly 64kWh/hr which would need a very large, heavy and expensive battery pack to run the tractor for any length of time.
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 18/04/2026
Sitting in my tractor agitating slurry before it's spread today listening to @philipb-h.bsky.social talking about an electric Fendt tractor and decided to do some sums with the help of Claude. When I started we were burning 15.5 lt/hr of diesel, it's dropped a little now
A picture of the dash of my tractor showing fuel consumption of 14.6 lt/hr
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 17/03/2026
When you are recovering from an injury having the #barrowblueway to ride on is a life saver, much preferable to #cycling on a turbo trainer. Happy #stpatricksday to all.
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 05/03/2026
You're trapped in the last TV show you watched, where are you? Tehran, looks as if S4 will need a bit of a rewrite.
An image from the TV show Tehran, the image shows a woman in a hijab in an industrial warehouse
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 08/02/2026
I didn't get on very well updating this yesterday during the ride but it turned out to be a great day on the bike, the weather held up, cool, dry and not too windy but being able to do 200km almost entirely off the public road makes for such a relaxing experience. the Royal Canal greenway is a gem.
Myself and my clubmate John on the Royal Canal Greeway
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 07/02/2026
25% of February's #RRTY #audax in the bag, benign conditions for the time of year, but it's early days yet. Next stop the Shannon
Myself and my 2 clubmates at the start of today's audaxThe lads on the old rail trail
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 19/01/2026
Unreal colours in the sky over West Kildare just now, the phone camera picks it up really well. #aurora #kildare #Ireland
Red and green colours from the aurora currently in the sky over Kildare, IrelandRed and green colours from the aurora currently in the sky over Kildare, Ireland Red and green colours from the aurora currently in the sky over Kildare, Ireland
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 16/01/2026
Winter #audax spins usually mean cold and damp conditions but today's 200km lap of Kildare featured more than the usual amount of mud flying. Brian and John were good company though, the KMs go by easier when there's someone to chat with and share the load. #cycling
My friend Brian during today's Audax, his clothes and face are covered in mud splatter My friend John during today's Audax, his face and clothes are covered by mud splatter I seem to have missed the worst of the mud or I just had myself better covered up
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 31/12/2025
After a slow start my #cycling year got better as the year went on, happy enough with that and hopefully a problem free 2026 to come. Some great days out on the bike, with good company from my clubmates and also people you meet along the way.
An infographic of my cycling stats for 2025, the main figures are 11107km, 71522m of elevation gain, and 189 active days
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 30/12/2025
It feels a bit like falling over the line, finishing with a couple of very short spins, but they all count, great to have the #Festive500 in the bag and in the legs #cycling
A screenshot showing my stats for the festive 500A screenshot showing my stats for the festive 500, 509 km, 20 hours 25 minutes on the bike
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 29/12/2025
I picked up a stupid injury late in 2024 and much slower to heal than I had hoped. It was well into the spring before I was able to ride consistently and my fitness was long gone by then, so to be able to do a 200km Audax permanent solo in July was a great relief, and a lovely day out
A patch of Sunflowers on the edge of a cereal field in Co Kildare IrelaandMy bike parked ourside Taghadoe round tower and church ruins in Co Kildare Ireland.
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 26/12/2025
Nice spin today with a few of the lads from the club has me over half way in the #festive500, cool and breezy but just about perfect winter #cycling conditions. Hopefully the frost will stay away for a few days more and we'll get done on the road rather than the Blueway.
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 31/10/2025
2023 was just a nightmare harvest the combine was doing plenty of cultivations in places, getting straw dry enough to bale was a nightmare, having to cultivate late would have been just another pain in the backside. We had nice covers in after Winter barley though
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 31/10/2025
We were sowing cover crops in 2018, from memory we got it very hard to get any fine tilth and the covers were very slow to come through till we got a few showers. Even with the fine summer though we only got the Spring malting barley straw baled on 5th sept, which is too late to establish any cover
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 18/10/2025
Headwind all the way to Athy this morning on the Blueway, but hopefully it will push me home before the rain. Really starting to see the autumn colours now after the quiet spell of weather.
The barrow blueway with a light covering of beech leaves, the Blueway runs between the canal and a line of mature beech trees
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 16/09/2025
I walked all day at the ploughing championships and saw exactly one plough...
Some of the crowd at the national Ploughing Championships in Ireland today, they are on an avenue in the trade stands area.
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 27/07/2025
100 kms later I found some more flowers in a field, I don't think these are supposed to be there though
Poppies growing in a field of spring barley
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 27/07/2025
After getting up at stupid o clock, I'm 50 kms into an #audax, I'm as far south as I'll be going but this makes me feel like I'm in the Loire valley #sunflowers
Some sunflowers just coming into bloom on the Kildare/Carlow border
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 14/04/2025
Looks like I'll be doing a bit of the night shift
A plough working in a field with the sun setting on the horizon
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 06/04/2025
When you cut one side of a hedge and leave the other you can really see the difference rotational cutting makes, plenty of blackthorn here to keep the pollinators happy #farming #agriculture #pollinators
This side of the hedge was trimmed in the winter This side of the hedge hasn't been cut for 2 years, the blackthorn is in bloom
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 20/03/2025
This year's malting barley crop is in the ground, about 6 weeks earlier than last year, conditions not too bad either, the land ploughed over wet enough but got some nice slow drying. #harvest25 #farming #kildare
A tractor and sower at the gate of a recently sown field, in the background you can see another tractor rolling the seed in.
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 31/01/2025
A stretch in the evenings, and the snowdrops in their glory would put a bit of a spring in your step #stillwinter #kildare #Ireland
Sunlight backlights some snowdrops in our garden, the sun is shining through some trees
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 25/01/2025
Great to get back out on the bike in the fresh 🥶 air this morning, my leg is much better the last few weeks so I've been able to drop the bandages. #stormeowyn left a few obstacles though.
My mate after carrying his bike over the trunk of a fallen tree on the barrow blueway We had to carry our bikes around another fallen tree on the barrow blueway, it was a tight squeeze between it and the edge of the canal
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 08/01/2025
These frosty mornings are great for a bit of hedge trimming, because of the wet winter last year these weren't done then so are quite heavy. There were lots of berries for the birds but they are gone now so time to cut. Hopefully these will be left again for 2 or 3 years now. #farming #nature
A hedge that has been trimmed on a foggy frosty morning A hedge which is partially trimmed on a foggy frosty morning
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 30/12/2024
Not likely to do anything tomorrow so these will be my final figures for this year, a bit of a disaster really compared to my plans but that's life, 2X doses of Covid and the last 2.5 months with a hole in my leg closes down the options. Roll on 2025 and some better luck. #cycling #ireland
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 26/12/2024
In my opinion walking is a poor replacement for cycling but when you have compression bandages from toe to knee and you can't fit into your cycling gear it's the only option. On foot or two wheels the Blueway is a great amenity #kildare #barrowblueway
The barrow blueway under a blue midwinter skyNaomh Brid at the barrow blueway Ummeras bridge on the barrow line
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 07/12/2024
Current wind generation only half of what was forecast, I don't know for certain but maybe some wind farms have had to shut down as the wind is too strong? #stormdarragh
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 01/12/2024
It's 6 weeks today since I was outdoors on the bike and on a morning like this it's killing me, Ollie likes the extra walks though even if they are short. Hopefully the leg will improve soon and I can get back at it. #cycling #injury
My dog ollie looking into the low winter sun along a hedge in a barley field
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 17/11/2024
I'm long enough farming to know that no 2 years are ever the same but the new extremes are challenging and make planning ahead more of an exercise in wishful thinking than any real expectation of it working out. #climatechange #ireland #farming #agriculture
A crop of winter wheat in spring 2024 showing bare patches from flooding during the previous winter, this was the good side of the field...
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 12/11/2024
First proper air frost of the season here this morning but at least all the low cloud and fog is gone, it'll be nice to see the sun again ☀️
Red clouds on the horizon before the sun rises
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 14/09/2024
This weekend I was meant to go to an audax in Mayo but life got in the way, instead myself and my mate headed up to the Wicklow hills. It was very nice once my legs woke up
Glenmacanass valley looking back from the waterfall Glenmacanass waterfall, water levels are low because of lack of summer rainThe military road heading towards the Sally gapThe military road heading towards the Sally gap
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 13/09/2024
Chilly out but a nice start to the day...
Clouds underlit by morning sunrise
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 08/09/2024
Tis a misty, grey auld morning here, took to the canal for my morning spin till visibility improves #cycling #barrowblueway #Ireland
The grand canal in the mistA lock on the grand canal in the mist
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 01/09/2024
The end is nigh for #harvest24 and I'm not a bit sorry, it's been a shitty year to grow crops here in #Ireland thanks to #climatechange. Roll on #harvest25
A picture of a partly harvested crop of spring barley, taken from the combine cab
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 26/08/2024
If you see this and are so inclined, please post a picture you took at sunset
Sunset at Princes Bay Wellington NZ
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 14/08/2024
This mornings spin was well timed, I arrived at the gate of Cushaling wind farm just as the first nacelle was lifted into place. 80 tons dropped with precision 100+ meters up in the air. The blades will go on later in the week weather permitting
A large crane lifting the nacelle of a wind turbine into placeA large crane lifting the nacelle of a wind turbine into place
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 11/08/2024
An unusually stylish coffee stop today in Timahoe Co Laois, a local community initiative to get it up and running.
The round tower at Timahoe Co LaoisThe old church beside the round tower in Timahoe Co LaoisThe inside of the old Church beside the round tower at Timahoe Co Laois, now a community coffee shop
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 10/08/2024
It's not often you get the chance to get relatively close to to a large engineering project. Here I was looking across the Cushaling River at a gigantic crane preparing to lift the top, 4th section of a wind turbine tower into place. The nacelle and blades will follow, maybe tomorrow
Two large cranes working to assemble a wind turbine tower in an Irish bogTwo large cranes working to assemble a wind turbine tower in an Irish bogTwo large cranes working to assemble a wind turbine tower in an Irish bog
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 14/07/2024
20km to a planned* 200km spin and the first stop is to take off my rain jacket, the mist seems to be rising, hopefully a few hours of fair weather now. (* hopefully my legs will work with that plan) #cycling #audax #solosunday
The grand canal near allenwood
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 12/07/2024
A nice evening for a 20km spin to the pub, the spin home will take care of itself 😉#cycling #barrowblueway #itstheweekend
A pint of Guinness outside the Fisherman's Inn, you can see my bike and helmet leaning on a beer barrel
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John O Loughlin @joloughlin.eurosky.social · 25/05/2024
Maize just starting to come through the biodegradable plastic film, it's probably better that it stays under till the weather warms up again but it can't know that. #farming #agriculture #harvest24
A maize plant pushes through plastic film, most of the plants are still underneath
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