'It's no good unless it pushes you to your limits'

Photo: Left to right, Adrian Gannon, Keith Sharkey, Gerry Cox, Fran Rogers and Peter Doyle at Mizen Head before they started their 576km cycle to Malin Head on July 3.

Drum's Adrian Gannon jokes that when he gave up golf in 2014, he thought that cycling would be easier, less time consuming and cheaper. None of that turned out to be true, he admits laughing, but the challenges and friendships since he made the switch to pedalling have been worth it.

He was reflecting on his latest cycle milestone – The Mizen to Malin Non Stop in aid of Cancer Support – which he completed in less than 24 hours with four cycling friends on July 3 last and which has already raised over €8,00 for three charities.

A member of South Roscommon Cycling Club, Adrian, alongside fellow members Gerry Cox from Moore and Keith Sharkey from Monksland, joined with Roscrea's Peter Doyle, a member of Wolftrap Cycling club in Birr and Francis Rogers from Carlow, a member of Killeshin Wheelers for the mammoth 576 km journey, which they managed to complete in a fantastic 23 hours 25 minutes – a phenomenal 19 hours and 45 minutes of which were in saddle. The remainder was food or rest stops and there was zero sleep!

When asked who came up with the harebrained scheme, Adrian gamely confesses: “I'm probably to blame for that but we had all done some crazy stuff. Gerry, Peter and Fran were in Paris in 2019 and did 1,200km spin from Paris to Brest and back without really sleeping either and carrying all their stuff. Keith did what's called the Celtic Knot here in Ireland, it's a 1,000k cycle and a no sleep job either. We've all done 600s, 400s, 300s. 200km is probably like a Sunday spin for us,” he tells me and it's clear he's not joking either. He concedes they are into cycling in “the mad way” and clock up an average of around 300 to 350km every week.

Starting out in Mizen at 9.30am on Saturday, July 3, the group were supported on their journey by a team of seven in four vehicles who travelled with them to take care of traffic and food stops which were laid out every 60-65km or so and each was timed to 15 or 20 minutes with their main break just a half an hour.

“We made it to Malin Head at 8.55am on Sunday morning but we never would have made it without our crew. They were our babysitters, they minded us all day long,” he says in tribute to the massive role the support crew played to get them over the line. All of the cyclists and crew were wired up with walkie-talkies so they were in constant communication all day long, the first half being wet and the second bringing mild, dry conditions on the roads.

Asked the most difficult thing about the cycle, Adrian is very clear: “I think the hardest thing we had for the cycle was all the organisation beforehand because once we got to Mizen Head it was just a matter of getting up on our bikes and cycling. All the hardship was over by that stage. It wasn't that difficult to cycle it”.

While cycling sleep deprived was a test, particularly between the hours of 3am-5am, once the sun was up Adrian says they were back in business and they really enjoyed the final few hours to get to Donegal's tip and the country's most northerly point. The celebration was a photo and a well-earned sleep.

While he agrees that lots of people think they are “cracked,” they love pushing the limits of endurance.

“My own wife even said to me beforehand why do ye do this to yourselves? The answer was most lads can cycle 100km. It's not everyone who will go out and do the stupidity we're at. It's no good unless it pushes you to your limits and that's why we do it, we like to push a little harder.”

While he cannot say enough about the crew or their backbone who allowed them to complete the challenge in under 24 hours, the Drum resident is also hugely thankful to everyone who supported their challenge with donations which “skyrocketed” over the weekend as many people tracked their progress online and their many sponsors, particularly, Declan Holohan of Complete Solutions. the main sponsor, John Kennedy Monksland Service station, Tommy Naughton from Naughton's garage, Rosie Greene in Spectrum Signs and The Good Food Outlet, Ballysimon.

The money raised will be divided between East Galway, Midlands Cancer Support Group, Mayo Roscommon Hospice and Castleconnell, Ahane Montpelier Cancer Support Group.

Adrian says their partners deserve great praise as well because they were out the gate on the bike every minute when there were plenty of jobs to be done back home.

While many would now be taking a well-earned rest, not so for this crew, they have their sights set on qualifying for the gruelling 1,200km Paris Brest Paris event which only takes place every four years, the next in 2023 so keeping up the mileage is paramount. To do that, Adrian says you have to complete a 600k, 400k and 200k self supported cycle (this means bringing all your supplies on your back) next year and the year after – just to get on the startline.

You can still make a donation by going to www.gofundme.com/f/malin-to-mizen-in-24-hours-for-cancer-support.