A group of 15 Armagh City Cyclists are set to cycle the full length of Ireland to raise funds for Marie Curie and Air Ambulance NI.
The club, which has been meeting for some 12 years, are taking on the famous Mizen Head to Malin Head route covering an incredible 407 miles in just four days.
Starting at the southwest low point at Mizen Head, Co Cork, the group will climb a gruelling 18,111ft to their finish line at Malin Head, Co Donegal.
The aim is to get as close to their £20,000 total as possible. And, with cash donations included, Simon now estimates their current total at a whopping £16,000.
The total pot will then be split equally between the respective charities, one of which holds particular meaning for the club.
Speaking to Armagh I, club member Simon Diffin explained: “We run a Sportif at the start of the year in April for Christopher Rodgers who was a club member.
“Their chosen charity is always Marie Curie. So, we just decided this year to do something bigger, challenge ourselves and decided to do the full length of Ireland.”
James Rice, son of Armagh City Cyclists club Chairman, Gregory Rice modelling the bespoke jersey
Christopher, who tragically passed away in 2017 as the result of a swimming accident, was not only a keen cyclist but beloved and “selfless” teammate to all those lucky enough to share a road with him.
The group – comprised of both Mizen to Malin first-timers and a few dab hands – will arrive at the Lonsdale car park, Armagh for 6am on Friday morning (June 21) where they will depart via minibus travelling the distance to Cork where they aim to start pedalling for 2pm.
Their first day will take in 75 miles of the stretch, followed by 117 miles on day two, 99 miles on day three and a final 116 mile push to take them to their scenic finish line at Malin Head.
Each cyclist will be sporting their own bespoke jersey featuring the logos of sponsoring businesses, whom Simon says have “jumped on board massively”.
With around three months of training complete, the team are ready to take to the track.
“You don’t set out to fail,” said Simon. “Everybody that’s doing it is set to do it. They have done the hard work and the training’s all done, so they just have to start on the journey next Friday and that’s it!”
You can make a contribution to Armagh City Cyclists Mizan to Malin GoFundMe page here
