The Cycle of Life

Next Friday 28th of March I will take part in the Galway Cycle. This involves a cycle from Maynooth to Galway in one day. This will be by far and a way the longest and most challenging cycle I have done.

I have trained and prepared well but admit to being nervous and apprehensive. I am in my mid-fifties and not blessed with an athletic physique.

The journey is about 180 kilometers and I will need to keep up with the 25kph pace.

The Maynooth Galway Cycle has been running for many years and each year thousands of Euro is raised for a designated charity. This year’s charity is the Prader-Willie Syndrome Association Ireland. This is a well deserved cause and you have only to watch the associated video to appreciate how much they need support.

I am collecting so please give a little whatever you can to  http://www.idonate.ie/leosgalwaycycle

My affair with the bicycle has spanned the cycle of my life. One of my early memories is accompanying my father on the crossbar of his bike as we cycled to the Garda station to collect another bike.  My bike! It was a find he handed in more than a year before and, still unclaimed, he was notified to pick it up. I still remember with admiration how he cycled home guiding the second bike and with me still on the crossbar of the first.

We lived in the Phoenix Park and with my two wheels my domain extended to all 32,000 acres. Through my youth the bike was like a part of me and I was rarely seen without it. Long before the concept of mountain bikes I was racing the trails of the Furry Glen or shooting down the Magazine Hill.

After a long absence I took up cycling again in my fifties. Its been a source of great joy and fun and each summer I tour parts of Ireland with some friends.

The wonderful thing about the Galway Cycle is the fact that it’s not easy or straightforward. There will be discomfort and strain and certainly its a bit of a stretch for someone like me. But then again it’s great to have a goal to strive for and something to achieve.

If you can please donate no matter how small to www.idonate.ie/leosgalwaycycle

Thanks it means a lot!