Scairbh

Na

gCaorach

EMYVALE

Cycle Challenge

What are you planning for the coming weekend? Is it going to be a restful, relaxing and sleepy weekend? Or are you planning something more strenuous? Are you planning a bit of gardening? That lawn needs cutting again and you have been planning to clean up the place a bit and now it is time to do it? Or are you going to go to Morgan Athletic Grounds in Armagh and do nothing more strenuous than shout a few times at a referee to see where he got his glasses and recommend specsavers? On the way home and at the bar afterwards you tell everyone how the game could have been won and who should be left at home and who should be getting his place? Then when Monaghan wins you will have to admit that McEneaney did what you suggested.

Well there are many ways of spending the weekend and everyone will make their own decisions. However a group of cyclists will take on one massive challenge for this weekend and they deserve our best wishes for success. They leave Emyvale at 6am on Friday morning and cycle all the way to Westport in County Mayo. Now that is a 150 mile journey and they will be tired and drained by the time they reach their destination. You might expect then that they will rest all day on Saturday - not a chance - instead they will climb Croagh Patrick and come down again. Then on Sunday they will cycle all the way back again - another 150 miles. Well they have to as they have to get home for work on Monday and they did not take the car.

That journey home will be tough and the closer one gets to home the more difficult it will be. There will be blisters where there were never blisters before and there will be aching muscles where they never knew there were muscles.

But they know what they are taking on and they are looking forward to the challenge. It is the cyclists marathon run. We wish them well. They include in no particular order: Patsy McQuillan; Fergus Murray; George McCarron; Phonsie McQuaid; Tommy Martin; Barry Cassidy; Mark Skeath; Gabriel Bell; Eugene McKenna; Dennis Kelly; Patrick Deery; Gerard Sherry; Kevin Treanor; Pat Noonan; Kieran Morris; James Gribbon; Darragh McKenna; John Kelly; John Doran; Gerry Ward; Jonathan McKenna; Aidan McDonald; Mickey Corrigan and Jack McKenna. The Back-up team is Fergal Hughes, Mickey McKenna, and Ann McQuillan.