‘Agri day’ planned as farmer pedals 1,100km around ‘Ancient East’ in charity ultra cycle

Alan Heaney, from Swinford in Co Mayo, is the organiser of the charity ultra cycle, and embarked on the challenge this morning as part of a six-strong team of charitable cyclists.

The rest of the participants hail from various counties - Gerry ‘Boots’ is from Armagh but living in London; Brendan Barrett is from Belmullet, Mayo, (also living in London); Ronan Bourke is from Balla, Mayo; Vinny Gavin is from Swinford, Mayo; Jonathon Very is from Tubbercurry, Sligo; and Niall McGauran is from Roscommon.

The cycle group have raised a staggering €227,000 for worthy causes over the last six years, and they hope to raise another €50,000, bringing the total amount raised for Irish national and local charities to €277,000.

The man behind it all, Alan, admitted his legs are “usually in bits afterwards”, but said it’s worth it when they think of what the fundraising will do for the charities.

His previous fundraising journeys have been extremely intense, cycling through sweltering heat, sunshine, rain, winds and even hailstones.

Alan said it’s the camaraderie of the group that helps them all push through the physical difficulties and mental walls they face along the way.

The six brave cyclists set off this morning (Wednesday) and will complete the challenge on Saturday 27 August, when they arrive at Old Head in Kinsale, Cork.

The cyclists will pedal along the coastline of the counties of Derry, Antrim, Down, Louth, Dublin, Wicklow, Wexford, Waterford and Cork - and all of the coastal towns and cities in between.

The ultra cycle will include an ‘agri day’ on Friday (26 August) which starts on Sandymount Strand and finishes 265km later in Duncannon beach, Waterford.

This leg of the ultra cycle is open to all cyclists, particularly farmers, industry (vets, co-ops, advisors, animal health companies etc).

The ultra cycle group welcomes all cycling enthusiasts to join them on the ‘agri day’ for fun, laughs and a healthy community networking day.

Members of the public are encouraged to come and cycle a 65km leg or the full 265km stage.

Alan is the co-founder and owner of Efficient Farm Solutions, Lely Centre Mullingar and Efficient Farm Systems.

While he’s kept busy with business, farming, family and sport, he spends his limited free time cycling the roads of Mayo, Galway and Sligo, getting those long miles of preparation in.

Typical training sessions for Alan include 75km-120km spins in the early morning and weekends. In addition to road cycling, he trains up to three times a week in the early hours of the morning, running through forestry trails, across mountain ranges and bog roads to build up the stamina, physical and mental fitness that is required to complete these ultra events.

Alan has been joined by fellow co-owner of EFS/Lely Centre Mullingar, Niall McGauran, on many trips, and both are big advocates of fundraising for local and national charities through ultra-cycling events.

Alan commented: “To date, we have raised €227,000 over six ultra charity cycles covering 8,700km across five different countries in just 25 days.

“All our cycles are self-financed, so 100 per cent of all monies collected goes directly to the worthy charities.

“The event is fantastic. The big push behind the fundraising is our social media followers, the general public who donate to us, and the corporates who support us.

“Over the last two years, our corporates include MSD, Alltech, Glanbia, IFAC, Keenan, Lely, Lakeland Co-op, Kepak, Cows.ie, XLvets, Condon Engineering, Easifix, AEI and Zerograzer, and I’d really like to thank them for their generous support for these fantastic causes.”

The charities benefitting from this year’s cycle include Turn2Me, a national mental health charity, and the Mayo/Roscommon Hospice Foundation, who fund palliative care services in the community and their two hospices.

Hooves4Hospice, who are raising vital funds to help cover the cost of building a planned midland regional hospice for the counties of Laois, Longford, Westmeath and Offaly, will also benefit.

Fiona O’Malley, CEO of Turn2Me, stated: “This is an incredible fundraiser.

“At the peak of the pandemic, demand for our mental health services increased by 386 per cent.

“As a small charity, donations from fundraisers, like this ultra cycle, are really vital and make a huge difference to the services we can offer people who are struggling with depression, anxiety, grief or relationship issues.

“Well done to everyone who is involved, or supports, this fantastic event – it is a huge achievement and Turn2Me is so grateful.”

Martina Jennings, chief executive of Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation, added: “We are incredibly grateful to the Ultra cyclists for choosing us as one of their charities again this year.

“We are dependant on fundraisers like this to fund our much-needed palliative care service in our community and in our Mayo and Roscommon Hospices.

“It is humbling that Alan and his team give so much of their own time to train for this event, and raise so much for charities like ourselves.

“We wish the whole team the very best of luck with this challenge, and our sincere gratitude to them and all who support them.”

Pat Lawlor, from Hooves4Hospice, also praised the efforts of the charity cyclists.

“This is a great event and we are very proud to be chosen as one of the charity partners for this amazing ultra cycle,” he said.

“The money raised will go towards the building of a new palliative care centre in the midlands which the counties of Laois, Westmeath, Longford and Offaly badly need.

“We wish the ultra cyclists the best of luck and safe passage on their cycle over the four days.”

For more information on the Ultra Cycle for Charity or to donate, head to https://www.ultracyclingforcharity.ie/