Croagh Patrick climb follows 220km cycle from Moynalty

Moynalty Village was buzzing recently when 24 cyclists from Moynalty Cycling Club departed for a 220km cycle to Westport. Seven club cyclists had already headed off at 5am to undertake a relay version of the same run. They enjoyed a great send-off by local parish priest, Fr Joe McEvoy, who blessed the riders, members of the Tidy Town committee, family and friends. They cycled through four seasons in one day with sun, wind, rain and even hailstones along the route but the run into Clew Bay and Westpost that evening was under a cloudless sky with the sun reflecting off the Atlantic to greet the weary riders. They even had time to make an appearance on RTE's 'Winning Streak' with Gerry Maye in Strokestown when they stopped for their lunch break. After resting up overnight, the Moynalty men headed up to the top of Croagh Patrick with members of Moynalty Tidy Towns committee in record time. After those two gruelling events, all members finished up with tired bodies and limbs but in wonderful spirit and with a great sense of achievement. At a dinner that night, each cyclist was presented with a certificate of achievement and club chairman, Ken Moloney, gave a passionate speech on the club's success to date and outlined the plans for the future - including a trip to France next year for the Tour de France in the Pyrenees. The committee has expressed its sincere gratitude to all the people who helped from Moynalty and surrounding areas, including the support teams, first aid crews, motorcycle marshals, An Garda Siochana and sponsors.