Meath duo take to saddle for global adventure

Two Meath men are part of a trio undertaking a 40,000 kilometre cycle around the globe in August, in aid of the Irish Cancer Society. Kevin McHugh from Herbert Place in Navan and Ivan Macken from Lobinstown are taking part in the Endure Cycle Challenge across five continents, along with Mullingar man Laurence Mulligan. "Our goal is to raise €50,000 for the society," Kevin McHugh said. "Our journey will see us cycle across five continents, 30 countries and more than 40,000 kilometres in the circumnavigation." Kevin added that having had a member of his family recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer meant that the Irish Cancer Society was the natural beneficiary of their adventure. "We are avid cyclists and a cycle around the world has always been an ambition," said Kevin, who worked as a software engineer with Microsoft in Dublin. "To take this on, I have made the decision to leave my job and use my savings to finance the trip, so it's not a case of just getting time off. To date, no Irish person has cycled across five continents in one attempt, so we hope to be the first to achieve this." Ivan Macken and Laurence Mulligan are both surfing instructors. "Cycling has always been a part of my life, I've had a bike as far back as I can remember," Kevin added. "More recently, I have taken up competitive cycling and am a member of 3 Rock Triathlon Club in south Dublin. As a group, we have spent some time touring Europe on our bikes over the last few years, so this is not the first adventure together, but is by far the most ambitious." The lads will start the challenge on 21st August, cycling from Dublin city centre to Rosslare with a Garda-marshalled mass bicycle ride out of Dublin city centre to mark the launch. "Over the next number of months, we will be holding numerous smaller fundraising events to raise awareness of our event," he said. For further information, contact Kevin at kevin@endurecyclechallenge.com, or on (086) 109 5610. See the www.endurecyclechallenge.com website. Meanwhile, Graham Macken from Oakleigh in Navan is recovering after his seven-day solo cycle around Ireland in aid of the local Alzheimer's Day Centre. Graham took part in 'A Cycle to Remember' in memory of his grandmother, who attended the centre, and which started on Saturday 6th June. "The first stage to Ballymena was the toughest, and we had so many diversions and detours due to roadworks, and went the wrong way at one stage," Graham said. He had been in proper training since January. "It was a good experience - we had a couple of days rain, but mainly good weather. It was mainly cycling, showering and sleeping!" he laughed. His route took him from Ballymena to Donegal town, Tuam, Listowel, Dungarvan, Arklow and Navan. Additional sponsors since he started included Tadg Riordan Motors, Ashbourne, which supplied a support van and and Rugrats Pre-School which sponsored the diesel. "We stayed with Station House Hotel chef Dave Mulvihill in Listowel, and had some craic in John B Keane's with Billy Keane," said Graham yesterday (Tuesday) as he relaxed after his week-long challenge.