1,300 cyclists take to county's roads in An Post Tour of Meath

The sound of spinning wheels and gears changing echoed around the ancient surroundings of Castle Street in Trim throughout Sunday morning as over 1,300 cyclists from across the county and beyond took to the roads of Meath in the An Post Heritage Cycle Tour of Meath. The An Post Cycle Series, which already this year has visited Sligo and Clare, and with Waterford tand Cork to follow, is an initiative between An Post and the Irish Sports Council, and is designed to encourage communities around the country to get on their bikes and build on the renewed enthusiasm for cycling now evident throughout the country. The event was aimed at both the deadly serious and very occasional rider with four routes on offer, from 160km to a more leisurely 10km family spin. With routes catering for all levels from the serious amatuer to the enthusiastic beginner, the series has proved to be a great way for family, friends and work colleagues to spend a day of fun together while the serious rider can follow a more challenging route. The overwhelming consensus among all the participants on Sunday was that the event was superbly and very efficiently organied and marshalled, with over 300 volunteers giving up their time to ensure everything went smoothly, manning junctions and providing food and rest stops at a number of points across the county. This was the second year of the tour and, while the organisers expected numbers to double from last year's figure of 500, they in fact almost trebled the numbers with many participants signing up on the morning of the event. The tour consisted of a 10k family spin in a loop around Trim, a 40k 'Tara Loop', and for the more seasoned campaigners, a 100k 'Royal Tour' which took cyclists up into north Meath and back to Trim again, and a 160k 'Royal Challenge'. All the distances started and finished at Trim Castle, where a terrific atmosphere was maintained all day long with music and events, in addition to an artisan and crafts market organised in conjunction with Trim Chamber of Commerce, which hosted a wide variety of stalls including confectionary, flowers, hot food, artwork, jewellery, cheeses and lots more. The St Vincent de Paul (SVP) was the nominated charity for this year's An Post Meath Heritage Cycle Tour. Each cyclist received a sponsorship card from St Vincent de Paul and was encouraged to raise much-needed funds for the charity. The SVP also had a presence on the day in Trim and expressed themselves delighted with the amount of money they received from the day. The event was organised locally by the Meath Local Sports Partnership in association with An Post and the Irish Sports Council. The Gardai also provided motorcycle outriders to accompany cyclists on the routes to help with traffic management. Among the many groups taking part in the event was Moynalty Cycling Club which entered 20 riders in the 100k event. Indeed, it was a busy weekend for the north Meath club with a large fun run on Friday night, a charity run with boxer Bernard Dunne in Clonee on Saturday and the weekend was then topped off with the An Post Tour of Meath on Sunday. The hills at Tara, Newgrange and Slane provided a good test for the Moynalty cyclists. With over 1,000 cyclists on the run it was difficult for all to remain together as a team but, after about 30km, they settled into smaller groups and the summer training and team discipline were evident. Ken Moloney and Pat Reilly had a great run and made it home in the top 20 overall with a group of seven Moynalty riders crossing the finish line together 15 minutes later to make the top 100. All club riders made it home safely and are looking forward to the Cormeen Mountain Challenge this weekend. Meath Local Sports Partnership said the event would not have been possible without the hard work of over 300 volunteers who manned junctions, gave directions, provided refreshments and, most of all, gave much-needed encouragement to cyclists along the route. Thanks also were extended to An Post, the Irish Sports Council, the Gardai, Civil Defence, Trim Town Council, Meath County Council, OPW & National Monuments, Trim Castle Hotel, club representatives, Fresh-Air Fitness & Physios, Cycleways, Skoda Ireland and the Meath Heritage Cycle Tour committee for working together to ensure the event was a truly memorable one.