This article is from page 34 of the 2007-10-16 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 34 JPG
TWO Clare men are to brave the rugged terrain and sweltering heat of Cuba to take part in a gruelling six- day fundraising cycle in aid of the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind.
John Stack from Lisdoonvarna and Ennistymon man Matthew Grilf- fin will arrive in the country on November 6 to take part in the mam- moth challenge.
“I do a lot of charity stuff. I heard about this about three months ago, looked it up and it seemed like a good thing to do.
“IT have done fundraising work for cancer and the Irish Heart Founda-
tion but I haven’t done anything for the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind,” said Mr Stack.
“We are going to Cuba on the November 6 and will be cycling for six full days out there. Matthew is going out as well but there will a group from all over the country.
“I do a lot of cycling myself but it’s mostly all charity stuff. In the past I have taken part in the Clare 250, the Wicklow 200, Inishowen Peninsula Cycle, Tour of Lough Corrib, the Tour of the Burren and the Ring of Kerry, so I am well used to the challenge.”
Last summer John was part of a eroup of cyclists from north Clare
who took on the most famous climb of them all, the Alpe d’Huez.
“It really was very challenging, the temperatures were totally unreal. When we started in the morning it was 29 degrees and before we be- gan to climb Alpe d’Huez it was 36 Olfeaneteny
“It was very hot but there was three massive climbs to tackle as well. It is the exact same stage that the rid- ers on the Tour de France did a week later,’ Mr Stack added.
“We are hoping to get a bit of a different type of challenge out in Cuba. That is one of the reasons for going, to get the change of scenery and to see what the terrain is like out
there as well.” Following the success of a charity poker challenge in Lynch’s Hotel last Saturday, John has organised another fundraising event for Doolin later this month.
“We have organised a 45-card drive game in McDermotts in Doolin for October 24. That’s starting at nine and people are welcome to come along to that,” he said.
“Otherwise, if people want to donate money to Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, they can contact me directly on my mobile number, 086 2552709, or they can post anything to John Stack, Lisdoonvarna. Any donations made would be very wel- come indeed.”