This article is from page 37 of the 2007-05-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 37 JPG
A KILKEE woman will lead four cyclists on the long Bothar from Stillorgan to Clare on May 5 in sup- port of the third world development ZIXeBLOas
Ann Power said that she decided to do something for charity and a “coast to coast” cycle jumped out at her even though she was a not a regu- lar cyclist.
“I’m from Kilkee so I thought I would see if I could cycle the 180 miles down and I asked a few peo- ple if they would be interested. The
others would have a bit more experi- ence. One of them was in a club and has cycled a good bit. I started train- ing in October especially for this.”
Ann, a nurse who has lived in Dub- lin for 13 years, outlined the team’s eruelling training regime.
“It has been very tough. I had to buy a new bike and everything. I work Monday to Friday and I get up every Sunday at 8am to train. We’ve gone as far as Naas a few times on the old N7 road. I watch the signs and when you see the kilometres going down it is a great incentive. It keeps you go- ing,” she said.
The self-confessed amateurs – Ann’s husband Mick Vine and col- leagues Theresa McEvoy and Im- elda Redmond – will cycle as far as Nenagh on the day before continuing to Kilkee on May 6. Ann said that the support from family and col- leagues has been brilliant.
“My parents and everyone down in Clare think it’s a great thing we’re doing. Lots of people are amazed by it because they reckon it will be quite tough with the winds coming from the west. How it goes will de- pend on the weather. That will be a huge factor.”
“We will definitely finish it, no mat- ter what. I would never do something like this if 1t wasn’t a challenge. You just have to get motivated. But I am looking forward to hanging up my bike for a few weeks and staying in on Sundays.
‘“Bothar is a great charity and very hands on. We haven’t counted up what we’ve raised so far but there was no target so anything will be a bonus,” she added.
If you would like to support the coast to coast cycle, donations can be made to Bank of Ireland account number 65862912, sort code 901335.