Smelly, sweaty, sore for charity
In a way, they are still “big children”, says Thomas Reilly from Denn. He, Thomas Lynch and Christopher Maguire, all aged 25 years, have long left their childhood backyards, where they raced each other in go-karts. Now they have are back in their plastic seats to raise money for charity.
This is the third time the trio has embarked on a fundraising venture together. Previously, they canoed from Cavan to Galway; while last year they walked a wheelie bin to Cork. This year, they intend peddling go-karts 260km through the Netherlands.
The reason behind their niche approach is raising as much attention for the charity as possible, Thomas Reilly explains: “When you do stuff like wheeling a wheelie bin through the country, people stop and ask, which is what you want when you are raising money.”
This year’s donations will go towards The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA). Thomas feels strongly about animal welfare but knew that, going abroad, a more universally recognised cause would work best.
When they started researching routes, they quickly realised that Ireland wasn’t best suited to this type of challenge.
“We love the Irish countryside, but unfortunately there just aren’t enough safe roads or cycle paths for us to bring go-karts on. The Netherlands are renown for great cycle paths,” Thomas Reilly explained.
Having approached go-kart and trampoline manufacturer Berg, which offered to sponsor the vehicles for the ambitious undertaking, everything soon fell into place. Berg’s headquarters is located in the Netherlands, so the logistics were also easier to manage.
Berg will deliver three go-karts with trailers for their tents and supplies to Millingen aan de Rijn on the east border to Germany, where the three men are planning to start on May 30. From there, they will head west towards the North Sea, where they hope to reach the beach of The Hague after five or six days.
Thomas Reilly has mixed feelings about sitting on a go-kart for eight hours a day: “It is not very comfortable, I don’t think they’re meant to be sat on for more than half an hour.”
With the support of local supplier Mayo Go Karts, at least they are able to practice beforehand.
“We know what to expect”, said Thomas adding: “We were laughing the whole time, it was so enjoyable. Kids should go-kart more.”
Working different jobs in different places means the three lads only get to see each other every couple of months, but when they do it is for lasting memories: “Smelly, sweaty, and sometimes not getting along, but it probably rebuilds the friendship.”