Cycling all 32 counties in 50 hours
An amateur cyclist who lost his sister to cancer has pedalled through all 32 counties in just two days in her memory.
Michael Hall was joined by fellow DB Cycling Club member Andrew Agnew to take on the gruelling challenge.
Originally, Michael Hall and other members of the cycling community had planned on riding through 32 counties in one week as a fundraiser in 2015. But Michael never got to finish the cycle as his sister Marcella passed away from cancer, before he got to the finish line.
“Her funeral was on the day the others arrived from their journey, and since then it has been in the back of my head,” he said.
It felt like unfinished business to Michael, so last year he “got the crew together and started planning”. He named it “32 County Challenge 10 years on” - just this time, he would give himself only two days - pushing himself to the limit for people who have to battle the most challenging fate.
In honour of his sister Marcella, he is raising money for the Cootehill Community Cancer Support Group. So far they have raised over €7,800 on their GoFundMe page.
Accompanied by a crew of six – Tom McClean, Killian Fee, Tracy McConkey, Colm Breen, Gordon McConkey and Jamie Agnew - in two vans and a jeep with food, gear and spare parts, they started at the Stray Sod in Drung on Friday morning at 11am: “No shortcuts, no sleep-ins, just pedals, pain and hopefully some amazing scenery with the aid of our DB cycling club mates.”
Andrew Agnew was his partner all the way. He meticulously plotted the route so they would actually hit all 32 counties.
“Not an easy task,” Michael admits. “It’s a bit of a back and forth.” They set off up the North to Monaghan around Lough Neagh towards Donegal, south to Sligo, then inlands, looping in and out of Kerry across to Kilkenny and zigzagging through the Leinster counties past Slane before finishing in Louth after 1076 kilometers. 41,5 hours of moving time in a total of 50 hours travelled.
They stopped roughly every 80km for a bite to eat, water or tea and back on the saddle. Tired and weather beaten, they got in the back of the jeep in Louth and were driven back, before embarking back on the saddle for the final kilometers to the Stray Sod where a small crowd greeted them with a welcome party.
The 5k goal of the fundraiser was well met at time of publication. People are still welcome to donate to the GoFundMe “DB 32 County Challenge 2015 2025 Ten years on” in aid of the Cootehill Community Cancer Support Group.