Around 500kms of cycling and 75kms of hiking later, a group of ultra cyclists have successfully made it to the finish line, while raising over €18,000 along the way for mental health charities.
The ‘nine peak challenge’ was completed to raise money for Mindspace Mayo and Macra’s mental health initiative, ‘Make the Moove’.
The challenge involved cycling to and hiking three peaks, in three different provinces, over three days.
All three days were completed by agricultural business owner, Alan Heaney, alongside farmer Pat Murphy from Ardrahan, Co. Galway, and Brendan Barrett, originally from Belmullet, Co. Mayo.
Other cyclists joined in along the way, with the biggest turnout of over 50 participants on the second day, which was known as “industry day”, where all agricultural companies were welcome to join the cyclists.
Each night, the cyclists stayed in a campervan, which was driven by volunteers to and from different locations throughout the country.
However, a good night’s sleep was not on the agenda for the ultra cyclists, with tyres hitting the road at 6:00a.m and finally pulling up for the night at about 11:00p.m.
Heaney also had the joy of driving through the night on the Wednesday before the cycle (August 7), in order to pick up the campervan from Co. Kerry.
Heaney said that over the three days of the event and the day prior, he slept a total of 10 hours.
He said that sleep deprivation was one of the most difficult parts of the journey, followed by the “underestimated” challenge of the gradient that leads to the beginning of each mountain.
“Before you reach the mountains, you have to cycle at a gradient of about 15% for seven to nine kilometers, and that could take an hour. We underestimated that part majorly,” Heaney said.
Heaney said that despite the challenges, there was never a doubt in his mind for finishing.
He said that with new people joining, they added a “new lease of life”, and that new stories pushed them on.
“When I finished I felt like a concrete slat, you get lots of edema, a lot of swelling in your legs, a lot of muscle repair, but half way into the next day, I was fine,” Heaney said.
Mental health
The theme of this year’s cycle was “self-care, promoting physical fitness and mental wellbeing”.
Macra’s ‘Make the Moove’ offers support for counselling services with dedicated counsellors.
Mindspace Mayo is aimed directly at helping young people through tough times, with staff there to listen, without making judgements, and to provide supportive guidance.
“Mental health is everywhere, it’s in every house. Whether that is anxiety, depression, low self-esteem.
“It could be a partner, a job, or an addiction, but everyone will be affected at some stage in their life by mental health,” Heaney said.
“When you’re out in the fresh air, walking, jogging, or cycling, it’s so good for the mind.
“The landscape and biodiversity and hedgerows in Ireland is just wild, and it’s great to clear the head,” Heaney added.
Donations remain open for the two charities, with an aim to raise €20,000. The donation link can be found here: Donate to the ‘nine peak challenge’.
Charity challenges
The charity awareness is not quite finished for Heaney, as he looks ahead to next year.
He will be leaving the bike in the garage and heading back to the desert next year for Marathon de Sables.
The challenge involves six marathons in five days at approximately 265kms across the Sahara desert.
However, the bike won’t sit gathering dust for the year, with plans for his next ultra cycle challenge already underway.
Preliminary plans are to cycle to and hike Ireland’s four highest peaks in two days.