I will be doing a sponsored cycle of over 2000 miles from Faro (Portugal) to Howth (Co. Dublin. Ireland) between 14th. April and 17th. May 2010. The cycle is in aid of Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin, Dublin, Ireland and in memory of my late daughter, Helen, who was a patient of the hospital until she reached the age of 18. She died one year later at the age of 19. For further details, see http://the-pedaling-pensioner.org The cycle will be self-supported and self-funded, so all sponsorship raised will go to the hospital.

I intend to fly out from Dublin to Faro on Tuesday 13th. March and commence cycling on the following day when I will be joined by Paul Rutledge, an experienced touring cyclist from the U.S. I hope to arrive in Howth on Monday 17th. May, having cycled an average of 67 miles a day for thirty days and taking five rest days in between.

The route will take me from Faro, northward through Portugal to Portalegre via the town of Evora which Paul wants to visit. We will then cross into Spain and travel north-eastward to Pamplona, via Ciudad Rodrigo, Salamanca, Valladolid, Burgos, and Logroño. We will take a rest day in Pamplona before crossing the Pyrenees to Urrugne in France.

We will then cycle up through France to Calais and cross to Dover by ferry. We will then carry on through England and Wales to Fishguard, where we will take another ferry to Rosslare in Co. Wexford and then proceed to Whitegate in Co. Cork via Dungarvan, Co. Waterford. After a rest day in Whitegate (my birthplace) we will complete the journey to Dublin over two days and hope to arrive at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin on Monday 17th. May.

Why a journey of 2,000 miles? Well, if I can raise €10 in sponsorship per mile, I will have reached my fundraising target of €20,000 for that fantastic children’s hospital – Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin – through which so many children in Ireland have been given the gift of life.

For more details and updates, see my journal and photos at http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/acros... Scroll down and click on the “Portugal to Ireland” link.

Anybody interested in joining me on the trip or for part of it can contact me through my guestbook on crazyguyonabike or can send an e-mail to eugene.cycleogical@gmail.com My phone number is 00353860571612

Please help me to reach my fundraising target by visiting my Crumlin Children’s Hospital sponsorship page at: http://www.cmrf.org/sponsorshipManag...

and making a donation. You will immediately receive an on-line receipt and a thank you e-mail from the Children’s Medical and Research Foundation which is the fundraising body for both the hospital and the Foundation. For details of the work of the Foundation and the hospital go to http://www.cmrf.org

Please make the pain and effort of cycling the mountains of Spain worth while by making even a small donation through the above link.

I took part in a fantastic 100K fundraising cycle for Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin on Sunday 19th. August in Kilmallock, Co. Limerick. The event was organised by local resident Liam Mulcahy and his wife Stacey, whose 2 year old daughter Sophie is a patient in Crumlin and had six heart operations in her short life to date.
The event was a resounding success and Liam and Stacey are delighted to announce that it resulted in raising over €13,500 to date. Well done to them both. See Liam's fundraising website http://www.cycle4sickchildren.com

I completed the cycle mentioned below at Mizen Head at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday 19th. July. To view my journal and photos of the trip, go to http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/H...