< Clonea Archives – Mamie Martin Fund

Report from Team Ireland

A guest blog post from Eilish Dunworth

We all had plans before Covid-19 intervened.  My plan was to join my sister, Moira, in Scotland to participate in her cycle in aid of girls’ education in Malawi – aka ‘Story on Bikes’. As with many other charitable events, the option of cycling remotely was mooted and quickly gained traction. Why ever not?  Especially given that I live in Waterford close to the now famous Waterford Greenway.

But I was still disappointed to be missing out on the camaraderie that will be central to the actual cycle in Scotland so I put the idea out to a few buddies who enjoy a challenge and do some cycling in their spare time and in next to no time we had Team Ireland with seven enthusiastic participants.  

Our team has two centres – one in Limerick and the other in Waterford. Terri and her Limerick buddies are very keen cyclists and could put the Waterford contingent to shame if it was a competition. But it’s not! We’re doing what we can, when we can and with what we’ve got and in that way we’re enjoying each and every adventure.

One such adventure was enjoyed by Janet and Eilish on Sunday when we cycled a section of the Waterford Greenway and took a small detour to Clonea Beach, where we had a very pleasant swim and a picnic before returning home and all this before lunchtime! A longer adventure involved two keen cyclists cycling from Carriganore to Dungarvan – around trip of 83 kms – on a very calm day, perfect for cycling. 

I can attest that there is no more pleasant way to spend a morning or afternoon (or indeed a full day) cycling on a greenway with friends, safe from the madness of traffic, and promoting a good cause while we cycle. All of Team Ireland wish Story on Bikes a safe and very enjoyable event and perhaps this remote challenge will be the start of many more opportunities for remote connecting.