This April a Culloville man will embark on an epic two-wheeled trip spanning the breadth of the United States, all in aid of the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust. Darren Rowland will begin the monumental 4000 mile cycle from San Francisco to New York on Sunday 3rd April travelling south of the Rockies, across the Nevada Desert to Dallas Texas, Memphis Tennessee, Nashville Tennessee, Philadelphia and finishing on June 16th in New York City.
The solo cyclist will have some company for the last leg of his journey when pal Jamie Malone joins him for the 800 mile trek from Louisville Kentucky to New York. Jamie says she has been inspired by her friend’s determination and commitment to the challenge and admits that, although the two wheeled trip is completely out of her comfort zone, having never even owned a bike before deciding to join Darren, training has begun in earnest and she is “determined to see it through.”
According to Darren the idea for the “2wheels2newyork” fundraiser was born from his desire to escape the office routine and “get out on the open road and see the world from the saddle.”
A Mechanical Engineer by trade, Darren says he became eager to get out on his bike and ride and that the idea to cycle across the United States is a dream he has harboured for years. To fulfil that dream he decided to complete the coast to coast bike ride while raising funds for the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust, a charity close to his heart having known Kevin Bell during his school years. Darren’s commitment to raise funds for the renowned repatriation charity was compounded by the tragic death of Silverbridge man Niall Quinn in a boating accident in Australia in January.
Speaking on his 2wheels2newyork blog, he said,
“With KBRT offering their assistance to repatriate Niall’s body, it really hit me that what we’re doing the cycle for can affect any family at any time. For this to happen at this time and so close to home really has made me more committed to give it my very best.”
Both training and fundraising are well under way for the mammoth cycle and Darren’s family have come on board forming a fundraising sub committee which helped to organise a hugely successful Canal Court Quiz night earlier this month. A fundraising fashion show will take place on 11th March in Culloville Community Centre as well as an Easter raffle with all proceeds going to the very worthy cause. More fundraisers are in the pipeline and both Jamie and Darren are raising funds via idonate.ie.
The pair’s cycling training is in full swing and a customised fitness programme from well known personal trainer, Rodney Hanna, is helping Darren to reach tip top condition for the gruelling challenge.
“Coming from playing gaelic football for most of my life to cycling, it’s quite a different sport that utilises completely different muscle sets, so adjusting to riding for prolonged periods of time will be something of a challenge which I will have to adjust to,” says Darren. Jamie too admits that her relationship with intense training schedules has been non-existent before embarking on the challenge and that she is a complete novice when it comes to cycling. In the last few weeks however she has felt the benefits of her training programme which is helping to improve her fitness levels and target and strengthen the muscles required to cycle 800 miles.
Paying tribute to Darren’s dedication to the challenge, Jamie says “he has left no stone unturned in planning and coming up with new ideas for fundraising for KBRT.”
“By the time I join Darren, he will have cycled over 3000 miles solo!!!
“He has been spending every free hour, on the phone or emailing different organisation’s trying to spread the word and raise as much money as possible for the trust.”
Both Darren and Jamie are regularly updating their 2wheels2newyork blog on training progress and planning for the epic trip and for updates of upcoming fundraising events so to track the cycling duo’s journey keep an eye on the blog and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram search for 2Wheels2NewYork.