A group of 17 brave Mayo women donned their helmets and cycling gear this September and set off on a mammoth 605km cycle from Mizen to Malin.

Westport Women On Wheels – or Westport WOW for short – undertook the four-day challenge to raise funds for Mayo Roscommon Hospice and Mayo Rape Crisis Centre. Comprising a mix of members from Westport Triathlon Club and the Covey Wheelers Cycling Club, the Westport WOW group set off on their Cork to Donegal route on September 4th. In preparation for the event, the women clocked up some serious mileage in training – more than 40,000km – travelling up and down the hills of Mayo and participating in cycling events and sportifs around the country.

The idea for the female-only cycle was the brainchild of Ironman athlete, Colette Sweeney of Westport Leisure Centre, who led the group of adventurous women. “When you’re part of a club and you all come together for a good cause, it brings the entire community together,” Colette explained before the event. “Mizen to Malin is a legendary journey across the length of Ireland, spanning 605km from the southernmost point to the northernmost point of the island. We’ve trained hard for the last few months, and despite the bad weather over the summer, we’ve always managed to get out as a group a couple of times a week on top of our individual training,” she continued.

The decision to do the famous cycle in the month of September was a strategic one, according to Colette. “We chose the first week of September to complete the cycle, in the direction of Cork to Donegal, as the prevailing winds are southerly at this time of year. So hopefully, if all goes to plan, we’ll have a little wind at our backs,” she said a few weeks beforehand with a smile.

To support the 17-strong Westport WOW team, visit https://www.idonate.ie/event/wowm2m

The Westport Women on Wheels cycle started in Mizen in Cork on September 3rd with a quick 26 kilometres to Schull (Cork), followed by four heavy days of cycling:

147km from Enniskillen to Malin in Donegal (September 7th)
147km from Schull to Charleville in Cork (September 4th)
157km from Charleville to Athlone (September 5th)
128km from Athlone to Enniskillen (September 6th)

Congratulations to all the women involved, what a spectacular achievement!