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In 2003 a small group of Pfizer colleagues decided to organise a Charity cycle from Cork to Galway with the beneficiary being the CCPI. They gathered a small team of volunteers most of them being employees of Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals, to help with this task. They set about putting together the logistics behind this having never had any experience in such an event before. Garda Escorts were secured, permits had to be arranged, accommodation had to be sought, transportation for bikes & for participants back to Cork, refreshments for the two days and much more had to be sourced. The list was endless and the task daunting but they persevered.They succeeded spectacularly and the first event kicked off from the City Hall in Cork on a sunny June morning. The date selected was ominous being Friday the 13th but it turned into a lucky day as the sun shone and all cyclists arrived safely in Limerick after 65 miles & pit stops at Mallow and Charleville. Accommodation in Limerick was secured in Courtbrack Hostel & Mary immaculate College which also safely stored all bikes overnight. A meal was provided in Dolan’s Warehouse in limerick and a pint (or three) was had afterwards.
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Saturday morning brought together sick heads(on the steps of Mary Immaculate), aching limbs and tender ‘sitting areas’ and although everyone groaned when they got back in the saddle the next morning it was all quickly forgotten as, after being given a send off by the Mayor of Limerick, we headed out the Ennis road. Stops at Ennis and Gort along the way helped refresh people and the now legendary windy coast road into Galway made the last few miles into the final destination a tough journey. However when we cycled around Eyre Square in unison the elation from all involved was evident. Most participants were never on a cycle or event like this before and the sense of achievement was immense. There was much back-slapping and hugging going on as we loaded our bikes onto two articulated trucks to be transported back to Cork and Dublin. There were many among us who said they wouldn’t mind if they never saw their bike again!!
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A great nights revelry was had with the main venue being’ the Quays’ pub in Shop Street. The bus home the next day was a reminder to all of how far we’d travelled both as cyclists and as a group, trying to do what we could to help others less fortunate than us. Now all we needed was to collect all the sponsorship money and start thinking about Cycle 2004!!..........
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We have come a long way since then and with your support have grown from 60 cyclists that first year to 300 hundred cyclists last year. We have learned a great deal about organising cycles since then and have put it all into practice improving all aspects of the weekend year on year until we are now regarded (by the cycling fraternity) as one of the best organised charity cycling events of the year. We have further improvements planned for this year.
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