Glenavy held their annual Francie Doone cycle last Sunday (25th) in aid of Chest, Heart & Stroke NI. After a fine month of good weather, things turned for the worse and the cyclists were faced with a morning of rain and a lively breeze around the shores of Lough Neagh. If the brave cyclists who turned up, had decided not to bother because of the heavy rain- they would have been forgiven. However forty four turned up and were determined to brave the elements for this worthwhile charity. Again, this year gave the cyclists an option of completing a fifty mile or shorter twenty mile trek.

The route saw the cyclists leave Glenavy and weave a their way through Crumlin towards Aldergrove airport and onto Donore Point. From there they swung left and made their way southwards (into a brisk breeze) to the Gate Inn outside Aghalee, where they were met with a very welcome cup of tea or coffee and lots of sustaining snacks. From there the twenty mile cyclists made their way back to the Glenavy club house and the hardy fifty milers persevered on towards Aghagallon. From there they went towards Moira and came round in a loup back to the Gate Inn and then onwards to the Glenavy clubhouse.

Although the weather was a challenge, the spirit of the cyclists wasn’t diminished, adopting the attitude ‘when you’re wet your wet!’ and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the run and craic. Thankfully everyone made it home safely and the big winners were Chest, Heart & Stroke NI. Like all fund raising, to make these events a success you need the support and help from the local business community. We would like to thank Daily Fresh produce, Spar Glenavy, Lough Construction and Tesco Crumlin for their support in helping make this event the success it was and we look forward to working with them again.