Can you imagine cycling 350 kilometres? More to the point, can you imagine doing it in a foreign country in only six days?
Because that is exactly what Beverley Finnegan from Dundrum is doing and it’s all for a great cause.
Today Beverley is beginning what can only be described as the endurance test of her life in order to raise money for The Oesophageal Cancer Fund and spread awareness about Oesophageal cancer.
Her journey starts in the Cuban capital of Havana and will end up at the Caribbean Sea in Trinidad in six days, that is if all goes to plan.
Why is she putting herself through it? Well, this particular cause has a special place in her heart as she explained: “Oesophageal cancer hit our family back in 2006 when my mum, Iris, was diagnosed with the disease.
“It was a complete shock to the family, as she simply found that her food ‘stuck’ when she swallowed a few times, nothing that you would say was strange for a lot of people, but as she never experienced this sensation before, she felt it should be checked out, and thankfully she did.
“The months that followed were very tough on my mum, but she fought through it and has come out the other side,” she said.
Beverley and her trustee companion for Cuba, her bicycle.
But the coming week won’t be easy as Beverley admitted she has had to do a lot of training: “I had never cycled any great distance before, and if memory serves me correctly had not cycled in about 10 years!”
She added: “I started training towards the end of August, cycling sporadically about 10km at a time, then long cycles at the weekends.
“From September I started to cycle into work four times a week, this meant I was getting approximately 20km per day. I am still doing this now, even through the wind and the rain!”
So far Beverley has raised over €1,500 which is apparently going to be doubled by her employer Google when she is finished.
For further information on Beverley’s cycle or Oesophageal cancer, please visit the Oesophageal Cancer Fund website.
