Paul set for 630km pedal

Over the past four years, West Clare Cycling Club’s Paul Edson has ridden his bicycle over 2,500 kilometres. He has pedalled from Dublin across northern France over the Alps and down to Nice. He has cycled the equivalent of Mount Everest twice.

The main purpose of all this cycling has been to raise funds for the Irish Hospice Foundation and over the past four years, Paul has been able to contribute nearly €20,000 to the charity through the generosity of the people of West Clare.

With 61 fellow Irish cyclists, from July 21 to 27, Paul will participate in his final IHF Cycle Challenge, 630km from Biarritz on the Atlantic Ocean to Narbonne Plage on the Mediterranean Sea.

This year’s route involves climbing some of the Tour de France’s oldest and greatest climbs in the Pyrenees, the mighty Col du Tourmalet at 2,115 m/6,939 ft, the Col Portet d’Aspet and the Col d’Osquich.

“Funds raised from the cycle will go towards the Nurses for Night Care Service. The Nurses for Night Care Service means that patients with conditions other than cancer – for example motor neurone disease, chronic kidney failure and advanced respiratory disease, can access a night nursing service which allows them to remain at home during their last days and, in some cases, facilitates their choice to die at home,” Paul told The Clare Champion.

Anyone who would like to sponsor Paul can do so at the The Family Store, Moore Street, Kilrush, or www.mycharity.ie/event/paul_edsons_event2013/.