Andy’s epic 400km bike ride in 12 hours for NHS charities

Andy McInroy (45) who lives in Park and works at Seagate, undertook the epic 400km challenge inside his garage at home on Thursday, and the event was live-streamed on Facebook.

Andy took on the cycle ride of his life after his plans to take part in the Wicklow 200km cycling event in June were thwarted when it was cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Given the training that had been done for it it seemed a shame to let that go to waste,” he said. “There is this guy in Scotland, Mike Beaumont who cycled around the world in 80 days and he suggested people do a 400km challenge on their cycle trainers.”

Andy. who is originally fro Ayrshire but who has been living in Derry or 20 years, took up cycling as a serious pursuit five years ago and has completed the Inishowen 100 three times and several other major cycling challenges along the north coast, the Sperrins and across Ireland. But his most recent challenge dwarfed all of these. “I have never cycled anywhere near that distance before,” he said.

During the challenge, Andy used the virtual world cycle programme Zwift, which creates a realistic journey and simulates levels of difficulty in terms of terrain such as hill climbs and descents.

“I had been using that platform for a while and when we live streamed the actual event people could follow it and I had good support along the way.

“This was the equivalent of cycling from Derry to Cork. I thought it would take me 16 hours and I knew I would have to take some breaks. I planned out four hour blocks of cycling.

“The day came on Thursday and I had a 4am start so I got up at 3am and got the live stream hooked up and there were a few other people doing the challenge in Scotland and England online.”

Fuelled by bananas, chocolate bars and salty soup, Andy’s pedal power once he did start surprised everyone, including himself.

By lunchtime he had already passed the halfway mark and had 160km left to go. “I was still feeling reasonably fresh and by 3 o’clock I was sitting at 10 hours and 330 kms. It was then I thought I could possibly go under 12 hours if I really pushed on, and there was great support online. I finished it in 11 hours and 51 minutes, not including breaks. I was delighted with that.”

As indeed were Andy’s wife Roisin and teenage children Finn and Rosie, who cheered him on along the final stretch.

“My wife handed me a very welcome glass of cold beer when I finished. It felt great!

“The final effort took a lot out of me. My legs were tired, my hands were very numb. When I came off the bike I was really cold for three or four hours after, I couldn’t get warm despite taking a bath and drinking hot drinks. I didn’t warm up until 9 o’clock at night but I slept well that night.”

Andy said the support he received from family, friends and other people really helped spur him on. “Not only did that support raise a great amount for charity but it was really important for me, and it’s something very positive. I couldn’t have sat that long on the bike without people coming on the live stream.”

The money raised will go to NHS Charities Together, which raises funding for healthcare services over and above the governments baseline funding in the UK.

“At this time they are supporting nurses’ accommodation, care workers on the frontline that need help and support, including mental health support, and they have done a lot of work with things like decorating children’s wards, providing art and games and toys. It’s a great cause,” Andy said.

Andy said he was delighted and very grateful to all those who have helped him surpass his original target of £1 per km. By the weekend his efforts had raised over £2,300. “The support that came in was incredible,” he said.

A few days on and Andy - who used up 7,500 calories during the event - is recovering well, and now plans to take a little break to give himself a chance to fully recover.

But he plans to be back on the saddle soon and out on the road once the COVID restrictions end.

“I always like to challenge myself and the first time I did 100kms on a bike I thought that it was a major milestone so I’m delighted with this.”

To donate to Andy’s fundraiser go to: www.uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AndyMcInroy