Sixty five riders signed on for this years 50 in 4. The route planned was basically a figure of eight, heading out towards Maynooth and then across to Kilmessan, followed then with a loop around to Summerhill and straight back in through Dunboyne.

The weather was dry throughout and there was a slight north easterly wind. The early part of the route was covered without much incident, and thanks to a number of riders from the Dublin Wheelers, who rode ahead to the junctions and provided help in negotiating a safe passage. In Kilmessan the third puncture of the day held things up, but some riders decided to roll on and in doing so missed the turn at Bective and ended up doing some additional mileage before rejoining the original route in through Summerhill. This led to a number of groups forming along the return leg and the headwind kept the groups tight and controlled all the way back to the park.

Many thanks to Willie Marks for getting out of bed on such a cold morning to assist with the sign on. Liz Mc Kenna had arranged for riders to make a voluntary donation for the Children’s Hospital Crumlin charity and €445 was collected which was very much appreciated.

I would like to thank John Heery for organizing this very enjoyable event also his colleagues in Dublin Wheelers for marshaling the course.

Gay Farnan