Two Celbridge lads raised well over double their target on cycle to Geneva in aid of children's charities.
Their gruelling cycle saw them take on the Alps in the stifling heat and take a detour due to a fault with Google Maps. The pair were determined to raise as much money as possible for the Laura Lynn, Ronald McDonald House, and Childline.
Sean and Lorcan grew up together and were able to egg each other on when they are physically and mentally exhausted. However, they admit it might be a while before they get back up on their bikes again.
Read more: Determined Celbridge lads start gruelling cycle to Geneva in aid of children's charities
Sean told Dublin Live that they hadn't planned to be making the long journey during a Europe wide heatwave but they quickly learned to adapt.
He said: "Overall it was just great craic. The heat is definitely something that we didn't anticipate. It was just so hot. You would get up at 5:30am somedays and get on the bike until 12. It was tougher than we expected.
"Other days we were cycling through valleys and the heat wasn't too bad. There were a few days where we had to stop with headaches. We would pour water on our heads. It was way hotter than we have ever dealt with before."
"There were a huge amount of people asking what we were doing because we had the Irish flag on the back. A lot of times one of us would be in a shop and the other person would mind the bikes. We would stick out like a sore thumb because we were dirty and just worn out.
"People would come up and ask about the trip. They would tell us something local about the area or tell us things you wouldn't know."
Lorcan said: "On one of the really hot days. A guy came up to us in France and told us that there was a river and spot for us to jump in. We took our lunch and headed down there one day. A lot of people were very interested in what we were doing. People were very welcoming."
The biggest challenge saw the lads have to go over the Alps not once but twice due to a Google Maps mishap.
Sean said: "To get back on the bike after already going uphill biking the day before was tough. Our bodies were already in recovery mode. Your body is trying to process it. The weather was crap as well. We couldn't even take a nice photo at the top because of the rain.
"That for me was mentally and physically really tough. We were just pushing, pushing and pushing. It looked like we had been going through valleys and stuff but when we looked a little bit closer. We saw that it included a trail that was cheating. We knew we were going to to get back over the Alps because we had done it before."
Sean said: "People have just been so generous. It's insane for something we just thought up a couple of months ago. Whenever you mention it, we get people coming out of the woodwork. The world is really small when you start to pedal."
Lorcan said that seeing Geneva after three weeks of thinking about it is something he will remember forever.
He said: "It was a real sense of achievement. Finally getting there and looking at the map was really special. Coming around and seeing the mountain. It was unreal. There was a great buzz around the place.
You can still donate to their fundraising pages here.
Read next:
Huge amount of MDMA seized as woman in 50s arrested and released without charge
Human poo floods into Council flat through sink and 'destroys' property
Free weekly kids movies in outdoor cinema in Temple Bar launched by DCC
Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletterto get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox.
