On an overcast Saturday morning in April, 9 members of the Avolon TRIBE and a few friends travelled to Blessington Lake in County Wicklow to participate in the 12th annual Ronald McDonald House Charity Cycle.

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]On an overcast Saturday morning in April, 9 members of the Avolon TRIBE and a few friends travelled to Blessington Lake in County Wicklow to participate in the 12th annual Ronald McDonald House Charity Cycle.  The Cycle offered a further opportunity for Avolon to support the Ronald McDonald House Charity after a number of Avolon teams took part in their Cooking4Families programme last year.

Of the three distances available (25km, 50km and 100km), the majority of the Avolon Wheelers opted for the 50km route with two brave participants taking on the 100km route.  The 25km and 50km challenges began at midday and featured laps of the Blessington Lake.  The ominous clouds didn’t deliver any rain and intermittently allowed the sun to shine through on what was a pleasant cycle route, if a bit more hilly than some anticipated.  The 100km cycle involved over 1,300 metres of ascents taking in both Sally Gap and Wicklow Gap.  Those on the longer route didn’t have as much luck with the conditions as the Irish weather provided for four seasons in the day making for a challenging ride.  Any complaints about the cold and the wet were however outweighed by the beautiful Wicklow countryside scenery.  All the participants completed their respective routes and made it back for a well-earned burger and ice cream!

Ronald McDonald House Charity provides accommodation for families of seriously ill children undergoing treatment at Crumlin Hospital in Dublin. The House enables families to stay together so that parents can be with their sick child at what is a very traumatic time for them all. The Cycling4Families event helps to raise money for the maintenance of the House and ensures that the cost to the families to stay in the House remains as low as possible.  Overall, Avolon raised just under €2,000 for the Ronald McDonald House Charity through a combination of jersey sponsorship and individual cyclist sponsorship for the event.

More information about Ronald McDonald House is available on their website www.rmhc.ie[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”6002,6003,6004,6005,6006″ img_size=”130×87″ el_class=”jvGallery”][/vc_column][/vc_row]