Fort2Fort Tour DE Ronda follows on from successful Fort2Fort Camino Event in 2019 when 15 people completed 307km Camino Route from Porto to Santiago De Compostela and raised € 42,000 for M.U.H.F.
Here, Founder and organiser Sam Beamish tells us about the trip.
The Tour De Ronda Event has been re organised 4 times due to Covid 19 restrictions but on September 28th, a group of 16 people fly to Malaga to partake in 4 days cycling from Ronda – a mountaintop city over 2.5 times the size of Carrigaline.
The cycle will cover approx 300kms in 4 days- visiting the beautiful White Villages of Andalucia and a Blue Village Juzcar.
Juzcar, one of the small villages located in the beautiful, scenic Valle del Genal in the Serrania de Ronda, is the first ever ‘smurf town´ in the world.
The cycling will be challenging- with 3 different climbs of Puerto De Montejacque, standing at 720m above sea level and an iconic climb for Spanish cyclists and part of The Tour de Andalucia cycle route on many years.
Amazingly Day 2- will be called the “ Camino “ day as the exact Route matches the Camino Via Serrana route which runs from Gibraltar to Seville (through Ronda and Olvera) and on to Santiago De Compostela so it’s a great link to previous Camino Event. This route also encompasses 20kms of off road cycling on a never used Railway Track through 20 Tunnels on the Via Verde de La Sierra.
14 local cyclists- involving 4 Carrigaline Lions Club members – including Mark Ginn, Colm O’Rourke and Sam and Hilda Beamish and Carrigaline Business couple Wesley and Lorraine Taylor have been in training since Sept last year and are well prepared for the challenges of hills and heat.
The Magnificent 7 Team Members from 2019 Fort2Fort Camino event are again taking part and Camino Via Serrana will bring back memories of a tough but successful trip.
All funds raised are going to M.U.H.F- Mercy Cancer Care Centre Project. Dr. Derek Power- Consultant Medical Oncologist- who addressed the team on September 4th in Carrigaline Youth Centre, explained how funds raised would be used.
“We often only have a limited amount of time to talk to patients who are dealing with a diagnosis of cancer and when faced with cancer they can only take in so much information at any one time. This new Centre here at The Mercy Hospital will provide our patients and their families with a place that they can go in a non-clinical setting to receive support and advice before, during and after their treatment.” - Dr. Derek Power, Consultant Medical Oncologist, Mercy University Hospital
Travelling with the team is recently appointed M.U.H.F. C.E.O. Paschal McCarthy.
Sam Beamish- Carrigaline and District Lions Club and Fort2Fort Founder and Vice Chairman has taken on this project from inception and it’s now 90 weeks in planning.
The project has been backed by local sponsors - MC2 Accountants, Ronan Daly Jermyn Law Firm, Express Tyre Centre and Johnson and Perrott Motor Group.
Cycle Eco Friendly Gear and Team Eco Friendly Gear has been designed and produced from recycled Ocean materials by local company OceanR. https://oceanr.co/
To show your support, you can donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/TourdeRonda.
For more information on the Mercy Cancer Care Centre https://www.mercyhospitalfoundation.ie/appeals/the-mercy-cancer-care-centre/