Meet (some of) the Cyclists…

CYCLIST	Profile	Cycling Experience	How much of “Istanbul to Ireland” ?
Gearoid Pierse	37 years old from Listowel in County Kerry, Ireland.	Gearoid took to recreational cycling after his hopes of mainstream cycle racing glory fell at the first fence many years ago. Battlehardened by a number of long distance tours, keep him well fed and out of the sun and he's actually grand to talk to!	Plans to do the entire 8 weeks.
Klaus Naundorff	38 years old from Germany, currently working as an I.T. consultant in Switzerland. He’s been on a number of tours with Gearoid and has saved us all on numerous occasions as he’s the only person who knows how to fix a buckled wheel!	Regular recreational cyclist with a number of years experience in mountain bike racing and long cycle tours. Among the tours he has done are: 2003: Finland to Italy (2,300 km’s) 2005: Slovakia to Germany (1,500 km’s) and several tours up the major climbs of the tour de France.	Plans to do the entire 8 weeks.
Linda Rothwell	27 years old from Bunclody in County Wexford, Ireland.	Regular Recreational cyclist: 2005: Grupont to Charleroi, Belgium (200kms) 2007: Coffs harbour to Sydney (700kms)	Plans to do 5 weeks in total – omitting the mountainous stages of Italy, Switzerland and Wales.
Cathal Heneghan	27 years old from Clogherboy in County Galway. He is known as an honest punter but cycle tours seem to expose a “dark horse” side to his character!	Originally Cathal’s sporting destiny was supposed to be pairing with fellow Killereran Clubman Padraig Joyce on the Galway senior football team. However, a series of cruel twists of fate inverved in the form of wine, women and song………. As well as spending “countless weekends” cycling around the Wicklow mountains from is exile in Dublin, Cathal has done the following tours: 2003: Finland to Italy (2,300 km’s) 2005: Ukraine to Slovakia (700 km’s)	“At least two weeks”. He’s let us know which two “closer to the day”.
Garry Lyons	28 year old from Co. Galway, currenly living in London. Conspiracy theories suggest that he doesn’t mind who wins races so long as it’s “someone from the County”.	Garry has undergone a complete metamorphosis in recent years to become the typical London-based cyclist: loads of flashy gear for the 2 hour train ride to get him to a less congested road! He does have some serious credibility amongst “real” cyclists, though, having been “there or there abouts” for the top honours on a 700 km tour with Cathal, PJ and Gearoid in 2005.	Another Galwayman who will “let us know closer to the day”. Says he will do about 2 weeks.
PJ O’Thuairsg	28 year old from Connemara. He’s currently head of the Irish speaking community on the street he lives in in Durham, England.	Bought a new bike and carrier back in 2005 and had a “baptism of fire” in 2005, when he joined Cathal Heneghan, Garry Lyons and Gearoid Pierse on the 700km’s from the Ukraine to Slovakia. A shrewd operator, he has been building up on physical firepower and has vowed that “no Kerryman is going to make me a whipping boy on a cycle ever again”.	After he failed to get the tour to go by Connemara, he is reserving comment as to exactly what section he will do.
Douglas O’Thuairsg	PJ’s brother. IT Consultant working in England.	Wales 2005 and apparently around the hills of Shrewsbury every weekend since!	Pencilled in for a week in France and England / Wales.
Paul Pierse	25 year old from Listowel in County Kerry. Apparently he is already training in exile in Cork!	Paul was battling for the top honours for the first week of the 2,300km cycling trip from Finland to Italy in 2003. Nature intervened in the form of a strained ankle tendon meaning he had to content himself with being out of the reckoning for the jersies. This goes against his nature and will be aiming to set the record straight this time round. A patient punter, he has a "slowly, slowly catchy monkey" philosophy to reeling in rivals for the top honours.	The first 3 or 4 weeks are a “distinct possibility” for Paul. He’ll also join in for the last 25km from Tralee to Listowel!
Trevor Alcorn	A 30 year old Meathman who has been supposedly been seen on a bike around his home in the fields of Athenry.	Trevor was a relative unkown in terms of cycling prowess until in 2005 he completed an epic journey from Brussels to Dublin (1,000 km)	Flight booked for Instanbul, Trevor will be doing “at least the first 3 weeks”.
Maire Kolb	Has the energy of a teenager but as a true lady, she refuses to reveal her age!!	Recent graduate from cycling to and from school, to now tackling 100km bike rides along the river Neckar in Germany!! She has yet to be tested in the hills, but has some great places near her to practice this summer!	Maire & co are pencilled in for Luzern all the way to Paris and maybe beyond!! She is hotly tipped to win the "home" stage into Basel, which will be passing briefly on the German side of the river Rhine.
Micheal Pierse	Micheal is going to be coaxed home from his Australian exile to finally take his place amongst Listowel’s cycling Greats.	Was bounced into cycling 300km’s in the searing heat over 5 days along the Mekong river delta with Gearoid back in 2004. They had bought the bikes brand new for 40 euros in a street market in Ho Chi Mihn city. He vowed then and ever since “never again”, but we don’t believe him.	Has not said no to the first 3 weeks.
Sean Pierse	Sean sees this as his belated chance to cycle in a “real race” on the European continent.	A late convert to cycling, Sean assures us that much like Saint Pauls’ conversion on the road to Damascus, Sean will be converted to become a member of the cycling fraternity “somewhere between Paris and the Normandy beaches”.	Has commited to the week from Paris in France to Bath in England.
Risteard Pierse	Risteard is a jack of all sports: running, swimming, walking, football and has at 43 developed a sudden desire to be a master of cycling. Watch this space!	Risteard dusted off his Puegot bike (yes, Puegot used make bikes back in the 70’s) to join Gearoid for the 10 km’s from Athea to Listowel on the 2005 Moscow to Meeno trip. After some “refreshments” in John B. Keane’s pub, he wanted more, not less, cycling. To his own and – well, everyone’s – amazement he made it within a whisker of Meeno (2 km’s to be exact) before succumbing to exhaustion. He now wishes to redeem himself in Wales and banish the enduring image of the gaunt figure he was at the back of his wife’s car in Meeno in 2005.	The possibility of a family holiday to accompany him in an ambulance – sorry, I mean people mover – for the week in Wales is now probable rather than possible.

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