As per previous years, Rev-up4DSI set off from Joe Duffy’s BMW in Dublin but not before all the participants had been fed by Paul and the team from Larkin’s Stores in Dorset Street. Red Bull’s ‘Wings’ team were also on hand to quench the thirst of the 170+ gathered souls before they took to the roads on the three day adventure.
With the sun beaming down from high overhead, the mood was jovial as they made their way to Athy via Clane, Allenwood and Monasterevin. In Athy the second route sheet was handed out which led them on a merry route through Counties Laois and Kilkenny before arriving at the second checkpoint on the banks of the River Suir in Clonmel. With the third route sheet now in their hands they at last knew the final destination to be Cork….but not where in Cork!!
After riding from Clonmel towards Dungarvan on one of the best biking roads in Ireland, it was off to Fermoy via the very aptly named ‘R666′, the road of the Devil as the Sports bike riders christened it! Although a scenic road full of twists and turns, the harsh winter had destroyed its surface leaving it a tad bumpy in spots. After Fermoy it was onwards to Keary’s BMW Dealership in Little Island where the Management and Staff had laid on a buffet that could rightly have been deemed a banquet!
Once the Cork Gardai arrived it was back in the saddle en masse for a parade to the hotel, but there was still one small surprise in store! Heading out towards Cobh, the final port of call for the Titanic on that fateful night so many years ago, the riders basked in the early evening sunshine as the Garda Traffic Corps expertly kept the traffic away from the mile long cavalcade before depositing them all on a lonely quayside. This raised an eyebrow or two before a small car ferry loomed into view. Unbelievably, and with a fair bit of coercing, all 120+ bikes and their pillions fitted on in one go for the short hop across the river, as you will see from the photo’s of the event it was a sight to behold.
Arriving at the hotel, grins were resplendent on all faces present and after a BBQ and one or two beverages, tales, tall and otherwise rang out around the bar until the early hours although the DSI crew were kept busy reworking the next days route after discovering that the Rally of the Lakes was sharing some of the proposed route.
Day two featured the Ronan Pentony Motorcycles (RPM) www.rpmcycles.ie sponsored Poker Run with participants collecting cards at each of the days checkpoints. Checkpoint one was in Bantry in West Cork but to get there involved riding to Dunmanway, birthplace of Sam Maguire and the host town for the Munster 100 motorcycle races in 2010. Whilst this small town reverberated to the sound of high speed machinery last year the only sound to be heard early on that Sunday morning was the click of cameras as the riders posed for photo’s with the statue of ‘Sam’.
Back on the R586 to Bantry where the ‘Bay Run’ charity race was also taking place, the bikers soaked up the attention that their ‘propelled ponies’ attracted from the crowds gathered around the harbour before picking up the second route sheet of the day which directed them towards the fortified town of Macroom (once home to Admiral William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania).
As always on Rev-up4DSI the shortest route won’t be the one taken, time is always foresaken for scenery or the quest for ever better roads and that rang through on the route to Macroom! Taking the R584 via the Pass of Keimaneigh to Gougane Barra, through the pine tree lined valley with its sheer Sandstone walls almost touching the road in places, following the course of the River Lee to Inchigeelagh and on to the Castle gates in Macroom.
Bikers and ice cream seem to go hand in hand so after the obligatory break for a cone and indeed to collect the next route section, it was off once more, this time heading South West to Baltimore via Skibbereen. Bad weather had been forecast for the afternoon and it duly arrived as most of the riders pulled into Baltimore to collect the days final route and their final playing cards. In the 1600’s Baltimore was sacked by pirates with most of the town’s population being carried away, thankfully times have changed and much to the locals relief, the only things carried away from the small town overlooking Sherkin Island was full bellies.
The last section of the day entailed much of the N71 through Skibbereen and on to Clonakilty home of the World famous black pudding, before turning off for Kinsale via Ballinspittle. Ballinspittle is itself famous for its moving statue but with the weather getting ever worse, the only moving things were the bikes as they headed back to the hotel to get dry.
After dinner it was time for the annual awards and free to enter raffles which were very generously sponsored by Cotter Motorcycles www.cottermc.com with vouchers up for grabs at each table. The winners of the RPM Poker Run were Dermot Carroll, Wayne Hopkins and young Sam Marsh, all of whom received Shark helmets for their efforts. Crossans Motorcycles also weighed in with some special recognition awards that were given to participants who went above and beyond the call of duty and they were given to Joe Swords, Paul Goose and Aoife Walker.
Pole Position Travel are a long time supporter of Rev-up4DSI and every year sponsor a VIP weekend for two at the Valencia round of Moto GP. Any participant who raises in excess of €2,000 in sponsorship is eligible for the draw and the 2011 winner was Willie Purcell from Kildare.
Main awards were:
Biggest Corporate Donor: BMW Motorrad.
Most collected by an individual: Joe Swords.
Veteran Rider: Ian ‘Doc’ Halliday.
Youngest Participant: Jack Lemon.
Oldest Bike: Declan McGettigan.
Best Bike: Dave Veitch.
Furthest Travelled: Mariana Vidal (Sao Paolo, Brazil).
Special Recognition Award: Paul Phipps, Nevis Marketing.
Day three dawned like a typical Monday, wet and miserable, but the riders were undeterred as they said good bye to Cork. The rain continued to fall as the riders made their way to Lismore before tackling the legendary section of road known as ‘The Vee’. Normally the view from atop The Vee is one to behold with half the provence of Munster on view but with low cloud and driving rain, the vista was a tad obscured.
After another checkpoint in Clonmel and now with the sun putting in a long overdue appearance, the second stage herded the participants towards what some would call the home of hurling, County Kilkenny, before crossing the Carlow border into Bagenalstown for checkpoint number two.
Once out of Bagenalstown it was on through County Wicklow, rightly deemed ‘The Garden of Ireland’, where all participants gathered up for a parade to the Louis Fitzgerald Hotel on the N7, where their family and friends waited to be reunited with them.
Once all funds are realised, Rev-up4DSI 2011 will have raised in excess of €140,000 in much needed funding for DSI with the total figure raised in its six years now exceeding 1.1 million Euro’s!
Down Syndrome Ireland would like to say a massive thank you to BMW Motorrad Ireland, Pole Position Travel.com, Carole Nash Insurance, The Irish Motorbike & Scooter Show, Ronan Pentony Motorcycles (RPM), Cotter Motorcycles and Crossans Motorcycles for their very generous and ongoing support of Rev-up4DSI. Also the Rev-up4DSI media partners, Bike Buyers Guide, Road Racing Ireland and The Sunday World for affording the event such excellent coverage. Lastly DSI would like to thank all the participants who went to such great efforts to make the event the great success it was, it can’t happen without them!
Roll on May 2012!
