WW 36th Charity 100 Mile Cycle: Sunday 4 May 2025

Welcome to our 36th Charity 100 Mile Cycle – in commemoration of Christy McDaid RIP.

Well done everyone who participated in, supported and helped with our 36th Charity 100 Mile Cycle.

Please see details of how to deliver your sponsorship/donations below and a selection of our photos from the cycle at end of this post!

Donations:

We can make a real difference and provide relief to help improve the lives of those who are most profoundly affected by poverty. All of the funds raised will go directly to the causes who are supported by the Willow Wheelers. You can read about some of our previous WW Mission Trips by clicking here.

You can download your “Sponsor-a-spoke” sponsorship card here: Willow Wheelers 36th Sponsor Card.

All donations, whether you cycle or not, will be gratefully received!

Donate through our website by following this link: https://willowwheelers.club/donate/ or simply click here:
Willow Wheelers: Charity Donation
Willow Wheelers: Charity Donation
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Please contact any member of the Committee or send an email to contact@willowwheelers.ie for bank details
Cash or cheques can be delivered c/o “Willow Wheelers” to Blackrock College or Willow Park School.

We are very grateful for all your support. If you have any questions please contact any of the Committee. This year we are again seeking corporate and other sponsors. If any of you are in a position to assist, please make contact with any of the WW Committee.

We are commemorating our Club Founder, the late Christy McDaid, on our 36th 100 Mile Cycle and we hope to welcome our current members and many of our previous members to join us for all or part of this year’s special event.

You can do the full event or your own Charity Cycle and join the peloton at any stage of the cycle (e.g. Kinnegad or Maynooth) and complete it with us. The key message is: everyone is welcome and we hope as many as possible can join us on our Charity 100 Mile Cycle!

Registration:

All participants must complete the WW Club registration form and provide it to the officials on the morning of the event. To save you time on the day of the event, you can download the form HERE and have it completed ahead of your arrival.

Cycling Ireland (“CI”) now require online registration for insurance purposes, which is free for CI members by following this CI/Eventmaster link: https://eventmaster.ie/event/xwk8iPyS91. There is a €10 one-day event fee for non-CI members. You will need an Eventmaster account and provide some personal details to get a CI event ticket and the process is outlined by following the CI link.

Summary of event timings:

The exact route varies slightly over the years, but typically, shape of the day (times are approximate) is as follows:

7:30am Mass in Blackrock College in keeping with tradition, followed by tea and biscuits in the teachers’ dining room
8:00am Submit registration form and sign-on (also note Cycling Ireland process above)
8:30am Departure from Blackrock College
9:15am Pheonix Park
11:30am Trim – GAA Club
1:30pm Kinnegad (Lunch) (80km) – Depart latest by 2:30pm
5:30pm Maynooth (joined by former club members)
18:30 Circle K Garage, near Rathfarnam Shopping Centre (joined by fifth form members)
19:30 Arrive back to Blackrock College (160km)

See below a more detailed information sheet of the arrangements on the day.

Enjoy your cycles, have fun and feel free to share photos of your cycles on Willow Wheelers’ Facebook.

Willow Wheelers Committee

Route:

The 100 Mile Cycle Route scheduled on Sunday 4th May 2025 (unchanged from last year’s route) is accessible as follows:

Strava Route Map: https://www.strava.com/routes/18565503
Garmin Route Map: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/100088373
A turn-by-turn schedule is available here: 100-Mile-Route

Our Chief Marshals this year are Alan McLean and Mairead Tobin. We will need as many marshals as possible this year, so volunteers are welcome. A meeting for marshals, drivers and the support team for the 100 Mile Cycle will take place in Willow Park School Cafeteria at 7:30pm on Wednesday 30 April. If you wish to become a cycling marshal, please contact Alan McLean, Mairead Tobin or any WW Committee member. A final marshals and support team briefing takes place at 8am at Blackrock College on the morning of the event. The Chief Marshals’ draft presentation is available here: WW-2025-100M-Marshals-and-Drivers-Briefing 30042025 v2.

A Safety and Etiquette Cycling note has been prepared by Mike Hannigan, one of our WW members. We recommend that you all take the time to read it: HERE.

Thanks to all our sponsors:

Sunny South, Nature Valley, Sysco, Dave Curran Design, Cadbury Chocolate, Begley’s Fresh Produce & Begley’s Simply Organic, J. Murray Transport, The BikeRack, Gleesons of Booterstown, Charlie Chawke, and Adrian Peter’s Newsagents.

Information Sheet for the Willow Wheelers 100-Mile Charity Cycle

Credit: Aine O’Donoghue

Some points to note:

Although it is called the 100-Mile Cycle, some cyclists may prefer to do part of the route whether it be 20km, 30 km or longer. All efforts are appreciated and valued.
Back-up cars are on hand throughout to carry cyclists and their bikes if needed.
It is important for safety reasons to keep the group together, if cyclists are falling behind it is safer to get into one of the back-up cars and re-join the peloton at the top.
A bicycle repair van accompanies the peloton and First Aid is also available throughout the event.
Enjoy the day!

The following information may be useful for first timers:

Time	Location /Activity	Notes
7.30am	Mass in Blackrock College	It has been a tradition, since the first 100-Mile, for those who wish to do so to attend the Mass to bless all participants (not obligatory to attend).
8.00am	Tea and biscuits in Blackrock Cafeteria	Members can use the bathroom at this time.
8.00am-8.30am	Registration in Blackrock college (area to the left of the building) and collect a 100-Mile T-shirt (can be worn on the cycle or kept as a souvenir)	Forms can be downloaded from the website HERE beforehand, then signed and handed in at the registration desk. Forms are also available on the day. Guest cyclists who are not current members of Cycling Ireland are asked to pay €5 (amount tbc) to cover Cycling Ireland insurance fee.
8.00am-8.30am	Put an extra set of clothes in one of the back-up cars. Back up cars will be clearly marked, take a note of the car and driver carrying your extra gear. (Mobile number).	Bring an extra set of warm cycling & rain gear, plus socks in case of rain/cold etc. Ensure you have enough water, and perhaps carry an energy bar. There will be plenty of food stops along the way.
8.30am	The cycle is launched and all cyclist move off. There is usually a ‘celebrity’ to launch the cycle.	It is important that everyone is lined up before the launch at 8.30 and ready to leave. The peloton will proceed down the avenue and out the Willow Park gate. At this stage, cyclists can be bunched up so keep an eye on cyclists in front of you.
8.30am-11.30am	On route to Trim	Marshals will be on route to give directions and provide information regarding road surface, traffic and other safety instructions.
ETA 11.30am	Arrival in Trim GAA Club Food and bathroom stop	Catering team on hand to provide tea/coffee/ water/juices, plus sandwiches/small cakes etc.
12.30pm (latest)	Depart Trim	Put used cups etc. in bins provided
ETA 13.30pm	Arrival in Kinnegad	Lunch can be bought in Pubs/ Café. If weather is good lunch can be bought in Spar and eaten on the green.
2.30pm	Depart Kinnegad for Enfield / Maynooth, Leixlip, Tallaght	There will be a stop at a SuperValu carpark along the way and another stop in Maynooth College.
	Meet up with the 5^th and 6^th Form cyclists. The whole peloton returns to Blackrock College.	The peloton will regroup and cycle back as one group led by the 5^th Formers. There will be food for the students and cyclists in the College dining hall

Thank you!

Your safety is our highest priority. It will be very important that each cyclist takes full responsibility for their own safety and our junior members will need appropriate adult supervision, preferably within the same family and year-group where possible. Please monitor the weather conditions and ensure that you have suitable clothes for the day.