Funeral director gets on his bike for charity

Peter Mulholland will be among the participants in the South Down Cycle Ride in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care, which takes place next Saturday (September 11) over a 30km route between Castle Ward, Ardglass and Strangford.

For the local participant, the event will also mark a milestone on the path back to fitness after health problems kept him off the road.

“Until last year, I hadn’t been on a bike for about 14 years. The last time I was on it I did a sponsored cycle from Banbridge to Belfast as part of the Maracycle. I started doing it seriously last July and have now cycled over 3,000 miles in the last 13 months.

“I have lost about 5 stone in 18 months. In the summer, people were noticing that I had lost a lot of weight and asked how I did it. I would talk about the cycling and how many miles I was doing and they would ask if I was doing it for charity,” Mr Mulholland explained.

“I wasn’t at the time, but that put the idea into my head. A couple of weeks ago I read in the newspaper that Marie Curie was doing this run and thought my health could benefit and the charity could benefit if I put a little more effort in.

“Marie Cure has helped many, many families throughout Northern Ireland. In my line of business, I hear first hand accounts of the wonderful work they do. There are many people out there who would be happy to contribute and I am hoping to raise as much money as possible.

Mr Mulholland added that while he is confident in his ability to complete a 30km cycle, the terrain for the sponsored challenge is likely to be hillier than his regular routes from Carrickfergus to Larne, Belfast or Lisburn, “but the sponsorship will be an extra motivation”.

Supporters can contribute sponsorship by calling into Mulhollands funeral home at Irish Quarter South or visiting http://original.justgiving.com/petermulholland