Trust and determination: Leitrim couple’s epic charity ride across Ireland
Rossinver couple Des and Sonja Keaney cycled 680km from Mizen to Malin on a tandem bike, raising funds for Irish Guide Dogs in a journey built on trust and teamwork.
A Leitrim couple completed an incredible challenge, cycling a total of 680km from Mizen to Malin to raise money for Irish Guide Dogs.
While cycling this distance would be difficult in any circumstance, what made the achievement even more impressive was that they completed it on a tandem bicycle.
Des and Sonja Keaney from Rossinver undertook the challenge, which began on May 16. The cause is close to their hearts as Des has Late Onset Retinal Degeneration and has lost his central vision. He received his guide dog, Paige, in 2020, who helps Des “every step of the way.”
“It was tough but at the same time we managed it. We cycled every step of the way which I can’t believe,” said Sonja.
The couple trained for months, cycling every other day and going to the gym to build muscle strength, but found the mental aspect of the challenge the most difficult.
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“The mental side was tougher than the physical side,” said Des, who also discovered parallels between training for the cycle and first getting his guide dog Paige, particularly in building a huge foundation of trust.
“The interesting thing about the teamwork was everything we had to work to develop on the bike was similar to what I had to develop with Paige. It was a lot of trust,” explained Des.
Sonja sat at the front of the tandem steering, with communication between the pair being continuous and vital.
The couple faced hardship along the way, with traffic noise proving disorientating and the chain falling off their bike at one stage, leaving them waiting over an hour for help. Their dedication to each other, and to completing the cycle, helped them overcome these and other mental challenges they faced.
“We were on the side of the road for about an hour and a half trying to fix it,” said Sonja. “We got sorted and the man offered to throw the bike in the back of the van. I didn’t even look at Des, I just said no!”
As well as supporting each other, the couple found strength in the camaraderie of the more than 70 people also taking part in the cycle and formed friendships.
“One of the lovely things was just the camaraderie and meeting other people who have sight issues,” said Sonja. “We’ve made connections that we can maintain.”
This sense of connection is especially important for Des, who described losing his sight as lonely and said he values shared experiences and conversations with others about blindness.
“What I want to do is to be able to pass on what it’s like and have people know that it’s not the end of the world. You can find workarounds and other ways to do things. Getting up on the back of a tandem is one of them,” he said.
Overall, the group raised about €180,000 for Irish Guide Dogs. It costs about €53,000 to raise and maintain a guide dog.
Des and Sonja do not plan to retire the tandem just yet, despite their huge achievement. They plan to take part in the Leitrim Glens Sportive in August, as well as the Trip to Tipp, which they will undertake with friends they made during the cycle for Irish Guide Dogs.
“For us at our age, it’s quite an achievement,” said Des. “It was a big objective for us and we were strong about what we wanted to do.”
They chose to complete the cycle on a push tandem rather than a battery-operated one, pushing themselves even further for a bigger challenge.
It is all part of a bigger picture for the couple, with guide dog Paige making a difference in their lives every single day. “Paige is helping me every day in different ways, the physical, the emotional and the social side of it. It’s on a daily basis,” said Des.
Completing the cycle was a dream come true for Sonja and Des, both physically and in being able to raise money and awareness for a charity that changed their lives. Their story reflects the determination, teamwork and resilience that carried them from Mizen to Malin, and that continue to guide them through everyday life.
Donations can still be made to Des and Sonja’s fundraiser online here.