Cycling 5,000km across the US

When Shane Maguire announced last April he was going to cycle 5,000km across the US in aid of motor neuron disease, he received more than a few raised eyebrows.

Too, the undertaking caused some sleepless nights for his parents, who gradually got behind the idea and were hugely supportive in the end.

When the primary school teacher left his home in Oldcastle, Co Meath, during the summer to start the journey, he sought to assuage any worries his mother Carmel may have.

“I remember leaving the house for the airport and my last words to my mother were, ‘I wouldn’t be taking it on if I didn’t think I was be able to do it’. Now, I’m not sure if I believed that myself, but I was trying to offer a bit of solace to her,” recalls Shane.

Regardless of his level of self-belief, Shane completed the challenge, cycling 5,058km from Oregon to New York, crossing 10 states in 32 days.

This journey however, was not as cut and dry as the above sentence would lead you to believe.

There was a lot of training and preparation, as well as the physical and mental grit needed, along with a bike repair job and a tip with a car to boot. Let’s start from the beginning, shall we?

The end and new horizons

Playing football with his club Oldcastle was always a priority for Shane, but having to contend with

“I had it in the back of my head for a while that when I gave up the football I’d do something that would challenge me in every sort of way, physically and psychologically,” explains Shane.

And so he came to the idea that he would cycle across the US. While undertaking this he thought, why not raise money for a good cause?

Shane decided to do so for the Irish Motor Neuron Disease Association (IMNDA).

Fortunately, no one in his family is directly affected by the disease, but his brother Paul was very friendly with the late Fr Tony Coote and so the Meath man chose this as his charity.

Of course, you can’t just take off and cycle across the US (well you can, but with limited success) there’s lots of preparation beforehand. Shane planned the route and covered off all the logistics.

For the first two weeks while crossing the west he had to have a definitive plan, as he would be passing through less towns. In the east, he could fly by the seat of his pants slightly.

As for training, well, based in south Dublin for work, Shane took to the bike for his weekly commute home to north Meath, where, as Shane puts it: “There’s no herd number in our house”, but his uncles on both sides of the family are involved in a variety of farm enterprises.

I had the intention to travel light in America

“In Dublin, I would cycle to school every day. Now, that isn’t a massive cycle, but on a Friday I’d cycle into school and then come 3pm, I’d hit the road home back to Oldcastle. That was about a 100km spin door-to-door. Then I’d cycle back up on a Sunday evening.

“I had the intention to travel light in America. So I was travelling pretty light on those trips home too. It was grand because I wasn’t bringing home any washing to my poor mother. That formed the basis for the most of my training. I got out into the Wicklow Mountains after school as well.”

Overcoming adversity

While Shane was crossing the US it was July, and at one point an intense heatwave swept the country, which for him meant getting up at 3am to cycle and finishing by 11am. On average, he cycled roughly 160km a day, with his longest outing being 270km.

At the start Shane says he was anxious about getting injured and a swollen knee to begin with almost put paid to his journey. However, after adjusting the seat of his bike this quickly cleared up.

The leg of the journey passing through Nebraska turned out to be a challenging time for Shane, from a broken spoke to getting hit by a car.

“I broke a spoke in Nebraska and at the time I wasn’t sure if it was going to cause other spokes to break. I was 300km away from the nearest bike shop. I had to cycle for 300km with a really wobbly wheel, I was just lucky enough it held up.

Next thing was the mirror collided with my hip, I managed to clip out of the bike, just quickly

“In Nebraska a couple of days later I got clipped by a passing car. The wing mirror collided with me on a main stretch of road, that was a bit of a shock,” he says. “The car was passing and I had a sense it was getting pretty close to me. Next thing was the mirror collided with my hip, I managed to clip out of the bike, just quickly. It could have been an awful lot worse.”

Thankfully, Shane came out relatively unscathed, bar a bruised hip, and was able to continue his cycle the following day.

On the home stretch he was joined by his mother and brother, who cycled across the George Washington Bridge with him to the New York city finish line.

Despite adversities to overcome, for Shane cycling across the US was a very positive experience.

It’s so wild, so remote and barren out west

“It sounds like a bit of a slog – and it was a slog – but there were moments when I was just so content out there on the bike watching the different landscapes and the amazing scenery America has to offer.

“It’s so wild, so remote and barren out west. It’s really breath taking particularly in the early mornings as the sun rose over the horizon, it was really beautiful scenery. As I came further east, I had the rolling hills and flatlands of Nebraska and Iowa.

“Please God some good will come of it for some families who are suffering and in need at the moment.”

Fundraising

Shane’s initial fundraising target was €5,000, which he surpassed before he left for the US. He has now raised nearly €23,000. Donations are open until 27 September. You can find Shane’s iDonate page here.