Cyclists take to roads to help local charity

Cyclists take to roads to help local charity

9 October 2013

SEVERAL hundred cyclists took to the roads last Saturday as part of the Granite Challenge to raise funds for Action Mental Health.

The event was one of a number being organised across the Province as part of World Mental Health Day celebrations.

Since 1963, Action Mental Health has provided life-changing services, helping people to recover from the effects of mental ill-health in Downpatrick and across Northern Ireland.

In the organisation’s 50th anniversary year, many of its staff who are keen cyclists, were in training for last weekend’s 55-mile Granite Challenge.

The event, which was supported by La Lanterne Rouge Cycling Club and Mourne Cycles, saw cyclists head off from Action Mental Health’s base at the Ballydugan Road in Downpatrick at 10am.

The posse of cyclists headed via Tyrella towards Dundrum, then it was along the coast road through Newcastle and on towards Annalong.

It was then up into the Mournes and past the Silent Valley before the climb up to Spelga where the cyclists were greeted with tea and home-made tray bakes.

The return journey to Downpatrick was via Bryansford, Maghera and Clough, with a hot bowl of home-made broth waiting for the cyclists at the Ballydugan Road.

World Mental Health Day is observed annually on October 10 to raise public awareness about mental health issues, with the latest statistics indicating that mental ill-health affects nearly 12 percent of the world’s population, with the prevalence becoming increasingly important in Northern Ireland.