Outstanding Achievement Finalist: Kinkade’s solo cycling heroics

NOT many Cavan people can claim to be listed in the Guinness Book of Records but Tullyvin man Mervyn Kinkade is one. Last July, at the age of 43, Mervyn set a new record for ultra-cycling in the unsupported Cross Country category for N-S Ireland (Malin Head to Mizen Head).

The citation reads: “On July 23-24, 2023 Mervyn Kinkade rode from Mizen Head visitors center to Malin Head viewing area: 352.7 Miles (567.6 Km) in 0d:19h:30m for an average speed of 18.09 mph (29.11 kph).”

It certainly sounds more straightforward when written down than it is! Mervyn was up at 5.30am and started his cycle from Malin Head at 9.08am, eventually reaching Mizen Head after 19 and a half hours of cycling, breaking the previous record by two hours.

Making this feat even more impressive was the fact that Mervyn had to overcome many challenges along the way, not least very heavy rain which led to flooding on certain sections of the road.

“The heavy rain on the drive up was off putting but not enough to put off the attempt. By 9.08am I was on the bike and ready to start my attempt. Thankfully the rain has eased off at this point,” he recalled.

“However soon after this it was heavy rain again for the next 200k so saw very few cyclists on the road which is unusual on a Sunday. The wet weather certainly added to the mental challenge.”

With service stations mainly closed after 11pm, he had to stop at one point to fill his water bottles with a garden hose! “The road surfaces and lots of stop junctions also impacted the overall time,” he explained.

“This was my longest unsupported ride to date and likely to be in the future… I don’t think I would have been able to cycle home!” With a light failing on his bike, he powered on, with the last leg of the journey, in Co Cork, the toughest of all.

“It’s been said before but don’t under-estimate Cork, the challenge only starts when you arrive there. Unsupported is a very different animal to having a support crew in many different ways. It gets very dark and spooky when you’re the only one on the road in the little hours of the morning.”