Each year many of us donate to charities either locally or overseas. However, have we ever stopped to think of the work and time that goes into planning and organising fundraising events? 
I recently sat down with one such organiser, Paddy Delap who is well known in Letterkenny and the county for fundraising over the years.
I asked him how he came up with the charity cycle which in now in its twenty second year. Paddy explained that he had been talking with two other friends, locals Vivian Doherty and Gerry Davenport, about what they could do after the passing of their friend Michael Toner who had lost his battle with cancer.
One of them suggested a cycle from Letterkenny to Sligo and back but after thinking about the logistics of this, they decided the best route would be to start in Sligo and finish in Letterkenny.
Now they needed a way to figure out how to get the bikes down to Sligo. They determined that the best and safest way was to put all the bikes in a lorry and transport them to Sligo.
As the word got out about the cycle, the men realised that there was huge interest in this. The next plan of action was to recruit a large group of volunteers to help out on the day.
Along with drivers for the safety vehicles and lorries to transport the bikes, volunteers were needed at refreshment points and cycle repair vehicles or for any other job that needed done on the day.
The Red Cross were asked to get involved in case of any injuries sustained on the day.
It was organised that the cyclists would finish up in the Community Centre, Letterkenny.
Paddy thinks that on the first year, about one hundred cyclists took part in the Sligo to Letterkenny charity cycle.
As time goes on, the annual event has become part of the cyclist’s calendar!
As the number taking part has grown steadily every year, it has brought with it much needed sponsorship.
Over the years Paddy estimated that €500,000 has been raised for cancer research.
I asked Paddy who was the oldest and the youngest person that have taken part in the cycle run. Paddy smiled and said
“I think that would be Phonsie Surples. He would usually go up the night before and begin himself on the Sunday morning, As for the youngest, that was Philip Deignan who went on to become a professional cyclist.”