A word with Ski Morgan

Post date: Jul 13, 2020 12:1:47 PM

Club Member Profile of the week:-

Ski Morgan pictured with his daughter Kaydi after been away for 10 days when Cycle Against Suicide rolls into Mullingar 2015

A word with Ski Morgan…

When did you first get into cycling?

It was a cycle called (Into the West Cycle Challenge) 2014 in aid of breast cancer. It was my first long-distance cycle. In 2014 it was the 20th anniversary of the cycle and to date the event has raised over one million euro for NBCRI!

The cycle sees participants cycle from Mullingar to Galway and back, a 300 km round trip over two days, in aid of the National Breast Cancer Research Institute (NBCRI).

I did it with a group of fantastic people Frank Finneran, Frank Morgan and Stephen Gibney and just loved it ever since.

What’s the best thing about being out on your bike?

The camaraderie in a group on a single cycle is great just to get away..

What is your training plan like, are you training for an event at the moment?

Well we were trying to train for the Cycle against Suicide 2020 but unfortunately due to the lockdown there's not much we can do right now. I'm trying to watch what I eat and tend to do a lot of walking.

What has been your best and worst experience on the bike?

The best experience on my bike was the cycle Into the West for breast cancer 2014. I didn't think I was able to do it. It was a massive achievement to arrive back into Mullingar.

My worst cycling experience was on the Cycle against Suicide when we cycled from Cork to Mizen head. It started lashing rain and about in 15 minutes it turned to hailstones and eventually turned into a mini blizzard the whole way out the Mizen head. I've never been so cold and I've never been so far away, it was definitely one of the worst times ever on a bike..

What is your advice to someone just starting out cycling?

My advice to someone starting out in cycling is start slow and build up, don't think just because you bought a bike you're going to cycle 100k. My other advice is go and buy the proper gear from the proper stores. Cheap means pain in the ass literally..

What's your favourite food to bring out on the bike?..

Sweets. Jelly babies, smarties all the high sugary things the great Gerry Duffy once told me when you're on a bike and need to eat something all rules go out the window, you can have a cheat day on a bike as you are burning so many calories it's when you get off the bike you have to be good!!

What are your top tips for bike maintenance?

Keep it clean, keep it oiled and get it serviced once a year. Try and do your first two services by a professional as this takes all the guesswork out of it. Steve Franzoni (OE) is top class and set me up on three Cycles against Suicide tours and all the other cycle’s I've done. He had the bike singing for me every time I dropped it into him.

When did you know you were a cyclist?

When I didn't get off the bike during the rainy sleet and snow in Cork... and cycling across the Glenties mountains in Donegal covered in snow, then I knew I was one of them...

If you were famous who would you be? Why?...

I would be me because I think we're all famous in our own way.. but I would love to be an actor because I think I'm a bit of a messer anyway.

Anything else you would like to add?

No!!..