On the 18th of September, we arrived at the Doyle Dupont Hotel in Washington DC from the waters of the Chesapeake Bay – travel-stained, weary, fatigued but also bouyed up by the growing realisation that we had done it! We had cycled thousands of miles across the continental United States, from Seattle on the west coast to Washington DC in the east.
We were received a great welcome thanks to our gracious hosts at the Doyle Dupont, particularly manager Scott Dawson. The celebratory bash was organised by Irish businessman Shane Young and was also attended by representatives from the Irish Embassy in DC, Myles Geiran and Martina Monaghan. There was also an old friend in attendance – Carol Rascon, who we had first met all the way back in Butte, Montana!
Food and drink was complimentary so the famished Irishmen ate and drank their fill most gratefully! Speeches then followed, from Shane and Scott, praising the whole team for their achievement in cycling across the country and raising well over $30,000 for cancer charities. Myles from the embassy followed up with a speech of his own and presented the cyclists with green jerseys from the Irish Embassy!
The generous guests also donated to the charity and $500 were raised, which was a pleasant surprise! All in all it was a great welcome for the team and it was especially gratifying to get official recognition from the Irish Embassy.
We’d like to thank everyone who helped to organise the night and those who came out to support us, and everyone who supported us before and during the trip. Your generosity made this endeavour possible.
Thank you,
Mark, Eoin, William, Rob and Donal.
