John's Ambulance to Cycle's rescue

An appeal for paramedic support for Saturday's Crumlin Hospital Cycle in aid of the Ollie's Little Heart Appeal was sorted yesterday when Ray Bryan and the South Kildare St John's Ambulance unit came on board, writes Brian Byrne.

The Cycle has been organised in association with Kilcullen Cycling Club, and the numbers signed up have been such that it may now become an annual event. Up to 300 cyclists are now expected on the day.

Noel and Katrina O'Connell, who set up the fundraising appeal after their son Ollie was born in March with major heart problems that have necessitated many operations since, say the Cycle grew in eight weeks from a suggested run of 20/30 people to Wexford to what it has become for next Saturday.

To eliminate long registration queues on Saturday, participants are asked bring an envelope with their name and contact details (email/phone number) and their sponsor card or donation and place it in buckets provided at both starts and at finish.

"This will make life easy on the day and no long waits to register," Noel says. "The details will be logged for our use only and not shared. We will only contact people with info regarding the outcome of cycle and regarding next years event."

For those who can't make it on the day and want to donate, there's a bank account for the appeal: Sort Code 90 11 40; Account 11128325; Reference 4500 Ollie.