Cork motorcycle enthusiast Eugene takes on mammoth Route 66 Motorcycle Challenge to raise funds for Children's Health Foundation
For Eugene Lynes, the Route 66 fundraiser has become part of the rhythm of each year. What first began as an interest in the iconic American route gradually turned into a long running commitment to raising funds for sick children and their families through Children’s Health Foundation.
Based in Charleville, Co Cork, Eugene will take part in his fifth Route 66 challenge this year, travelling across the United States by motorcycle alongside fellow fundraisers in support of Children’s Health Foundation.
“I think 2016 was my first one,” he recalls. “I knew a guard in the motorcycle division in Templemore who was doing Route 66 and he encouraged me to take on the challenge. I wanted to do the route anyway, and obviously Temple Street was a good cause to do it for.”
Since then, he has returned year after year.
“It is a fantastic experience,” he says. “Every day is different and every year is different, even though a lot of the people going are probably the same each year. There are always a few new people as well.”
Unlike many participants, Eugene says he had no direct personal connection to Temple Street or Children’s Health Foundation before becoming involved.
“No, not at all,” he says. “I just wanted to give back.”
What kept him returning, however, was seeing first hand how the fundraising makes a difference.
Every September, before participants set off on the Route 66 challenge itself, they visit the hospital to see where funds raised through the event have gone.
“They take us into the hospital and they tell us where the money went,” Eugene explains. “They show us the equipment that was bought and sometimes we get to speak to patients who benefited from it. So we do see where the fundraising goes and the end result of it.”
That experience, he says, leaves a lasting impression.
“You hear some of the stories from the children in the hospital and then you realise this needs to be done.”
The Route 66 challenge itself is demanding. Participants spend long days travelling across multiple states, often in intense heat, with early starts and hours on the road each day.
Eugene still remembers his first trip clearly.
“It was extremely long, extremely tiring and very compressed,” he says. “We left Dublin, got to Chicago, collected the bikes, sorted insurance and rentals, and then the following morning we were on the road again. With jet lag and everything, it was extremely tough. But totally enjoyable.”
Participants travel in smaller groups throughout the challenge, covering long distances before arriving at their next overnight stop.
“We go out in groups of twelve,” he explains. “We leave in the morning and whatever we end up doing that day, once we get to the location that night, that’s the target.”
Days typically begin early.
“We’d be up around six or half six in the morning, have breakfast and hit the road around half seven,” he says. “We might drive for two or three hours, stop for coffee or fuel, and along the way we’ll stop off at different sites. Somebody might want to see the Grand Canyon or somewhere else along the route, so there’s flexibility there too.”
While the days are long, Eugene says the camaraderie among participants becomes one of the most memorable parts of the experience. “That’s a huge part of it,” he says.
Away from Route 66 itself, Eugene has also spent years organising local fundraising events in Ireland, including an annual climb of Carrauntoohil which has now been running for a decade.
“I organise a challenge to climb Carrauntoohil where people get sponsorship cards and raise money that way,” he says. “We’d have two or three experienced guys helping to guide people up and back down again.”
Depending on the year, the fundraiser has raised anywhere between €3,000 and €8,000.
This year, Eugene also organised a motorcycle fundraising run in memory of a friend who passed away last year, bringing dozens of bikers together in Charleville.
“We had sixty or seventy motorcycles do a run into Charleville,” he says.
Fundraising on the scale required for Route 66, he admits, is not easy.
“It is difficult,” he says. “For myself, I normally do one main event each year, like the climb of Carrauntoohil, and that might raise four or five thousand euro. Then businesses I deal with might sponsor me as well, and I pay the balance myself.”
By trade, Eugene works as an electrician, balancing work with the training and preparation needed ahead of each challenge.
“We do training days where we’d spend three or four hours riding together in groups,” he says. “You want to be reasonably fit and fully hydrated before you go out there because it is a tough challenge.”
Still, despite the scale of the undertaking, he says participants make sure there is enjoyment along the way too.
“We do have some fun as well,” he laughs.
Looking back on nearly a decade of involvement, Eugene believes the commitment shown by fundraisers year after year deserves recognition.
“It is a huge challenge and a huge commitment from people,” he says. “There’s great credit due to everybody involved.”
And for Eugene, the reason for continuing remains straightforward.
“I do see the need for the equipment,” he says. “If it’s not fundraised for, you would wonder where it comes from.”
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