Mammoth 1,000 mile motorcycle challenge raises more than £3,000 for STEPS

A County Derry man who took on a mammoth challenge earlier this summer – a 1,000 mile charity motorcycle ride around Ireland in a day – has raised £3,510 for a local mental health charity.

Darren McKinney began his journey, in aid of Draperstown-based STEPS, in Limavady on June 17.

His solo trip took him through the likes of Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Naas, Cork, Killarney, Galway and Sligo before returning back to his starting point, all within 24 hours

Gortnaghey man Darren initially set a fundraising target of £1,000 - £1 for every mile he travelled – however he soon surpassed that amount.

Explaining his motivation for the fundraising trip, the 35 year-old said: “It all began when I started thinking about mental health issues which so many people suffer with, including myself, and how we deal with them.

“I myself think there is nothing like getting out on the motorbike and putting the helmet on and almost being in your own little world where your stresses all seem to disappear. “This got me to thinking what if I could use my passion for motorbikes to help other people struggling too and so I discovered STEPS in Draperstown after searching for a charity to support.

“It's great how all their work is completely done by volunteers and they are completely non-profit.”

After some research, Darren came up with a challenge worthy of peoples' support - the 1000 miles in 24 hour challenge.

“Anyone into their bikes knows this is no easy feat and it took a lot of planning to even get a route around Ireland to complete the challenge as we don't have a massive amount of motorways,” continued the dad-of-two.

Darren says he believes the challenge really pushed his own mental strength 'to the limit' as he faced extremely bad weather from the outset.

“The weather was fantastic every day for almost four weeks and when I got up at 1.30am to get ready to start, the wind and rain were pounding the windows of the house. I had to push through and luckily the weather calmed down a little until after I met my mum and dad at the starting filling station in Limavady which I left at around 3.20am. After reaching Belfast it started raining again and got progressively worse and worse. After my second fuel stop in Wexford, at only around 265 miles in, the rain was so bad I noticed my GoPro had failed and so did my charging port for my phone. This was a major problem as I needed the phone to guide me along the route as time was tight and I couldn't miss my fuel stops either.”

Despite being under pressure, Darren managed to find a solution to his problem.

“After a bit of panicking and searching filling stations for a solution I realised the USB port couldn't be fixed and had to resort to taping the phone around a wireless charging battery bank to slowly keep the phone charging. I had tried to dry out the now water soaked phone under the hand drier in toilets but that didn't work and because of this I couldn't mount the phone to the dash of the bike to see where I was going but had to resort to listening to commands instead through my helmet. You can imagine how I was worrying whether or not the phone still working as you could be riding for over an hour on the motorway without hearing a single command!.”

Having travelled almost 400 miles, when Darren reached Naas he admitted feeling 'completely broken'.

“My electronics had almost all failed and I was soaked right through. I thought to myself most people would call it quits at this point and save it for another day but I said to myself 'no, I have set myself a challenge and made everyone a promise that I would get the job done no matter what'. This is where I'm proud of myself for overcoming this major mental milestone and just taking the bull by the horns, and thinking back, I certainly did,” he said.

For the next eight hours, Darren pushed through the rain which was so heavy it sounded like stones hitting his helmet. He battled poor visibility and two bad thunderstorms however the weather improved slightly when he met up with his wife Danielle, two brothers and friend in Sligo for the final leg of his journey.

“Thankfully I was miraculously in good spirits considering I hadn't eaten, drank or even had a toilet break for over 12 hours, I only stopped for fuel and headed straight off again,” he said.

“The last leg was completed with ease, being able chat to someone after spending all day in silence. We were joined by another friend Gabriel, who we met in Strabane, and he came with us the whole way to the finish line in Limavady, 1,030 miles later. What a relief it was to get that last fill of fuel and finish the challenge. It was made even more special as my mum and dad, my godmother and aunt met us at the finish line to give us a cheer and a well deserved hug. I didn't realise to the next day how it affected my hands but I couldn't turn a key in a lock for four days with my hands being almost locked up.”

Despite being a tough challenge, Darren says it is one he will never forget.

“I want to thank each and every person who donated or supported or helped me in any way. I especially want to thank my mum and dad for meeting me at three o'clock in the morning to see me off and my wife Danielle and friend Colin Rogers for helping with the donations,” he said.

“Thanks also to the guys who came with me from Sligo on home to the finish line and thank you to STEPS for doing the great work that you do. If anyone ever needs them they are there for you on the phone, or in person. They are a great bunch of people who need all the help we can give them. In the end I raised £3,510 which I am very proud of.

“If I have learned anything from this experience it would be to find something you love doing and nurture it and grow your passion for it. It can be your escape from the norm which can be the cause of people feeling like they are stuck in a vicious cycle of work and bills and other things in life which can bring you down. Also, look after the ones around you as seeing all the help I received shows me how much we can all do for each other. I look forward to the next challenge I can overcome in the name of good causes. Be kind to others and be kind to yourself,” he added.

A spokesperson for STEPS praised Darren on his fundraising efforts.

“Darren took on this challenge which was massive in itself, but then on the day faced horrendous weather conditions, I don't know how he kept going,” said the spokesperson.

“Darren had amazing support from his wife Danielle, family, friends and the wider community. STEPS could not offer the counselling support we do without such fantastic people like Darren and everyone who contributed, donated and supported in any way so a massive thank you. To date we have seen over 720 people through our counselling service ranging in age from four to 88 and because STEPS is run by volunteers every penny goes to the work on the ground.”