BRENDAN Treacy has swapped his popular crosswords for the bike as he undertakes a nine-day 800km Mizen to Malin Cycle this week in aid of Early Onset Parkinson’s Disease Ireland (EOPD).

The 70-year-old Dublin native, who lives in Meath, has been compiling the weekly crossword in this newspaper for over 20 years, marking his 1,000th puzzle last year.

Speaking to The Southern Star on Wednesday, Brendan said: ‘The first leg from Mizen to Glengarriff on Monday went very well.

We had beautiful weather and scenery to boot. I was worried about the second leg on Tuesday as we had to cycle over both Moll’s Gap and the Caha Pass which are two hard climbs but I managed them fine.

‘We are averaging about 90km per day and I’m really enjoying it. As a young boy I imagined how great it would be to cycle the length of Ireland but life took over. It was only when I got back into cycling some 10 years ago that I revisited the idea.’

Having turned 70 this year, Brendan said he is thrilled to attempt to fulfil his boyhood ambition.

‘I chose EOPD Ireland because my brother John has Early Onset Parkinsons’ Disease and his very positive approach to managing and fighting the condition is greatly enhanced by the organisation and the support it provides to John and other who share his situation.’

He added that he feels that neither the scale of the problem, nor the work EOPD Ireland is doing is widely known and he is hoping his efforts will help raiser awareness of the challenges faced by people with Early Onset Parkinson’s.

Chair of EOPD Ireland Joe Condon said Brendan’s determination and generosity are truly inspiring.

‘His story is a powerful reminder that behind every diagnosis is a family and behind every family is a community that wants to help.’

To support the fundraiser visit https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/eopdevents1