News
June 23 th 2007 – "Challenge Day 7 - Challenge Completed "
Ogie has finally managed to complete his journey yesterday on the 23rd of June as planned. He has reached Luxembourg.
Unfortunately however, things are not going well for Ogie as he tries to make it back home. On leaving the Nurburgring and heading for France, the generator has given up on his bike and he is now limping home, only able to ride in daylight.
June 21 th 2007 – "Challenge Day 6 "
Ogie has visited Warsaw, the 13th capital city on the journey. He has said that most of the roads in Poland are in terrible condition, probably as expected due to the country's poor financial state. A severe lack of motorways and proper road signs have annoyed Ogie during his quest to reach Warsaw on time. The trip Warsaw was also the toughest leg of the whole journey for Ogie who had to ride in the dark and rain during the last hour of his journey towards the Polish capital.
However now that he has reached Germany, and visited the capital city of Berlin, the roads have taken a vast improvement and with the Autobahns he should be able to make good time as he is currently on his way out of Leipzig, travelling towards Koblenz in the west of Germany.
Warsaw and Berlin
June 21 th 2007 – "Challenge Day 6 "
Ogie has reached Vilnius, however he did not manage to find the Gediminas tower within the city. This was largely down to the fact that he was put behind schedule because he slept in due to not recieving his wake up call and so was in a hurry to reach Warsaw on time as planned, although after a couple of day's riding like that, i think we can say that Ogie deserved a bit of a rest! While trying to find the Gediminas tower, Ogie met the Lithuanian football coach, who unfortunately couldn't give him sufficient directions to the landmark, although it still made for a great photo oppurtunity!
On his travels, Ogie has also found the geographical centre of Europe (see attatched pic) in Lithuania just outside the capital city of Vilnius.
Despite not finding the Gediminas Tower, Ogie sent this picture of himself in front of the Vilnius Cathedral, a landmark of similar fame amongst the Baltic countries in eastern Europe.
June 20 th 2007 – "Challenge Day 5 "
Ogie has reached Riga, here's the picture of him in front of the Monument of Freedom in the city centre.
Ogie has reached Tallinn, and after being interviewed on Radio Ulster by Mark Sidebottom via telephone, he has sent this picture from Joey Dunlop's memorial at the point where he was killed.
June 19 th 2007 – "Challenge Day 4 "
Ogie has finished the part of the trip which has taken him through Scandinavia and he is now touring through the Baltics, here are pictures taken in Stockholm and Helsinki, however pictures from Oslo have yet to arrive.
The picture from Stockholm was taken in front of the harbour and the picture from Helsinki in front of the Helsinki Cathedral.
June 18 th 2007 – "Challenge Day 3 "
Ogie has reached Copenhagen, here's a picture of him in the Danish city.
June 18 th 2007 – "Challenge Day 3 - Tyre Troubles "
While travelling through Paris, Ogie unfortunately suffered a front puncture, which he luckily managed to repair by himself. The tyre lasted well, however the next day, on leaving Bremen in Germany it gave in, forcing Ogie to return to the city in order to find a garage to get a new tyre.
Although this was a setback, Ogie managed to stick to his tight schedule and reach Copenhagen, the Danish capital in time.
June 16-17 th 2007 – "Challenge Begins"
Ogie reaches Dublin, London, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.
Dublin
London
Paris
Brussels
Amsterdam
June 13 th 2007 – "Lift Off"
Dowds Electrical, the venture's principal sponsor, hands over cheque to Ogie as he gears up for start of marathon challenge. After months of preparation and tireless fundraising, Brian óg Cunning will depart for mainland Europe this Saturday on his marathon solo charity trip.
"The fundraising is going extremely well. We have broken the £10,000 barrier and are hoping to get well into the teens before the fund closes at the end of July. I would like to say a big thank-you to everyone who has supported us so far. Hopefully the donations will keep coming in either directly to us or via the website."
28 th May 2007 – "Ogie set for marathon effort"
A Co. Antrim motorcycling enthusiast is gearing up for a marathon road trip which will take him through Northern Europe, Scandinavia and the Baltic States, visiting 15 capital cities in the space of just seven days to raise money for several local medical facilities and charities.........reports Colin O'Carroll in The Newsletter
23rd May 2007 – "Road on the agenda at Model PS"
Pupils at Ballymoney Model Primary School were given a talk on the importance of road safety last Friday. Local motorcycling enthusiasts Steve and Brian Og Cunning joined with PSNI Road Safety Education Officer, Constable John Jamieson, to highlight the risks young people face on our increasingly dangerous roads........ written by Chris Kilpatrick for The Ballymoney Times
18th May 2007 – Jimmy Ward present Ogie with commemorative plaque on behalf of North Antrim Motorcycle Club
Jimmy Shaw, Chairman of the NAMCC, presented Ogie with a plaque on behalf of the organisation which he will place on the memorial stone in Tallinn, Estonia, which marks the spot where the legendary road racer and local hero, Joey Dunlop, was killed in July 2000. The presentation was held at R.F Linton & Sons, Ballymena, the popular meeting place for local motorcycle enthusiasts.
9th May 2007 – "Capital gains to assist charities"
An avid motorcycle fan from north Antrim hopes to raise much needed finance for four local charities later this summer by visiting 15 European cities in the space of just a week. Brian Og Cunning from Dunloy plans to cover almost 5000 miles in seven days as he travels through northern Europe, Scandinavia and the Baltics on his trusty Honda Fireblade.........reported by Damien Mullan in The Chronicle
9th May 2007 – "Plain Craze-y"
The issue of road safety came under spotlight at Dunloy primary school on Friday with pupils given advice on how to ensure their personal; safety when on the roads as well as learning about the dangers associated with the latest 'must have' items – mini-motos, quads and go-peds. With BBC cameras lookin on, prominent motorcycling enthusiasts Steve and Brian Og Cunning joined with PSNI Road Safety Education Officer, Constable John Jamieson, to deliver talks to primaries four, five, six and seven at St Joseph's Primary School on the need for young people to be aware of the dangers they face when they encounter roads...... writes Chris Kilpatrick in The Ballymoney Times
4th May 2007 - Challenge Update:
Ogie and Steve are set to visit St Joseph's Primary School in Dunloy to speak to the children about the importance of safe riding of their bicycles and proper use of mini motos and quads. They will be joined by John Jamieson of the PSNI Motorcycle Unit, who has kindly agreed to avail of his time to help raise awareness in all aspects of road use by the children.
Principle Mrs Mc Alonan & Vice- Principle Mr Mc Guckian have embraced Enduro Cap15-7 as an ideal project to help develop the children's knowledge of geography and Bicycle proficiency.
For a full report on the afternoons event keep an eye on the local press.
2nd May 2007 - Ballymoney Times, Chris Kilpatrick reports:
'The road ahead…………………. Brian óg Cunning says he is undaunted by the forthcoming mammoth challenge which will see him take in 15 European capitals in only seven days…………………………
30th April 2007 - News Letter Colin O'Carroll writes:
'Motorcyclists can all learn to improve skills' …….One man at the Bike Safe event you would think wouldn't need to know more about biking is Brian óg Cunning. Brian is about to set off on a marathon endurance event around Europe to raise money for several medical facilities. Brian was full of praise for the whole idea; "You can never know too much about bikes and riding and none of us will ever know it all. These guys (the police riders) put up thousands of miles out on the road in all conditions, and they've seen it all. That's the kind of experience money can't buy, so to be able to go out with them and get a bit of their knowledge passed on is great. Stuff like this could save your life one day"
28th April 2007 – Challenge Update:
Ogie successfully completes his Bike Safe assessment under the watchful eyes of Constable John Jamieson of the PSNI Motorcycle Division at the Bike Safe event held in the Ballymena District and hosted by T7 Honda Ballymena.
Spending approximately an hour in the company of John was a very worthwhile exercise for Ogie. There are few, if any bikers better equipped on the road to give advice than John with his years of both work and leisure riding on a wide variety of motorcycles.