A group of amateur cyclists joined 60 Harley Davidson bikers for a spin around Dublin yesterday and the mood was unmistakably Orwellian: two wheels good, four wheels bad.
The occasion was the first training session for those involved in a sponsored cycle in Cuba next year to raise funds for cancer service ARC House. The service offers support to people coping with the disease as well as their friends and families.
The 35 participants in the ARC 2000 Cuban Cycle Challenge will set off from Havana next March covering 200 miles during the four-day cycle. Taking in the Cuban towns of Guajimico, Cienfuegos, Santa Clara and Elguea, the organisers hope to raise at least £100,000.
Those who survived the same challenge last year told the less experienced that a comfy saddle was key. Public health nurse Brigid Considine's sheepskin-covered saddle was the envy of other riders, some of whom finished the trip with nasty boils on their posteriors.
For Claire Healy, from Marino, in Dublin, the timing of the trip is particularly poignant. She underwent a masectomy in March last year and was delighted that exactly 12 months later she will have the opportunity to "give something back" to the centre that helped through some very difficult times.
"Some of the medication can be quite severe and it was great to be in a room with people who understood exactly how you felt . . . the trip is my challenge after being quite inactive for all of last summer," she said.
Leathered-up members of the Harley Riders Ireland Club provided a noisy boost to the session and at one stage the top of Grafton Street looked like a scene out of biker movie The Wild One.
Organisers are seeking sponsorship and at least 10 more cycling enthusiasts to join them in Cuba to help raise funds.
Cyclists who require an added incentive should look no further than the exotically named twin Cuban models, Violeta and Natasha Ibomeg Bombina, who braved the chilly morning to pose for photographers in flimsy tops and cycling shorts.
For more information on the ARC 2000 Cuban Cycle Challenge call 01 8307333