A YOUNG MAN riding a bike from Ireland to Mount Everest has said he is doing it to “give back” to the Cork community which has supported him in the past.

Daragh Cronin is hoping his mammoth journey will raise €30,000 for children’s wards at Cork University Hospital (CUH).

Cronin said the charity was close to his heart and that he wanted the children of Munster to be able to receive “best-in-class paediatric care”.

He also wanted to inspire children of the region to “chase their dreams”.

Cronin’s journey will begin at Blackrock hurling club on 14 February and take him on a ferry from Rosslare to France, then trekking out over Europe and the Middle East before heading to Everest base camp.

The 23-year-old Cork man is no stranger to long-distance bike journeys, having navigated the length of Africa by riding almost 13,500km between Morocco and South Africa “with zero prior cycling or camping experience”.

He said that experience had inspired him to raise money for the hospital, through the CUH Charity.

He said he had been told his Africa trip would be “impossible” without experience.

“I had guns pointed in my face. But 99% of the time, there was genuine hospitality and huge amounts of kindness,” he said.

“I know these things are coming my way again but I trust my instinct, I was able to talk my way out of some hairy situations in Africa.”

Now, with his trip to Everest, he said: “This time I want to do it for a cause.

“I had crazy support when I went to Africa, half of Cork had my back, so I want to do something to give back this time.”

The route will see him cross the tip of Oman, through Pakistan, India and Nepal before he reaches Mount Everest.

“The record I’m trying to set is to hike the bike from a place called Lukla (in Koshi Province) to Everest base camp, and no Irish person has done that,” he said.

“I will cycle as far as I can through Nepal, on to Lukla, and then put the bike over my neck and get to base camp.”