Old Firm rivalry forgotten in Rangers legend's fundraising cycle around Ireland
Rangers legend Ally McCoist has revealed some of the biggest challenges that he faced during his cycle around Ireland - including strong headwinds, gruelling climbs and bumping into fans of Old Firm rivals Celtic!
The Scot completed a remarkable 555-mile journey in aid of the Doddie'5 Lions Challenge.
McCoist and a team of cyclists, including former Scottish rugby player Kenny Logan, and his wife and sports broadcaster Gabby Logan, raised around €600,000 during the event.
The money will go to My Name'5 Doddie Foundation and the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association.
While it was all smiles as they crossed the finish line outside Stillorgan's Talbot Hotel, there were plenty of moments throughout their epic adventure that had them pushing through the pain barrier.
'Have I done anything like this before? Not to that standard or distance or difficulty,' McCoist told MirrorSport after he completed the cycle.
'I can't lie to you, I knew it would be difficult and I wasn't disappointed. Today, Jesus, those hills (the Wicklow Mountains), oh my God. I'm not really built for hills. I'm built for going down them, but not up them!
'That was hard. But arguably the Monday morning, coming out of Westport, that headwind for three or four hours, and we lost a couple of guys.
'One fell, broke his collarbone, another lad ended up in hospital with concussion. It was absolutely brutal.'
Yet, every time things seemed to be getting on top of them, they managed to power through, thanks in part to the support of locals in towns they passed through.
'Do you know something? The people everywhere have been absolutely fantastic,' McCoist continued.
'I've been in bed early, but with a couple of pints of Guinness, I can't lie to you, so we've worked hard, we had a bit of fun at night and we have raised so much money, it's just out of this world.'
Honouring his friend and former Scotland rugby star Doddie Weir, who passed away after his battle with the disease, helped motivate McCoist through some of the tougher moments.
'I've known Doddie for years; Doddie, Kathy, Hamish and the boys,' he said.
'And I'm a big rugby man. I love my rugby. I'm a Warriors and Scotland man.
'I've known Doddie a long time. Kenny has done a fantastic job, and obviously the elite guys here in Ireland who looked after us, absolutely first class.
'I'm obviously a big supporter of the charity. Kenny did an amazing job. It's just something that is close to our hearts.
'It's one bastard of an illness, it's a horrible illness. You see so many people suffering and you just want to do whatever you can.'
'That does motivate you when things are tough on the bike. 100 percent. It might sound corny but it does.
'You are thinking about Doddie, you are thinking about these people and you are thinking, this is a small price to pay.'
Something else put a smile on McCoist's face during the cycle - a meeting with some fans of Rangers' bitter rivals Celtic.
'Where were we leaving? It was Waterford,' he said.
'We came out to the starting point at one of the factories and there were five of the guys there, banging the window, and they were giving me… two of them were in Celtic tops.
'I was howling. They came down and we got a photograph. It was brilliant, absolutely magic.
'I get so well looked after here. I come over here with the wife and we go to Kinsale, and I get so well looked after. It's brilliant, remarkable.'
McCoist likes to keep fit by playing football with some of his old teammates, while he also got serious about his preparation for this event.
'I did do a lot of training. The only thng was, it was quite difficult. I'm over in the west of Scotland and a lot of guys were going out with each other. They had training partners,' he said.
'But what I did was, when I coudln't get out on the bike if the weather was terrible, I stayed indoors and just did hills on the indoor bike.
'It was a bastard, but it stood me in good stead. It was the right thing to do.
'Kenny (Logan) said to me, if you can't go out on the bike, do an hour or two of hills indoors, and that's what I did. And I managed to get through it.'
He added: 'I still play football. We've got a great wee squad. The old boys play on a Friday; a couple of the Rangers boys - McAvenie, Simon Donnolly and Chris Boyd.
'There are 10 or 12 of us who kick about on a Friday and it's great. I try to do my best. I enjoy a pint, I enjoy food too much, so you have got to keep yourself fit.'
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